Characters in the Splintering World
The Splintering World Campaign Setting is designed for use with any edition of the world’s most famous roleplaying game. Players in the Splintering World Campaign Setting will need only the following things:
Theme & Style
Campaigns set in the Splintering World combine Sword and Sorcery with High Fantasy. The War of the Gods drives world-changing events yet the focus of the campaign will be on the characters and their goals.
The first session of a Splintering World campaign begins with character creation, and the players should work together to connect their back-stories. Some examples of possible character concepts include:
Religious Characters
Players that wish to play religious characters like Clerics or Paladins should pay careful attention to religion in the Splintering World. The following points are of particular importance: first, there are multiple pantheons of gods in the World; second, the War of the Gods has set Law against Chaos; third, the Zostarian Church is especially influential in the East; finally, many Paladins in the Splintering World serve the Zostarian Church.
The War of the Gods: Each region of the World has its own pantheon of gods. In recent centuries these gods have fallen to war. This war has generally pitted gods of Law against those of Chaos. That means (for example) that Lawful Good and Lawful Evil gods might ally against Chaos, even though they stand opposed in terms of Good and Evil. For a religious character, one's alignment on the Law-Chaos axis is just as important as the Good-Evil axis.
Religion in Arast: Religion in Arast is controlled by the Zostarian Church. Zostarianism has traditionally emphasized the Balance of Law and Chaos, but in the past century a faction has arisen that preaches the ascendancy of Law. For the past 1,700 years, worship of the gods has been persecuted in Arast. It is only now returning.
Paladins: The empire that many Paladins once defended has fallen. The player of a Paladin might weave this theme into his or her character’s story.
Collaborative World-building
The setting will grow as the heroes adventure through it. Any player who wants to incorporate an idea into the setting is encouraged to do so. Remember that each region has its own pantheon of gods; undefined pantheons may be developed by any player who wishes to do so. Players who choose to play a cleric from an undefined land must develop their deity’s pantheon.
- Access to the rules.
- A set of common polyhedral dice.
- A notebook, character sheet(s), and pencil.
- 25 mm miniature figure for at least one character.
Theme & Style
Campaigns set in the Splintering World combine Sword and Sorcery with High Fantasy. The War of the Gods drives world-changing events yet the focus of the campaign will be on the characters and their goals.
The first session of a Splintering World campaign begins with character creation, and the players should work together to connect their back-stories. Some examples of possible character concepts include:
- Criminal connected to Thieves' Guild or Merchant's Navy ...
- Disgraced noble ...
- Cleric of neutrality serving at the Red Temple ...
- Runaway...
- Barbarian adventurer from a far away-land ...
- Slumming high elf...
- Halfling sailor out of Port Liberty in Midgard ...
- Royal explorer ...
Religious Characters
Players that wish to play religious characters like Clerics or Paladins should pay careful attention to religion in the Splintering World. The following points are of particular importance: first, there are multiple pantheons of gods in the World; second, the War of the Gods has set Law against Chaos; third, the Zostarian Church is especially influential in the East; finally, many Paladins in the Splintering World serve the Zostarian Church.
The War of the Gods: Each region of the World has its own pantheon of gods. In recent centuries these gods have fallen to war. This war has generally pitted gods of Law against those of Chaos. That means (for example) that Lawful Good and Lawful Evil gods might ally against Chaos, even though they stand opposed in terms of Good and Evil. For a religious character, one's alignment on the Law-Chaos axis is just as important as the Good-Evil axis.
Religion in Arast: Religion in Arast is controlled by the Zostarian Church. Zostarianism has traditionally emphasized the Balance of Law and Chaos, but in the past century a faction has arisen that preaches the ascendancy of Law. For the past 1,700 years, worship of the gods has been persecuted in Arast. It is only now returning.
Paladins: The empire that many Paladins once defended has fallen. The player of a Paladin might weave this theme into his or her character’s story.
Collaborative World-building
The setting will grow as the heroes adventure through it. Any player who wants to incorporate an idea into the setting is encouraged to do so. Remember that each region has its own pantheon of gods; undefined pantheons may be developed by any player who wishes to do so. Players who choose to play a cleric from an undefined land must develop their deity’s pantheon.