"The Village"...a campaign of desparate horror

"Dark cities of grey stone and iron dot the wilderness in a time of uncertainty and widespread fear. Ruled by ruthless lords and shadowy councils, and guided by a slowly dying religion the citizens of these cities live a claustrophobic existance. Despite the terrible living conditions experienced under despotic rulers, living inside the city is far pererable to being shunned outside the city's protecive walls.
Though each city is surrounded by tilled fertile ground, lush orchards, and green pastures that, to the naked eye, look pleasant enough the ctizens rarely tary outside the cloister of the lord's ramparts. Stories abound about the forest and what happens if you stray too far off of the beaten path...stories that never end happily.
Aye, people, of a sort, do live outside the all-encompassing walls but whether they be mad beyond redemption or touched by something altogether unatural is hard to say.
Things were not always this way. Long ago, after teh Sojourner delivered us to relative peace and harmony the world was a much brighter place. each day was filled with songs to the Golden God and joy marked the faces of our people. Then the forests were something to fear only in children's tales told to keep the little one's in line.
But sunny days did set before long and into that perilous night we have wandered. Sinful and wicked we became and the forests became filled with all manner of noxious vile beasts that left nary a hem nor spot of blood from the victims they took at the wood's edge. Punished for falling from grace, we are but today is a new day and a new promise awakens inthe East. The Order of Simon gives us hope and alays our fears, they bring deliverance for our wicked ways"

This is the introduction to my new campaign world that appens to still be unnamed.

I am basing it off of M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368447/
and come other sources i am sure i have back in my brain somewhere.

I am using the grim-n-gritty rules and a low magic rules set ( of my own devising so who knows if it is broken or not) andi am awarding human's additional bonuses in either feats or skills above and beyond what they normally gain to limit the amountof non-humans inthe game.

I see the city states as zenophobic versions of Iron Curtain states (East Germany, Hungary, Rumania).

The Order of Simon is....not what you might think it is.

My initial assumption was that you were basing a game on the old TV show, "The Prisoner."

Johnathan

My initial assumption ...

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Mine too.

Why not just forbid non-humans? Say that there are only humans within the Walls? After all, elves are horrid, gaunt ghouls that creep through the branches and suck the marrow out of children's bones if they don't say the 'Prayer of Thanks to the Ruler'.

I have never seen "The Prisoner" (I once saw the cover of the graphic novel though) but I have read Kafka so that is another one of those subconscious ideas that congealed to create this setting. Should I watch "The Prisoner"?

I also recall some terrible "B" movie fromthe 1970s or 1980s about an obstacle course marathon through some Eastern European locale. Seem to reacall one of the obstacles was negotiating through the twisting confines of a lunatic colony.

Anyone have idea what to base the cities off of? leaders and politics mainly.

I am leaving Demi-humans inthe game for a bit of fantasy flavour and well, I already limited the classes.

The City form Thief:The Dark Project might be a good choice for ambience.

How do they acquire food if everyone's afraid to go outside?

For politics, the trick is to always think in terms of: where does power come from? In this setting, is it who controls the 'safe' roads though the big nasty Outdoors? Who controls the farms? the master of the Architect's guilds who keep the rooves over everyones heads?

Supply and demand; if getting food from the Wilderness is the most important issue, he who controls that will be in charge.

HarryFlashman said:

I also recall some terrible "B" movie fromthe 1970s or 1980s about an obstacle course marathon through some Eastern European locale. Seem to reacall one of the obstacles was negotiating through the twisting confines of a lunatic colony.

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Gymkata

Not a terrible movie for it's time period, but the city of lunatics was by far the best part of the flick.

Dirigible, perhaps this escaped notice;

"Though each city is surrounded by tilled fertile ground, lush orchards, and green pastures that, to the naked eye, look pleasant enough the ctizens rarely tary outside the cloister of the lord's ramparts. Stories abound about the forest and what happens if you stray too far off of the beaten path...stories that never end happily."


My prose, that was supposed to be evocative as well as informative, may have turned out to be less informative than I had hoped. The land immediately surrounding the cities is dedicated to agriculture and ranching and is under steady guard during the daylight hours but as dusk approaches wise citizens retreat to the protective shell of the city walls.

Thank you for the lesson in politics. For one who claims to be an amateur economics nut I should have thought about following the chain of "supply and demand"

I have not played Theif: The Dark Project and currently lack a computer than can run anything more graphically involved than Doom.

I may borrow some of the cities from Dark Sun or ravenloft (though all of my 2E supplements are back home in Oklahoma while I am in Seattle.

"Gymkata", you don't say? Well I might have to find out if I can rent it somewhere.

Anyone know of any movies or book that mgiht be inspirational?
Gymkata and The Prisoner so far.

Kafka's already been mentioned.

I read the bit you highlighted, I guess I didn't infer that the immediate area would be utilised like that. I wonder... is there a Guild for labourers in the Wilderness? It would wield considerable power... perhaps the Lords repress it mercilessly. Or, is working in the Wilderness, so close to the mosnters a punnishment... hard labour? Are they slaves? Freeholders who are applauded for their courage?

Thank you for the lesson in politics.

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That's not sarcasm, is it?

Sarcasm? No. sorry if it seemed like it. it was actually me kicking myself for not recalling the simple facts of life.

"Many years ago a wizened man stumbled out of the hinterland of Bagesh and into Salister, the Reaching City. Half mad the bent man cried out before Salister's mighty gates demanding that the lord, Aphixtus, open his city to him or suffer the wrath of the one true God. Fearing tumult among the superstitious masses the lord Aphixtus opened his gates.
Bald headed and burnt redder than a setting sun the bent creature was. The man's grey beard swept the cobblestone road before him as he swayed toward Sablestone, the lord's keep.
Unchanged but for a brilliant robe of white the man emerged after some days had passed with lord Aphixtus paying obeisiance at his side, kissing his hand. From atop the highest tower of Sablestoen Brother simon, as he came to be known, delivered his message of salvation and condemnationfor the enemies of the meek. that day his eyes shown withthe brilliance of the Sun, but some would say, though not too loudly, that the light was a reflection of the fires of Gehenna burning deep inside of Father Simon.
Thus the Order of Simon was born."

One of the power players in my Campaign will be the "Order of Simon" whose leader has long since dissappeared yet his followers complete his earthly works.