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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 15 Sep 2013 :  05:38:55  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
So, in the larger scheme of things; including my love of 1e/2e AD&D, my various loved campaign settings, Markustay's working the Five Shires into my Forgotten Realms for me and lots of other things...I've finally started to settle into my new campaign world.

Essentially, the settings I wanted to mesh together into one campaign world were the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Birthright, Krynn and my own world of Aerk.

I've got a mutt of a map worked out in VERY rough draft:

EDIT (for new map) https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10166328/WIP%20of%20the%20Grey%20Realms%20of%20Aerk.jpg

Yessssss...ugly link. I'm no map maker or programmer though; so sorry.

This whole thing is set at the publication of the Old Grey Box, the Beginning of Greyhawk Boxed Set, the End of the War of the Lance, the start of the Birthright Boxed Set and meshed with my own campaign world.

I'm working on some of the background details on how things work; but a few things I've figured out so far:

The Horde area of the Forgotten Realms and the Paynim/Baklunish area of Greyhawk mesh very well.

My own continent of Ghanam and Hepmonoland of Greyhawk will enable me to sit them together and finally gather a strong African Pantheon of Gods and nations.

Zhakara is actually going to be the home region of several migrating groups of individuals that are responsible for the Baklunish of Greyhawk as well as the Khinasi of Birthright.

I'm using a "Spheres of Power" approach with mythical applications to explain why on Ansalon there are three moons, and elsewhere only two...and they are all different.

Evermeet is now going to be the Alfheim to my Nordheim region which is the eastern most area of the Birthright continent of Thaele.

New Empyrea from Greyhawk will be south of the area of the Finnish Gods in Kalevala...which will explain why Ahto the Finnish god is in the Egg of the Phoenix module for Greyhawk.

I'm placing a region called the Chaeldain Isles to the west of Zhakara where the Greek Pantheon currently is of primary power, though the Minotaurs of Krynn have brought the worship of Sargonnas to the land with their Imperial Goals.

I've been able to place the following Pantheons in the world now:

Norse on Thaele's eastern shores.

Finnish on Thaele's western shores.

Greek in the Chaeldain Isles.

Egyptian in Mulhorand.

Babylonian in Unther.

Sumerian in the northern areas of Aerk's western continent.

Celtic in the easternmost areas of Aerk's eastern continent.

African in the southern area of Hepmonoland and north Ghanam.

Aztec in the Amedio Jungle of Greyhawk.

Indian in the areas east of Zhakara.

Having placed all these Pantheons in my world, it is now easy to explain how many of those Gods ended up in Faerun.

Lots more; but this is good for now.

I'll get a better map later; but for now I just wanted to see if anyone else had any ideas on the placement of continents and how they would then be able to interact with migrations, religions, history, etc.

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!

Edited by - Dalor Darden on 29 Sep 2013 05:23:00

Renin
Learned Scribe

USA
290 Posts

Posted - 15 Sep 2013 :  15:28:25  Show Profile Send Renin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I just hope you have players that will appreciate the breadth and scope of the work you've done!!
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 15 Sep 2013 :  23:19:15  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Great job, DD.
If Dalor is anything like me (and I think he is), he is doing tons and tons of work... on stuff only he will ever know about.

The Campaign area of my latest setting is the size of 'the North' (a little bigger, actually), but I am not only minutely detailing the entire planet, but I also know whats on at least three other planets, and the cycles of the two moons - all stuff I am positive will never, EVER come up IG.

However, it gives a person a sort-of satisfaction when someone does ask a question (usually about where something is from), and we know the answer, because we know precisely where everything is. It doesn't matter if its halfway around the world, and the PCs will never go there - we know its there, we know WHY its there, and we know exactly what it is doing there. That allows us to run smoother, more 'organic' campaigns. Also, all that extra work pays off in plot hooks.

I still want my Greyhawk on the other side of the western ocean from FR, but I am now considering pasting The Scarred Lands onto the western end of Oerik instead of the Iron Kingdoms (because like DL, that flavor is very distinct, and doesn't merge all that well with other, more generic fantasy settings).

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 16 Sep 2013 13:46:41
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Nicolai Withander
Master of Realmslore

Denmark
1093 Posts

Posted - 15 Sep 2013 :  23:29:31  Show Profile Send Nicolai Withander a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay

If Dalor is anything like me (and I think he is), he is doing tons and tons of work... on stuff only he will ever know about.

The Campaign area of my latest setting is the size of 'the North' (a little bigger, actually), but I am not only minutely detailing the entire planet, but I also know whats on at least three other planets, and the cycles of the two moons - all stuff I am positive will ever, EVER come up IG.

However, it gives a person a sort-of satisfaction when someone does ask a question (usually about where something is from), and we know the answer, because we know precisely where everything is. It doesn't matter if its halfway around the world, and the PCs will never go there - we know its there, we know WHY its there, and we know exactly what it is doing there. That allows us to run smoother, more 'organic' campaigns. Also, all that extra work pays off in plot hooks.

Great job, DD. I still want my Greyhawk on the other side of the western ocean from FR, but I am now considering pasting The Scarred Lands onto the western end of Oerik instead of the Iron Kingdoms (because like DL, that flavor is very distinct, and doesn't merge all that well with other, more generic fantasy settings).



I think I would like you as my DM...
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 16 Sep 2013 :  00:11:00  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks MT! I know that for my game to be as fun as possible FOR ME, most of that fun comes in putting it all together first; and then sitting back and allowing players to go wherever they want and I'm able to give whatever information they need.

It is also why it is hard for me to "finish" anything! lol

I'm mostly done with like ten different projects; and the one I really want to get finished (The Five Shires) keeps getting put on the backburner while I do this or that thing.

My explanation for lots of things is finally coming together though; so hopefully after I do a little more, I can finally turn back to the Five Shires and finish it up.

I've recently introduced Tilswer Buckler from Shaerdon into my Swords of the Moonsea Play by Post game...so I'm working things into play now that are fun for me to use.

Simply being able to explain why so many gods from the "Real World" are in the Forgotten Realms gives me a great deal of peace of mind though!

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore

1842 Posts

Posted - 16 Sep 2013 :  00:18:32  Show Profile Send The Arcanamach a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
I think I would like you as my DM...


I would pay money for him as DM!

Seriously, you guys put so much thought and work into building your worlds it just amazes me. My campaign includes pretty much all of the published game worlds as well...but I just place the continents where I want them and don't worry about the semantics...cuz Ima lazy DM.

I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one.

Edited by - The Arcanamach on 16 Sep 2013 00:22:11
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Lord Bane
Senior Scribe

Germany
479 Posts

Posted - 16 Sep 2013 :  09:25:20  Show Profile Send Lord Bane a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Have the greater picture in mind. Ask yourself how things would interact in the real world, then look at it from the campaign angle and the world it is set in. Once that is done adapt to events unfolding and set the course to take. Donīt be lazy, be creative

The driving force in the multiverse is evil, for it forces good to act.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 16 Sep 2013 :  14:34:48  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
RIGHT - once I place something, or even as I am just mulling it over, I think about whats around there, what those other regions are known for, what major historic events have happened to them, and how can I tie it all together?

That way, things aren't just 'plunked down', I give a lot of thought as to the 'why' of it all - it has to all make sense. One of the very few things I don't like about canon Golarion (PF) is the 'everything, everywhere' feel of it - it reminds me a lot of Greyhawk (which was one of my few quibbles wit that setting as well). Its like they had a box of cultures they wanted to use, and then just pasted it all together. They actually did a wonderful job where that was concerned, but there are still some anomalies that bother me - hence, my own version of it (or rather, my own version of The Realms with everything else grafted onto it).

For instance, in the original version, I hadn't moved Amn yet, so all the Amn history was intact (you really have to keep the Lands of Intrigue clustered together). This presented a conundrum, in that I had merged Hepmonaland with Maztica - what sort of problems would happen with Amn settling the lands claimed by the Scarlet Brotherhood? Thats a very big deal, IMO. Fortunately, that problem resolved itself when I moved Amn (because now they had nothing to do with Maztica), but I still had to think about all that. Considering where I moved the former Shoon Imperium, I had to now re-work the history of both Calimshan and Mulhorand. Every single tweak effects everything else.

Strangely, as you do this (and study dozens of different campaign settings), you start to see some common trends (large-scale empires rising and falling in the past being the most predominant), and it becomes easier as you go along (because you 'know' where you placed all the flavors already). I had a couple of examples here, but I'll save them for my own thread (which will be at the Piazza, as a world-building project, eventually). Lets just say "strange crap falling from the sky and giving folks powers" is also another very common trope - I can't believe I hadn't seen that before.

And thank You Lord Bane for pointing me towards The Scarred Lands - its a bit 'rough around the edges', but the ancient (mythical?) history blends very well with my own HB cosmology, and when merged with the Mystara (Red Steel) material, helps explain a LOT. Not sure if I will actually use any part of the setting itself, but I really like the background flavor.


"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 16 Sep 2013 14:50:19
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Lord Bane
Senior Scribe

Germany
479 Posts

Posted - 16 Sep 2013 :  17:06:55  Show Profile Send Lord Bane a Private Message  Reply with Quote
No problem Markus. Some elements can be used for any campaign, like Shelzar the City of Sins. Got to like what they make of the halflings there

The driving force in the multiverse is evil, for it forces good to act.
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Drustan Dwnhaedan
Learned Scribe

USA
324 Posts

Posted - 17 Sep 2013 :  07:36:17  Show Profile Send Drustan Dwnhaedan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Man, this makes my attempts to create a world look pathetic. Still, I have to agree with Dalor; what I enjoy most about creating your own world is putting everything together and figuring out the world's history. Unfortunately, if I ever finish building my game's world, I'm going to have to find myself a new gaming group who would actually appreciate the creation of a complex world. My current group is mostly made up of power-gamers who only care about how much XP they get, and would probably wind up destroying most of what I have tried so hard to create.

Erm, sorry for ranting rather than offering any sort of intelligent comments. Dalor's work really is quite impressive. And the map looks perfectly fine to me (I've seen, and drawn, many that were much worse).

Edited by - Drustan Dwnhaedan on 17 Sep 2013 08:43:01
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore

1842 Posts

Posted - 17 Sep 2013 :  16:06:28  Show Profile Send The Arcanamach a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Dalor: Are you implementing the special rules from the Birthright setting or just including the continent? I'm curious because I've tried using them but a I've run into a problem. The kingdoms in the Realms seem to be rather large when compared to those of Cerilia...so provinces either need to be much larger or there need to be more of them in a standard Realms nation (both solutions offer there own problems when implementing the 'kingdom running' rules).

I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one.
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore

Poland
1190 Posts

Posted - 17 Sep 2013 :  16:09:19  Show Profile  Visit Zireael's Homepage Send Zireael a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by The Arcanamach

Dalor: Are you implementing the special rules from the Birthright setting or just including the continent? I'm curious because I've tried using them but a I've run into a problem. The kingdoms in the Realms seem to be rather large when compared to those of Cerilia...so provinces either need to be much larger or there need to be more of them in a standard Realms nation (both solutions offer there own problems when implementing the 'kingdom running' rules).



I loved the Birthright bloodlines rules, so I'll second this question.

SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!

http://zireael07.wordpress.com/
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 17 Sep 2013 :  19:38:01  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I am actually going to implement the Birthright rules into the entire campaign setting, but I'll have to make changes as well.

I had previously worked out a map for the Heartlands of Faerun that included provinces. Instead of using the Blood Abilities of Birthright, I use:

Destiny Score.

I generate a character's destiny much the same way that Bloodline can be created. It is an identical rules set, but without the need for explaining that a character has the blood of the gods. Instead, they carry destiny as accorded them by Fate. It is also something that allows me to set apart those Destined to Rule from "common men and women" as it were.

Those "Pre-ordained" by one God or another (who they don't even have to believe in!) may carry dormant "blessings" within them.

I am going to be re-working things a bit however in regard to Domain Magic; which I am considering changing quite a bit. I am going to go with Druids having control of certain things that wizards previously had control of. In essence, Druids will be the ones who want to preserve nature; and so will strive against the churches more because a Druid's Source Power will rely on wild lands.

Wizards, in turn, will rely on magical Arcani...essentially a gathering together of artifacts (some of which they may not even fully understand) which will enable them to pool Magical Force together to work Realm Magic. Most of these "artifacts" are not the same sort we normally think of, and can even be places of power: old elven ruins, magical groves, very powerful portals to other worlds...all of which only one wizard can be attuned to. So this enables wizards to strive against each other as well.

As for the provinces, that is going to be an easy issue of arbitrary borders and provincial numbers. I am making my Cerilia a bit larger (as you can see on the map); but over all it won't be that much different for the lands of Faerun (and others like in Greyhawk) also.

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore

1842 Posts

Posted - 17 Sep 2013 :  21:01:57  Show Profile Send The Arcanamach a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ah nice. My main concern is having to run a large kingdom. Per the normal BR rules, a regent eventually needs vassals to run a kingdom. Somewhere between 12-18 provinces the regent starts to become less effective at reacting to events within the campaign. So running a kingdom the size of Cormyr SHOULD require multiple vassals to run EFFICIENTLY.

Is your Destiny Score in any way derived from the Game of Thrones Destiny Points? I haven't bought my copy of the system yet so I'm not familiar with it (but I will be soon).

I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one.
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 17 Sep 2013 :  21:27:54  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
No, I am simply substituting Destiny for Bloodline. That will allow me to have someone like King Azoun to rule Cormyr without having to place a Bloodline from a God in him.

Some of the most extreme abilities from Birthright will need some tweaking to make sure that they fit in any setting (such as Divine Aura and such); but power manifestations are more cosmetic at any rate...the ability can stay the same without the outward appearances.

And you are right about someone such as Azoun needing vassals...but of course he has those: Constables, Marshals and etc.

The Empire of Anuire was a lesson in how a very large nation can work...and I've in the distant path worked the "math" of the situation and saw how it can work. Working from some of Rich Baker's notes on the matter, it was easy for me to see how an Emperor could run a vast empire under the system created. Essentially, King Azoun doesn't hold all land under his sway...but instead he would only collect Regency from others who hold the land. This is why such as Gondegal was able to snatch away part of Cormyr: he didn't actually take it directly from Azoun, but from a vassal.

Using Destiny, there can still be "bloodtheft" after a fashion...you are instead simply stealing someone's Destiny.

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader

USA
3240 Posts

Posted - 17 Sep 2013 :  21:31:54  Show Profile Send Ashe Ravenheart a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Are you using Pathfinder rules? Their new Mythic Adventures book does this perfectly (although it may be a bit more "epic" in scale than what you're looking for).

I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.

Ashe's Character Sheet

Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore

1842 Posts

Posted - 17 Sep 2013 :  21:54:34  Show Profile Send The Arcanamach a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I have the Mythic Rules and it does not tie in with the Birthright system (they are totally different). Unless you mean to add mythic abilities in place of bloodline (destiny) abilities?

I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one.
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 17 Sep 2013 :  22:00:36  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Just working very quickly (I'm actually working on other things right now) I put this together:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10166328/Birthright%20Cormyr%20WIP.jpg

This shows how quickly borders can be added to any Forgotten Realms nation. I didn't add any levels in yet (because that would require more work than I have time for right now); but you can see that even Cormyr can be easily divided to work within the scope of the Birthright Domain Rules.

Essentially, Azoun could hold all the land in this scenario; but his vassals (being Constables and whatever else) could hold the Law holdings for him easily enough and respond to any problems.

This would also allow for the various Nobles to hold some Law and influence in the Kingdom, and then even the various Guilds, Churches, Druids and War Wizards as well!

Essentially, the War Wizards might hold the Magic Holdings of the Realms, as well as various Law Holdings too!

Each Birthright Province is roughly 30 miles or so across...so you can see that the scale on this map in the upper left corner puts the borders of Cormyr's "provinces" at roughly that.

I'll rework this in the future I'm sure...but it all works easily enough.

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2013 :  03:36:14  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Now you have me reconsidering putting a bit more Birthright in - I am pretty damn unfamiliar with the setting, but I have been taking a second look at it the past two weeks (along with just about everything else).

I have my own 'birthright' (bloodlines) rules in-place, imported from my entirely homebrew setting (some of that is making it in as well). Because I am now merging Red Curse/Spellscar/Dragonmark lore all together (along with a few other things like Mica and Necrotite), the Birthright/Bloodline stuff will probably make a good fit (at least in that one region). That entire huge island is an amalgam of several different 'bandit kingdoms' regions - picture the Border kingdoms under the Red Curse (Red Steel setting).

So far, I've only ported-in some background (Basarji/Khinasi for Turmish), and have decided to eventually place the Cities of the Sun somewhere int that same area. I'm intrigued by some of Birthright's rule systems and lore, but the nations themselves leave me a bit bored, for the most part. Also not a big fan of the 'one of a kind' uber-monsters, either (although the rules surrounding them mesh well with some other Ravenloft-like ideas I've had for 'domains'.

As for my version of Bloodlines... I think I need to keep a lid on that for a bit longer. I may actually publish my own setting someday (even if its just self-published on the interwebs), and I need to have few aces up my sleeve yet. I don't like the 'god blood' thing either, so I went a more... antideluvian... route.

One last thing - I think as for tying the nobility/royalty of Cormyr to their land... well... I think you hit a bullseye with that one (in other words, you may be a lot closer to the truth then you know).

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 18 Sep 2013 03:39:05
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2013 :  04:13:08  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The only rules sets I will be using are AD&D coupled with the first prints of each of the campaign settings:

Old Grey Box

Al-Qadim Boxed Set

Greyhawk Boxed Set

Dragonlance Adventures Hardback

Birthright Boxed Set (with notes from Rich Baker for Aduria)

The World of Aerk/Realms of Mithrais (my own original campaign)

I am playing strictly 1e AD&D with some minor alterations:

Wizards from 2e AD&D will be used in place of Magic-Users and Illusionists.

The "Class Builder" from 2e AD&D will be used for unique classes.

I'm taking a Lore Heavy approach to melding each campaign setting together; but at the same time using only material as presented in the above materials and picking and choosing from pieces to meld them all together.

As an example: Luiren is a mythical land in my campaign (it doesn't actually exist!). In its place is an arid realm of humans. Calimshan actually exists as an extension of Zhakaran culture in my realm...so all the south is much more "Middle-Eastern" in feel. The original maps of the Forgotten Realms only went so far south...and so nobody "really knows what is down there!"


The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore

1842 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2013 :  04:18:04  Show Profile Send The Arcanamach a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Birthright had some great concepts in it. You had the regency rules (for running a domain), the divine-style bloodlines, battle magic and realm magic, etc. I also liked their take on elves and the hin. I also didn't mind the one-of-a-kind monsters (I would just use them as progenitors or paragons of the species in some cases or just say a given monster is simply a unique version of a more common creature).

The only thing I didn't care for were the rules for running large scale (war) battles. There are plenty of other systems that handle such fights more elegantly and more thoroughly.

By the way Markus, if you include the continent of Ansalon and incorporate Birthright...I will worship you even more than I do now!

I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one.

Edited by - The Arcanamach on 18 Sep 2013 04:18:47
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore

1842 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2013 :  04:22:58  Show Profile Send The Arcanamach a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
I am playing strictly 1e AD&D with some minor alterations:

Wizards from 2e AD&D will be used in place of Magic-Users and Illusionists.

The "Class Builder" from 2e AD&D will be used for unique classes.


My only issue with 1e is I hated clerics from that era. 2e specialty priests were much more interesting.

For some reason I can't remember the 'class builder' from 2e. What book is that in?

I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one.
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2013 :  04:29:47  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by The Arcanamach

quote:
I am playing strictly 1e AD&D with some minor alterations:

Wizards from 2e AD&D will be used in place of Magic-Users and Illusionists.

The "Class Builder" from 2e AD&D will be used for unique classes.


My only issue with 1e is I hated clerics from that era. 2e specialty priests were much more interesting.

For some reason I can't remember the 'class builder' from 2e. What book is that in?



It is in the 2e Dungeon Master's Guide.

Now that you mention it...I'll probably use the clerics from 2e also...especially the specialty priests. They were a great concept!

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore

1842 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2013 :  08:26:53  Show Profile Send The Arcanamach a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ah yes I see it on page 22 of the DMG, thanks! I forgot all about that guide.

And yes, the 2e specialty priests were great. They really breathed new life into the class and gave each deity a distinct flavor.

I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one.
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore

Poland
1190 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2013 :  12:53:16  Show Profile  Visit Zireael's Homepage Send Zireael a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Dalor, just chiming in to say I'd love it if we could get the rules included. There's some OGL-based retroclones out there, after all.

SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!

http://zireael07.wordpress.com/
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2013 :  14:48:43  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
You are almost making me want to play a 1e/2e game, Dalor... ALMOST.

My rules are loosely based on 3e (as in, if I haven't changed something, then we fall back on PF rules), but there is so much homebrew its barely recognizable. One major thing I eliminated is two rolls for combat... I always thought that was stupid. Damage should be determined by how good a 'swing' you made (in other words, the first roll you make). The weapon you use hardly matters (RW, a rogue with some epic knife skills can do far more damage then a newb with a battleaxe). My combat rolls are also 4D6-4 rather then a D20 (I am trying to eliminate ALL the 'weird dice'). You get a fumble on a zero (this is because I am still using all the tables from 3e/PF - eventually I will have my own tables and can just do away with the -4 thing).

But I do try to bring in more of that OD&D flavor with race-specific Feats (so you can build a 10th level elf, rather then an elf with a class). I am hoping 5e will offer choices along these lines (so you can build PCs either way). This also helps a great deal when dealing with NPCs - I never liked that a low-lev PC (and NPC in 3e) could theoretically be better at a craft then a person who has been plying that trade his whole life (and in a fantasy setting, that 'life' could be centuries long).

quote:
Originally posted by The Arcanamach

By the way Markus, if you include the continent of Ansalon and incorporate Birthright...I will worship you even more than I do now!
Like I said, the Birthright setting doesn't appeal to me overmuch, but the rules intrigue me.

As for Ansalon... ugh... I guess it would fit nicely somewhere down between Xendrik (Katashaka) and Zakhara, connected to the south polar icecap. It is pretty small compared to other settings. Thus Evermeet would be to its North, with the ruins of Azlant (Anchorome' archipeligo) further north of that, which is beween the heartlands (FR) and Oerik (GH). I already stole the Minotaur islands for my Norse-like area.

Why, I even got tiny bits of the Young Kingdoms (Moorcock) and Hyboria (Conan) in there (in the Thazalhar region, between Mulhorand and Thayliax). Lots of crazy stuff going on.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 18 Sep 2013 14:52:51
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Ashe Ravenheart
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USA
3240 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2013 :  15:21:34  Show Profile Send Ashe Ravenheart a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by The Arcanamach

I have the Mythic Rules and it does not tie in with the Birthright system (they are totally different). Unless you mean to add mythic abilities in place of bloodline (destiny) abilities?

That's what I was thinking, yes.

I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.

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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore

1842 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2013 :  16:07:17  Show Profile Send The Arcanamach a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Like I said, the Birthright setting doesn't appeal to me overmuch, but the rules intrigue me.

As for Ansalon... ugh... I guess it would fit nicely somewhere down between Xendrik (Katashaka) and Zakhara, connected to the south polar icecap. It is pretty small compared to other settings. Thus Evermeet would be to its North, with the ruins of Azlant (Anchorome' archipeligo) further north of that, which is beween the heartlands (FR) and Oerik (GH). I already stole the Minotaur islands for my Norse-like area.

Why, I even got tiny bits of the Young Kingdoms (Moorcock) and Hyboria (Conan) in there (in the Thazalhar region, between Mulhorand and Thayliax). Lots of crazy stuff going on.


You have to do whatever you think is best for your game, I can always tack on Ansalon (most certainly) and Cerilia (probably) myself. But if you do put either/both of them I'll just move from drooling with lust over your work to full orgasmic splendor. I liked where Ansalon fit in one of your earlier maps.

And now you tell me you have Hyboria and the Young Kingdoms (I'm a fan of Moorcock)...next you'll be telling me decided to add Lankhmar stuff. You do that and I will just kill over from perpetual orgasmic splendor.

I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one.
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore

1842 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2013 :  16:11:05  Show Profile Send The Arcanamach a Private Message  Reply with Quote
@Ashe: I think the mythic powers would mesh well with the BR blood abilities. Both basically have 3 tiers of powers so the division is already there for you. It's just a matter of assigning blood derivation to the mythic powers (assuming you choose to keep the derivations at all).

I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one.
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader

USA
4211 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2013 :  16:56:13  Show Profile Send Dalor Darden a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Zireael

Dalor, just chiming in to say I'd love it if we could get the rules included. There's some OGL-based retroclones out there, after all.



My primary task right now is getting the Five Shires done. After that I'll be compiling my world into one mostly cohesive file. I'll also include in that the rules for Destiny that allow for players to rule kingdoms.

JakutaKhan is currently playing in my Swords of the Moonsea game, and I'm sure he will be interested in being able to have some concrete plans in hand to use for forging his dreams of a Hobgoblin Kingdom.

The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me!
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore

1842 Posts

Posted - 19 Sep 2013 :  03:34:09  Show Profile Send The Arcanamach a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Dalor, I like your placement of Cerilia. If I may ask, what are those landmasses below Djapar? Is that homebrew or from published material? Also, can you give a basic synopsis of your homebrew continent?

I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one.
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