Now, in the case of this project, it started with another simple idea. Someone had posted a page from the webcomic Rusty and Co. wherein a character used their cellphone to check facebook while tracking a band of gnolls. A funny little one-off gag, but it got me thinking, like things usually do.
The idea initially started rather simple: A modernized fantasy setting with phones and TV that still had a place for adventurers, mercenaries, and magic without turning into Shadowrun's "Corporations and street samurai and oh yeah there are dwarfs and trolls and shit, too."
Initially proposed like so:
Imagine, modern little towns and suburbs with electricity, running water, even bits of current technology like phones and television, but surrounded by dangerous magic forests and shit full of monsters and beasts that threaten the settlements. This means guards, guilds, hunters, mercenaries and adventurers in general still have a place in this new society. Someone needs to keep the monsters in check, protect the Arcane generators, and clear the trade routes to keep commerce flowing regularly.From there, my favorite thing happened. People discussed this idea with me. The initial idea was still in the picture, it was just a matter of making it all make sense. What we ended up with was something that got out of hand and developed much faster than expected. My initial musings and ideas attracted a small team of dedicated contributors. I usually take this as a sign that I've gone and struck gold, concept-wise.
Before I get into this, I'd like to thank J.S. Cervini, Eisenblume, LobsterEntropy, Anon 345, and all that other contributors on /tg/ for their interest and help with this idea.
Anyways, The Endless Wilds changed quite a bit from that initial proposal. That first summation felt sort of like Pokemon with some more swords and killing, or less swords and killing if you read the manga, apparently. The end product, or at least the current incarnation, ended up much more apocalyptic and instead became the product of a D&D type fantasy world taken to its logical extreme.
Over the centuries, use and abuse of magic had led to more and more people being born with the ability to use magic and manipulate mana. As magic became more ubiquitous, it was also become more advanced and less mysterious. Magic users began learning to break down and reassemble age old spells and create new ones. Over time, this more dedicated study of magic led to new technological developments, allowing civilization to advance in leaps and bounds. The widespread application of magic allowed for many modern conveniences that uplifted civilization from its medieval roots and into a new, magic fueled renaissance.
With the help of magically enhanced technology, a booming Utopian era began. For a time, things were magnificent, as even the lowliest peasants now had access to many of our modern conveniences. However, this unchecked use and exploitation of magic had unforeseen consequences. At first, there were only the occasionally small patches of land that were naturally infused and enhanced by the ambient magic, but then the Great Bloom happened, and everything changed overnight.
The Great Bloom is what they called the catastrophic surge of magically enhanced wilderness that created the Wilds and consumed and destroyed numerous cities and towns. It seemed as if things had reached the tipping point and all at once and Nature struck back against civilization. Those who lived through the event described blinding flashes of light dotting the landscape far and wide moments before the forests surged outward, spreading like flooding water across the land, growing and sprouting at an immeasurable speed. Many cities and countless lives were lost in the Great Bloom.
The handful of cities that survived only did so because of the recently developed Mana-Siphons which were being built in cities all across the world. the Siphons were being used to study the ambient mana and its affects across the world, while also seeking to reduce the risk of any ambient mana-related illness which were becoming more common. These Mana Siphons created a sort of null zone where the encroaching Wilds could not grow. Even still, the cities which managed the survive the initial destruction of the Great Bloom had the spend the next several weeks fighting back the never-ending onslaught of Monsters and Creatures that came pouring out from the Wilds.
The Great Bloom caused a surge in the levels of Ambient mana, which drastically enhanced most things in nature. This altered the food chain and created both enhanced wildlife and also new, seemingly unconnected lifeforms that seem to spawn from the Wilds themselves. For the wildlife, Mana seeps into the plants, which are eaten by the animals, who start to build up mana in their systems, which further enhances them. Then other animals eat those, and soak up the mana they've collected, making them bigger and stronger or smarter and more dangerous.. And that cycle continues until you end up with some sort of hyper intelligent mega-wolf or something similarly terrifying and threatening
Our stories pick up about 50 years later. Civilization has stabilized, but the Wilds are still an ever-present threat. The few remaining safe zones have become heavily populated megacities as the remainders of civilization cling together against the ever present threat of the Wilds at their gates. The Great Bloom left the majority of the world in a constant state of chaos and growth. Mapping the Wilds is practically impossible, as they are slowly moving and shifting at all times, pushing some things away and bringing new threats with it.
Enter the Hunters, mercenary adventurers who make it their business to fight back against the Wilds by doing anything and everything they can, as long as its profitable. Hunters come from all walks of life, applying their different specialties where they can. These reckless fools make their living killing any monsters before they get too big and troublesome, hunting for rare and valuable materials, and salvaging any left over tech they can find in the Wilds or beneath the surface in the Deungeon Tunnels.
The Dungeon tunnels are the unofficial name for the tangled ruins that lie beneath the surface of the Wilds. A strange side-effect of the Great Bloom, these tunnels are a mashed together, distorted collection of every lost city and settlement that was devoured by the Wilds. Whole cities merged and twisted together into a sprawling, interconnected network of ruins. These tunnels are incredibly dangerous because the ambient-mana is especially dense, attracting the most dangerous monsters and beasts. However, in these ruins a Hunter might happen across valuable tech, potent new plants, or magically charged minerals, all of which are very valuable and useful.
Despite all these dangers, Civilization has managed to stay connected and work towards thriving in their new, more hostile environment. Through constant maintenance and patrol, trade routes are kept clear, allowing valuable supplies and people travel between major cities. Likewise, communication towers allow vital information to be transmitted instantly, thanks to the advances in technology from the previous age. Coordinated observation and study of the Wilds allows the various cities the chance to prepare for any incoming trouble or threatening shifts in terrain.
The current state of things is stable, but still dangerous. It's a sort of post-apocalyptic, high fantasy, sci-fi sort of thing, really. Everyone still has technology, but it's a wonky sort of mana-driven technology, and some stuff is really dangerous to use because it output additional mana pollution which can attract monsters. Wizards have gone from old men who study ancient tomes to engineers who toil away, inventing new devices and gadgets. Those who do sling spells have reinvented the art of spell-casting, reducing it to a sort of rigorously disciplined martial art.
There's a lot more to this setting than what I've hurriedly outlined here, but I hope this gives you a decent idea of what sort of ideas are at work with this setting. Like many of my projects, I like to just have it out there for the time being while I'm still working on it so people can use it how they please. In some cases, this has already worked out. Two of /tg/'s long running quest threads have already expressed interest in using my InfiniCon setting as part of their story, so that's pretty awesome. Makes all this worth something if someone else can enjoy the idea.
Eventually, I want to make a game for this as well, but I'm still debating on how to approach it. One step at a time, I suppose.
I never really forgot about this campaign and has hyped some of my friends by talking about it. While there still seems to be some creative differences I would LOVE for all of us to get together and work at it again.
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