Thessia META

Genre

Thessia is a blend of world cultures across era mixed with standard TTRPG trends. Different areas of my world will mirror  some part of our world in some way, such as Alvaria which is a fantasy take on England with a mixing of colonial history. For now I am only focusing on the Alvaria region which is also is only a small region within the bay of hope. The magic level of Alvaria is medium due to TTRPG nature of the setting. For the rest of tech high medieval to renaissance is the likely candidate.

Scale

The scale of Thessia is not yet known as I am working on a bottom up approach working on the Alvaria region first and working my way outward. I will limit my current work to the Alvaria region first though, to keep myself some reasonable goals to avoid burnout. In the end I hope to have a completed planet, and planescape. But for this summer I look to complete Alvaria and the story that will take place there.

Regions of importance

The area needing the most detail will be the 7 major cities, followed by the large town, beyond that detail can be simple for settlements and locations. As time goes on a campaigns are run more detail can be added if I go back to a location multiple times. Religion plays a large part in the stories of the campaign so details into the way it works and the pantheons will need to be fleshed out in order to make this aspect meld into the play well.
Some characters especially those that would not be interacted with until later on in campaigns can be mostly ignored until players begin to approach the level at which interaction becomes more likely.

Moods of Thessia

When my players enter Thessia I want them to be both familiar with settings but not in standard way. So while there will be a undead, cave dwellers and sea people, their social traits way be mixed around. I want my setting to feel fresh for my players, not another Tolkien twist. I have large regions for my players to explore so they can have a sense that the world is old and was around before them.
I want my players to feel that they have earnt their effect on the world around them, actions to have long term consequences and for them to think actions through. While I enjoy a munchkin game I want my players to be on their toes and not take their characters lives for granted. At low levels I want my characters to feel the world as grim and as their character becomes more powerful that they gain more agency. The world itself will be neutral to bright as it is a medieval setting, however, magic's presence will make a peasants life much more bearable.

Themes

No conflict is ever good versus evil - In most cases I want issues to have two sides, while I will have the monsters who need to be slain when it comes to my sapient interaction I don't want bad actions to occur because x does bad things. Every antagonist needs a believable reason. No major historical evil was done because the one doing it thought it was evil, in their eyes they were doing what was needed, however horrible their actions were
Never assume you've seen it all - I want my players to be able to explore and discover things about the world that cannot be found by simply asking a NPC or rolling and knowledge check. I've always enjoyed the feeling that I have discovered something for the first time and I want my players to experience that too. So expect lots of ancient sites and unexplored frontiers.
Who is us? - Many a conflict is driven by the thought of us vs them, but as in our world the us changes over time and boundaries are ever changing. I want my players to experience this not only so that they may influence it but also difficult ideas in our world can be explored more safely in the world of a TTRPG.

Conflicts

Thessia will have a variety of conflicts depending on the region. However for now I will focus on Alvania

Alvania

Shifting power - Trouble boils as tension grow between the mainland cities and the original settlements on Sotin. This shall lead to war between the old and new if not handled properly. The cause of this divide is not only geographic but also religious and cultural. What will it take to make these two sides understand one another?
Hordes from the north - With the colonies preparing for a civil war the northern barbarians are beginning to become more bold in the raids pushing further and taking more from those unfortunate enough to be in their path. Rumour has it that an ambitious warlord is gathering a host larger than any recorded and his target is New Haelia. Will the older colonies send aid to their rival city or will they abandon them favouring the safety of their island.
Men in Foreign lands - Some would say Thaumens were not destined to inhabit the shore of Alvania and recent event support this theory. Some of the higher ups in the powerful religious sects warn of ill times ahead. Speaking of angered gods and divine punishment. New shrine and site of powerful magic have been discovered and they seemed linked somehow. However, ominous energy radiates across the land and many believe this malice originate from these sites.

Outcome goals

Escapism - While I do enjoy the world we live in there's something special in creating a world to explore which can exist in ways not possible in reality
Exploring ideas - Working through world building helps me to understand how ideas my play out in the real world
Enjoyment - End of the day it's fun to world build and see something you've made Achievement - setting a large goal for myself and completing is something I want to do this year
Improvement - Skills only get better when used so this is a great chance to improve not only my art skills but also my writing a presentation skills

Why do this?

Improve my skills in worldbuilding
Create a world for my RPG group
Give me a reason to create more maps
Give a reason to improve my art skills