Blog Inspiration and Campaign Setting:Wonderland

I have bandied about the idea for a campaign for a long time, but really only had one idea. This one idea is pretty serial in nature, and when the plot arch ends, the campaign is over. That idea has me reluctant to start a game- knowing that for sure, it would end within so many runs. So I've tabled the idea and held off for a long time.

Sometime very recently, I came up with Wonderland. It's a group of about 10 cities spread over a semi-continent. If one were to connect the dots on the map of this not-quite-a-continent from city to city, they would be laid out in roughly a teardrop shape, but one on its side.

Wonderland is a place where everything is possible, just not at the same time. Magic, mystics, superpowers, steampunk, cyberstuff, horror/noir and several other themes are present in the world in one place or another, at various times. They also exist with varying degrees of reliability. Some places things always work, and others are a little more chancy.

The two main cities are Miracle City and Locaville, on essentially opposite ends of the shape from each other. Other towns include Magnifica, Dodge, Metropolis, and Junction. There are a couple I have not named yet. Information travels slowly and strangely from town to town, due to time being a very flexible thing outside of proper cities. Distances that look as if they should take a days' travel on a map have been known to take a week, and in some instances much longer. Singular travelers often leave, but never arrive at their destinations.  Most travelers go between towns in caravans not to prevent raiders, but to prevent becoming "lost" between places.

What is known is that each town had strange, but understandable behaviors. Psycics could reliably use their abilities in Magnifica, and Cyber ususally worked in Dodge. While the residents of Wonderland did not know why things were, they did know that things were such a way and accepted it that way.

Recently, something or someone has started to change the rules. Suddenly, superpowers work in the yet-unnamed town where only magic works (and rarely at that). Horrors escape into Metropolis (the quiet, mundane Suburbia) and more. No one knows how or why this is happening.

My idea for the campaign would be to put together a group of various types and set them to finding out how the Wonderland works and why it has suddenly changed.

I would most likely use Savage Worlds for this game, but I'm still working the kinks out of the idea. I still have to define what's outside of the "defined" areas, as PCs are notoriously curious. I need to come up with town structures, guilds and/or apprentice groups, NPCs, a money structure and a few other things. I also need to consider deities and prayers because those might be affected by this strange place as well.

I like the idea- a lot. It's interesting and allows me to make up the rules to my desires. It also lets me tell a PC "no, it doesn't work that way" if the situation calls for it. It allows for a great deal of "Wild West" style exploration, with dungeons, cyber ware and Lovecraft all for good measure. I am excited to get the idea more firmed up so I could actually run it!