Strange Settings -- Chekhov's gun or just plain fun?

[wotmaniac]

I'm brainstorming ideas for the next game I plan to run, and I thought that maybe I could have something strange about the setting's geography ... just something to jar the normal expectations.
Now, I full realize that "strange for the sake of strange" is stupid.  There has to be some purpose for it.

So, I guess my question is: if the setting is "non-standard", how much of that is expected to influence the game?

For example, I went surfing around the 'net, found a picture that I liked, and started fucking around with it in MS Paint .... HERE's what I ended up with. (yeah, I know, it's not that strange; but it is a break from conventional expectations)
It's just a "flat earth"-style planet that sits at the center of its own cosmic system.
I've got this whole history worked up on why and how it came in to being .... but is that enough?  I'm feverishly trying to flesh out all the ramifications of this type of planet design; and building the rest of the world from within this context. 
There are now a couple of (prospectively) late-game elements that this particular planet design makes easier for me.

But should there be any expectation that this strangeness should actually be a plot point?  And IF so, to what degree?

Thanks.

[Stratovarius]

It doesn't need to be a plot point, just something that has a regular impact on the game world. Take Dark Sun for instance - the world is very unusual for a D&D setting, but it applies to everyone living in it equally, and isn't ever really part of the plot.

[ketaro]

Well, Krynn has like 3 moons which each affect magic in some way. You potentially have 4 celestial bodies in orbit not counting the sun, and one of them probably can't be seen from the surface of flat-world. Make up stuff that these bodies effect? Maybe that one on the bottom that can't be seen can have a connection to subterranean beings, them being technically closer to it and mayhaps having tunneled low enough to break through the bottom of the world and discovered it? Maybe take the term celestial body more literally at that point?

Or this personal cosmic system the flat-earth is the center of is the leftover remnants of some super-massive ritual magic of some fool who wanted to be a god, got shut down, and then partially succeeded at revenge against the gods by escaping their realm of influence with a remnant of the domain that the real god's created and implanted himself as a pseudo-god of his little slice of heaven, so to speak.

Or whatever I don't know. The first one is just having reason behind things that exist, the second being possible plot. *shrugs* I dunno, I'm sure you can think of something weird and fitting.

[wotmaniac]

Cool -- so my expectations are about right on.


@ketaro
You're actually not very far from where I went/ended up.

[ketaro]

*fistpump*

Booya, go ketaro

[wotmaniac]

Okay, here's something that happen to have hit the drawing board -- tell me what y'all think:

Okay, so the uber-wizard that built this world wasn't just playing with cosmic tinkertoys .....
[for whatever reason - I'm still working on that] Each of the individual elements of the planetary system are actually the remnants of Cosmic Super Beings™ -- more specifically, the bodies of Primordial Elemental Overlords. 
Maybe they're still alive but imprisoned; or maybe they're dead and decaying? 
And these bodies radiate some of their essence, influencing the various crawly things: people/creatures frequently have some sort of elemental template or some-such (I've got a little more; but I'll save y'all the page space). 

That's the kernel of it, anyway.

So, is that just dumb/contrived/over-the-top/whateverbad?  Or is that actually something that would be kinda cool?

[Its me Sidney]

It sounds sweet to me.  The moon gods could power up certain enemies and even PC's when they are visible or directly above them, making for a hectic boss fight.  Like the firelord in avatar.

[wotmaniac]

It sounds sweet to me.  The moon gods could power up certain enemies and even PC's when they are visible or directly above them, making for a hectic boss fight.  Like the firelord in avatar.

Oooh -- I like that.    *<scribbles on drawing board>*