[Necromancer/Judge's Guild] Wilderlands campaign setting

[johnsemlak]

Does the Player's Guide have enough for a DM to Jump start a campaign? COuld you run a campaign on only that book?

 

[Melan]

Davelozzi: it's not like the info I posted here is unbiased.

johnsemlak: with the Rorystone Road download (which I provided a link to, and which you can check out without even buying the book), you could run a perfectly good although somewhat limited campaign. I wouldn't miss out on the box, though. (Or, alternatively, City State of the Invincible Overlord - if your players are into city adventuring, you don't really need anything else for a few years.)

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Does the Player's Guide have enough for a DM to Jump start a campaign? COuld you run a campaign on only that book?

Absolutely. The thing is, it's more akin to the folio edition of Greyhawk than it is to later boxed sets of campaign setting, which are now the norm. The original Greyhawk folio contained maps and a book that was much shorter (32 pages) than the Players Guide we're discussing here. Go here to see what I mean:

http://www.acaeum.com/DDIndexes/MiscPages/WrldGrey.html

People used that folio to run Greyhawk campaigns for years. Some claim to still do so. If you prefer more comprehensively-detailed campaign settings, then I'd say wait for the boxed set.

 

[johnsemlak]

Absolutely. The thing is, it's more akin to the folio edition of Greyhawk than it is to later boxed sets of campaign setting, which are now the norm. The original Greyhawk folio contained maps and a book that was much shorter (32 pages) than the Players Guide we're discussing here. Go here to see what I mean:

http://www.acaeum.com/DDIndexes/MiscPages/WrldGrey.html

People used that folio to run Greyhawk campaigns for years. Some claim to still do so. If you prefer more comprehensively-detailed campaign settings, then I'd say wait for the boxed set.

I see what you mean about the Greyhawk folio. I never had it, but I saw it later on and agree it's just fine for providing a usable CS.

What information does the Player's Guide have that will NOT be in the upcoming boxed set?

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I see what you mean about the Greyhawk folio. I never had it, but I saw it later on and agree it's just fine for providing a usable CS.

What information does the Player's Guide have that will NOT be in the upcoming boxed set?

I have no idea. I'm sure someone who does will be along eventually to throw light on the subject.

 

[Melan]

Johnsemlak: the Boxed Set will not duplicate the new classes, races, skills, feats, languages (etc.) or anything that is used for character generation. Beyond that, you could ask Clark.

 

[Ed Cha]

I knew I forgot a book to add to Christmas shopping list! Wow! This book is generating a lot of interest and I'm really looking forward to how the Judges Guild line turns out. I'm a big fan and I'm hoping the flavor of the old JG is still there. Of course, new material is great, too!

 

[bushfire]

I knew I forgot a book to add to Christmas shopping list! Wow! This book is generating a lot of interest and I'm really looking forward to how the Judges Guild line turns out. I'm a big fan and I'm hoping the flavor of the old JG is still there. Of course, new material is great, too!

Here are some links to teasers Clark posted on the Necro Boards. And, yes as an old time JG fan, *I* think the flavor of the old JG is still there. One thing you will note is the scope of this project. It is more than just updating some 32 page modules. Hell, the original CSIO alone was 80 pages of densely packed stats printed in something like 8 point type.

Wilderlands Description Teaser
http://pub123.ezboard.com/fnecromancergamesfrm42.showMessageRange?topicID=1.topic&start=1&stop=20
CSIO Teaser
http://pub123.ezboard.com/fnecromancergamesfrm43.showMessageRange?topicID=22.topic&start=1&stop=20

Here's links to some "Design Journal's" Clark posted
Original Philosophy
http://pub123.ezboard.com/fnecromancergamesfrm41.showMessage?topicID=20.topic
How the Wilderlands stayed un-PC
http://pub123.ezboard.com/fnecromancergamesfrm41.showMessage?topicID=21.topic
Balancing old and new
http://pub123.ezboard.com/fnecromancergamesfrm41.showMessage?topicID=22.topic

And of course since this is Necromancer Games re-releasing the Judges Guild there are a ton of downloads available to check out including a sneak peek at the new CSIO map by Ed Bourelle.
http://www.judgesguild.com/

bushfire

 

[Grazzt]

I see what you mean about the Greyhawk folio. I never had it, but I saw it later on and agree it's just fine for providing a usable CS.

What information does the Player's Guide have that will NOT be in the upcoming boxed set?

Clark answered that very question here:

http://pub123.ezboard.com/fnecromancergamesfrm41.showMessage?topicID=39.topic


Here's a snippet of what he said:

I specifically designed the products so that they would not be useless. They work together.

I HATED buying a Gaz only to have a later supplement supercede it all.

What the Player's Guide has that the Boxed Set does not:

1. Player's History, all written for your players' knowledge plus with info on how it all relates to the Knowledge (history) skill.

2. Character classes and new character class descriptions, such as the alchemist, sage and witch. Plus notes on how the classes work in the wilderlands and notes on all the p-classes.

3. New races (altanians, amazons, avalonians), including subtypes of humans (antillians, alryans, tharbrians, skandiks, gishmesh, kharakhan, ghinorans, etc), dwarves (hill, mountains, city, deep), elves (high, grey, northern, southern, wild, wood, mer-elves, etc), gnomes (red caps, etc) and halflings.

4. new skills (such as swim) as well as new language rules and new and vastly expanded sub-categories of the knowledge skill as it relates to the wilderlands. details on regional skill modifiers.

5. new feats (a ton of cool ones)

6. 50 new gods.

7. 30 new monsters, including many that can be PC races.

8. a guided tour of the City State and a Player's map of the City State.

9. a full color Player's map of the world.

10. an overview of all the major cities and towns and geographic features without the DM information. This is perfect to help you answer questions for your players. In fact, the group should have one copy of this book.

Plus lots more.

What the Boxed Set has:

1. 18 fully detailed maps of all 18 regions of the setting mapped at 5 miles to the hex.

2. hex by hex details of ALL the villages, cities, citadels, castles, lairs, ruins, relics, pirate caves, islands, temples, etc, IN THE WHOLE FREAKING SETTING!!!!

3. Special Judge information, including expanded historical info, details on using technology, tips on designing encounter tables, special substances like carbelium and magicum, magic items unique to the setting, info on weather and the like.

These products are compatible. One does not supercede the other.

Clark

 

[bushfire]

It is possible to run a Wilderlands campaign with just the Players Guide. It gives you about same level of detail as the FRCS or the Greyhawk Gaz (in a smaller geographical area).

Using the Wilderlands maps, either the original or what should be in the Wilderlands Box set, gives you something that no other setting does, mainly all the hex by hex details of the Wilderlands. This means that you can actually have wilderness exploration without a lot of DM prep work.

Now not every hex has "something" (either village, castle, lair, or ruin) but you do get the geographic information (forest, trees, streams, islands etc., all named). What always got me from the FR an GH (and most other setting maps) is that you have these vast areas that the only thing you know about are that they are forest (green), heavy forest (dark green), hills (bumpy light brown), mountains (spikey brown), or water (blue). Where are the trails, the roads, the little villages, the lone wizard towers, the small woods, the little islands, the small passes through mountains, the small clearings in the great forests? Let alone what are all these features named. All the stuff that make a campaign come alive. The Wilderlands Maps give you all this and more. You would be amazed how it changes your wilderness play when you actually have the details at a 5-mile hex scale. When is the last time your players actually mapped an overland journey through uncharted wilderness? If you want a campaign that takes into account all these features without having to make them all up yourself from scratch then get the Wilderlands Box set.

bushfire