Ideas Are Easy

[RyanW]

You can get some mileage out of combining two genres that aren't usually thought of as easily compatible.

Lassos & Leprechauns
When blight and famine hit the Emerald Isle, it wasn't just the human population that was forced to leave. The Tuath Dé and the Fomori also transplant their ancient rivalries and the Otherworld portals to the new frontiers over the sea. How will the untamed American West react to the supernatural powers of ancient Ireland?

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by RyanW

How will the untamed American West react to the supernatural powers of ancient Ireland?

With puzzlement, as the supernatural giants from under the sea face quite a long hike in appalling dry conditions before they get to Tombstone, Arizona. At least it wasn't Dodge City, Kansas.

Sometimes Fomor are said to come from under the earth, rather than under the sea. That version would probably be better.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

With puzzlement, as the supernatural giants from under the sea face quite a long hike in appalling dry conditions before they get to Tombstone, Arizona. At least it wasn't Dodge City, Kansas.

Sometimes Fomor are said to come from under the earth, rather than under the sea. That version would probably be better.

Set it in California rather than Arizona or New Mexico. The gold rush is probably a good time frame to pick, even if that is a little earlier than most old west stories.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by ericthered

The gold rush is probably a good time frame to pick

... and leprechauns do have those pots of gold.

[RogerBW]

If you haven't read the Bedlam's Bard series (starting with A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows by Mercedes Lackey and Ellen Guon), which is pretty much this idea in the modern day, you might find it helpful.

[ericthered]

Keys of Creation

Long ago, the powers of creation were given to men, in the form of a glorious scepter of divine materials, pulsing with the power to craft the landscape of planets and planes with a mere thought. Mountain ranges, moons, nations, and species were but its play things. A stray thought could alter history, slay nations, doom millions to generations of hunger, or create a plague.

It was too much for one man to bear, and too much for one man to protect, and so it was given to a being of perfect judgement, free of stray thoughts and emotions, placed in stasis, who can only be called forth once every ten years at a handful of locations when the stars are right. The ritual requires three Divine Golden Keys, granted to three powerful mortal kings, who must all present their key before summoning the being of perfect judgement.

For the first 200 years, the keys were the object of grand wars, crusades, conspiracies, wizards, thieves and megalomaniacs. And yet the destruction was less than that wrecked by the septer when it was in the hands of a mere mortal. Every 10 years, the three holders of the keys negotiated changes to the world, wiping out their foes, making a grander and grander world, more shaped to their wills. But the reshaped world was not grateful, but covetous, always rebelling against the kings and grasping for the keys themselves.

And then one key was lost. Its keeper had made many fakes, and in the end, mistook a fake for the true key. The two remaining keys remained symbols of power and authority, and even grant their keepers strength, longevity, and force of will, but without the third key, the wars, bloodshed, and constant upheaval stopped.

But now, someone has found the third key. They need the other two keys stolen at the same time, before anyone else figures out the keys hold the power of creation again. And they're going to need help...

[ericthered]

Land of Behemoths

The greatest military weapon of age is behemoths. Enormous creatures possessing incredible strength. Some fly, some swim, some burrow, some breathe fire or ice or stones, most are armored, and all are dangerous. Every nation stands on the strength of its behemoths.

And of the specialists who catch, train, and kill them. Climbers are trained to scale the moving beasts and strike them deep in their weak points. Sorcerers are necessary to control the minds of the beasts. Handlers are needed to use a behemoth to its full ability and to direct it in combat. Trackers help find them for capture, and engineers direct the might of industry to build siege engines that can slay one, or fortifications and traps that might slow them down.

You are among those specialists. The fate of a nation rests in your hands...

******************************
I'm unsure of the best way to run this one: as Behemoth hunters competing with other hunters to bring home the best and most behemoths, or in a war-centered game that looks sort of like a mech/kaiju battle (but has few enough pieces that you can actually play it out)

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Land of Behemoths

My first thought is "Shadow of the Colossus meets Monster Hunter meets Pokemon." Possibly with a dose of Knights and Magic and/or Pacific Rim in the mix. One issue is that the Climbers and the Handlers arguably don't belong in the same party - a Handler without a Behemoth is dead weight, while a Climber is unnecessary if you already have a Behemoth who can do battle with the one you're trying to kill/capture (and trying to climb one while it's fighting your Behemoth is probably a great way to get squished or otherwise slain). And, sure, you could merge the two roles into one, but then the character doesn't have any use for their Climber abilities once you've captured your first Behemoth, unless it gets killed.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Varyon

My first thought is "Shadow of the Colossus meets Monster Hunter meets Pokemon." Possibly with a dose of Knights and Magic and/or Pacific Rim in the mix.

That's fair. If quite scattered.

One issue is that the Climbers and the Handlers arguably don't belong in the same party - a Handler without a Behemoth is dead weight, while a Climber is unnecessary if you already have a Behemoth who can do battle with the one you're trying to kill/capture (and trying to climb one while it's fighting your Behemoth is probably a great way to get squished or otherwise slain). And, sure, you could merge the two roles into one, but then the character doesn't have any use for their Climber abilities once you've captured your first Behemoth, unless it gets killed.

The climbers have to be pretty cinematic to work at all... I'd think climbing up the behemoth while your ally fights it with yours would be risky but not unheard of.

Paradoxically, each specialist should be capable of handling a behemoth by themselves. At some point, the game is about the specialists, with the behemoths being the prize. I've got a mental image of two climbers trying to reach the handlers to assassinate them off the behemoths while protecting their own allies while the behemoths fight each other. For completeness, you can have the sorcerers up there too, wrestling for control.

[ericthered]

Zombies and Ninjas


The immortal Lich-Lords rule over the land, masters over both the living and the dead. They constantly squabble for power, seeking mastery over one another as well.

But what can threaten these ancient undead masters of magic?

Ninjas. In castles staffed largely by sub-sapient zombies, Ninjas can penetrate deep into the halls, and they have the expertise, the stealth, and the ancient arts necessary to dodge magic and find the soul-boxes of the Liches and capture or break them.

And so the living retain at least one advantage over the dead.

Potential campaigns include:

• The resistance, where the ninjas try to break away from their undead masters by making a giant horde of soul-boxes and end the rule of the dead once and for all
• Sneak and Slash, where the focus is on the elaborate protections in the Lich's castles
• Ninja training, where young ninjas learn their secret arts, leading up to a raid most of them are not expected to return alive from
• The War, where the action takes place amidst active hostilities.