Amanor
Scope
The motivation behind building Amanor
Amanor is a fantasy setting created by three friends with the purpose of playing tabletop roleplaying games, specifically using Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder. It's a melting pot of a myriad influences and inspirations, combining all the favorite fantasy tropes of its creators along with a decent helping of original content. Being basically just a platform for D&D homebrew, Amanor copies things heavily from other sources -- movies, books, video games, music, mythologies, and whatever else inspires us.
The goal of the project
The purpose of Amanor is to have a well-defined set of "house ruled homebrew" that is tailored to our personal preferences. We just want to play D&D after all!
In the future we might base other, more original worlds on the work that has been done on Amanor. That world might exist in the same universe as Amanor -- or it might not. Time will tell.
House rules
We have never shied away from house rules and homebrew In the campaigns we have played in Amanor. Homebrew content has been created originally and from various sources on the web. Below are listed some of the house rules used in our campaigns that are relevant to worldbuilding: Death is Final. Spells such as Raise Dead, Reincarnation and Resurrection are removed from the game. The spell Wish might be able to produce their effects at the DM's discretion. Ability Score Range Increase. The natural maximum of ability scores is 30 instead of 20. Ability scores can go above 30 with size modifiers and magical items. This can be observed in stat blocks. Size Modifiers. Sizes other than medium grant bonuses and penalties to ability scores. Large creatures have increased strength and constitution but reduced dexterity. Conversely, small creatures have increased dexterity but reduced strength and constitution. Starting from Huge size and larger, these bonuses become rather extreme, making creatures extremely potent adversaries in combat. This can be observed in stat blocks. Charm Effects and Charisma. Charm saves are made with charisma instead of wisdom. This applies also to effects like domination, mind control, possession, etc.Theme
Genre
Amanor is a high fantasy world of adventure and wonder. True to the spirit of D&D and Pathfinder, it's a multi-faceted setting with huge variance -- Amanor accomodates mundane adventures with sword and shield, fantastical tales of wizardry and magical creatures, political intrigue in the halls of mighty kings, planar jaunts into realms of demons and angels, as well as encounters with lovecraftian horrors from beyond space and time. There are mortals and immortals, gods and demigods, cosmic factions, dozens of civilizations and ethnicities, and of course a vast universe for powerful characters to explore.
Reader Experience
High fantasy. Soft magic. Faeries, wizards and knights in shining armor.
The setting is filled with bright and positive micro-settings for upbeat adventure. Then again, more dark and gritty environments can also be found. The history of the world is one of conflict and strife, but on Amanor goodness can prevail and hope shrines through even the thickest gloom. Usually, at least ;)
Recurring Themes
The World Is Magical. Practitioners of magic are relatively rare, but they can be found in every society. Magic is known -- and even available, to varying extent -- to all societal classes. The wealthy and mighty enjoy great benefits gained from spells, potions and enchantments, and the intrastructure of nations is shaped by the availability of magical reagents and the application of magic to everyday tasks.
The World Is Ancient. The history of the world is long and fantastical. Mortal dynasties are rather young in comparison, and much of the ancient history of the world is unknown to them. Only gods, demigods, and other such ageless beings recall the events of eons past. Remnants of past ages can be discovered on Amanor by travellers, explorers, and adventurers.
Gods Oversee the World. The gods are real cosmic entities that watch over the world of Amanor. In ages long past, they lived on Amanor with their creations, but have since retreated to keep watch on the world from afar. They protect Amanor from cosmic threats such as angels and demons, but also intercede in the lives of their worshippers -- answering prayers, delivering messages, and even performing miracles.
Death Is Final. Mere mortals have no access to magics capable of resurrecting the dead. Only the mightiest of deities can rekindle the spark of life, and only on the most simplest forms of life. Thus, even the gods themselves can be slain.
There Is Always A Bigger Fish. Even the mightiest adventurer should learn humility, for there is always someone more powerful than them. There are different tiers of power for cosmic entities, and the younger gods are weak compared to the eldest gods. Power levels of creatures can go all the way to omnipotency, but the wisest of deities fear such power. And even an omnipotent god of Amanor is powerless against forces they can not hope to understand.
That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die.
Character Agency
Campaigns that have took place in Amanor have generally been of the world-changing type.
Our worldbuilding attempts to address the very broad spectrum of power levels that is inherent to the rules of D&D. There should be believable reasons why a peasant can be killed by a single hit from a sword that needs to hit a noble knight a dozen times. But sometimes such explanations are soft and muddy.
Player characters tend to be exceptionally powerful in Amanor. They learn fast, act fast, forge relationships fast and rise to great power in very short times. This is to be expected from any campaign, in our opinion, but still we often like to "spice up" player characters with additional character powers and backstories. Superheroes are fun.
Amanor is an unofficial and unendorsed homebrew/worldbuilding project. You will never be charged to use or access this content. All art assets are credited when known.
Pathfinder © Paizo Inc.
Amanor uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Community Use Policy. Amanor is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com. Dungeons & Dragons © Wizards of the Coast LLC.
Amanor is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast.
Amanor uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Community Use Policy. Amanor is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com. Dungeons & Dragons © Wizards of the Coast LLC.
Amanor is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast.