The Shadow War is a GURPS setting book that has captured my imagination for a long time but is also something I've never gotten around to running. Recently I've started getting the itch to run a game again and I decided that I want to do something a bit special and unique: like a snowflake.
GURPS, however, leaves me cold. I think it has a lot of plusses but far too many minuses to make it worth using. So I want to go about converting the setting to 4 D&D.
Before you run off thinking that you don't know the setting and therefore can't contribute, think again! I'm going to outline the key details of the setting that I need converted and would appreciate any ideas or helpful comments towards converting them.
Firstly, I'll start with a basic synopsis of the setting.
The Shadow War
For thousands of years, there has been a secret war raging behind the scenes, out of plain view of most of the somnambulant public. There are no clear sides to this war; alliances are made and broken, pacts are bargained for, blood is spilled between enemies and friends, and no-one is ever sure what it is exactly that they are fighting for, other than the survival of the human race.
Most of the more powerful factions in the war are ancient fraternities and societies known as 'lodges'. The Masons are a front for several of these lodges who recruit to the real factions. The Illuminati are another, the Knights Templar, and every other historically powerful organisation has been some sort of recruiting front for various of these lodges. The lodges themselves are far, far, far more secretive and only those who are involved in the Shadow War are even aware that they exist, let alone who they are or what they stand for.
In this war there are powerful spirits that grant mortals abilities beyond the natural. These spirits range from the minor to the major and are rarely inherently good or evil. In Voodoun, they are known as the loa. Voodoo itself is the closest any regular civilian can come to know the Shadow War. The practice of vodoun is in itself a violation of the secretive societies edicts. There is no 'governing body' that regulates the practice of vodoun sorcery, unlike the mages, druids, witches and other spirit-users who are all held accountable by a lodge.
Some spirits, however, are pure evil. They feed off of the fear and hate of people. In the worst areas of conflict around the world, they grow and promote the most horrid atrocities through their agents in the world. These are known as 'devourers'. One, for instance, sits beneath Mogadishu and another, it is rumoured, grows underneath the White House.
Other spirits that try to cross into this world are known as 'in-betweeners'. Vampires, werewolves, and all manner of other horrible creatures are all nothing more than the various folk-tales that surround these evil beings. They eat the souls of the living and feed off their blood. They are shapeshifters and very powerful spirit entities that have a physical manifestation in this world.
The lodges battle one another for world domination, playing their secret little games. The devourers use them for their own amusement, all the while growing more powerful. The in-betweeners wreak havoc in this world and act as agents of both, or neither. The only side that seems to be winning, is the devourers who feed off the hate, suffering, fear and misery of humans.
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So, that's a little insight into the setting. It's actually a lot more complex than that but even with that little bit, you can just imagine the fun you could have with it.
Here's a breakdown of the things I think would need to be changed or adapted:
1) Bring it into the modern era (although, it could work as an ancient setting as well, especially if you involve pirates!
).
2) Classes need conversion or building to fit the setting.
3) Magic is all HIGHLY ritualised. There is almost no instantaneous magic. You can speed up rituals but at the cost of effectiveness and the possibility of losing your mind or body to the spirit you're summoning
Anyone can cast magic since all magic is essentially a ritual to command or beg or force a spirit to do your bidding. Knowledge is power in this setting. The more ritual components you use in a ritual and the more accurate and proper the ritual is conducted, the more powerful and effective it will be.
Even the most powerful magicians and shamans can't use anything near to the level of even a 1st-level wizard in D&D. Having said that, the power of their rituals can also be far beyond what even a 30th-level character in regular D&D could ever achieve.
The most 'immediate' magic in the setting is through spirits that bond with a person. These people are known as 'spirit warriors'. Usually this is through a particular bond with a particular spirit, although some practitioners form alliances with various spirits, or some spirits have varying powers. Mostly this power manifests as strength, agility and resilience. A spirit warrior is essentially super human for a brief period.
However there is always a cost and the power gained is always short-lived. You can do things like... say a car crashes and your friend is trapped. You call upon the loa to give you strength to lift the car and you do so as if it was a feather, getting your friend out before the car explodes. Then afterwards you're physically exhausted and can barely walk for a short while.
Combat should be very, very deadly. Knifing someone should kill them, without intervention of a loa or a hospital. In-betweeners should be exceptionally dangerous combatants that PC's will want to run from unless they're very well prepared to take one on. This will change as they get more powerful, but even at the upper tier of power, an in-betweener should always be a feared enemy.
One of the biggest conflicts in the setting, however, is the lodges. The PC's will most likely learn of the Shadow War through voodoo, because it is the least secretive and most open of the magical traditions, much to the distaste of the much older and well established lodges who have kept the shadow war a secret for thousands of years. This puts the PC's at odds with the lodges. The lodges seek power and use spirits to manipulate the world. The most powerful lodge currently is the Roman Lodge, who essentially controls the American Senate, and therefore by proxy, half the world.
Oh, and once a person has been 'exposed' to the shadow war, they are forever marked by it. Normal people can't see in-betweeners or speak to spirits. Only those 'touched' by the shadow war in some way, can see in-betweeners for what they really are; this is a literal marking upon the soul that opens ones perception to things beyond a normal person's ken. Tragedy on a massive or very personal scale can do this, some people are just born with it like psychics and clairvoyants, others are indoctrinated into it through familial ties or by being exceptional and standing out, and others just stumble into it through sheer bad luck. Nobody could ever call it good luck.
GURPS, however, leaves me cold. I think it has a lot of plusses but far too many minuses to make it worth using. So I want to go about converting the setting to 4 D&D.
Before you run off thinking that you don't know the setting and therefore can't contribute, think again! I'm going to outline the key details of the setting that I need converted and would appreciate any ideas or helpful comments towards converting them.
Firstly, I'll start with a basic synopsis of the setting.
The Shadow War
For thousands of years, there has been a secret war raging behind the scenes, out of plain view of most of the somnambulant public. There are no clear sides to this war; alliances are made and broken, pacts are bargained for, blood is spilled between enemies and friends, and no-one is ever sure what it is exactly that they are fighting for, other than the survival of the human race.
Most of the more powerful factions in the war are ancient fraternities and societies known as 'lodges'. The Masons are a front for several of these lodges who recruit to the real factions. The Illuminati are another, the Knights Templar, and every other historically powerful organisation has been some sort of recruiting front for various of these lodges. The lodges themselves are far, far, far more secretive and only those who are involved in the Shadow War are even aware that they exist, let alone who they are or what they stand for.
In this war there are powerful spirits that grant mortals abilities beyond the natural. These spirits range from the minor to the major and are rarely inherently good or evil. In Voodoun, they are known as the loa. Voodoo itself is the closest any regular civilian can come to know the Shadow War. The practice of vodoun is in itself a violation of the secretive societies edicts. There is no 'governing body' that regulates the practice of vodoun sorcery, unlike the mages, druids, witches and other spirit-users who are all held accountable by a lodge.
Some spirits, however, are pure evil. They feed off of the fear and hate of people. In the worst areas of conflict around the world, they grow and promote the most horrid atrocities through their agents in the world. These are known as 'devourers'. One, for instance, sits beneath Mogadishu and another, it is rumoured, grows underneath the White House.
Other spirits that try to cross into this world are known as 'in-betweeners'. Vampires, werewolves, and all manner of other horrible creatures are all nothing more than the various folk-tales that surround these evil beings. They eat the souls of the living and feed off their blood. They are shapeshifters and very powerful spirit entities that have a physical manifestation in this world.
The lodges battle one another for world domination, playing their secret little games. The devourers use them for their own amusement, all the while growing more powerful. The in-betweeners wreak havoc in this world and act as agents of both, or neither. The only side that seems to be winning, is the devourers who feed off the hate, suffering, fear and misery of humans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, that's a little insight into the setting. It's actually a lot more complex than that but even with that little bit, you can just imagine the fun you could have with it.
Here's a breakdown of the things I think would need to be changed or adapted:
1) Bring it into the modern era (although, it could work as an ancient setting as well, especially if you involve pirates!
).2) Classes need conversion or building to fit the setting.
3) Magic is all HIGHLY ritualised. There is almost no instantaneous magic. You can speed up rituals but at the cost of effectiveness and the possibility of losing your mind or body to the spirit you're summoning
Anyone can cast magic since all magic is essentially a ritual to command or beg or force a spirit to do your bidding. Knowledge is power in this setting. The more ritual components you use in a ritual and the more accurate and proper the ritual is conducted, the more powerful and effective it will be.
Even the most powerful magicians and shamans can't use anything near to the level of even a 1st-level wizard in D&D. Having said that, the power of their rituals can also be far beyond what even a 30th-level character in regular D&D could ever achieve.
The most 'immediate' magic in the setting is through spirits that bond with a person. These people are known as 'spirit warriors'. Usually this is through a particular bond with a particular spirit, although some practitioners form alliances with various spirits, or some spirits have varying powers. Mostly this power manifests as strength, agility and resilience. A spirit warrior is essentially super human for a brief period.
However there is always a cost and the power gained is always short-lived. You can do things like... say a car crashes and your friend is trapped. You call upon the loa to give you strength to lift the car and you do so as if it was a feather, getting your friend out before the car explodes. Then afterwards you're physically exhausted and can barely walk for a short while.
Combat should be very, very deadly. Knifing someone should kill them, without intervention of a loa or a hospital. In-betweeners should be exceptionally dangerous combatants that PC's will want to run from unless they're very well prepared to take one on. This will change as they get more powerful, but even at the upper tier of power, an in-betweener should always be a feared enemy.
One of the biggest conflicts in the setting, however, is the lodges. The PC's will most likely learn of the Shadow War through voodoo, because it is the least secretive and most open of the magical traditions, much to the distaste of the much older and well established lodges who have kept the shadow war a secret for thousands of years. This puts the PC's at odds with the lodges. The lodges seek power and use spirits to manipulate the world. The most powerful lodge currently is the Roman Lodge, who essentially controls the American Senate, and therefore by proxy, half the world.
Oh, and once a person has been 'exposed' to the shadow war, they are forever marked by it. Normal people can't see in-betweeners or speak to spirits. Only those 'touched' by the shadow war in some way, can see in-betweeners for what they really are; this is a literal marking upon the soul that opens ones perception to things beyond a normal person's ken. Tragedy on a massive or very personal scale can do this, some people are just born with it like psychics and clairvoyants, others are indoctrinated into it through familial ties or by being exceptional and standing out, and others just stumble into it through sheer bad luck. Nobody could ever call it good luck.
