Don't want to hog all the fun.
In my experience, hog the fun. If you have ideas, toss them out there. In my experience, good ideas beget good ideas. The end result will be a mix of all the stuff suggested. Its not first come first served, so no one will miss out.
If someone feels that someone else is moving to far or too fast, they can say something.
[MENTION=63746]Binder Fred[/MENTION]
1. The sword and shield - I want to leave it as is at the moment and see how it plays for now. I have had a look at the rules and understand what you are saying. But I think that the use of a weapon for defence may make a good Advance Move. We can revisit this down the track.
Campaign Wiki
Look for something soon. (really need to find a name for the game. Not even sure where 'From the Outside' came from. I think it may have been from "From the outside looking in", a play on the idea of 'outsiders'.
Setting Sketch
While this will fall under the generic fantasy medieval world banner, I thought that it should have a 'northern' feel. What does this mean? Cold winters, snow covered mountains. Funny names. Some initial thoughts. Much of the following has been borrowed from an out of print setting called Kingdom of Norweign by Precis Intermedia Games.
Social Structure - There are three basic classes of people: Nobility, Freemen and Slaves. Nobles are generally either Earls or Kings. Slavery is usually a punishment for theft and other crimes. It is often paid off in five to ten years.
Belief System - While there are a number of different belief systems among the people of the north, in general they share a believe in a heavenly caste system comprised of gods, celestial spirits, and exiled spirits. Of note is the Hacoran Church, which believes in one god who created and rules over all things. Over the last hundred years the Hacoran Church has grown in power and influence.
The Fae do not have gods, and they have their own kingdom or realm. Dragon do not have gods either, they are their own gods.
- Gods: Gods are the creators and guardians of man. The gods are attributed with the creation and release of celestial spirits to the realm of man and nature, thereby creating mortal life. The gods exist in the realm of Aesard; the highest kingdom of the heavens.
- Celestial Spirits: The Spirits are believed to belong to disembodied and enlightened mortals, and reside in the realm of Hehsard; the destination of the soul after death (in preparation for its rebirth by the gods). Bards and seers are believed to be descended from the most ancient of the celestial beings. Cutting off a man’s head is said to prevent him from entering Hehsard; most excecutions result in beheading.
- Exiled Spirits: Exiled spirits were once celestial spirits which sought to overthrow the gods and were exiled to the realm of Shadard; the lowest kingdom of heaven (akin to hell). They are capable of infiltrating our world by possessing a human or animal host. Legends of demonic animals and people stem from this belief.
- The Living Mortals exist in the realm of Mihdard; the manifestation of nature.
Calendar
Special ceremonies are performed during the festival days. These festivals are celebrated in order to appease the various gods.
- Sowen symbolizes the convergence of the Hehsard and Mihdard Realms.
- Yule is celebrated by lighting candles in order to help the gods light the dark sky.
- Disting is the celebration of the cleansing of the land in preparation for the new crop.
- Eostre is the celebration of the balance between night and day.
- Beltane is celebrated to insure the fertility of crops for the upcoming harvest.
- Midre is the celebration of the longest day of the year.
- Harvest is celebrated during the crop- harvesting period.
- Autumn is celebrated by resting during the period of balance between night and day.
The Witching Troll seems to have become the focal point of things. Cool. I like trolls. We will run with that. But the Monster Kingdom (the realm of the fae) is a dangerous place for those not familiar with its ways (it can be dangerous for those who are as well), so I would like each character has in some way come to be in bond or debt to the Witching Troll. You are all pretty much there.
I like the idea of characters (less Khirynnax), having fallen on hard times, manage to get into trouble from which they are saved by the Witching troll, for a price. Khirynnax is there as the deal is sealed, although the Witching Troll never says why. Later, when the four are summoned, he is there again. And perhaps thats where we will leave things until the IC thread.
I am thinking that I will start with Enworld's
To Slay A Dragon adventure. Its a sort-of-old-school adventure divided into three parts. The first part consists of a number of
adventurettes, all of which are fairly short and diverse in nature. They should give us an opportunity to put the system through its paces. After that, we can decide if we want to continue with the more substantial Parts 2 and 3. Follow the link in the Adventures Tab to the website. The Home and Art pages are pretty much player safe. Let me know if this adventure is a problem for anyone.
thotd