New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

[Astromancer]

A good idea for the spring setting might be beings connected to cold/darkness/ice stranded by the Pale Queen's dead. The PCs might cut a deal with a frost giant or a family of yeti to help them to safety.

[Astromancer]

When Worlds Smush Together!

Anyway my Aunt Louise from Nynack shot the Dark Lord Salnarack and now she's dating the Elf Lord/Lady who's name I just can't pronounce. Anyway Aunt Louise has been rejuvenated and she always swung both ways. So life's good for her.

How is the property dispute with the vampire and the dragon going?

The realms of myth and legend have opened their portals once more and... it's complicated. Oh sure questing to save the princess, or the realm, or whatever's going, is important. But so is paying the rent. Besides, I like watching my shows.

Basically, dump a full on Tolkienesque fantasy world into a sitcom version of daily life. Dungeons and Dragons meets Papers and Paychecks. Did you ever consider that some orcs might prefer auto mechanics or sewer maintenance to raiding and pillaging?

Like GURPS: Discworld this is a comedy game. But the spirit of the comedy is closer to The Honeymooners or It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia than I Know Where I'm Going or The Philadelphia Story.

[Astromancer]

Caer y Hof Ser

The title is my very crude attempt at Welsh and means Fortress of the Summer Stars. A major Welsh semi-legendary figure (Taliesin) claimed to be from "the region of the summer stars." Thus things Arthurian are associated with the region of the summer stars. This whole idea is Arthur showing up in a world where Julius Caesar never conquered Gaul. He went for Persia instead. Neither France nor Britain was ever incorporated into the Roman state.

Although the Druids weren't dethroned in this reality, the presence of the highly developed economies of the Mediterranean basin still changed them. Celtic lore was written down. Greek and Roman knowledge entered the Celtic lands and Celtic knowledge went forth into the wider world.

The main change was that a British princeling read the Gregorics Virgil's celebration of agriculture and decided to improve British agriculture. He brought chickens to Britain and Ireland. He introduced some new crops. But his main achievement was inventing the moldboard plow. (His wife figured out the horsecollar).

Thus Arthur gets born into a Britain that is richer and more stable than the one he traditionally gets born into. Further, it's a more mystical one too.

In many ways I am suggesting a Celtic Mahabharata. Even in the Mabinogion Sir Kay (spelt Kei in that book) can breathe underwater for nine days, with other powers. You might think of this as an Arthurian supers campaign. All the PCs would have exotic powers based on the deities they and their families venerate. They would also have exotic taboos or more correctly geis.

Witches, druids, wizards, and knights with superpowers versus the weird exotica of the Celtic Twilight!

[Astromancer]

The World Turned Upside Down

Why do we need kings. They had no kings among the Children of Israel until the people asked for them. And as I read the Bible neither God nor Samuel thought Kings were a good idea.

But the world is different now. Besides, just because you Diggers and Levellers don't want kings and nobles, what makes you think they want to give up their power and wealth?

We know they don't. But there is an old power in the land. She's come back as penance for how she treated her brother.

You can't trust a witch.

She was never a witch. Morgain le Fay knows ancient secrets, the old powers in the lands. Let the kings and nobles turn to Satan's teachings. Morgain has brought us wisdom older than the devil himself.

Cromwell is dead and Charles has come home to claim the crown. The rich and powerful are done with the Commonwealth. They even pretend that England was never a Commonweal under the old kings. Didn't Elizabeth of glorious memory herself describe England as Res Publica Anglia?

So the rich forget, the poor don't want to. We had neither leaders nor power. Then she came back.

Morgain le Fay is back. She is determined to give the people of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, the power in their own lands. She's teaching the Diggers, Levellers, and other radicals magic. Now the people can stand up to the Kings and the Rich.

But Satan is not pleased that the old wisdom has been brought back. It challenges his monopoly on teaching magic. I mean why sell your soul for what hard work can get you with no danger to your soul. So Satan is rallying his minions among the nobles and the rich to fight the radicals.


Basically, it's 1660, do you know where your revolution is? The rich have restored Charles to the throne. But the poor now have magical powers. Secret cabals of Satanists have risen up to defend the throne. It's Swashbucklers and magic. The rich have Maleficium! But if the powers in the land are slower to learn, they are far more flexible and in no way weak.

The PCs would be villagers and other low status people in 1660s Britain. They would all have magical powers. The powers of the people taught by Morgain le Fay should be either syntactical magic or realm magic. The witches allied with Satan and the monarchy would have standard GURPS Magic.

The poor want land and freedom. The Royalists want serfs and power. The fight is on.

[Astromancer]

The Evening Stars

We are all agreed that the humans are the greatest threat to our people. Still I council against a war that would only benefit our foes, which are mankind's foes as well. I have a shrewder plan.

We are subtle, wise, profoundly skilled, and gifted with the greatest beauty of any mortal folk. Let us wed into the nobility and royalty of mankind and simply take them over.

Long ago the elven folk married into the nobility and royalty of human kind. Now all nobles are half elves with few close human kinfolk. The Bishops, abbots, abbesses, all the heads of the monastic orders are elves. Humans are only peasants, craft folk, merchants, and the lower clergy. The present king has ruled for three hundred and forty years. The present Pope, Oberon I, has ruled more than twice as long. Humanity remembers that humans once were kings and lords, but only long ago.

The elves pay very close attention to humanity. they mind humans out of everything. It's like being locked in a cradle for life. Humanity finds that exploration, art, scholarship, commerce, are all closely supervised by the elves.

The people grumble. "The long dead orcs only murdered us, the elves try to make sure our whole lives are a grave."

Basically, it's a peasants revolt. Humanity is sick of being caged "for their own good." The elves always make sure things suit them. If ordinary folk suffer, well elves say we lives such short lives anyway.

The PCs will be at a serious disadvantage. Elves have magery, and they limit what magics human mages can learn. Elves have decades or centuries of marshal skills. Humans often can't get either good weapons or training. Defeating the elves will be an epic challenge.

However, although the elves are mighty, they are fading from the world. It's only holding power over humanity, keeping humanity from coming into its own, that allows the elves to hold on to this plane of existence. Some elves feel it is a brutal injustice to steal humanity's time in the sun.

It all boils down to Robin Hood and Galadriel team up to fight the power.

[Astromancer]

The Faraway Near

What useless stunt did that old Necromancer pull to get himself killed?

He seems to have been trying to open a doorway to a far star controlled by a demon lord allied to himself.

What did he achieve?

He opened many small doors to someplace far stranger. A place of our world but not our realm of existence.

The land forms seem to be the same and the climate. But magic is rare and weak. They have great skills of other kinds and seem to be very rich.

Although they do have warriors with strange weapons, they don't use magic in combat. I smell easy conquest and rich looting.

Well the old fool may have been useful after all. What is this new land called warlord?

California my lord. The city of Los Angeles.

Due to a botched spell a nearby parallel world of barbarian swordsmen and exotic sorcery is now in direct contact with a modern American city. Full contact hasn't been made yet. It's a fair assumption that both sides will be surprised.

The Sword and Sorcery realm is Normal Mana. The societies are mainly monarchies or oligarchies. The culture vaugely resembles Hellenistic Greece or Ptolemaic Egypt. Religion is polytheistic and most priests are at least trained in some form of sorcery. The Tech Level is three. Although as in the Mediterranean classical period some really impressive technology exists, it's in the hands of a narrow elite and mainly used as toys, showpieces, or luxuries.

In spite of their self confidence these kingdoms aren't a match for the USA. But, until people figure out what is happening, their raids for slaves and booty will have some success.

Basically, this is like the Beastmaster sequel were the characters moved back and forth between Los Angeles and the Sword and Sorcery realm. Only transport back and forth between the two realms starts easy and becomes easier the more people move between the worlds.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

The Faraway Near

(SNIP)

I'd play in this one.
I'd even have fun running it. 😀

[SionEwig]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

The Faraway Near

A very usable idea here. Very similar to one I had except it being "viking" raids along coastal areas.

I can just picture rampaging groups on Rodao Drive. For that matter, the raiders might be thought to be part of some tv/movie production, at least initially.

I would play in a game using your idea. It could be fun!

[SionEwig]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

I'd play in this one.
I'd even have fun running it. 😀

Well, just run it! You'd do a great job.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by SionEwig

Well, just run it! You'd do a great job.

Thanks, man.
Once I finish Facets, though, I'll take a break and play in Anten's "low-life space" campaign, inspired by Firefly.