Keep On The Banestorm?

Johnny Angel · 06-15-2010, 03:26 AM

I suppose you might say I plan to run a D&D 4E inspired game when it's my turn to DM for one of the groups I play with. As a little bit of an experiment, I want to convert Keep On The Shadowfell, an adventure written for D&D 4th Edition, into GURPS. It will be the group's first experience with a fantasy game under the system, so I'm starting with a few familiar elements.

If you're unfamiliar with Keep On The Shadowfell, some information about the adventure can be found here: http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Product.a...dacc/217187400
The brief description of the adventure found at that link reads as follows:

The town of Winterhaven stands watch over a ruined keep that was once a bastion of good in the realm. This keep overlooks the Shadow Rift, a dark scar in the world that was once a gateway to the Shadowfell but has been dormant for many years. Now, an evil cleric of Orcus, Demon Lord of the Undead, seeks to re-open the gate, and the only thing standing in his way is a small yet determined band of heroes.

At the moment, I'm contemplating using the adventure as a way to swoop a few D&D elements (including the PCs) into a Banestorm campaign. I imagine it won't be too hard to tweak Keep On The Shadowfell into something involving a Banestorm. The adventure itself involves a portal to the Shadowfell (an alternate plane in the D&D cosmology,) so it shouldn't be difficult to switch things up and have it be an old portal leading to a different world. I'm still undecided though; I'm trying to put some thought into how this would play out - knowing what I know of the Banestorm setting.

The first consideration on my mind is trying to get an idea of how the current residents of Banestorm would react to new races suddenly plopping into the setting. I imagine that D&D Elves and Dwarves would mostly fit right in without too much hassle. Eladrin could probably pass as Elves, but they have abilities and a cultural outlook which are quite different. Likewise, while Dragonborn may appear similar to Lizardfolk, they are actually quite different. I suspect the way that Tieflings appear would carry something of a social stigma in the world of Banestorm.

Thinking of Tieflings brings me to a concern I have about doing this. I don't want to spring some sort of 'gotcha!' moment onto the players by subjecting a Tiefling character to a potentially dangerous social stigma without them being aware of it at the beginning of the campaign. Likewise, I'm a little unsure how to handle Clerics and Paladins of D&D gods. I wouldn't want to suddenly rob them of power and cripple them. Granted, the world hop is something of a suprise, and a little bit of a 'gotcha!,' but I view that differently than I view the type of 'gotcha!' moment which suddenly cripples a PC based on false character building assumptions that may have be provided by this idea.

One idea I have for how to handle divine power is by saying the belief and piousness of such a character might allow for their god's divine spark to exist in this new world (Banestorm.) However, I might also strongly hint that their actions could possibly determine if this spark grows or fades. This would give them time to either spread the word of their faith or to potentially convert; I find the first option more interesting, but I'd allow them to keep their power by converting simply as a way to give them more ways to avoid being boned by their character choices. This idea leads me back to my first consideration somewhat. I'm not sure how receptive the residents of Banestorm would be to new religions.

Overall, I'm looking for some opinions on what other people feel the impact of new elements (race & religion) would have on the Banestorm setting. Would the new elements draw notice at all? If so, would different areas and peoples of Banestorm have different reactions? I'm also trying to get a feel for if this is a good idea for a campaign or not. One on hand I feel like it would be an interesting way to blend familiar elements into new elements, but, on the other hand, I'm not sure if it will be too much of a jarring shift to the players.

I realize that some of these questions can be answered with "well, you're the GM, so the residents of Banestorm will react however you want." That's not really what I'm looking for though. Aside from trying to flesh out my own idea, I think it would also be interesting to discuss what impact bringing new elements into the setting would have on the existing elements. The genius of the Banestorm setting suddenly struck me today, and I realized that Banestorms need not only be limited to bringing in elements of Earth nor limited to the elements of GURPS.

06-15-2010, 03:26 AM	#1
Johnny Angel MIB Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Pennsylvania	Keep On The Banestorm? I suppose you might say I plan to run a D&D 4E inspired game when it's my turn to DM for one of the groups I play with. As a little bit of an experiment, I want to convert Keep On The Shadowfell, an adventure written for D&D 4th Edition, into GURPS. It will be the group's first experience with a fantasy game under the system, so I'm starting with a few familiar elements. If you're unfamiliar with Keep On The Shadowfell, some information about the adventure can be found here: http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Product.a...dacc/217187400 The brief description of the adventure found at that link reads as follows: The town of Winterhaven stands watch over a ruined keep that was once a bastion of good in the realm. This keep overlooks the Shadow Rift, a dark scar in the world that was once a gateway to the Shadowfell but has been dormant for many years. Now, an evil cleric of Orcus, Demon Lord of the Undead, seeks to re-open the gate, and the only thing standing in his way is a small yet determined band of heroes. At the moment, I'm contemplating using the adventure as a way to swoop a few D&D elements (including the PCs) into a Banestorm campaign. I imagine it won't be too hard to tweak Keep On The Shadowfell into something involving a Banestorm. The adventure itself involves a portal to the Shadowfell (an alternate plane in the D&D cosmology,) so it shouldn't be difficult to switch things up and have it be an old portal leading to a different world. I'm still undecided though; I'm trying to put some thought into how this would play out - knowing what I know of the Banestorm setting. The first consideration on my mind is trying to get an idea of how the current residents of Banestorm would react to new races suddenly plopping into the setting. I imagine that D&D Elves and Dwarves would mostly fit right in without too much hassle. Eladrin could probably pass as Elves, but they have abilities and a cultural outlook which are quite different. Likewise, while Dragonborn may appear similar to Lizardfolk, they are actually quite different. I suspect the way that Tieflings appear would carry something of a social stigma in the world of Banestorm. Thinking of Tieflings brings me to a concern I have about doing this. I don't want to spring some sort of 'gotcha!' moment onto the players by subjecting a Tiefling character to a potentially dangerous social stigma without them being aware of it at the beginning of the campaign. Likewise, I'm a little unsure how to handle Clerics and Paladins of D&D gods. I wouldn't want to suddenly rob them of power and cripple them. Granted, the world hop is something of a suprise, and a little bit of a 'gotcha!,' but I view that differently than I view the type of 'gotcha!' moment which suddenly cripples a PC based on false character building assumptions that may have be provided by this idea. One idea I have for how to handle divine power is by saying the belief and piousness of such a character might allow for their god's divine spark to exist in this new world (Banestorm.) However, I might also strongly hint that their actions could possibly determine if this spark grows or fades. This would give them time to either spread the word of their faith or to potentially convert; I find the first option more interesting, but I'd allow them to keep their power by converting simply as a way to give them more ways to avoid being boned by their character choices. This idea leads me back to my first consideration somewhat. I'm not sure how receptive the residents of Banestorm would be to new religions. Overall, I'm looking for some opinions on what other people feel the impact of new elements (race & religion) would have on the Banestorm setting. Would the new elements draw notice at all? If so, would different areas and peoples of Banestorm have different reactions? I'm also trying to get a feel for if this is a good idea for a campaign or not. One on hand I feel like it would be an interesting way to blend familiar elements into new elements, but, on the other hand, I'm not sure if it will be too much of a jarring shift to the players. I realize that some of these questions can be answered with "well, you're the GM, so the residents of Banestorm will react however you want." That's not really what I'm looking for though. Aside from trying to flesh out my own idea, I think it would also be interesting to discuss what impact bringing new elements into the setting would have on the existing elements. The genius of the Banestorm setting suddenly struck me today, and I realized that Banestorms need not only be limited to bringing in elements of Earth nor limited to the elements of GURPS.