Damage Types and World Building

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 My computer is getting repaired at the moment and my back up one can't seem to manage editing large blog posts. So instead of the next planescrap post here's a post inspired by the game I'm currently chipping away at, Dark Souls.

 

In Dark Souls certain damage types are associated with certain elements of the world , for example Lightning is associated with the gods that overthrew the dragons. 

By knowing it gives you the hint that dragons are vulnerable to lightning , as it was a weapon crafted specifically to destroy them (or that's my understanding of it anyhow).

I thought that was neat and a great example of how to get players to learn about the world, by making it intrinsically connected to the "moving parts", the bits of the game they will be getting to interact immediately and consistently.

Lo! I made a series of tables to inspire this kind of world building.

An example:

I roll 7 (fire), 4 (ghosts/undead),10 (academy), 9 (ruins, former rulers), 7 (religious ritual).

So the "associated" can mean they use that damage type , or its particular good at against them, or otherwise intrinsically linked. For this example lets have part of the soul (the lower hungry part) be a form of flame that can linger after the body is kaput, and will consume living beings. Certain magics can draw upon the soul to create magical fires that can consume not only the usual flammable materials but more esoteric stuff like love or hope.

As for the academy , it was founded by researchers into the nature of the soul-flame , who gained a create deal of power before suffering a decline as the teachers consumed their students and became each fixated on a single goal, ignoring their weakening grip on society as whole.

However their teachings still inform the correct way to attend to the deceased (least one of their base hungers rise as a ghost flame). Another common practice is to lit a fire with the intention of stoking ones innerfire or mediating on a dying fire as a way of negating desire.

How many Factions?

1d4+2

Damage Type And Properties

1.Gravity/ Physical Mass/Petrification

2.Soul/Sentience

3.Poison/Sickness/Disease

4.Mutation/Animating Force

5.Acid/Entropy/Erosion/Rust

6.Blood/Emotions/Inheritance

7.Fire/Hunger

8.Ice/Crystallization/Mirrors

9.Lightning/Sky/Stars

10.Secrets /Metaphysical Underlying Rules/`Magic/Written Words

11.Void/Unreality/Anomaly 

12.Wind/Sound/Spoken Language

Is Most Associated With:

1.Underground People

2.Weird Elves/Ancients

3.Dragons/Serpents/Dinosaurs/Reptiles

4.Ghosts/Lost souls/Undead

5.Demons

6.Mutants

7.Giants

8.Insects

9.Former Humans

10.Beasts

11.Shapechangers

12.Fungus

Best Described Collectively as a :

1.Church/ Cult

2.Loosely connected cells/sects

3.Library /Academy

4.Monarchy/Family

5.Army

6.Region based (i.e only connected by where they live)

7.Bureaucracy

8.Prisoners/Jailers

9.Tribes/Clans

10.Lone Individuals/Nomads

11.Trading Network

12.Schism/Civil War

And Their Status in The World Is As:

1.Deities/Idealized

2.Outcasts/Pariahs

3.Erased from History/Forbidden/Concealed

4.Tyrants/Hegemony/Empire

5.Intruders/Invaders

6.Peace-Keepers/Preservers

7.Underdogs/Rebels/Iconoclasts

8.Exploited/Conquered

9.Ruins/Former Rulers/Usurped

10.Creators/Founders/Ancestors

11.Psychopomps/Managers of the Afterlife

12.In decline/Decadent

Presence Most Obvious in

1.Medicine

2.Weapons

3.Spells

4.Curses/Insults/Inflictions 

5.Architecture

6.Roaming Monsters

7.Religious Ritual

8.Agriculture

9.Precious Metals and Gems/Money/Trade Goods

10.Customs and structures to do with death and burial

11.Landscape

12.Underground

Bonus table:  Template to determine resistances and vulnerabilities

1. Some version of generic fantasy physics (fire is strong against ice etc)

2. No resistances or vulnerabilities

3. Determine the oldest faction, make their damage type strong against the younger

3.Determine the rarest faction , make their damage type stronger against the others

4. Determine the most dominant faction, make their damage type stronger against the others

5. Have the faction that is the most hated have the strongest damage type

6.Determine the youngest and most vigorous faction, their damage is strong against the older factions