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Voyagers of Ampole (19th-Century Adventure Set)
Hello. This is a developmental thread meant to help me catalogue and mature my thoughts and receive feedback so I apologize if it feels rambling or incomplete in spots.
While I still have a great interest in Magic, I am no longer what I consider a player of the game. Instead, I keep up on new releases to the cardpool, tinker with my own variant rules project, toy around with card creation, and I'd like to create a "set" for my own amusement to feed those channels. The goal of this is not to produce a realistic Magic set (something intended for standard release we'll say) but rather a 'locality' - a collection of cards that represents a given world, it's inhabitants, histories, cultures, and peculiarities. No planewide apocalypse, no chosen band of friends on the destined quest (not as the primary focus, at least), no wider comicbook plot to shoehorn in. Just a topdown and flavorful location I want to explore, with lots of cycles and legendary thing.
The setting itself will be something like 19th century world, I suppose, paying homage to early-modern fantasy & sci-fi, with the unifying theme being the fantastic voyage. Each color has a flagship "mark of influence" that informs its geograpy, aesthetics, and philosophy. They are (currently):
W - HG Wells
U - Jules Verne
B - Edgar Allan Poe
R - Robert Louis Stevenson
G - Edgar Rice Burroughs
but there would be references from works as early as Gilgamesh, the Odyssey and Lucian's A True Story, up to our modern day.
In terms of Magic sets, the Conspiracy sets, Lorwyn/Shadowmoor, Time Spiral, Innistrad, Zendikar, and Ixalan blocks, Thrones of Eldraine, Dominaria, and Modern Horizons are among my most favored works in the game, and the ones I'd like to touchstone.
The actual world itself I envision heavily resembles Burrough's Pellucidar - A hollow cyrstal sphere with a "sun" at the center orbited by a small "moon". The sphere is partially filled (or lined) with water, forming seas from which crystal mountains rise and mangrove forests grow. There are both stationary and floating landmasses within the sphere. There is a massive hole leading to the outside surface of the sphere, and the hole's edges form a ring of mountains that leaves it's interior dry. The outside is a vast expanse of mystery under stars that never set.
There are a number of intelligent races here, some more prolific than others, but specifically: Humans, Moonfolk, Merfolk, Werewolves, Treefolk, Dragons, Faeries, and Golems, along with an absolute menagerie of other creatures fantastic and tame.
Humans of every type and stripe can be found on this world at nearly every location. As color most strongly aligns with geography in this setting, humans have no particular association (rainbow tribe).
Moonfolk are few in number but individually powerful and long-lived, with their highly advanced technology demonstrated by their Vehicles. They have a strong association with the white/black alignment influenced by green, a cultural aesthetic informed by ancient Egypt/Mesopotamia, and they are rarely seen without some kind of encounter suit/armor. This would both allow play with with Ancient Astronaut tropes, and make sourcing artwork easier.
Merfolk on this world most closely resemble the traditional mermaid, though there are plenty of variants. Their aesthetic is influenced by Viking cultures, and they have their own secret ways to the outside which make them rich in arcane knowledge. A strong association with the blue/red alignment influenced by white.
Werewolves here are different than Innistrad's werewolves, though both the moon and transformation are still important to them. These werewolves are not humans with a transforming curse, rather they are part of a lifecycle with our Treefolk. Under the dark of an eclipse, a Treefolk blooms wolves. When the wolf dies, it takes root and becomes a sapling. The cycle repeats. They have a strong association with green/black with the additional influence of blue, and a culture centered on reincarnation/renewal.
Dragons are just as powerful and mysterious as they typically are on other worlds. They are both longer lived and fewer in number than the Moonfolk (it is believed), capable of language and high intelligence, and have a society that holds honor and duty in the highest regard. They associate strongly with Red/white and the additional influence of black, and are natural inhabitants of outside. This makes exploration of the outside heavily dependent on the favor of dragons.
Faeries are very ethereal creatures here, more like nature spirits or true elves than the pixies we are generally treated to in the game (though I suspect they still retain that general look) and they have a penchant for enigmatic behavior. They are strongly associated with green/blue and the influence of red upon them.
Golems on this world were believed to be the product of an ancient civilization, though this is all speculation even to them. They are the primary colorless tribe on the world, and their culture is based on the concept of collective. They can swap and share pieces of one another, making them patchwork creatures (in fact, I'm tempted to use Scarecrow as their type for this reason) capable of adapting quickly. There are deep divisions in multiple societies about how Golems should be treated, some arguing they are creatures with feelings, others seeing only living machinery to be used as they please.
I am still working out what mechanics and such would be available in the world beyond Vehicles and Transform. Explore seems a good candidate with the theme of voyage. I'd also like soulbond/bestow/some variant of them to make an appearance, and possibly a splice like mechanic, and a mechanic based on trade or cooperation. Adventures, traps, and sagas are all strongly considered as well. I have some ideas for card cycles as well, but nothing substantial yet.
I'll add more as I hash it out and drop update posts, but any feedback or thoughts are more than welcome. Thanks for taking the time to read this!
While I still have a great interest in Magic, I am no longer what I consider a player of the game. Instead, I keep up on new releases to the cardpool, tinker with my own variant rules project, toy around with card creation, and I'd like to create a "set" for my own amusement to feed those channels. The goal of this is not to produce a realistic Magic set (something intended for standard release we'll say) but rather a 'locality' - a collection of cards that represents a given world, it's inhabitants, histories, cultures, and peculiarities. No planewide apocalypse, no chosen band of friends on the destined quest (not as the primary focus, at least), no wider comicbook plot to shoehorn in. Just a topdown and flavorful location I want to explore, with lots of cycles and legendary thing.
The setting itself will be something like 19th century world, I suppose, paying homage to early-modern fantasy & sci-fi, with the unifying theme being the fantastic voyage. Each color has a flagship "mark of influence" that informs its geograpy, aesthetics, and philosophy. They are (currently):
W - HG Wells
U - Jules Verne
B - Edgar Allan Poe
R - Robert Louis Stevenson
G - Edgar Rice Burroughs
but there would be references from works as early as Gilgamesh, the Odyssey and Lucian's A True Story, up to our modern day.
In terms of Magic sets, the Conspiracy sets, Lorwyn/Shadowmoor, Time Spiral, Innistrad, Zendikar, and Ixalan blocks, Thrones of Eldraine, Dominaria, and Modern Horizons are among my most favored works in the game, and the ones I'd like to touchstone.
The actual world itself I envision heavily resembles Burrough's Pellucidar - A hollow cyrstal sphere with a "sun" at the center orbited by a small "moon". The sphere is partially filled (or lined) with water, forming seas from which crystal mountains rise and mangrove forests grow. There are both stationary and floating landmasses within the sphere. There is a massive hole leading to the outside surface of the sphere, and the hole's edges form a ring of mountains that leaves it's interior dry. The outside is a vast expanse of mystery under stars that never set.
There are a number of intelligent races here, some more prolific than others, but specifically: Humans, Moonfolk, Merfolk, Werewolves, Treefolk, Dragons, Faeries, and Golems, along with an absolute menagerie of other creatures fantastic and tame.
Humans of every type and stripe can be found on this world at nearly every location. As color most strongly aligns with geography in this setting, humans have no particular association (rainbow tribe).
Moonfolk are few in number but individually powerful and long-lived, with their highly advanced technology demonstrated by their Vehicles. They have a strong association with the white/black alignment influenced by green, a cultural aesthetic informed by ancient Egypt/Mesopotamia, and they are rarely seen without some kind of encounter suit/armor. This would both allow play with with Ancient Astronaut tropes, and make sourcing artwork easier.
Merfolk on this world most closely resemble the traditional mermaid, though there are plenty of variants. Their aesthetic is influenced by Viking cultures, and they have their own secret ways to the outside which make them rich in arcane knowledge. A strong association with the blue/red alignment influenced by white.
Werewolves here are different than Innistrad's werewolves, though both the moon and transformation are still important to them. These werewolves are not humans with a transforming curse, rather they are part of a lifecycle with our Treefolk. Under the dark of an eclipse, a Treefolk blooms wolves. When the wolf dies, it takes root and becomes a sapling. The cycle repeats. They have a strong association with green/black with the additional influence of blue, and a culture centered on reincarnation/renewal.
Dragons are just as powerful and mysterious as they typically are on other worlds. They are both longer lived and fewer in number than the Moonfolk (it is believed), capable of language and high intelligence, and have a society that holds honor and duty in the highest regard. They associate strongly with Red/white and the additional influence of black, and are natural inhabitants of outside. This makes exploration of the outside heavily dependent on the favor of dragons.
Faeries are very ethereal creatures here, more like nature spirits or true elves than the pixies we are generally treated to in the game (though I suspect they still retain that general look) and they have a penchant for enigmatic behavior. They are strongly associated with green/blue and the influence of red upon them.
Golems on this world were believed to be the product of an ancient civilization, though this is all speculation even to them. They are the primary colorless tribe on the world, and their culture is based on the concept of collective. They can swap and share pieces of one another, making them patchwork creatures (in fact, I'm tempted to use Scarecrow as their type for this reason) capable of adapting quickly. There are deep divisions in multiple societies about how Golems should be treated, some arguing they are creatures with feelings, others seeing only living machinery to be used as they please.
I am still working out what mechanics and such would be available in the world beyond Vehicles and Transform. Explore seems a good candidate with the theme of voyage. I'd also like soulbond/bestow/some variant of them to make an appearance, and possibly a splice like mechanic, and a mechanic based on trade or cooperation. Adventures, traps, and sagas are all strongly considered as well. I have some ideas for card cycles as well, but nothing substantial yet.
I'll add more as I hash it out and drop update posts, but any feedback or thoughts are more than welcome. Thanks for taking the time to read this!
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
- It sounds fantastic while not being nonsensical.
- It puts focus on travel as a key themes of the setting.
- It is humorous without being obviously so.
- As Jules Verne was the original kernel of inspiration for this set, I wanted to use French as the basis for in-world terms, both to pay homage to him, and to evoke a 19th century feel.
My next tasks I think are to come up with a bit of cohesive history for this place, its peoples, and how they all get along. I will also begin work on the geography of the world, important natural phenomena, and more specific flora & fauna distributions.