OOC - Mad King's Monkey (Thread Closed)

[doghead]

Cor get distracted by RL for a couple of days and you lot have almost designed the world

My thoughts are that the differences in culture and technology of each slice will depend on how the portals are perceived. As I see it there are three main scenarios:

1. Where the general population know of the gates, it as something out of a myth. The gates position and operation is know only to a handful of adventures and explorers.

In this case the culture and technology of each slice will be
distinct.

2. The portals are not generally known about and are controlled by a single organisation: church, druids, traders guild, etc.

In this case, the actual effect on the culture and technology
will depend on the organisation's aims. For instance a church
will be trying to convert the people but wouldn't care less
about technology. While a trade organisation would equalise
technology but wouldn't give a fig about the culture.

3. The portals are generally know about and used. They could still be under the control of a guild but in this case the guild simply charges for their use.

In this case, cultures and technology would be more in line
with what exists on present day earth.

Comment?

At the moment, I have been thinking mostly along the lines of #3 - the portals are generally well known and incorporated into the day to day running of society. They range from great aches, through which whole wagons (or armies) can pass to small personal portals, mostly under the control of the rich or powerful. Many of these can send people to various destinations, where as the arches largely are fixed to a single destination. For me, this is the easiest setting to get my head around, but it seems to less opportunity for the exploration and discovery.

One idea I have been mulling over is that the portals are not teleporters, but gates into another dimension that allows travelling time to be reduced. If anyone has read Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen books, then something like the warrens. Travel between gates is safe, so long as one stays on the path. Leaving the path is dangerous. Sometimes there are junctions, allowing a choice of destinations. And there are abandoned paths, which go somewhere, but are only marginally safer than the trackless regions.

Another I idea was a setting in which the magic of the portals, so long taken for granted, starts to fail.So, plenty of ideas floating around. What I need now is to get an idea of what you see the characters getting up to so I can nails something down and we can get started.

thotd

 

[HolyMan]

My quick and as I type sleepily is...

The PCs are hired out as "zoners" - people who brave the least traveled paths - as part of a way to determine an arches destination. They map the different zones both inside and outside the path.

The arches (and thus the magical paths) could be as complex as our nation road system. But you (the DM) need only worry about the path they are on and where it leads.

HM

 

[Scott DeWar]

One idea I have been mulling over is that the portals are not teleporters, but gates into another dimension that allows traveling time to be reduced. If anyone has read Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen books, then something like the warrens. Travel between gates is safe, so long as one stays on the path. Leaving the path is dangerous. Sometimes there are junctions, allowing a choice of destinations. And there are abandoned paths, which go somewhere, but are only marginally safer than the trackless regions.

I have not read the books but I comprehend the idea. there is a lot of room for exploration, new lands and new treasures. I f this idea is mire comfortable to you, then I say lets go for it. great for sandbox too. I think my character would have daydreams about discovering new lands and peoples on the abandoned paths. He would write on these people and tell of them in his home land. this is sounding like a bard.

Perhaps there is a missing wagon or person who wandered down the abandoned way between two cities and need heroes to search. [needing perhaps a healer, arcanist, ranger and front line fighter]

 

[Axel]

So, a few ideas that fly around my head during Monday-commutes....

There is the possibility for a 'City of Doors', where a number of particularly large or key portals emerge. Or maybe a halway point for all the portals. A city grows up, getting fat as the middle-man for all trade through the world.

Or, if a Guild controls access to the portals, you've almost set things up like the Spacing Guild from Dune. All sorts of interesting intrigue if the players are associated (or deliberately not) with The Guild (and it would be The Guild, not just A Guild).

Anyway...character concepts. The rest of this post is simply thinking aloud. Disregard anything you don't like, and hopefully I come to a meaningful conclusion. I seem to struggle to create and identify with Good characters (probably because I'm a bitter old cynic). So, in the interests of moving out of MY comfort zone (and avoiding the Evil PC problem) I'll try an X-Good concept. If we're taking parts of HM's latest genius-bubble onboard, then a rugged and individualistic class and personality is perhaps warranted. Youthfulness is probably also a good thing, owing to old people being grumpy (myself included).

The archetype of course, is the Paladin, which I hate as a 1-D class. Still, it has good opportunity for use in this setting. A crusader for civilization, bringing the medicine and learning to 'inferior' parts of the world. Not diety specific, just a force for good because civilization spreads from good.

There is no need for something gods-derived to be a 'bringer of good'. A Monk could also fit in. Someone capable of looking after themselves and guiding companions that has enough knowledge of various 'useful stuff' to be a handy diplomat, spy and battle leader as required.

Lastly, and what may be my favourite choice. The youthful bard full of enthusiasm and naivety. He (this one'll definitely be a he) will suffer badly from wanderlust, possibly from a priveleged background (what do you mean a servant won't setup my pavilion tent?!), and want to see everything in the known world before the portals collapse in on themselves. Only the idle rich ever have enough time and money for leisure travel, after all.

Well, that's three ideas from me. I normally suck at making effective arcane casters (stick to divine casters, warriors and rogues!), so a Good Bard may be a surprisingly fun challenge to make.

 

[doghead]

The PCs are hired out as "zoners" - people who brave the least traveled paths - as part of a way to determine an arches destination.

Or ... um ... 'Pathfinders' perhaps. Or has that already been taken?

I have not read the books but I comprehend the idea. there is a lot of room for exploration, new lands and new treasures

The first three or four books are great. Well worth a look. After that the writer gets a bit carried away with his own cleverness and ... well, I found myself skimming whole chapters of tedious naval gazing and tortured introspection.

However, for our purposes, this is starting to look promising. I have half a narrative running through my head at the moment. I will try and get it down on paper (so to speak) tonight. Then I will get you guys to throw your thoughts back at me and that should get us pretty close to the crunchy bits of character creation.

The rest of this post is simply thinking aloud. Disregard anything you don't like, and hopefully I come to a meaningful conclusion.

Thinking aloud is good. Sometimes it can be just a phrase or sentence that sparks a idea.

I seem to struggle to create and identify with Good characters (probably because I'm a bitter old cynic).

I don't require characters to be good. But you would have to talk pretty fast to get me to take on board an evil one. Evil characters can be great fun, but they require a special kind of game, which is a level of complexity I would rather not be adding at this stage.

Youthfulness is probably also a good thing, owing to old people being grumpy (myself included).

Don't knock the grumpy.

The archetype of course, is the Paladin, which I hate as a 1-D class. ...A Monk could also fit in. ... The youthful bard full of enthusiasm and naivety.

Paladins and monks are two of my favourite classes (you will find one or two in my signature thread). Paladins for the great role play potential and monks because they are so multi-functional. For me, the cornerstone of the paladin is not his alignment, but his adherence to oaths of his order in the service of his god. Lawful - yeah I can kind of see that. Good - not so much.

Two bards, this could be interesting. Looks like I had better have a look at the bard class. My only experience of the class is as a hobgoblin in the service of the Horde. Unfortunately the game didn't last long enough for him to fullfull his dream of freeing his people from slavery and leading them back to their true homelands.

thotd

Edit: Just had a look at the bard. My first thought - I could do something with this.

 

[Scott DeWar]

I can choose another class.

by the way, don't pick on US old folk either - it makes US grumpy!

 

[Axel]

Paladins and monks are two of my favourite classes (you will find one or two in my signature thread). Paladins for the great role play potential and monks because they are so multi-functional. For me, the cornerstone of the paladin is not his alignment, but his adherence to oaths of his order in the service of his god. Lawful - yeah I can kind of see that. Good - not so much.

Two bards, this could be interesting. Looks like I had better have a look at the bard class. My only experience of the class is as a hobgoblin in the service of the Horde. Unfortunately the game didn't last long enough for him to fullfull his dream of freeing his people from slavery and leading them back to their true homelands.

thotd

Edit: Just had a look at the bard. My first thought - I could do something with this.

Alright, I'll bite. I couldn't think of anything interesting about the naive Bard yesterday. The character would be supremely irritating for everyone (including me), so I'll pass. I should get more out of my comfort zone and make a proper Fantasy Hero.

Going back to Paladin/Monk... What about a young boy with no mother who saw his father killed by bandits. Sent to retrieve a priest as father's last command...taken under wing by the old-man priest. Story can go two ways from there. Either he gets over his issues and becomes a calm (vegetarian) crusader for the law and justice, never striking the first blow. Or he goes all Angry Hulk and becomes something of a level 1 vigilante (Batman!). The background would suit either Paladin or Monk, primary focus on Lawful. Good or Neutral...mmm...hard to say at the 'concept design' stage.

Also, I don't normally play Evil PCs. They...don't really work well.

 

[Fangor the Fierce]

I tend to prefer the roguish type of characters, jack-of-all trades for the most part. I see it as the chance that this character gets the opportunity to see many places, learn new stuff, hone his skills. He likes exploring. If he gets to do it while getting paid, even better!

 

[Scott DeWar]

can we get a roll call for the benefit of the DM stating possible class/ race choices so we don't get too many peeps going for the same thing?

 

[doghead]

The Netherworld

There is a cold wind blowing through the Reaches of Man.

For as long as history records, there have been gates - from the huge Arches through which whole wagon trains can pass, to little doors more suitable for a child than a grown adult. Between all of these gates is the Netherworld, sometimes dry and dusty, sometimes green and fertile, sometimes cold and snow-covered. But always with the same flat iron-grey sky and generally safe so long as you follow the rules; stay on the path, do not sleep while in the Netherworld and take nothing from the Netherworld through a gate.

The paths of the Netherworld are as many and varied as the gates they traverse between. The most famous are the Great Roads that connect the Arches. They are arrow straight and topped with smooth paving stones. One hundred paces to each side the land is flat and featureless, adorned only with grass and wild flowers. The other paths range from tracks wide enough for wagons to those that seem little more than animal tracks. Most are of handpicked earth sometimes supplemented by hewn timber or crushed stone where the ground is boggy. Occasionally there are small bridges or raised walkways of timber or stones. But most are just hard-beaten earth. But whatever the appearance of the paths, they have been uniformly easy enough to traverse with good footing and clear of obstructing vegitation.

Or so they once were. Now a days it is not uncommon to find weeds growing through the paving stones of the Great Roads, which no longer seem as straight and smooth as they used to be, and thorny bushes and corpses of small stunted trees and thick underground seem to crowd the roads in places. The smaller paths seem to be narrower, rockier and more treacherous underfoot, and a wise traveller takes a stout staff for there are places now where branches hang low over the paths and thorny bushes clutch and tear at the fabric of ones clothes. And while the Netherworld seems as empty and uninhabited as always, travellers commonly talk about the sense of being watched and of darker shadows lurking in the shadows which hover at the edge of ones vision. Many old timers will tell you that it is colder now in the Netherworld, and will point out the dark clouds that can now sometimes be seen rolling slowly across a sky that was once just a featureless expanse of unchanging grey.

There is a cold wind blowing through the reaches of man and it seems to be coming from the Netherworld.

Many dismiss such stories and reports of growing darkness and danger in the Netherworld as superstitious nonsense. They point to thousands of people who daily, and safely, traverse the paths between the portals. They point to the countless stories and fables of of dark happenings and terrible fates set in the Netherworld as evidence that nothing has changed, or if it has, it is not the first time it has, and will not be the last. Of course the Netherworld is dangerous, but not if you follow the rules: stay on the path, do not sleep while in the Netherworld and take nothing from it.

thotd