The Six Deadly Designers, Vol. 2: The World of Durmin
Over the last 20 years, we (and others who have joined our table at various points) have played in the World of Durmin, a campaign setting that feels familiar, but is unlike any other.
Originally designed by Joe as the World of Cobaltia, after certain events (to be revealed in the upcoming Kickstarter) led to a worldwide cataclysm, the new world was renamed Durmin.
Inside this world is where all of our adventures are set by default, though you may insert them into any setting you choose.
ABOUT DURMIN
This is a world where only the strong survive. A world of many races and classes. A world of bizarre creatures and strange spellcasters. A harsh world of four continents that used to be one large landmass until the Cataclysm tore them apart. While there are some remote locales that were unaffexcted and remember the days pre-Cataclysm, much of society has changed, for better or worse.
Everyone who has run a character in an ongoing Durmin campaign in the last 20 years has had a hand in forging it and still have an effect on it, as their characters are now the NPCs one can encounter in Durmin. There are well over 500 different NPCs in a spreadsheet file that are kept track of meticulously, as to give the setting a feel of realism in regards to the NPCs. These NPCs aren't just numbers and a name; they have distinct personalities. Even those that died appear as spirits or undead. Meanwhile, the legendary characters that went through well beyond level 20 make up many of the deities of Durmin.
Deities in Durmin may or may not have an indirect or direct hand in the daily affairs of the world and their worshippers. Several in particular are very meddlesome...
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE CAMPAIGN SETTING BOX SET
We will save much of the details for the Kickstarter, but here are a few tidbits:
New Races
New Classes
New Spells
New Equipment
TWO OPTIONAL Ability Scores, Allure from Velour Palace and a new one
A Gazetteer of Durmin, consisting of locations and lore
5 Color Maps, one of the entire world and one of each continent
An introductory adventure for players of 1st level
We plan on cramming as much as we can get away with into this endeavor. What is left out...we have a plan for that does NOT involve a ton of expensive splat books. That however is a secret few know and we will not reveal until the Kickstarter launches.
WHEN ARE WE LAUNCHING THE KICKSTARTER? WHAT"S THE PRICE POINT?
We will be launching the Kickstarter during PhoenixCon 0 this August 13th-15th in Neenah, WI. The price point is almost finalized, we just need to confirm with our local printers on the box cost and map cost. We promise it will not be an insane amount for the content; like everything else we publish, we realize a lot of people are on tight budgets, and we want as many people as possible to enjoy this setting we have spent so much time adventuring through. This is partially why we have delayed it this long, as COVID-19 left a LOT of people uncertain on their finances just as we were going to launch it at Gary Con XII in 2020.
FINAL MUSINGS
We hope you will enjoy Durmin. It has been the source of fun and memories for over 60 different players for 20 years. Hopefully you can make it to the launch at PhoenixCon 0 this August. If you cannot, watch this space and our Facebook page for more updates through the summer. - The Home Team