Designing a new campaign: Brainstorm stage, Focus wanted

[The Lost Muse]

Perhaps they should be pure researchers, letting each player research their own unique versions of spells, possibly with some kind of Spellcraft mechanic.

Scaling back the epic spell system would give you a premade solution that is along the lines of what you describe.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Thanks, Luke...I'll have to give that a look-see. Is it .pdf only?

Timmundo- I hadn't even considered cracking open the Epic book- I didn't care for it so I don't use it much, but that mechanic might just be what I need...Thanks!

 

[Henry]

EDIT: this alone has deep implications. Sorcerers and other "intuitive" arcane casters have a clear advantage...where are Wizards going to find their spells? Perhaps they should be pure researchers, letting each player research their own unique versions of spells, possibly with some kind of Spellcraft mechanic.

Paper will survive, if there are plants left. Egyptians were making papyri a long time before books became common. A "scroll" might no longer be a magic item, it might be the spell books...

Other things include bundles of notched sticks as record keeping devices; Specially-coded knots in strings. You could ever have spell scrolls that are essentially a string of complicated sailors' knots that have to be untied in the correct order, or they don't function - a different take on spell-completion items.

Metals are also going to be either scarce or reused ("this sword was passed from father to father... and it's the only steel weapon in the village.") However, fey and duergar weapons are going to be almost priceless, since the drow and dark dwarves didn't lose their metallurgy skills in the ELE. Aboleths, Mind Flayers, etc. aren't going to be much on metal tools - they have slaves with natural claws, etc. to do their work for them.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Sorry I wasn't clear, Henry- I meant that the accumulated knowledge of mages and alchemists and historians enshrined in libraries would mostly be lost. The surviving arch-spellslingers of the new age aren't going to be taking on too many students or sharing their knowledge. There aren't going to be too many unattended spellbooks lying around, and magic stores will be a thing of the past.

In other words, while somebody might still be able to make paper or scrolls or spellsticks or spellstones or whatever, accumulated magecraft will be, essentially, starting over. Without mentors, young wizards will be discovering the rules anew, re-inventing the Fireball, if you will.

Metals are also going to be either scarce or reused...

You, sir, seem to be reading my mind.

The exception, of course, will be those nearest Ground Zero of the ELE meteor strike...there, metals and certain precious stones will abound- so I figure there will be at least one major Dwarf Citadel established there, if not a relocation en masse of the Dwarven nation.

 

[luke_twigger]

Thanks, Luke...I'll have to give that a look-see. Is it .pdf only?

It's both print and pdf.
http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?mpress_Sky
64-page softbound book
Stock #WW16121
ISBN 1-58846-061-4

 

[JohnSnow]

Sorry I can't be of much help on most of this (flavor-wise, I'm too mired developing my own setting), but I can provide a couple suggestions...

Anthros are typically +2-+5LA, the Woodling template is +2 or so...

How do I BALANCE this?

Option 1) I had considered "ignoring" LA, in the sense of running the campaign sort of like RIFTS: Your PC starts off with 1 class level, regardless of race...but a LA0 PC would get his next class level at the regular XP point, the +1LA one level later, and so forth until all PCs are "balanced."

Option 2) Design a whole bunch of monster levels for the +LA races.

Option 3) Start the campaign at the ECL of the PC with the highest ECL.

I vote for you picking an ECL (4, say). Then everyones starts at that ECL. An LA +0 race means the PC's 4th level. An PC from an LA +2 race is 2nd level, and so on.

This is MUCH less problematic in a campaign where magic is less tied to level. To whit...

In other words, while somebody might still be able to make paper or scrolls or spellsticks or spellstones or whatever, accumulated magecraft will be, essentially, starting over. Without mentors, young wizards will be discovering the rules anew, re-inventing the Fireball, if you will.

If you REALLY want to play this up, rules alterations to the magic system are the way to go. For a flexible, "making up the spells as you go" system, I STRONGLY urge you to check out True Sorcery from Green Ronin.

It's a flexible, spellcraft-based magic system that works somewhat similarly to the Epic rules, but better realized. It's also infinitely scalable. It's a more involved system, but one you and your players might enjoy. And they definitely have to develop their spells.

I'm planning to use it in an early civilization campaign with Iron Heroes as the rule base.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Thanks again, Luke! I'm going to track that down.

To JohnSnow:

Every suggestion helps.

Well, the way things are shaping up with templates being tossed around willy-nilly, there won't be too many LA+0 races around...but you're probably right about just starting the campaign at ECL4 or so.

I generally like Green Ronin's products, and I've heard some buzz about True Sorcery- is it available in print form as well?

How does this list sound?

PC Races in the campaign:

Wolfen
Mountain Dwarves
Half-Orcs (true humans and orcs are just fodder & slaves)
Drow
Green Elves (Elves with a Woodling or similar template)
Anthropomorphic Animals
Awakened Animals
Feral Halflings
Thri-Kreen
Duregar

 

[JohnSnow]

I generally like Green Ronin's products, and I've heard some buzz about True Sorcery- is it available in print form as well?

Yup. You can order it directly from Green Ronin at this link.

How does this list sound?

PC Races in the campaign:

Wolfen
Mountain Dwarves
Half-Orcs (true humans and orcs are just fodder & slaves)
Drow
Green Elves (Elves with a Woodling or similar template)
Anthropomorphic Animals
Awakened Animals
Feral Halflings
Thri-Kreen
Duergar

Like an ECL 4 campaign...

For the anthropomorphics, if you don't have stats, you might try using Overt Moreaus from d20 Modern. They're pretty slick renditions of the concept, although some of them could use a (pretty obvious and easy to figure out) power boost.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'll probably use the Anthros from Savage Species as is, and work with players to design their own if their favorite normal critter isn't represented. Given my location in Texas, I wouldn't be surprised if someone wanted to play an Anthro Gecko or Horned Toad...and I may just have to design a Panda as the DM NPC (I love PvP & Tekken).

I'll check out the Overt Moreaus too, while I'm at it- I may also lift the quasi-lycanthropes PC race from Eberron.

Given what I've got so far for races, do you think I should template the Half-Orcs & Mountain Dwarves?

Edit: Forgot some races on the list of PC races in the post above...
PC Races in the campaign:

Wolfen
Mountain Dwarves
Half-Orcs (true humans and orcs are just fodder & slaves)
Drow
Green Elves (Elves with a Woodling or similar template)
Anthropomorphic Animals
Awakened Animals
Feral Halflings
Thri-Kreen
Duregar
Aasimar
Tiefling
Genasi

 

[Mycanid]

Hey there Danny ... something I have long been thinking about as possible material for a DnD campaign has been Anne McCaffery's ideas about the "threads" that destroy the surface world. Have you read her Dragonriders, etc. books? I always thought that the "threads" could be modified somewhat, made to happen to the world the pc's inhabit while they were below ground or something, and then have them re-surface in a totally different world.

Playing out the theme of Anne McCaffery's "threads" in this way came from an acquaintance of mine named Sergei. Sergei had friends who were in the islands that were hit by the tidal wave last year. At the time the wave hit they were scuba diving. They had no idea what happened. When they came up they were dead bodies floating in the water all around them and the houses were smashed, etc., etc. Sergei said they were quite disorientated, shocked and horrified and that it has taken a long time to get over it - in fact they are still dealing with things arising.

Anyway, twisted and warped person that I am I thought this would be primo material for a campaign idea....

So I submit it to you ... maybe you could use something of it.