Ideas Are Easy

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Thanks to RayanW for pointing out this was a reprocessed version of the OP. Deleted raistopley as a spammer.

Just to be clear, David spotted it (it was his post that was being duplicated, after all). I just clicked the report button to make sure a mod saw it and could decide on an appropriate response.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Apollonian

It's a few decades into the Fourth Age of Middle Earth, and the PCs are orcs and/or men in Eastern Mordor trying to carve out a new life unshackled from Sauron's influence while not getting slaughtered by the armies of Gondor. (An assumption here is that orcs are, somehow, not irredeemably evil.)

I feel like so much of this depends on figuring out the economics/logistics of Tolkien Orcs, and that feels like a fool's errand.



On the other hand, running the men feels quite doable. I could see myself running this game with my players as a court-style game.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I feel like so much of this depends on figuring out the economics/logistics of Tolkien Orcs, and that feels like a fool's errand.

Depends on the emphasis of the campaign. You could also just avoid the issue of how the orcs were sustained during the time of Sauron by stating that the old system (where even the orcs and surviving Men didn't know how it worked) fell apart when Mount Doom erupted and Sauron and the Nazgul vanished (I'm not certain if any in Mordor really had any idea what was going on with the Ring), and now part of the campaign premise is figuring out how to sustain what remains of the army. Or just steal a bit from the Shadows of Mordor and Shadows of War video games, where IIRC the orcs relied largely on a combination of slave labor, raiding (there were some human tribes in Mordor who weren't under Sauron's control in those games, and much of Mordor was actually fairly lush farmland), and hunting monsters.

[Apollonian]

One reason I said "East Mordor" is because that's where the breadbasket is, around the Sea of Nurnen and the rivers flowing into it. While it's probably salty (endorheic basin), it's how Sauron fed his legions.

[ericthered]

Cursed

Krisfidon was once a mighty dragon, wielding flaming breath, a night impenetrable hide, deep magics, and a personal kingdom. Now he has been afflicted by a terrible curse, that has changed him into a lowly human. Unable to convince his erstwhile allies of his rightful station, he must make his way among the mortal masses, and perhaps find a way back to his former glory.

The PC's can could be a team believers helping the dragon regain his throne. One of them might even be poor Krisfidon.

Alternatively, they could be working against a fallen tyrant, trying to make sure his new cult doesn't restore his terrifying power.

You could even run a game in the castle where the PC's, as generals and advisors, try to thread their way through the new regime as Krisfidon's enemies take advantage of his fall.

******************************
New Place, New Body, New Life

A number of Modern-Times humans think they have died... but instead wake up in the bodies of goblins, living in a city of dark-elves in the under-dark. Their new hosts want them to transform the dark-elf city into an industrial power house. The transplanted souls will need to make a new life for themselves, even as culture and ethical challenges arrive, and they begin to suspect that the dark elves are fighting against the human's old home-land.

******************************

I have no idea why I'm on a "you don't have your old body anymore" kick today.

[jason taylor]

Owen Lattimore met a man he called the Elder Brother of the House of Chou on the caravan routes who claimed he was an heir to a family of merchant princes and it was customary to intern heirs on a voyage.

Suppose the PCs are assigned to give such a fellow a ride-along. The subject can be a royal brat, or naive but nice enough and no worse than any other newcomer. or anywhere in between.

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Owen Lattimore met a man he called the Elder Brother of the House of Chou on the caravan routes who claimed he was an heir to a family of merchant princes and it was customary to intern heirs on a voyage.

The first time I read that I read intern as in "to bury or imprison" not "to give an internship to" (Pterry's Assassins say inhume).

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Polydamas

The first time I read that I read intern as in "to bury or imprison" not "to give an internship to" (Pterry's Assassins say inhume).

Fortunately that was not what happened, but there might have been some times when a Chinese clan did that to one of it's scions.

[Jorodryn]

In 1997 while I was stationed in Germany, we used GURPs for a couple of short campaigns.

The setting was as follows

In the late 21st century we have made the leap to colonizing our solar system. There is an established colony on both Mars and the earth’s moon. There are other colonies on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

The United Nations is the ruling body on earth. A handful of space based warships have been built. Although there is no known reason why they’re needed.

The campaign starts as war erupts between the colonies beyond the asteroid belt and the inner colonies along with earth. The lack of food shipments to the outer solar system is what precipitated the war.

Our specific campaign started after a battle between the two fleets. The main earth flag ship was damaged and hiding in the rings of Saturn. The opposing fleet was trying to hunt them down, the goal of the players was to send a small task force to recover parts from the colonies in order to repair the flag ship and get it safely back to the inner solar system. Meanwhile a group from the other fleet was conducting missions to locate the flag ship and capture it.

[ericthered]

A Military Unit dropped a short distance behind enemy lines, with orders to take some vital piece of infrastructure like a bridge or mountain pass, and to hold it for a short time (like 36 hours).

Mech's airdropped to take a hold a pass sounds particularly cool.