Albion Mini-Meta
(ahl-bee-on)
What is the motivation for creating this section?
I created a D&D game in this setting, and need world-building info specific to this time period.
I want to more fully develop this world's timeline.
Considering that this will be between Amongst the Goblins & the Fishes and Bonds of Trust, this provides a good opportunity for world-building both time periods.
This region (England/Albion) is not one that I have focused on in my world-building thus far.
What are you hoping to get out of this part of the project?
I want my players to experience a magical version of late-1800s London, with an Ocean's Eleven, The Sting, or Knives Out type of flair.
What genre is this section?
Terra is, and always will be, primarily fantasy. Albion specifically is part mystery, part heist, and part intrigue.
Think somewhere between clockpunk and steampunk.
How should this section feel?
I'd like to think that Albion will strike a comfortable balance between an explored and unexplored world. There's a seedy underbelly to the bright walls and shiny armor of the conventional world, one which the player characters are only beginning their journey into. All the vices of Victorian England are here, with fewer restrictions, and so greater availability of said vices.
Content Warning:
Show spoiler
drugs, alcohol, sex work, mentions of murder, slave trade, etc.
How much agency do the characters have?
Some. Local changes are fine, world-shifting ones are not. Because this game is taking place within an only partially established timeline, some deviation is all right.
For instance, taking down a local crime boss is cool. Taking down the head of an international spy ring, also okay. Blowing up half of London... Not Okay.
What kind of tone should this section have?
Because of its focus on inequality/crime, this time period is likely to feel more bleak and desperate than either Bonds of Trust or Amongst the Goblins & the Fishes, more on the order of The Silver Hand, although due to humanoid struggles rather than monsters & magic.
What are the recurring themes of this section?
A dark alley at midnight, cold and rainy. A flash of steel glimmers in the shadows.
A street performer uses their magic to sway the crowd. They leave the square in a hurry once the constables catch wise, shedding copper pennies from their hat.
A kender slips in through an open window, helping themself to the silver as they hum a lullaby that keeps the household hainu fast asleep.
What will be the focus of this section?
Organizations are the life-blood of Albion in this time period, whether that's governmental, military, guild, criminal, or filial.
Species relations will affect a great deal of how players move throughout the world, and the conflicts that lie atop the structural financial inequality.
Economics are necessary in order to set up the class conflict!
What are the differences between the real world and Terra? What are the similarities?
Terra is fundamentally a magical world. It has always been so, and magic never "left" as described in our world's books and movies (I'm thinking specifically of The Mists of Avalon, but there are more in that genre).
As such, magic must come from somewhere. In Terra's case, its magic comes from deep within the planet's core, seeping out in leylines. Towns are formed on minor nodes, or the intersection of two leylines, while cities are founded on major nodes, or the intersection of three or more leylines. The more leylines, the larger the city becomes.
Entry for WorldEmber 2022
I am so excited to see you expand on this world!
Thank you! It's exciting to get to lay it all out and look at the big picture!