Physicka!
Random long post alert, but I’ve been really really proud of/excited about this homebrew D&D world I’ve been developing and running a campaign in, so I thought I’d write up a little blurb about it to share!!
NOTE: With the exception of the map and HeroForge characters, all artwork is from other talented creators! Links to sources are embedded in the images!
Some denizens of physicka’s realms (links: Darunia, 2B, cactus Crook, antlered Organi, Glass dragonborn)
Physicka is a fantasy continent where every person and creature is made completely of a raw physical material, like wood, stone, metal, or glass. The continent is separated loosely into 3 realms, each with their own corresponding category of materials, people, and magic therein.
the map
Organica, home of the Organi people, is the realm of organic materials. The people are made of wood, fungus, silk, cork, bamboo, rope, flower, seaweed, even rubber…any sort of organic plant-based material.
There’s a huge magic forest in the middle called the Eldenglade (which is where my PCs started out this campaign) with a city built around the divine magic of a great tree of life, but there are also wilder towns as you go further out. Like Driftwood, a pirate port town where denizens are more likely to be made of cork or canvas than polished mahogany.
Two of my PCs are Organi (an acorn artificer and a wooden storm sorcerer), and our heroes have met such NPCs as:
High-Priestess Maplesilk, the mahogany and rosewood high-priestess of Organica
JackSack, her yarnfolk attendant
Rick Wicker, emcee and local celebrity (think Ryan Seacrest but a scarecrow)
Cremini, the mushroom monk
Rooibos “Rooi” Lilywater, the silk fortune teller
Tanner, the one-armed leather blacksmith, and his son Sprocket, a studded-leather half-Organi half-Metalisian
Gale Galleon, the pirate queen made of canvas with rope dreadlocks
Nori, her first seaweed first mate
Cotton-Headed Jon, the cotton were-polarbear
Next up, Stonetir is the Stone Diarchy to the north. Split in half, West Stonetir is home to rough and tumble folk made of rock and sand (sort of Spartan in environment), while East Stonetir is home to folks made of marble, brick and even crystals like quartz or amethyst (a blend of Roman, Middle-Eastern and Indian architecture).
ignea brimstone
West stonetir
Madame Roche, a jade centaur
Lapis, the capitol of east stonetir
Two of my PCs are Stonetiran (a craggy Paladin that looks like the Thing, and a polished grey granite assassin rogue). They’ve encountered NPCs like:
Queen Marbeline, the Queen of East Stonetir (looks like a marble statue)
Castor Gravellios, the craggy king of West Stonetir (looks like a goron from Zelda)
Ignea Brimstone, the fiery volcanic warrior
Sandy Flint, a sand-golem bartender
Madame Roche, a stern jade centaur
Grout, the blind lizardfolk made of brick, and his soapstone turtle familiar Suds
Amelia Thystler, an amethyst healer (and ex-wife to one of our PCs!)
Branching off Stonetir to the north are the Glass Isles, a mysterious realm with very few visitors. Our heroes have encountered a few Glass Assassins from there, but otherwise the area remains shrouded in mystery…
Finally, Metalis, the newest realm, is almost entirely made up of the megacity of Palladia. The Metalisians are (you guessed it) made entirely of brass, iron, and steel, and occasionally gold or platinum. This realm has basic arcane technology (think early 1900s tech — cars, trains, electricity, early film, but not computers), and the magic here is closer to arcane engineering than the divine/druidic magic of Organica or the studied arcane wizardry of Stonetir’s College of Crystal.
The streets of Palladia are home to some of the wild ingenuity of a rapidly growing society, but also some of the nastier wealth discrepancies of an intensely capitalist realm.
Juni Ironsides
My last PC is Metalisian (an aging but shiny copper movie star bard), and our heroes have met:
Bill Sterling, the rotund silver police chief
Juni Ironsides, a brass mob-boss (they’re on the hunt for him now!)
Dahlia Damascus, a mottled steel film director (think Greta Gerwig if she were made of blued wavy gunmetal damascus steel)
It’s been an absolute delight to concoct this world, and it’s only expanding as time goes on. I spend a lot of time geeking out about it, and have even started writing a short story or two set in it cause there’s only so much D&D one can play in a week ;D Lemme know if anyone wants to see or hear more! I’ve got Pinterest boards and an entire virtual whiteboard of shenanigans planning this whole thing out :) tldr worldbuilding is fun thx love you all