Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
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Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
First topic message reminder :
Bolvaoir is a constantly changing realm. Shifting tides regularly engulf its lower lands, the beasts don’t stay in one place and the unpredictable weather can render rivers swollen and roads impassable.
But there’s more; something altogether more sinister. The lands seem to twist themselves, beyond what can be explained by natural forces: towns appear and disappear suddenly, caves and dungeons seem to rearrange themselves upon every visit, bridges seem to build and unbuild themselves and the trees don’t seem content with staying in one place.
The vast lands are littered with the ruins of an ancient race. Noone knows how or why they disappeared, but it seems something wiped them out extremely quickly and precisely. The few inhabitants of Bolvaoir refuse to speak of them, and no outsider knows why.
So, this is Bolvaoir, a land designed to inject some mystery, adventure and wanderlust back into Runescape. It does this in several ways:
It’s constantly changing: no two visits will ever be the same, so you don’t know what to expect when you visit
It’s vast: It’s really big and settlements (when they choose to appear) are scarce
You’re meant to get lost: the minimap fails you in Bolvaoir, and it’s marked as uncharted on the world map. Furthermore, it has features that’ll put you in unknown places – occasionally a fog bank will roll in and your lost character will emerge elsewhere, and entrances and exits to dungeons rarely seem to add up
Hard to reach areas. It’s important to have areas that can only occasionally be accessed, so that dedicated players retain wanderlust for longer
Atmosphere. One way or another, it'll have a really mysterious atmosphere
Location:
Characters:
Weather:
Creatures:
Locations:
Technical:
Rewards:
Miscellaneous:
Additional Design Notes:
Bolvaoir is a constantly changing realm. Shifting tides regularly engulf its lower lands, the beasts don’t stay in one place and the unpredictable weather can render rivers swollen and roads impassable.
But there’s more; something altogether more sinister. The lands seem to twist themselves, beyond what can be explained by natural forces: towns appear and disappear suddenly, caves and dungeons seem to rearrange themselves upon every visit, bridges seem to build and unbuild themselves and the trees don’t seem content with staying in one place.
The vast lands are littered with the ruins of an ancient race. Noone knows how or why they disappeared, but it seems something wiped them out extremely quickly and precisely. The few inhabitants of Bolvaoir refuse to speak of them, and no outsider knows why.
So, this is Bolvaoir, a land designed to inject some mystery, adventure and wanderlust back into Runescape. It does this in several ways:
It’s constantly changing: no two visits will ever be the same, so you don’t know what to expect when you visit
It’s vast: It’s really big and settlements (when they choose to appear) are scarce
You’re meant to get lost: the minimap fails you in Bolvaoir, and it’s marked as uncharted on the world map. Furthermore, it has features that’ll put you in unknown places – occasionally a fog bank will roll in and your lost character will emerge elsewhere, and entrances and exits to dungeons rarely seem to add up
Hard to reach areas. It’s important to have areas that can only occasionally be accessed, so that dedicated players retain wanderlust for longer
Atmosphere. One way or another, it'll have a really mysterious atmosphere
Location:
- Spoiler:
- Currently, Bolvaoir is here:
Characters:
- Spoiler:
- Vau.
Vau was a Guthixian warrior in the late 3rd age. Legend has it he established the Slayers as an organisation which specialised in destroying the strange monsters of the other armies. He ventured into Bolvaoir searching for a legendary artifact known simply as The End. Writings from the ancient ruins in Bolvaoir suggested it had the power to end the God Wars. However, despite his various adventures through Bolvaoir, he never found it, and simply disappeared one day. Rumors suggest he wasn't human.
Galveron.
Galveron is a sort of guide figure in Bolvaoir. He'll appear randomly and give you trivia and advice about Bolvaoir, as a means of expanding on Bolvaoir's backstory. Being a non-native, he won't refuse to talk about the ancient race of Bolvaoir.
Weather:
- Spoiler:
- Different whether will make different things happen in Bolvaoir, for example whispids won't appear on sunny days, but the question is, do I want a lot of different weather types that have overlapping features, or just a few which are totally unique from one another?
Anyway, here's a list of weathers so far
-Sunny
-Blizzard
-Gale
-Foggy
-Thunderstorm
Also, I want night and day in Bolvaoir.
Creatures:
- Spoiler:
- -Dragonflies. I saw one while out jogging the other day and it occurred to be just how cool they are. I want some to be in Bolvaoir
-Ents. A fantasy creature that for some reason Runescape doesn't seem to have expanded upon much, I'm toying with the idea of putting ents into Bolvaoir
-Rogue Elves. Considering Bolvaoir's proximity to the Elven Lands, this is a possibility
-Whispids. Trying to create mystery and wanderlust, it's vital that I introduce some never-before-seen monsters. Whispids are evil manifestations of fog and mist that only appear in certain weathers and feast upon souls
-Nequam. Nocturnal creatures from my scrapped Agility Caves idea find a new home in the caves of Bolvaoir
Locations:
- Spoiler:
In the Deeplands:
-The Temple of Thunder
-Soulchiller Cave
-Inferno Crater
Elsewhere:
The Dead Saltmarshes
Aegis Tree Groves
Guardian Ruins
Technical:
- Spoiler:
- Areas of Bolvaoir fall into one of 5 categories:
Static: Static areas never change and can always be accessed. Any large enough static area could serve as a safe area, eg Guardian Ruins
Unmoving but Changable (unbchas): These areas never move but are subject to change, eg The Dead Saltmarshes
Randomly Accessible (raccessibles): These areas never change in appearance or move, but at times they may be unreachable, eg Soulchiller Cave
Randomly Appearing (rappearings): These are features that randomly appear and disappear. They constantly move around the map and aren't guaranteed to exist at any given time, eg Aegis Tree Groves
Random Appearing Zones (razones): These are areas where a rappearing appears. They are designed to graphically integrate with them (ie, the shape of a razone is the same as that of a rappearing)
Some static areas are safety zones. Because the landscape is likely to have changed if you log out for any period of time, unchanging points where the player avatar can be placed are needed.
Rewards:
- Spoiler:
- -Better XP yield than the rest of Gielinor. This can be justified because it’s impossible to grind a particular skill. What you’re training on could disappear in an instant and so other more reliable methods of training will retain their niche – this sort of XP gain is more opportunistic.
-Hmm... How should I kill this
Picture the situation. You're casually strolling through the salt marshes of Tideswallow in Bolvaoir when you're confronted with a giant dragonfly. It's big, it's hungry and it wants to kill you. You ready your sword, prepared to battle it to the death - but wait! Is this the best way to kill your foe? You see a nearby tree which you could use to set up a trap. You've heard rumors that a dragonfly's exoskeleton is valuable, but if you kill it using a sword, you may damage it...
So this introduces another feature I want in Bolvaoir - choice when killing your monsters. As demonstrated in the example above, you could use either combat or hunter to kill a dragonfly. The two techniques, however, yield different results. Hunting a dragonfly will reward you with its exoskeleton, whereas battling it will allow you to access a drop table of herbs and other items.
The idea is to promote thinking on your feet, experimentation and variety. Not only may you be unsure about which method is more rewarding to you, you might not have the levels for one method, or your personal situation might make one choice better than the other (example - if you're low on health, it might be better to hunt the dragonfly than take more damage in battle).
-One entrance, and better rewards deeper into Bolvaoir. Exploring all the way to the far side of Bolvaoir will be tough and should be rewarded
Miscellaneous:
- Spoiler:
- -Teleports and transport. You can teleport out – this is important to avoid becoming trapped or spending hours trying to find your way out. I also want a system where you can teleport to people on your friends list, because otherwise it’ll be difficult to find buddies and do any sort of group activity (which would be a shame). To avoid abuse, the friend tele only works if both players are in Bolvaoir and has a cooldown of two hours. However, I feel teleports to fixed locations would detract from the explorative feel, so I don’t want any other teleports into Bolvaoir
-No quests set in Bolvaoir. Due to the shifting nature of the land, trying to complete a linear storyline would end up being either highly frustrating for the player, or technically difficult for the developer. If you go into Bolvaoir with one specific goal in mind, you’re likely to emerge disappointed, and this needs to be considered when making content for it
-Bolvaoir is not dungeoneering
Additional Design Notes:
- Spoiler:
- -Moans that appear in the air, scream made in a forgotten language, walls with texts that you can read, or ancient books or diaries you can read, you can sometimes fall inside a ruin.
-We could see a ghost from time to time, or a group of them
-May also have some war in Bolvaoir. The native races could be fighting for territory or artifacts. They may employ you as a mercenary and give you spoils of war, or you might unwittingly get caught in the middle of one of their battles. Just some additional variation/backstory.
-The ancient civilisation on Bolvaoir was not wiped out by Dragonkin, nor the God Wars and had nothing to do with Zaros.
Last edited by Slayer Noir on Thu Jun 07, 2012 12:51 am; edited 10 times in total
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Age : 30
Location : Great Britain
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
Oh my god. Why does everyone think this needs to be dungeoneering???
In other news, I have decided on placement for Bolvaoir
In other news, I have decided on placement for Bolvaoir
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
Umm, I only object to the fact you've destroyed the eagle's head shape of peninsula... I think you should at least leave a little bit of water there.
Too many parallels? Even down to the new currency, which you can easily make persistent.
I think they're just doing it to tease you.
Slayer Noir wrote:Oh my god. Why does everyone think this needs to be dungeoneering???
Too many parallels? Even down to the new currency, which you can easily make persistent.
I think they're just doing it to tease you.
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
There was an eagle's head in that peninsula?
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Age : 30
Location : Great Britain
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Age : 30
Location : Great Britain
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
To the west of Piscatoris lies a vast expanse called the Great North, spanning the length of the land. The land is one of survival, with the very structure changing everytime you visit.
You start at the Aegis tree, a small stockpile of supplies waiting, just for you. Once you have that, set off on your adventure. By collecting more supplies and building more, you can go further into the unknown, many strange quests awaiting you, their location changing all the time, what may be available one time, might not show up the next.
What course will you be led on? Perhaps to gather some supplies for some needy hermits? Discover an ancient civilization from this strange place of Bolvaoir? Or maybe just save the day? The course of your journey can take many turns.
Set off for the unknown and discover new things in an infinitely expanding dimension, set a course for the Great North.
You start at the Aegis tree, a small stockpile of supplies waiting, just for you. Once you have that, set off on your adventure. By collecting more supplies and building more, you can go further into the unknown, many strange quests awaiting you, their location changing all the time, what may be available one time, might not show up the next.
What course will you be led on? Perhaps to gather some supplies for some needy hermits? Discover an ancient civilization from this strange place of Bolvaoir? Or maybe just save the day? The course of your journey can take many turns.
Set off for the unknown and discover new things in an infinitely expanding dimension, set a course for the Great North.
MorbiusMonster- Templar
- Number of posts : 2641
Age : 32
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
Are you telling me this or suggesting this?
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Age : 30
Location : Great Britain
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
Technical:
Areas in Bolvaoir can fall into one of 5 categories:
Static: Static areas never change and can always be accessed. Any large enough static area could serve as a safe area, eg Guardian Ruins
Unmoving but Changable (unbchas): These areas never move but are subject to change, eg The Dead Saltmarshes
Randomly Accessible (raccessibles): These areas never change in appearance or move, but at times they may be unreachable, eg Soulchiller Cave
Randomly Appearing (rappearings): These are features that randomly appear and disappear. They constantly move around the map and aren't guaranteed to exist at any given time, eg Aegis Tree Groves
Random Appearing Zones (razones): These are areas where a rappearing appears. They are designed to graphically integrate with them (ie, the shape of a razone is the same as that of a rappearing)
Does this system look like it could work?
Areas in Bolvaoir can fall into one of 5 categories:
Static: Static areas never change and can always be accessed. Any large enough static area could serve as a safe area, eg Guardian Ruins
Unmoving but Changable (unbchas): These areas never move but are subject to change, eg The Dead Saltmarshes
Randomly Accessible (raccessibles): These areas never change in appearance or move, but at times they may be unreachable, eg Soulchiller Cave
Randomly Appearing (rappearings): These are features that randomly appear and disappear. They constantly move around the map and aren't guaranteed to exist at any given time, eg Aegis Tree Groves
Random Appearing Zones (razones): These are areas where a rappearing appears. They are designed to graphically integrate with them (ie, the shape of a razone is the same as that of a rappearing)
Does this system look like it could work?
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Age : 30
Location : Great Britain
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
SO I was thinking, you wanted mystery, you could add moans that appear in the air, scream made in a forgotten laguanje, walls with texts that you can read, or ancient books or diaries you can read, you can sometimes fall inside a ruin.
ANd hey, you could add the Varrock Museum into this, and you could make a Skaldrun liek figure for htis place, so there is more lore
ANd hey, you could add the Varrock Museum into this, and you could make a Skaldrun liek figure for htis place, so there is more lore
Duskcurse- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1367
Age : 29
Location : Santiago, Chile
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
Mm. That sounds like it'll add a great ambiance. Given that weather changes, I don't think screams and moans would be appropriate on a nice sunny day, but when the weather takes a turn for the worse these would add really really great effect.
And the Varrock Museum could definitely collect artifacts. I like that a lot.
And the Varrock Museum could definitely collect artifacts. I like that a lot.
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Age : 30
Location : Great Britain
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
Well on sunny days you could have childrens singing, and we could see a ghost from tiem to time, or a group of them
Duskcurse- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1367
Age : 29
Location : Santiago, Chile
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
I just thing that you could get Dungeoneering experience as you explore the land. Daemonheim is simply a (currently the) way to get Dungeoneering Xp. I agree with Morb that Dg will eventually become Exploring/Survival, and I think Bolvaoir is a good way to continue the progression. *shrug*
Anyway, I personally like the plane near Feldip Hills.
Anyway, I personally like the plane near Feldip Hills.
Handeath- Advocate
- Number of posts : 955
Age : 28
Location : USA
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
Yeah, Bolvair could be kinda like a middle stage
Duskcurse- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1367
Age : 29
Location : Santiago, Chile
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
I need to note down some ideas before I forget them:
Deepland Landmarks
The Temple of Thunder
Soulchiller Cave
Inferno Crater
Characters
Vau.
Vau was a Guthixian warrior in the late 3rd age. Legend has it he established the Slayers as an organisation which specialised in destroying the strange monsters of the other armies. He ventured into Bolvaoir searching for a legendary artifact known simply as The End. Writings from the ancient ruins in Bolvaoir suggested it had the power to end the God Wars. However, despite his various adventures through Bolvaoir, he never found it, and simply disappeared one day. Rumors suggest he wasn't human.
Galveron.
Galveron is a sort of guide figure in Bolvaoir. He'll appear randomly and give you trivia and advice about Bolvaoir, as a means of expanding on Bolvaoir's backstory. Being a non-native, he won't refuse to talk about the ancient race of Bolvaoir.
Deepland Landmarks
The Temple of Thunder
Soulchiller Cave
Inferno Crater
Characters
Vau.
Vau was a Guthixian warrior in the late 3rd age. Legend has it he established the Slayers as an organisation which specialised in destroying the strange monsters of the other armies. He ventured into Bolvaoir searching for a legendary artifact known simply as The End. Writings from the ancient ruins in Bolvaoir suggested it had the power to end the God Wars. However, despite his various adventures through Bolvaoir, he never found it, and simply disappeared one day. Rumors suggest he wasn't human.
Galveron.
Galveron is a sort of guide figure in Bolvaoir. He'll appear randomly and give you trivia and advice about Bolvaoir, as a means of expanding on Bolvaoir's backstory. Being a non-native, he won't refuse to talk about the ancient race of Bolvaoir.
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Age : 30
Location : Great Britain
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
Me aproves, but this needs Zaroz *ponders*
Duskcurse- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1367
Age : 29
Location : Santiago, Chile
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
I think we know too much about Zaros now. I want something new in the backstory. Stuff we don't know anything about.
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Age : 30
Location : Great Britain
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
How come we know "too much" about Zaros now, I mean, we don't know the doctrines of his religion nor we can make an accurate guess based on the information we have, we don't know what was his domine, kinda how Guthix is the god of Balance and Bandos the god of war, we don't know what kind of followers he had, etc
Duskcurse- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1367
Age : 29
Location : Santiago, Chile
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
I dunno. Sometimes, when playing through Runescape, it feels like everything is related to Zaros.
I wanted some mystery here - to let a player's imagination decide the facts about Bolvaoir, rather than everyone deducing the same/similar facts. If we put Zaros in, it would tell us too much - not only that he was there, but then that the ruins were from the second age, that they were wiped out when the other Gods removed traces of Zaros in the early god wars, and stuff like that. I want players to stumble across something new, not an existing God.
Also, Zaros's territory was all to the east, and Bolvaoir is very far to the west. It would be illogical.
I wanted some mystery here - to let a player's imagination decide the facts about Bolvaoir, rather than everyone deducing the same/similar facts. If we put Zaros in, it would tell us too much - not only that he was there, but then that the ruins were from the second age, that they were wiped out when the other Gods removed traces of Zaros in the early god wars, and stuff like that. I want players to stumble across something new, not an existing God.
Also, Zaros's territory was all to the east, and Bolvaoir is very far to the west. It would be illogical.
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Age : 30
Location : Great Britain
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
That's what makes it mysterious *shifty eyes*
Duskcurse- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1367
Age : 29
Location : Santiago, Chile
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
I'll see if I can fit in something Zarosian somewhere for you.
In the meantime, I'd like to note down a few ideas, before I forget them:
-Dragonflies. I saw one while out jogging the other day and it occurred to be just how cool they are. I want some to be in Bolvaoir
-Ents. A fantasy creature that for some reason Runescape doesn't seem to have expanded upon much, I'm toying with the idea of putting ents into Bolvaoir
-Rogue Elves. Considering Bolvaoir's proximity to the Elven Lands, this is a possibility
-Whispids. Trying to create mystery and wanderlust, it's vital that I introduce some never-before-seen monsters. Whispids are evil manifestations of fog and mist that only appear in certain weathers and feast upon souls
-Nequam. Nocturnal creatures from my scrapped Agility Caves idea find a new home in the caves of Bolvaoir
In the meantime, I'd like to note down a few ideas, before I forget them:
-Dragonflies. I saw one while out jogging the other day and it occurred to be just how cool they are. I want some to be in Bolvaoir
-Ents. A fantasy creature that for some reason Runescape doesn't seem to have expanded upon much, I'm toying with the idea of putting ents into Bolvaoir
-Rogue Elves. Considering Bolvaoir's proximity to the Elven Lands, this is a possibility
-Whispids. Trying to create mystery and wanderlust, it's vital that I introduce some never-before-seen monsters. Whispids are evil manifestations of fog and mist that only appear in certain weathers and feast upon souls
-Nequam. Nocturnal creatures from my scrapped Agility Caves idea find a new home in the caves of Bolvaoir
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Age : 30
Location : Great Britain
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
This has just dawned on me, but how do players know the names/titles of monsters whom they have never seen before? (creatures in Daemonheim come to mind.)
Handeath- Advocate
- Number of posts : 955
Age : 28
Location : USA
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
Perhaps they don't, but what we see in writing is from the player's perspective rather than the character's perspective, if you get what I mean
That, or the character isn't human, but another species possessing powers such as innate monster identification and the ability to respawn
That, or the character isn't human, but another species possessing powers such as innate monster identification and the ability to respawn
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Age : 30
Location : Great Britain
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
#becausewe'resecretlyguthix
Dark Avorian- Templar
- Number of posts : 3550
Age : 30
Location : Within the hallowed halls of the mighty, those known only as nobles.
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
I think this music would really fit bolvaoir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhNIt8YisIk
Duskcurse- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1367
Age : 29
Location : Santiago, Chile
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
This one could also work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoE2fxQL7g4&feature=relmfu
Or atleast the 3 first minutes more or less
Or atleast the 3 first minutes more or less
Duskcurse- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1367
Age : 29
Location : Santiago, Chile
Re: Bolvaoir – The Twisted Lands
While we both know Runescape could never steal the music from another RPG, I really like the feel. I think it creates the atmosphere I'd like to create when the weather's bad in Bolvaoir.
On a related note, I think I should start listing weather modes for Bolvaoir. Different whether will make different things happen in Bolvaoir, for example whispids won't appear on sunny days, but the question is, do I want a lot of different weather types that have overlapping features, or just a few which are totally unique from one another?
Anyway, here's a list of weathers so far
-Sunny
-Blizzard
-Gale
-Foggy
-Thunderstorm
Also, I want night and day in Bolvaoir.
On a related note, I think I should start listing weather modes for Bolvaoir. Different whether will make different things happen in Bolvaoir, for example whispids won't appear on sunny days, but the question is, do I want a lot of different weather types that have overlapping features, or just a few which are totally unique from one another?
Anyway, here's a list of weathers so far
-Sunny
-Blizzard
-Gale
-Foggy
-Thunderstorm
Also, I want night and day in Bolvaoir.
Slayer Noir- Partisan
- Number of posts : 1248
Age : 30
Location : Great Britain
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