Must haves part 2

 After cutting my previous post short, here is the remainder of my explanation for my must haves. Hope it will fit in this one.

A group that hunts others for pleasure & Colosseum/Arena/Labyrinth of Terror culture: These two will be put together as a kind of parody of modern sports, where they have teams of assassins with a treasure hunt of people to kill (2 twins, a half-celestial dwarf, a member of the royal family...), and would be seen as stars in that culture, just like NBA/NFL/MLB players are right now in ours.
    However... This would be impossible without TVs, or any way for fans to follow their favorite sports. And that sounds like the kind of sports that can't happen in an enclosed space, so doesn't work with an Arena... And I can't add TVs to entertainment without adding them to the rest of the setting... crap, gotta lose that idea. Let's split them up again.

Hunters: So, I liked the idea of the treasure hunt murder list. However, they're not real assassins, as they don't take contracts, it's simply for competition. There could (should) be some political agenda behind the choice of the kills. And it should also be a rather small faction.

Entertainment is murder: I want a culture with a Roman-like Colosseum, an Oblivion-like Arena. But not those boring one-on-one fights, or team fights, or any of those. I want something a bit more different, kinda like Ian Livingston's Deathtrap Dungeon and Collins' Hunger Games, except live in front of a crowd. They create a "dungeon" with one-way glass for a ceiling, drop people in it, and get people to pay to watch. Use that as a way to keep citizens in line probably. There you go.

Tattoos: I like tattoos and the looks they give. They make people memorable by their looks, and give away their personality and character. I also like the idea of Spell Tattoos, one-time magical objects (potions and scrolls basically) that are tattooed on the owner. They then can then use them with only a thought. However, they can't trade, sell or give them to anyone else. Maybe some major magical items could be tattooed also (like bracers or rings, which would still take the slot but couldn't be taken off). That will be in there. Will it affect the world? Well, some groups would frown upon tattoos, because they could represent magical items. Some people will get regular tattoos, because they represent power.

Godlike dragons: I LOVE dragons. They are just so great. The problem is that they often are presented as much less than they are. Dragons should be superior beings. One of the problem you have to present dragons as such is the use of young dragons. Seriously, would you kill a dragonling if you knew its mom could destroy you with a flick of the hand?
    To make this work, no young dragons will be left alone. They won't stay with their parents either. Young dragons will group up with their brothers and sisters, and eventually, one of them will kill the other and become a full-fledged "adult" dragon.
    Another thing about dragons is that they'll be the only creatures who can polymorph (see notes about that later). Therefore, there will be religions based on the worship of dragons.

Shitload of half-dragons: If dragons are to be the closest thing to a god in my setting, and can polymorph, the analogy to Greek Gods was necessary. Given the future of true dragon children, a lot of dragons prefer to polymorph and get some half-breef children who will live a great life.
     Because yes, half-dragons are going to have great lives, be respected by (mostly) everyone (the "mom can kill you with a flick of the hand" thing all over again). And since there is no alignment, even half-chromatics will be respected.
    And not all half-dragons will be humanoids. A draconic lion would rock. Imagine a king riding its half-gold dragon horse. Or half-dragon insects while we're at it. Heck, I just like half-dragons in this setting.


Draconians: So Draconians are creatures in Dragonlance made from corrupted metallic dragon eggs. They are basically reptile humanoids, there are 5 types (one for each metallic dragon), and their particularity is that when they die, something happens: some turn to stone, others burn, others turn to acid. It makes them annoying, and different from your average orc. Also, as corrupted dragons, they'd be hated by the dragon worshipers.
    What about this: instead of corrupting dragon eggs (because if dragons are gods, who the hell would play around with a god's eggs?), they're created by the murder of the young dragons I mentioned earlier. When dragons have kids, they eventually leave the nest in groups of 3-6ish. Then, eventually, one of them kills the other ones, and from the earth where their blood was spilt comes draconians. That way, they also foster an incredible hatred for dragons (well, revenge more than hatred, but meh, whatever), leading to even more conflict with the dragon worshipers.

Exploring a new continent/Unexplored parts of the world: Interesting because of 2 things: first, the conflict between the native races and the explorers, but also because of the competition it would bring between the main powers on the "old" continent.
    However, to avoid going straight to the stereotype, they're not getting there by boat. I have no idea how this could make sense right now, but no, no seas to cross to get there. It will have to be another natural division. Mountains maybe? Underground? ooooooh! Shiny idea! They discover that there is a world underground, totally undeveloped (to them), and they want to conquer it for its (not mines, too easy...) ... non-mineral natural resources... I guess it will have to be mines. Or maybe spell reagents from body parts of a creature down there?

Highly competitive politics: Think Dwarves in Dragon Age, or Drows in the Drizzt series. You have a couple families, with a political system so complex even those in it don't understand all the rules. Assassinations and infiltration are common things. Each family wants to send their own members into the different guilds in the city so they can get these guilds on their good side. There eventually are inter-family wars. Maybe there's even an official ranking, like with the FR Drows (this is the leader of the Farnal family, third house of the city).
     Why do I want that? Instant, never-ending conflict. Plus I like to send PCs in situations where there are just so many factions, so many things going on at once that they can only screw it up. It takes them outside of their comfort zone. Plus, it's important for an RPG setting to have nobles you can get rid of without changing the status quo (sometimes changing the status quo is what you're going for, sometimes not). At least, keeping the changes small scale and not reworking the whole world.
     As to how I'll do it, dwarves and drows have already been taken, so no drows (no elves at all actually, want to change it up), no dwarves. I'd like to keep it down to a race usually seen as good. I guess it will be either halflings or gnomes. These creatures usually are only comic relief in a setting, so by doing that I turn their usual place in the world on its head. I like that. Gnomes or halfling, will decide on that later.

So after all, it will be 3 posts for the must haves... never realised it was such a long part of the job.