One thing I've noticed in most rpg settings is a lack of dynamic, expanding empires. Usually, when empires exist, they are in decline. Yeah, this gives a great reason for ruins and old magic, but I would love to see either a revived empire, or a newly-formed one, expanding and taking over the place.

Heck, if the players work for the empire, part of their job could be to explore and clear old ruins and claim them. They could be members of the army, or just special agents out to discover and utilize magic to help the empire in its quest for expansion.

This also allows players to fight against the new empire, which might be utilizing either new magic or new technology, which is why it is expanding.

Quote from: danbuter;706592One thing I've noticed in most rpg settings is a lack of dynamic, expanding empires. Usually, when empires exist, they are in decline. Yeah, this gives a great reason for ruins and old magic, but I would love to see either a revived empire, or a newly-formed one, expanding and taking over the place.

I felt the same way.  Which is why I put a couple of them into my game world.  Widely separated.  Kinda like a Rome but tech up to early 18th century sans steam & gun powder.

I have one in my setting. I think the other thing to keep in mind, is any empire in a setting can expand if the dm wishes.

Quote from: danbuter;706592One thing I've noticed in most rpg settings is a lack of dynamic, expanding empires. Usually, when empires exist, they are in decline. Yeah, this gives a great reason for ruins and old magic, but I would love to see either a revived empire, or a newly-formed one, expanding and taking over the place.

Heck, if the players work for the empire, part of their job could be to explore and clear old ruins and claim them. They could be members of the army, or just special agents out to discover and utilize magic to help the empire in its quest for expansion.

This also allows players to fight against the new empire, which might be utilizing either new magic or new technology, which is why it is expanding.

I think that is why I have such a long timeline, so I can watch the ebbs and rise of groups and states.  I have 3 major states on the rise (one that is an Empire, the Empire of Argus), but I am still guilty of layering it all on much older works.

Most fantasy settings don't really reflect the shifting morass of ongoing wars and conflicts that characterised much of history. Even since world war 2 there have been a grand total of 26 days where there wasn't a war going on somewhere. The static background presented by a lot of games would probably better represent the past, and the future, by being a lot more fluid in terms of borders and battles. Depending on the area and the era, you were more likely to find yourself embroiled in war than otherwise.

I have plenty a nascent ones, plus the old "byzantine" Imperium reviving.

Quote from: danbuter;706592One thing I've noticed in most rpg settings is a lack of dynamic, expanding empires. Usually, when empires exist, they are in decline. Yeah, this gives a great reason for ruins and old magic, but I would love to see either a revived empire, or a newly-formed one, expanding and taking over the place.

Heck, if the players work for the empire, part of their job could be to explore and clear old ruins and claim them. They could be members of the army, or just special agents out to discover and utilize magic to help the empire in its quest for expansion.

This also allows players to fight against the new empire, which might be utilizing either new magic or new technology, which is why it is expanding.

I got both and some in-between in my Majestic Wilderlands. Notably the City-State of the Invincible Overlord is a new and expanding empire and the City State of the World Emperor is an empire in decline which recently collapsed into civil war.

My version of Mystara had Thyatis as an expanding empire.
The default setting in the 1e AD&D DMG is an expanding frontier, Old West style pushing back the boundaries of civilisation.

Mystara had this as part of the CM line of modules, for the companion set. They were given land grants by either Alphatia or Thaytis, don't remember.

But personally I don't like it, because it makes the PCs more spectators, rather than the ones driving things in the game.

I like expanding empires. Especially when they run into each other.

Heh, well ... right now my lead group's working for a double cliche-buster -- the expanding ELVEN Empire!  Screw this "fading away from the world of men" riff, they grabbed a colony island in the middle of the world's busiest sea lane and are starting to roll over the mainland as well.  

That being said, following on The Traveller's comments, consider matters from terms of perspective.  Let's say that your group are a bunch of adventurers on Earth in 1910, and you have no knowledge of future events, nor any more of a in-depth grasp of world history and politics than most PCs do.

You have no idea that within the next ten years, five empires are going to be destroyed, and the next forty years after that will see the effective destruction of three more ... and that all you need do is live a long life and you'll live to see only one empire left in all the world.  Apocalypses seldom come with preview trailers.

Quote from: Ravenswing;706709Heh, well ... right now my lead group's working for a double cliche-buster -- the expanding ELVEN Empire!  Screw this "fading away from the world of men" riff, they grabbed a colony island in the middle of the world's busiest sea lane and are starting to roll over the mainland as well.  

That being said, following on The Traveller's comments, consider matters from terms of perspective.  Let's say that your group are a bunch of adventurers on Earth in 1910, and you have no knowledge of future events, nor any more of a in-depth grasp of world history and politics than most PCs do.

You have no idea that within the next ten years, five empires are going to be destroyed, and the next forty years after that will see the effective destruction of three more ... and that all you need do is live a long life and you'll live to see only one empire left in all the world.  Apocalypses seldom come with preview trailers.

Nor was Russia looking like an especially promising candidate for the role that it played in the 1940's and 50's back in 1910.

The Greyhawk boxed set I personally liked for presenting lots of little kingdoms, many of which did not get along with one or more neighbors. There were also one or more larger kingdoms that were expanding to some degree and likely to clash.

In my own RPGs setting there were 3 big empires surrounded by many small to mid range kingdoms. Several of the kingdoms were at eachothers throats periodically and of the big empires, one was fairly settled and not interested in expansion due to habitat preference. The other two were expanding and contracting as they met logistical problems. I liked to play with the size vs management problems of big empires. Most of the action though was centered on two warring kingdoms situated about where Sweden and Finland are. They would have been empires but they were both spread out thinly.

Were I to do a new world I'd likely have lots of unexplored wilderness dotted with one or two local kingdoms and let things grow from there.

Kingdoms of Kalamar is a published setting with an explicitly expansionist empire.

But yeah, its a little harder to pull off than static, or at least it requires more positive action from the GM to show or tell that its going on.

Mystara's Thyatis is pretty well an expansionist Empire.  So was Alphatia, for that matter.

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