What is your campaign world

[TippetsTX]

Originally Posted by larsdangly

I feel like the outline of Cidri provided in the core book is an invitation to create a campaign setting that is sort of like a hybrid of Diskworld and the side of Greyhawk seen in Expedition to the Barrier Peaks.

Exactly! An invitation wrapped with just enough detail to hook you with its atypical premise and plenty of gaps to fire the GM's imagination.

TBH though, while still present in my own version of Cidri, I do tend to downplay the sci-fi elements inherent in the setting.

[larsdangly]

My treatment of technology in Cidri is just a little above the D+D default of a fictional gun-free middle ages, and a bit closer to the late renaissance reality of relatively widespread guns, plate armors rapiers, halberds and pikes. It is probably noticeably but not importantly higher tech than most people's take on the setting. A bigger difference is the magic level - my corner of Cidri has enough wizards that everyone knows what they are and most people have encountered one at some point, but they are not very common and jealously guard their distinctive powers (as opposed to hawking enchantments for a few dozen silvers).

[Original_Carl]

I’m a huge Dying Earth fan so I use those novels heavily in my setting. I made a map years ago of five cities set on a sea connected to a vast ocean inspired by continental drift modeling. I put my own version of the Thorsz in one of them as it’s ruler and that’s where I’ve been running my games from.

I imagine something between Thundarr the Barbarian, The Dying Earth and Viriconium. Perhaps some of Gene Wolf's Urth of the New Sun added in for good measure. Magic is sufficiently advanced technology in the very far future and becomes much more believable as such. It helps me get into the weird that I think good fantasy needs, and basing it all on science fiction wrapped in a medieval veneer helps me maintain suspension of disbelief during sessions.

I do plunder Cidri for ideas, but nothing like I plunder Jack Vance. 😀

[Helborn]

Cidri as a world. I actually don't have a "world" per se - all of the adventures, regardless of source are linked to "The City". I transpose a lot of settings to be somewhere near wherever "here" is.

The official stuff plus the Tactical and DotM found in this forum for one group.

I'm using Dark City Games' offerings for another group - it requires some work to prepare a detailed flow of their games but they can turn out to be a lot of fun. (I especially like (house rule) their Karma points - simpler than Limited Wishes but allow a re-roll of a bad dice roll).

For still another group, I am using the original Metagaming MicroQuests.

[larsdangly]

Re. advanced technology, I'll very rarely toss in a strange artifact if I see an opportunity to present it in such a way that the players are truly confused about what they are seeing. I am not interested in having them stumble across a Colt .45 that they obviously recognize and use. (unless of course it is a bottle of Colt 45 rather than a gun).

[mstlaurent]

Right now my TFT campaign that I'm running for my wife and kids is set in Greyhawk, specifically they're running through The Temple of Elemental Evil. Because I ran through it back in my D&D days and loved it, and because I'm already running a built-from-scratch GURPS campaign and really wanted something I could just run out-of-the box with a minimum of customization.

[larsdangly]

Cool; I also use a lot of old D+D modules in my TFT campaign. How do you handle the issue that characters exposed to frequent combat in TFT almost inevitably take serious injuries? I find players have to approach large dungeon settings differently than they would with a D+D party.

[Original_Carl]

Originally Posted by larsdangly

Cool; I also use a lot of old D+D modules in my TFT campaign. How do you handle the issue that characters exposed to frequent combat in TFT almost inevitably take serious injuries? I find players have to approach large dungeon settings differently than they would with a D+D party.

I’m experimenting with resting providing more returned ST. I also like to play encounter to encounter sometimes to speed play and I’ll assume some or all hits regenerated.

This is a deadly game, which can make continuity tricky. I’ve killed a lot of characters and I’ve only been playing since I backed the KS. The dice can be so cruel.

[mstlaurent]

Originally Posted by larsdangly

Cool; I also use a lot of old D+D modules in my TFT campaign. How do you handle the issue that characters exposed to frequent combat in TFT almost inevitably take serious injuries? I find players have to approach large dungeon settings differently than they would with a D+D party.

Few things: First, the players have discovered that illusions can absorb a lot of damage if you use them properly. Summoning a couple of illusionary bears before you enter the next room and letting them get the drop on whatever is inside is a great tactic, and doesn't use up a lot of the wizards' ST. One of the players' catch phrases now is, "Bear don't care." But, as they get deeper in and start facing tougher and smarter opponents this shtick is wearing thin.

Second, I've added healing. (I know: HERESY! LOL) I've added a more potent healing potion, a healing spell, and a lesser healing spell which increases the number of ST regained over a night of rest. Amusingly, the players haven't bothered taking the healing spell yet. But they use Night of Rest constantly. And I ruled that the Extra Healing Potions use rare herbs that are difficult to find, so every time they are back in Nulb they're badgering the old lady to see if she's made any more. They do spend more time traveling back and forth to Nulb than the average D&D party probably did.

And, finally, yeah, I do have to outright rebalance some things. I find that a large number of low-level opponents are far more deadly in TFT than they were in D&D, so the rooms full of 20 gnolls or 30 skeletons get culled down a bit. And I'm a bit fast and loose with the dice rolls behind the DM screen. My sons are convinced I roll back there to cheat, and they're not wrong. But if they only knew which way that bias went, LOL.

[Bestial Warlust]

Originally Posted by mstlaurent

Few things: First, the players have discovered that illusions can absorb a lot of damage if you use them properly. Summoning a couple of illusionary bears before you enter the next room and letting them get the drop on whatever is inside is a great tactic, and doesn't use up a lot of the wizards' ST. One of the players' catch phrases now is, "Bear don't care." But, as they get deeper in and start facing tougher and smarter opponents this shtick is wearing thin.

Second, I've added healing. (I know: HERESY! LOL) I've added a more potent healing potion, a healing spell, and a lesser healing spell which increases the number of ST regained over a night of rest. Amusingly, the players haven't bothered taking the healing spell yet. But they use Night of Rest constantly. And I ruled that the Extra Healing Potions use rare herbs that are difficult to find, so every time they are back in Nulb they're badgering the old lady to see if she's made any more. They do spend more time traveling back and forth to Nulb than the average D&D party probably did.

And, finally, yeah, I do have to outright rebalance some things. I find that a large number of low-level opponents are far more deadly in TFT than they were in D&D, so the rooms full of 20 gnolls or 30 skeletons get culled down a bit. And I'm a bit fast and loose with the dice rolls behind the DM screen. My sons are convinced I roll back there to cheat, and they're not wrong. But if they only knew which way that bias went, LOL.

I'd love to see your healing spell and other upgrades. I've been toying with the idea of a low powered healing spell.