The March
Scope
The motivation behind building The March
The March is a fantasy setting I created because I wanted a world that not only wasn't locked into a medieval feel, but also reflected realistic changes in its history.
The goal of the project
I'm hoping this will be a game setting that people will enjoy adventuring in and learning about, and maybe someday to monetize it.
The March's Unique Selling point
Industrial Magic is the most unique hook, I believe.
Theme
Genre
The overall genre is what I would call Pulp Fantasy, with an action-adventure feel, but where the stakes are often more personal than world shattering.
Reader Experience
The world is one that combines the wonders of an expanding world and expanding magic and science, with the mundane struggles of life in a capitalist society. There is both wonder and responsibility, and the struggle to survive.
Reader Tone
The tone is in the middle. The world has dark and gritty elements, combining some of the worst aspects of the industrial revolution and gilded age. But there is also an optimistic feel for many, that they can make things work. The world is corrupt, but that's taken more as a challenge than as a defeat.
Recurring Themes
The key aspects, ideas, that define it
Things change over time
This is the central idea that got me started, and that gave the March it's name, based on the march of time. I got sick of all the fantasy settings that not only were medieval Europe, but were also medieval Europe back 10,000 years before or whatever when the legendary stuff happened. The march has changed incredibly in the last few decades. Their medieval period was less than a thousand years, and it's not looked back on with nostalgia by most. Not everyone knows exactly what happened in the far past. For this to work the long-lived races are also less long lived. This also mainly means that you can do adventures in the March based on different time-frames of Earth, and it will work. Want an ancient Rome/Greece analog, it's in there. Funky 70's action, no problem. Classic medieval Europe... sure, fine, that too.
Magic is innately unrestrained
The March is a high fantasy world, with magical creatures, spells, objects, places, you name it. Modern mages have tried to turn magic into an exact science, but they are fighting chaos. Industrial Magic makes minor magic items mass produced and easily available, but unintended consequences come from the residue of magical energy in both people and places. The manufacturing process drains the workers of the energy of their life, something the factories hide from knowledge. Areas of powerful magic exist, warping the landscape, and producing things like sorcerers and the plane-touched.
There's no definite proof of the Gods
Religions exist and fight over dogma, or try to lead people to peace. But there has never (despite the claims of priests) been direct proof of the Gods. No alignments are given for them, just directions and tenets. A chaotic evil priest could be a devout follower of a god of kindness and life, twisting the religious message into something horrible, and not only believe they're correct, but keep all their power! Due to these aspects, religion is becoming less a part of people's lives, and agnostics and atheists are rather normal. Originally my idea was the gods were people who existed long ago, whose stories were twisted. I later decided that there were no actual gods, and that divine power was a neutral force channeled by believers. In all, I feel that the truth of the Gods is something for individual gamemasters.
People are inherently Neutral
People of the March, and this includes humans, PC races, and the vast majority of NPCs in general, are not inherently good or evil. Those are individual choices. Most sentient beings want to have a normal day with as little stress as possible, enjoy their time as best they can, and go to bed. Alignments should be considered at best an optional rule in the March. Supernatural evil still exists, so paladins and priests and such can still use abilities to test it, but it's more an aspect the divine or arcane force their sensing than it is actual motivation. Religious people may believe their claims that they can sense evil, but most people and the laws of most lands won't.
Character Agency
Adventurers in the March have a great deal of Agency in their own lives, but in general their actions will not be world shaking. The world has been shaken by the actions of powerful individuals in the past, and many of the aspects of the setting are to protect the people from whims of random powerful people.
This means stories will be more about the personal journeys of the characters, and the concept of making small meaningful changes in people's lives, rather than grand scales.
Focus
Drama
Addam is the only true world power after the events of the Dragon War, and its culture is influencing the entire world. It is also expanding its borders into those of its former allies, taking advantage of their weakened states.
The aftermath of the Dragon War has left many countries rebuilding, leaving openings for interested powers. The search for magical weapons also prompted new discoveries in ancient ruins, making archaeology (dungeon-diving) still a major focus.
Merchant Lords are testing the limits of their power, in some cases becoming more powerful than the nations of the world. This is very often not good for the people in the way.
The culture of the world is going through many philosophical shifts. Nation-states replaced monarchies, but the Dragon War showed that they can get just as dangerous. Many are questioning the systems of power in the world, as religious faith declines. Poverty and the grind of life in industrial society are turning people away from capitalism, and the Guilds movement grows mirroring socialism.