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Post by friartook on Jul 24, 2015 15:32:07 GMT
I have way too many campaign ideas. In an effort to sort them and make them stop swirling around in my head, I'm going to outline a few here. This is partially a brainstorming/organizing my thoughts effort and partially a call for feedback/ideas.
Reflavored European: I've been thinking about running a campaign that is close to the traditional eurocentric model of a D&D setting, but with important differences. I'd want to reskin and reflavor races and abilities to add a bit more wonder and rarity to magic. So, arcane magic would be rare and almost never wielded by humans. No gnomes, halflings, or dragonborn. Elves and Dwarves would be reskinned to be closer to their magic origins; more abilities, but also more restrictions on classes and such. I'm thinking of basing the Elves off of a mix of the 4e Eladrin and the Icelandic Huldufolk. Dwarves would also get a revamp to be closer to their Germanic mythological roots. Half-Elves would be closer to humans with "Fae touch" (like, "He's a little Fae around the edges. Some say his mother laid down with a Faerie."). This is inspired by some mythology I've been reading, A.A. Attanasio's take on the Arthurian Legends, and a desire for magic to seem, well, magical. Magic can become so mundane in D&D. I'd like to breath some wonder back into my fantasy.
Al-Qadim: I've been thumbing through some of the 2e Al-Qadim setting books, and its amazing. I'd like to update this setting and run a "1,000 Voyages of Sinbad" campaign full of desert encounters, mummy's, ancient temples and lost cities. I'd like to tie this in with the idea of a terrible Vampire-Lich Lord who is taking over the civilized lands and sacrificing thousands Aztec style to increase his horrible power and grow his army of undead.
Post-Apocalyptic: I really want to run a post-apocalyptic survival-horror game! I'd start the players off in a walled village. The village gets attacked by horrid mutated tribesmen (reskinned goblins), and nearly wiped out. The PCs must make their way across a wasteland of horror to find a rumored kingdom of shelter and safety.
Alien Invasion: Illithids and Beholders are having a space war that overflows onto the planet of the Players. They must fight to survive a war between two powers that hold them in disdain! Some races/cultures try to choose sides and become the thralls/slaves of one side.
"Low" Fantasy: A no magic at all campaign. Pure historic medieval. Political intrigue and human evil replaces all the monsters and such. A lot of unique NPC varieties to fight would balance out the lack of interesting monsters.
Anyway, just a few ideas that are bouncing around my brain and won't leave me alone.
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Samuel Wise
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Post by Samuel Wise on Jul 24, 2015 16:06:06 GMT
Reflavored European: I've been thinking about running a campaign that is close to the traditional eurocentric model of a D&D setting, but with important differences. I'd want to reskin and reflavor races and abilities to add a bit more wonder and rarity to magic. So, arcane magic would be rare and almost never wielded by humans. No gnomes, halflings, or dragonborn. Elves and Dwarves would be reskinned to be closer to their magic origins; more abilities, but also more restrictions on classes and such. I'm thinking of basing the Elves off of a mix of the 4e Eladrin and the Icelandic Huldufolk. Dwarves would also get a revamp to be closer to their Germanic mythological roots. Your Reflavored European idea is amazing. I would love to play/run/read a D&D campaign set up like that. Sure, some of my favorite races will be flipped on their heads, but I would love something like that! So, in general (race wise), are you thinking about bringing the races closer to their original heritage (pre-Tolkien)? I'm going to say more about all these awesome ideas, just had to comment on this one (that I love this idea). And completely agree that magic has lost much of its magicalness. All these are amazing ideas!
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Post by friartook on Jul 24, 2015 16:17:48 GMT
Your Reflavored European idea is amazing. I would love to play/run/read a D&D campaign set up like that. Sure, some of my favorite races will be flipped on their heads, but I would love something like that! So, in general (race wise), are you thinking about bringing the races closer to their original heritage (pre-Tolkien)? That's the idea. I recently listened to an episode of the Lore Podcast where they talked about the Huldufolk of Iceland, how they live in boulders or large stones. How the people of Iceland, still today, will reroute highway projects and move building development projects to avoid disturbing certain rocks where local legends say the Huldufolk live. How families will have their own protective Huldufolk who, if offended by lack of offerings/acknowledgement, will inflict grievous skin rashes on the offender. This led me to a bit of reading on Wikipedia regarding the ancient mythology of Elves, which led to the same sort of reading on Dwarves. I'm leaving out Halflings because they are really Tolkien's, and Gnomes because they are annoying and creepy. I'd reskin Orcs, Goblins and such too. Make them harder enemies, with more magical origins and abilities. I'd probably restrict a lot of monsters and/or reskin many to match more ancient myths/legends. Heck, if you go back far enough, Elves get mixed up with Tolls and Goblins; the names are interchangeable in some contexts.
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Post by joatmoniac on Jul 25, 2015 0:12:09 GMT
I have way too many campaign ideas. In an effort to sort them and make them stop swirling around in my head, I'm going to outline a few here. This is partially a brainstorming/organizing my thoughts effort and partially a call for feedback/ideas. Al-Qadim: I've been thumbing through some of the 2e Al-Qadim setting books, and its amazing. I'd like to update this setting and run a "1,000 Voyages of Sinbad" campaign full of desert encounters, mummy's, ancient temples and lost cities. I'd like to tie this in with the idea of a terrible Vampire-Lich Lord who is taking over the civilized lands and sacrificing thousands Aztec style to increase his horrible power and grow his army of undead. I feel like there isn't enough of this type of campaign, and that you should totally go with this one! That and I really love the lore that is associated. It helps that it is so rich, and has tons of centuries to have varying iterations. Vampire-Lich Lord sounds like an amazing big bad evil guy! Couple that with the wide array of undead that is prevalent in ancient lore surrounding deserts, and often Egyptian history, is amazing. Hopefully working through these ideas can help you sort things out, haha.
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Post by joatmoniac on Jul 25, 2015 0:14:00 GMT
I'm leaving out Halflings because they are really Tolkien's, and Gnomes because they are annoying and creepy. You have made me very happy with this post, haha. For whatever reason I 100% agree with your assessment of Gnomes. It doesn't matter how they are presented in a game, but if there is anyway I can make it so that there are less Gnomes in that world I WILL!
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Samuel Wise
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Post by Samuel Wise on Jul 25, 2015 2:27:58 GMT
I'm leaving out Halflings because they are really Tolkien's, and Gnomes because they are annoying and creepy. I've felt like that about Halflings for a long time (ever since I got into Warhammer). Plus, Dwarves are a lot more like gnomes if you go back to their roots (but, a LOT less creepy). Reflavored Europe: I love this idea. It could have a very fairy-tale feeling to it, that would bring a truly unique feel to it. It would take a shift to get the feeling across, but I can see it being well worth it. -Roleplaying would be amazing. It would certainly bring a new freshness to games. Elves and other magical creatures would behave so differently from most fantasy tales. Elves will no longer be just pointy eared men and Dwarves would no longer be short, bearded men who love gold. It would add so much here. -Magical Items should usually have a downside. I think that this is a good rule to put in any D&D game, but in this one it would be almost a necessity. Magical Items, in older stories, always did something horrible to the user or to the user's loved ones. -Quests can easily retain all their same qualities. The single fairy-tale that I think would make the best D&D storyline is The Snow Queen by H. C. Anderson (and trust me it has NOTHING to do with Frozen). It is well worth the read. These are some ideas and thoughts I have for this amazing idea! Al-Quadim: There is something both exciting and unsettling about the desert. However, I think deserts are the best, because you can squeeze them into any campaign without there being too much of a stretch. For example, in Älmara there is a desert specific area of land called Destinn (previously called Desertia when I first made it. After six or seven years of using the name I decided that it was too close to the word desert). I built Destinn as an almost chaotic good land on the Älmarian continent (Destinn was largely inspired by Dune with a large Aladinish feel thrown in). It has only one city that is built over a very large sinking sand pit (so it keeps out both unwanted guests and sand worms). This city is mostly known for its criminals and smugglers. The king of the city is known as the Thief Prince (who is from a story I wrote when I was a child). So, yes, I have always wanted to do an Al-Quadim like campaign and have actually taken steps toward that in my world's geography. Post-Apocalypse: Yes! Ever since that one DMB episode, I have wanted to play in a PA survival game (I wouldn't mind running it either). I like the challenge of doing (or at least trying to do) the Lawful Good thing while you have to be constantly fighting for food. There are so many moral dilemmas in a PA (and epic battles) that I can imagine there being constant fun! Monty Python Moral Dilemma: m.youtube.com/watch?v=8sljSf7KVlQAlien Invasion: I've never thought of this idea. I do have something similar to this built up in Älmara's Timeline. Space Beholders would be terrifying and I could see fun "StarGate" moments in this campaign (especially if there is an island or ship that the players must infiltrate). "Low" Fantasy: I don't believe I've read any "low" fantasy books (If you know of one, however, I really would love to read one). This is something right up my alley as I love politics. Enacting the pomp of a noble as I try to manipulate the conversation (and the listener) is something I enjoy. There would be fewer battles the normal (I would suppose). And maybe a few mass combats. Great post, loved all of these ideas. But, now you have added to my growing list of too many ideas!
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Post by friartook on Jul 25, 2015 4:28:11 GMT
I'm leaving out Halflings because they are really Tolkien's, and Gnomes because they are annoying and creepy. You have made me very happy with this post, haha. For whatever reason I 100% agree with your assessment of Gnomes. It doesn't matter how they are presented in a game, but if there is anyway I can make it so that there are less Gnomes in that world I WILL! So... and...
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Post by friartook on Jul 25, 2015 4:29:19 GMT
If I do allow gnomes, this will be my inspiration for the reskinned version:
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Samuel Wise
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Post by Samuel Wise on Jul 25, 2015 4:38:34 GMT
If I do allow gnomes, this will be my inspiration for the reskinned version: This picture is both incredibly hilarious and disturbing. I will never look at gnomes the same way again. One in broad daylight: I would be laughing my heart out. A dozen against the backdrop of night... Gnomes are officially out of my world!
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dmgrendel
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Favorite D&D Class: Barbarian on the table, Cleric at heart
Favorite D&D Race: Orcs!
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Post by dmgrendel on Aug 1, 2015 22:57:30 GMT
I ran a low-fantasy campaign for a while, based on medieval Scandinavia. It's a challenge. Healing becomes strange with no clerics, so my players spent all of their money on potions, and there's a limit to how many times you can rework the same fighter/ranger/barbarian/rogue battles. I had fun, but the game got a little out of balance.
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Samuel Wise
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Post by Samuel Wise on Aug 2, 2015 12:11:15 GMT
I ran a low-fantasy campaign for a while, based on medieval Scandinavia. It's a challenge. Healing becomes strange with no clerics, so my players spent all of their money on potions, and there's a limit to how many times you can rework the same fighter/ranger/barbarian/rogue battles. I had fun, but the game got a little out of balance. I can certainly see that becoming a problem (I haven't thought about that before). One idea for low fantasies is to run a game with social statuses being the primary different "classes". This would be fun, though highly RP focused.
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dmgrendel
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Favorite D&D Class: Barbarian on the table, Cleric at heart
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Post by dmgrendel on Aug 2, 2015 20:38:08 GMT
I was also not the most experienced DM at the time- part of the reason I ran low fantasy was because I was afraid of memorizing all of the rules for magic...
Also, anyone looking to read a good few low-fantasy books would do well to check out Joe Abercrombie: Best Served Cold and the Heroes are phenomenal.
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Post by joatmoniac on Aug 2, 2015 23:37:57 GMT
Hadn't even really thought about the idea of low fantasy helping create a more rules light system that could focus more on RP. More Game of Thrones and less ... kind of interesting how difficult it is for me to think of a magic heavy intellectual property that isn't a game. World of Warcraft fits the magic item bill quite well though, haha.
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dmgrendel
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Favorite D&D Class: Barbarian on the table, Cleric at heart
Favorite D&D Race: Orcs!
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Post by dmgrendel on Aug 3, 2015 2:14:28 GMT
Low fantasy was good, but my group wasn't ready for heavy RP- my players were all video game fans, used to always being able to get the 'best ending.' Despite being GoT fans, they really, really hated it when things went badly. When I put them in a hard place, they got mad.
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dmgrendel
Squire
Posts: 42
Favorite D&D Class: Barbarian on the table, Cleric at heart
Favorite D&D Race: Orcs!
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Post by dmgrendel on Aug 3, 2015 2:16:11 GMT
But it was still fun!
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