Discussion - LEW 4th Edition

Bront · Sep 9, 2007

doghead said:
Exactly.

I know. But the last time I looked at it, it was fairly sparse. It really seemed like an under utilised resource.

doghead
aka thotd

Have you checked the new one Rae setup? http://bluwiki.com/go/LEW

Someone · Sep 9, 2007

Wik said:
That is a great idea, and it really does fit with a "Simbad" or "greek" style game. Since I wanted to run something based on an archipelego, I think that could work really well.

A few points:

1) Perhaps this plane could be mobile, so that it would pick up ships randomly and shift their movements, so that ships COULD move from point a to point b via regular sailing, while another ship, leaving a day later, could catch this plane, and make it to point b a week ahead of ship a.

2) Keeping the well-traveled routes "plane free" would be fairly smart, I think, sine we could really just post a list in the player's guide saying roughly how long it takes to get from point a to point b.

I posted the basic idea, and it can be exanded upon it if everyone thinks it's a good idea. It also fits fairly well also with what we know of the default "points of light" setting. As you said, well stablished and common routes can be stable and be impossibe to get lost as long you don't leave them; but if you dare untried paths or venture out of the well known areas and fail the appropiate roll, you can end wherever the DM wants.

Rystil Arden · Sep 9, 2007

Someone said:
I posted the basic idea, and it can be exanded upon it if everyone thinks it's a good idea. It also fits fairly well also with what we know of the default "points of light" setting. As you said, well stablished and common routes can be stable and be impossibe to get lost as long you don't leave them; but if you dare untried paths or venture out of the well known areas and fail the appropiate roll, you can end wherever the DM wants.

Why not just say that they are 'usually' stable? That allows the GM to make them unstable if she wishes. I'm still not sure that this is the way we should go, particularly since we don't have access to the 4E books and such yet, but I'm warming up to the idea--here's some thoughts:

There are several cultures that really have those "Explorers among many islands lost in the mists and taken to fantastic places" vibes. Of those, Sinbad and Arabian Nights fantasy was already mentioned. But there is also the saga of Bran the Blessed and other Celtic heroes who had very similar adventures (and this might be a good way to introduce the Eladrin and/or Elves) and the Norse are known for seafaring (and this might be a good way to introduce the Dwarves and/or Elves). The Odyssey is a great tale of seafaring adventure for the Greeks, but unless 4E fluff is very different than 3.x, Greek mythological themas will be fairly difficult to incorporate.

So if we do this, I suggest that we have four or five 'continents' / 'areas' connected by the 'Seven Seas' transitive plane, with each of these corresponding to one of those themes of legends. Of course, each would have countless smaller islands nearby to explore. The cool thing is, it is possible that these four or five areas are actually not all on the same planet, and are simply linked by this strange tempestuous and capricious sea. Also, it gives us quick, easy, and powerful cultural themas to use, and allows for some interesting roleplaying opportunities (imagine a Norse-like hero teaming up with a Celt and an Arabian explorer--the culture shock could be fun!).

Perhaps the access across the areas, since getting there directly through the sea is uncertain and dangerous, is accomplished through strange stone obelisks that jut out from the ocean like fingers, covered in runes. Each is in an obscure location in its area (so it isn't a cakewalk or a guarantee you can even use it!), and when a ship sails in between the three stone fingers, a giant whirlpool sucks it through and to another one of them in a different area (depending on which of the three ways you entered the configuration).

Wik · Sep 9, 2007

Well, I was thinking about continent shape, and I drew up a basic map that would have some main areas sketched out. And, for the record, I think it will work no matter WHAT 4e is, because if 4e can't support something this generic, the game is broken, and I'll stick with 3.5E.

At the bottom of the map, we have an antartic landmass, covered in ice. Much of it is like antartica, except for a thin peninsula of land that juts up. This peninsula would be home to Viking-esque raiders that war with one another, and raid nearby landmasses. I also think some other "ice barbarians" would be nice. I think inuit-style hunter/gatherers on dog sled would be fun, to the extreme south.

We could then fit in a chain of islands, probably mountainous, that we'd leave open for GM expansion. I was thinking it'd be neat to put dwarves on this island, although explaining dwarves in detail should probably wait.

Then, we have a fairly small continent (australia in size?), with the southern parts being temperate, and then sub-tropical, with only the northern tip being tropical in any way. The western part of this is fairly humid, and then we have a mountain range, and everything east of the mountain range is at least sub-arid.

ON the western shores of this continent, we have the main cities (a collective of three or four cities that ally themselves as a confederacy) and an empire on the northern tip that is at least mildly evil (they keep slaves, and may have some evil magic things going on - they used to control the whole continent, and they want it back). In the arid regions, we have a large grouping of people who live in city-states, with each state based around an oasis, as well as an arab-like people who run trading missions between these city-states. We could also fit in a farming people along the shores of a wide river cutting through the desert (preferably in the northern area).

Then we have an archipelego system, with many different cultures on the islands. This is where our travel comes down to - it's very easy for a GM to invent an island, but we can always add enough big ones to attract idea-strapped GMs. And I like the variable travel rules - personally, I think it'd be neat if we had a travel god or goddess that mariners would pray to before they sail, out of a hope that they can avoid the "mists of travel" or whatever they're called.

Finally, to the north, we have a large landmass (like asia), that's covered in jungle. Only a few parts of this are civilized - the rest are filled with all sorts of ivy-covered ruins, festering swamps, and violent volcanoes. In other words, a great place to set an adventure.

Wik · Sep 9, 2007

One thing I'd like to point out is that the more "generic" the world is, the better. While the "obelisks" idea is kind of neat, I don't know if they should be made a core mechanic, since it's too "concrete". One of the things I don't like about LEW is how the planes interact with the world itself - they confuse me to no end, and they just don't mesh with how I feel fantasy should be.

Rystil Arden · Sep 9, 2007

Wik said:
One thing I'd like to point out is that the more "generic" the world is, the better. While the "obelisks" idea is kind of neat, I don't know if they should be made a core mechanic, since it's too "concrete". One of the things I don't like about LEW is how the planes interact with the world itself - they confuse me to no end, and they just don't mesh with how I feel fantasy should be.

What about the LEW planes do you not like? I've never really found them to be notably different from usual D&D or a problem.

Wik · Sep 9, 2007

Just the lands of fire, earth, and all that jazz. And it seems pretty bizarre, overall.

Truth be told, I don't really like idea of planes in PbP anyways.

Rystil Arden · Sep 10, 2007

Wik said:
Just the lands of fire, earth, and all that jazz. And it seems pretty bizarre, overall.

Truth be told, I don't really like idea of planes in PbP anyways.

Those aren't planes at all. Those are based on the towers. I thought the towers were pretty cool. I also love the various planes of D&D and am a huge Planescape fan, so I think we're never going to see eye-to-eye if you don't like planes in PbP

doghead · Sep 10, 2007

ooc - LEW Discussion

Yeah. After my last post, I thought I should go back and have a look. Its a big improvement. But it still suffers from being a post facto creation. It a bit of a weird blend of highly specific and very vague.

For me, working in a shared setting, two features would be key. A map, so I can say OK, in the Bainlunder Hills there is a town here, a river here, etc. A wiki searchable by location, so I can say, OK in the Bainlunder Hills there is a group of people calling themselves the Bainlunders, a tribe of goblins is active in the north, dragons have been spotted, etc. Of course, this all needs to be kept reasonably up to date, so a mechanism for that should, I think, for part of the basic set up of LEW 4E.

I haven't decided how I feel about the island/ship idea. It does make things easier - I don't have to work in with anyone else's ideas, I can just create a new island. But in the end, we could end up with everyone making a new island for their own adventures, and LEW degenerating from being a a shared setting to just a shared pool of adventurers.

doghead
aka thotd