Derkomai
Scope
The motivation behind building Derkomai
Derkomai is the World Anvil implementation, updated and hopefully improved, of the AD&D world that I started when I was attending college. Friends and I spent many fun hours campaigning in Derkomai. I was usually the DM/GM. My hope is to fill out this world, give it more backstory and history, complete most of the geography and geopolitical features, and make it available for DMs/GMs to base their own campaigns in.
The goal of the project
I hope that others will be able to use Derkomai as a basis for their own D&D or other game campaigns. I want to give it enough backstory, history, and geography/geopolitics that players and DMs/GMs will find it interesting, and DMs/GMs will be able to develop interesting and fun campaigns for their players.
Derkomai's Unique Selling point
I hope that DM's/GMs will find the backstory and history of the world interesting, as well as the geographical and geopolitical aspects of the world.
Theme
Genre
Derkomai s a technology-limited world. Basic mechanical devices work, based on human, animal, water, or wind power. Objects constructed of metal are relatively rare, as the limited technology make extracting, refining, and working metals (especially hard alloys) difficult. Only basic metals (copper, tin, lead, iron) are known. Steel is very rare, but it is produced in some places.
No electrical devices work. Gunpowder and explosives do not work. All of those things are proscribed by the Nop Derk Safir (the powers that control Derkomai).
Magic works (subject to the discretion of the DM/GM as needed for the campaign and rule set being used). See Foundations of Magic on Derkomai for the background and theoretical basis for how magic is envisioned to work on Derkomai.
No electrical devices work. Gunpowder and explosives do not work. All of those things are proscribed by the Nop Derk Safir (the powers that control Derkomai).
Magic works (subject to the discretion of the DM/GM as needed for the campaign and rule set being used). See Foundations of Magic on Derkomai for the background and theoretical basis for how magic is envisioned to work on Derkomai.
Reader Experience
The feel of the world will depend basically on the type of campaign being run, the rule set being used, and where the campaign is set, but in general, my hope is that the world will feel detailed, open, big, and diverse, giving the players a sense of being able to explore new places, interact with different people and cultures, discover fascinating places, and take part in adventures that are interesting, harrowing, or even terrifying.
Reader Tone
Derkomai is a world. There are places and situations that are horrifying, and places and situations that are wonderful. Think, perhaps, of Middle Earth of Lord of the Rings. It has The Shire and Rivendell, and it also has Mordor. Both good and evil are everywhere, and it is the campaign and the non-player characters that the players interact with that will determine the tone, all as scripted by the DM/GM.
Recurring Themes
1. The world is big and complex, and travel is slow. Players can spend their entire lives in one country, and none will ever see the entire world. The most well-travelled player (think someone like Marco Polo) will only ever see maybe 10-20% of the entire world. Campaigns should take this into account. Long journeys will take years to accomplish (in game time) and require significant resources that are difficult and expensive to acquire (think of translators, porters, caravan masters, guards, pack animals, wagons, etc.) DMs/GMs should always give players the impression that there is always more to see, more to explore, more to discover. Level progression should be somewhat slow; look for ways to reward players besides XP and money, e.g. titles and accolades, land granted by nobility, etc. Progression in magical powers should be especially slow.
2. Magic exists, but it isn't particularly common, and the magic that players will typically encounter isn't very powerful. Characters that have magic shouldn't accumulate wild amounts of power. Those that become too powerful or use magical (or even physical) powers in ways that cause strife will likely draw the (usually unwanted) attention of the Nop Derk Safir. The attention of the Nop Derk Safir is likely to be fatal, or at least very detrimental to the player. (Again, the DM/GM can use this organization as a hard limit/plot device to prevent players from accumulating too much power and throwing the campaign and world out of balance).
3. DMs/GMs can build adventures and campaigns around the backstory and history of humans on Derkomai. Humans are not native to Derkomai, but after over 5000 years, the real origins of humanity have been lost to time. There are legends, and very rarely, players may run across an artifact that gives some credence to the legends. Campaigns and adventures can be built around discovering the truth of humanity's origins - but beware of running afoul of the Nop Derk Safir!
Character Agency
Player characters will have as much power as the DM/GM lets them have, but as a general rule, their power is limited by the Nop Derk Safir, and the DM/GM can use that as a hard limit (or as a boost, if needed) on player power to avoid players in the campaign getting ridiculously powerful (or hopelessly discouraged). Players should never gain god-like powers, as (in my opinion), campaigns become less interesting and less fun. Players need challenges to overcome - situations in which success is not at all certain, and they must use their wits, wisdom, strength, and skills to reach their goals.
Focus
Drama
1. Rumors and legends passed down from ancient times, and said to have originated by the Elvirim, say that humans fell from the sky, and that the Elvirim, Dwarvirim, and Orkrim were on Derkomai long, long before humans. Because of this legend, the other species are wary of humans, although Elvirim are known to have helped humans in distress on occasion.
Dwarvirim will sometimes trade with humans, but just as often are in conflict with humans over territory and resources; however, given that humans greatly out-reproduce and out-number the Dwarvirim, their territories have been gradually overrun, and they have moved away from areas populated by humans.
Orkrim are typically hostile to other sentient species, and humans are not an exception; although, they are typically less hostile towards humans than Elvirim and Dwarvirim. The Orkrim will typically attack them on sight, regardless of the circumstances. The Orkrim locate their villages away from areas populated by humans, usually in rugged, mountainous regions. They are frequently in conflict, even outright war, with the Dwarvirim, because the territories they prefer often overlap. The Dwarvirim produce superior weapons and are better organized than the Orkrim, but as in their conflicts with humans, the Dwarvirim are out-numbered by the Orkrim.
Dwarvirim will sometimes trade with humans, but just as often are in conflict with humans over territory and resources; however, given that humans greatly out-reproduce and out-number the Dwarvirim, their territories have been gradually overrun, and they have moved away from areas populated by humans.
Orkrim are typically hostile to other sentient species, and humans are not an exception; although, they are typically less hostile towards humans than Elvirim and Dwarvirim. The Orkrim will typically attack them on sight, regardless of the circumstances. The Orkrim locate their villages away from areas populated by humans, usually in rugged, mountainous regions. They are frequently in conflict, even outright war, with the Dwarvirim, because the territories they prefer often overlap. The Dwarvirim produce superior weapons and are better organized than the Orkrim, but as in their conflicts with humans, the Dwarvirim are out-numbered by the Orkrim.
2. The king of Sudland is being undermined by his younger brothers, the dukes of Azmakoku, Niskoku, and Sudkoku, leading to political instability and intrigues, most especially by his youngest brother, the duke of Sudkoku. With the king distracted by problems within his family, law and order in Sudland is eroding. The king has called some of his military back to Daskar, the capital, so there are fewer patrols, and gangs and bandits are on the roads more frequently. The breakdown in law and order then gives the dukes more reason to criticize the king publicly, causing more people to lose confidence in him. Adventures and campaigns can be built around these issues.
3. People from The Steppe (Nis Seiyon and Azmi Seiyon) attacking Senyon is a constant theme, with Senyon responding militarily, as well as using spies, assassins, and political intrigue to weaken the people of The Steppe. At the current time, Senyon has driven a wedge between factions of The Steppe people, leading to a division of the former country of Seiyon into Nis (West) Seiyon and Azmi (East) Seiyon.
4. The imperial court and harem at Senyon is a constant source of infighting, political intrigue, assassinations, and interactions with secret societies.
5. The evil of Edan emanating from Isola, his great hall at the center of Yfel, worms its way into the affairs of all of Derkomai. He looks for opportunities to give free rein to his malice and hatred, and it seems little can stop him. Spies and assassins make their way from Isolabirre to cities all over Derkomai, where they further Edan's evil plots and plans.
As mentioned before, Derkomai is a world. The types of adventures and dramas that can be developed is limited only by the imagination of the GM and players. Players can find themselves in the high north of Nodyund or Danyund battling frost giants, in the far south of Rigosland searching the wilds for rare animals and plants for a potion critical to saving the life of a fair princess, high in The Great Eastern Mountains (Sanmak Da Azma) battling a tribe of Orkrim on behalf of a Dwarvirim thane they've befriended, involved in a teacherous plot hatched by one of the Imperial Consorts of the Great Sacred Empire in Senyon to murder a rival's son, hunting down criminals in the streets of Daskar or Southport, or in any of a limitless number of places and scenarios that can be designed and scripted by the GM. It's a world, as big and diverse as Earth - but with magic!
The World of Derkomai © 2019 by Peter R. Nelson is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International. All rights reserved.
All characters and locations presented are fictional and any resemblance to actual persons is coincidental and unintentional.