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General

I’d like to run a game set in an otherworldy fantasy DnD world that references the spirit of Erol Otus’s exotic, vaguely sinister art. I aim to evoke a weirder, higher fantasy vibe than ordinary DnD by referencing Otus’ ‘Sword and Sorcery ( Planet?)’ aesthetic. Twiddling some dials:

System: Savage Worlds but gritted up slightly- the no soak roll takes effect. Standard refresh rate for Fps is two bennies.

Houserules: tracking skill is subsumed by the survival roll, lockpicking by repair, throwing by shooting. Knowledge skills are not needed-the Common Knowledge system with +2 mods for background will handle most situations. '
Level: Novice
Races: Recognisable but slightly off-beat (anti-Tolkien) races:

• sinuous, blue-skinned elves (remnants of a ruined magi-tech high civ); elegantly but oddly costumed;
• wily dwarves with outlandish armour and (oblig. Bat-winged) helmets,
• ogrons (brutish half-somethings);
• lizardoids; lizardfolk bred as soldiers
• blood-imps (small , goblinoid winged bloodsuckers)
• Orcs and halflings removed
  

Adventure: a classic DnD module (probably Keep on the Borderlands, much cut down for size) but restricted/ shifted to an Otusian aesthetic.

World: purplish blue sky, 2 moons, obligatory ringed planet in sky; arid semi-desert with weird cacti, landscape dotted with ruins of pre-Fall step pyramids, henges and ziggurats.

Culture: human characters belong to a barbarian bronze age culture that emerged long after the Fall of an older, grander elvish civ. Rough halls and tents cluster around the mysterious palaces of the pre-Fall ruins. But the culture is not wholly unsophisticated. : gaudy stroytellers, glass-blowers and wizards cluster in the courts and cities. The lords retain their obsession with crude but stylised bling and maintain their barbarian castes:

• Chieftan caste: chariot riding nobles
• Farmer/warrior caste: most of society
• Underling caste: servants and slaves
• An emerging new class of scribes, mages, tradesmen and merchants sit outside this system.
  

Gear and costumes: stylised and overworldly; distinctive for each race. Otus-style bat-winged helmets, campy ornate robes and curling diadems.
Technology: bronze-age tech only is available to humans. Dwarven weapons etc. are iron masterworks and cost accordingly. Non-dwarven heavy armour is not practical for adventuring.
Religion: small pantheon of Zog the Thunderer, Elka the Seeder and Zokon the Hunter. Also an old agricultural god, Po. Baddies: Zaptas the Witch and some sinister deities from the pre-Fall Pantheon.

Flora and fauna; fauna are analogues of terrestrial animals (razorcats, sand wolves, camel-like riding beasts); plenty of reptiles including wandering sailback predators , giant snakes and raptors; even weirder stuff like carnivorous (LSOH-style) plants; walking fish, fungus folk cave-dwellers, etc.

Races

ELVES. Survivors of an advanced blue-skinned elder race whose civilisation was destroyed in a magic apocalypse. Step pyramids, ziggurats and henges of their lost cities are seen everywhere. Elegantly if simply attired, they are seen as mysterious and aloof by most humans. Many are sworn secretly to discretely help humans whose post-apoc condition they pity and feel responsible for.

Typical names have an exotic, perhaps subtly not-Aztec feel, or use an evocative pseudonym: Azolon, Trana, Joxolo the Wanderer, Rainbow Follower
Edges and Hindrances:
Paragon: Smarts, Agility and Spirit start at d6; 3 more points can be spent to advance attributes.
Elder race: Elves gain +2 to most Common Knowledge (excluding culture-specific) rolls
Revered/ aloof: elves gain a +2 charisma bonus to most social rolls but this backfires (they are perceived as cold and aloof) if the die roll itself misses TN4.
Sharp-eyed: gain +2 to vision-using notice rolls and can see in the dark for 30’.

DWARVES: Masters of iron and steel, the dwarves feel contempt for the clumsy technology of bronze-age man. They will never share their secrets with inferior human smiths, seeking instead to profit from their monopoly on iron and steel making. They are uniformly close-knit and greedy for gold. Dwarves are admired for their smithing, but also mistrusted in business dealings because of their greed.
Names: have a less Nordic, more sci-fi feel: Zap Fireburner, Xolo, Ironbringer Childthree

Edges and Hindrances:
Worker race: Dwarves start play with vigour d6.
Craftsfolk: Dwarves gain +2 to most (notice, repair, investigate, etc) rolls involving stone-work, metalwork such as weapons, and jewels.
Greedy (minor). Dwarves lust after precious metals, jewels and beautifully made things.
Trogs: can see in the dark for 30’, but dislike lengthy turns in the bright sun.

Dwarven gear: Human bronze-smiths can fashion heavy but effective medium (+2) scale armour. Except for helmets, their (+3) heavy armour is too cumbersome for adventuring (generally unavailable in the setting). Dwarven armour costs twice as much , but +3 iron armour is usable as in the RAW. Dwarven scale armour, their speciality, offers +2 protection but hardly encumbers the wearer.

HUMANS: see above for state play re. human civilisation. Basically bronze age warrior people, analogous to celts/ mongols. All humans get a free starting Edge as usual. Humans can choose theri caste, or elect to be casteless (no hindrances or edges). Crude human heavy armour is too heavy for adventuring.
CHIEFTAN CASTE:
Martial upbringing: start with d6 in fight, intimidate, taunt and ride/drive.
Warrior finery: Gain +1 charisma bonus per Rank but at least half of accumulated wealth needs to be wearable/ portable gear or bling.
Overconfident: or giving the appearance of this, to maintain status.
WARRIOR CASTE:
Landsfolk:start with d4 in Fighting and choose one of the following backgrounds for the purposes (+2 specialist knowledge) of Common Knowledge rolls.

• Farmer: d6 in repair.
• Hunter: d6 in survival or notice.
• Townsfolk: d6 in repair or streetwise.

Common stock: start with only 250 shards. Cannot bear a sword or non-light armour until blooded (has an Advance).

UNDERLING CASTE:
Despised (Outsider): -2 to charisma for most social rolls
Up against it: servants and slaves start with only 50 shards. Cannot bear weapons in public unless in company of an obvious superior. This and Outsider hindrance can be bought out for the price of a single Edge.

Tough upbringing: d6 in notice, stealth and survival

CASTELESS:
Scribes, magicians, traders, etc. start with no special skills or hindrances, but should define their background for the purposes of Common Knolwedge roll bonuses.

OGRONS : half ogre or other giant, these brutes are raised to do labour or other service for humankind.
Mighty: start with d8 strength; can purchase starting strength up d12+2
All Thumbs
Despised (=outsider) : also only 50 shards starting money.
Dumb: 2 points required to raise Smarts
Big: average 7’ tall. +1 to toughness; +2 to Intimidation. Can use large weapons (axes, clubs) that do a die type more damage. Metal armor and accoutrements very difficult to obtain (at least 5* price).

BLOOD IMPS: the origins of these small, vampire-like creatures are mysterious: some believe them to be the creations of wizards, others survivors from the fall.
Batwing flyers: can hover and fly, quite clumsily, on bat-like wings. Gain d4 in Flying.
Feared /hated (replaces Outsider): -2 to charisma, but +2 to Intimidate and Taunt.
Vampires: Must feed on fresh (usually animal) blood regularly. Can roll vigor once per day to heal wounds, rather than per 5 days.
Imp-sized: Strength above d6 costs two points to increase. No penalty to Toughness but can only wield weapons that do 1 die type less damage than normal. Because of the expense (2* normal) of bespoke manufacture, these are usually daggers, short spears etc. re-purposed from human use.
Creatures of the Night: dislike strong light (act as though fatigued) but have night-vision.

LIZARDOIDS: believed to have been bred as warriors to serve the Elder Race (Elves?) before the Fall. Hatched from eggs, they live in dry, arid spaces in humble stone age tech villages. They gladly seize opportunities to fight alongside human warriors. Lizardfolk are considered primitive but cannot take the Outsider hindrance since they are respected and often welcomed as guileless fighting paragons.
Bred for battle: strength, vigour and agility start at d6. Spirit and smarts cost 2 points to advance.
All Thumbs
Primitive: as Clueless, but also start with only 30 shards in starting funds.
Scaly: toughness +2. Stacks partly with armour-with light or medium armour +3, with heavy armour +4.