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Creating a Changing World Creating a Changing World Designing a
game world is a challenging task. Each
new world demands novel features to hold the players interest. Suspending a player's disbelief is a major
undertaking for any world creator. A
way to accomplish this is to design the laws and rules behind the newly
created world -- specifically how the world was created. In this article, you will see two types of
world -- the Natural World and the Created World. Natural World A Natural World is a world that progresses without divine
intervention. This world has been
formed over the course of billions of years.
Continents shift, life migrates from the seas onto land, and volcanic
eruptions surface islands. Species
generation and modification follow rules of evolution, not creation. Creatures (be they human, elf or dragon) have evolved due to a
long series of survival adaptations.
Those with superior abilities and a large dose of luck survive. The ideas presented by For new species to develop, nature simply modifies existing
species. A small group of birds may
fly from their home on the continent to an offshore island. There, the climate is similar enough that
they survive, but food acquisition requires different adaptations. Those birds with longer beaks may be able
to dig for insects easier. These birds
survive, mate, and pass on their genes.
Eventually a new species will form, a long-beaked variety, which may
not be able to breed with birds of its original ancestral line. Now a few of these long-beaked birds may fly off and land on
another island. This island is a dull,
barren land. Brightly colored birds
make easy targets for predators, so the least elegant birds survive. Eventually another species has been formed;
these ones with dull plumage. This
process can continue indefinitely. With a little imagination, you can apply these same rules to the
creation of monsters. If the players complain
of being able to anticipate what all the monsters in your world do, then
evolve some of them. Have the players
discover a chain of islands, where commonly encountered creatures, such as orcs and goblins, have evolved over the course of time to
adapt to unusual terrain. These
creatures may display different physical features or behaviors than their
parent race. Another
evolutionary scholar was Lamarck. He proposed that
evolution is based on the ideas of use and disuse. If a physical property is used in an
individual, then this property could be passed on to the individual's
offspring. For example, a giraffe's
neck is so long because generation after generation, giraffe's ancestors
stretched their neck's higher when trying to reach food. In this worldview, a person who becomes a
bodybuilder will have children who will be more muscular than other
children. Although this theory has
been disproved in our world, it could exist in a fantasy world setting with interesting
implications. In a Lamarck world, a group of humans, who become isolated
from the rest of their population, could change substantially. Imagine that this group of humans becomes
trapped in a cave complex. They have
to stoop to crawl through the tunnels.
Using Lamarck's theory, their descendants
would become shorter. In this way, you
might explain the creation of dwarves or goblins. Reversing this process tells how dwarves
may have emerged from caverns beneath the earth and started to stretch in
order to reach fruit from trees--thus giving rise to humans. Created World An
intelligent being guides the building and populating of a Created World. The DM needs to create a comprehensive
creation story to describe the duration of creation, and the things created. This story must explain evolution and
global changes as well. A divine
being may create a world, populate it with six humanoid species (one of which
is man), and then fill the rest of the world with all manners of
animals. For the animals, the divine
being may apply Lamarck's rules of evolution. For the humanoids, there is no evolution. Alternatively,
a divine being creates a world where all animals change generation to
generation, to adapt quickly to changes in the environment. As an Ice Age encroaches, and temperatures
plummet, human children may be born with thick hair. Herein lies another important idea. Does the world undergo stages (like the Ice
Age) or has the temperature patterns, tectonic activity and other physical
properties remained the same since time began. The DM may keep random tables of natural
disasters for this purpose. Perhaps
the deity has written out all his plans for the world. Perhaps a party of adventurers discover these prophetic
writings... Imagination
is the only limiting factor when using Created Worlds. The main consideration to remember is to
keep the world consistent. Players
will balk at playing in a world where the rules change randomly, or at the DM's
whim (unless it has been made clear from the start that this is the way the
world works.) The Origin of
Species If it is
accepted in your world that the human race has a shared ancestor with apes,
it might be fun to see what the other fantastical races have for
relations. What line of descent may
have branched to create the elves of your world? Dwarves?
The DM may create new species to fill in the evolutionary holes in
these other lines of descent. Magic may
introduce a new form of evolution, called Proximal Evolution. In this form of evolution, any species that
survives for a long time near a source of magic may begin undergoing
mutations in successive generations (much as radiation may affect people
today). If this mutation proves
successful than it could lead to the creation of a new species. Example of Proximal
Evolution An old
village exists near the Hybrids In a
Natural World, hybrids among animals are rare. Even when live young are born, they are
often sterile. The DM must determine
mixed-breeding of animals on a species by species basis. In a Created World, the rules change. Divine beings may allow certain species, or
even just individuals to interbreed, according to their own set of
rules. An elf maiden and her human
lover may find themselves gifted with a child, simply because she prayed to
her god for it to be so. Table 1, gives possible
results of mixed breeding in a Natural World.
These assume that both species are physically capable of breeding with
each other. The interpretation of the
results will be at the DM's discretion and change with every
circumstance. For a Created World, the
same Table may be used, or the DM can simply decide what the divine being in
charge would want. Table 1: Results of Species
Interbreeding in a Natural World d100 The Young… 01 - 50 Dies during
pregnancy 51-75 dies in 2d6 days 76-89 receives weakness
of both parents (and is sterile) 90-95 receives strengths
of one parent, weakness of other (75 % chance sterile) 96-99 Receives strengths
of one parent, weaknesses of other (50% chance sterile) 100 Receives
strengths of both parent (25% chance sterile) Adventure Ideas (1) Peasants have
found large bones buried in rock deposits.
It is up to the party to piece them together. This could lead to the discovery of a lost
valley of dinosaurs. (2) The party
could find work as guards for a scholar who is discovering the evolutionary
processes at work in the world. In
this way, you can introduce the laws of science as they exist in your world
to the players. (3) Certain
animals have been disappearing near an isolated community. In their place have emerged hideous
creatures, looking like patchwork combinations of the missing animals. The players must investigate and stop a mad
mage from creating hybrids that are even more hideous and dangerous. The type of world creation is an important decision to make when
designing a new world. A world created
in a span of days as compared to billions of years will show differences in
geographic and creature diversity.
This difference can become a theme for your campaign, serving as a
framework for the adventures your players find themselves involved with. ©2002 · Brent Knowles |