D&D 4E 4e Fantasy Backdrops Discussion

[jaldaen]

I don't know if "cavern spelunking" falls under "fantasy backdrop", but if it does, please cover this theme, too.

I'll see what I can do no promises though... since as Rechan has pointed out I probably have more than enough to fill the book twice over

 

[jaldaen]

Honestly, I think the Infernal/Far Realms "gate" might facilitate that enough, with some jiggering.

Yeah that's probably the best place to put such an idea.

Actually, now I'm worried that you have too much stuff! You might have to start weeding a few out at this point. Otherwise, the pagecount might be harmed.

The weeding will definately need to happen at some point however I'd rather start with a plethora of ideas and widdle them down, than a dirth and try to scrounge ideas from the ether.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I'll see what I can do no promises though... since as Rechan has pointed out I probably have more than enough to fill the book twice over

Well, then do two, damn it!

I don't remember - did you plan on selling it? Did you consider sending something in as a fan submission to Dragon/Dungeon?

 

[jaldaen]

Well, then do two, damn it!

Maybe I will... but we'll have to see what happens

I don't remember - did you plan on selling it? Did you consider sending something in as a fan submission to Dragon/Dungeon?

I plan on selling, and one of the places I'm considering is Dragon/Dungeon although I'm trying to figure out which mag would be the best to send it to...

 

[Rechan]

I plan on selling, and one of the places I'm considering is Dragon/Dungeon although I'm trying to figure out which mag would be the best to send it to...

I highly doubt either would publish all 32 pages. 8 pages or so, yeah, but not 32.

Dragon would probably be better, since Dungeon seems to focus solely on adventures. Unless you strung several together as an adventure.

 

[jaldaen]

I highly doubt either would publish all 32 pages. 8 pages or so, yeah, but not 32.

I agree... if I did the Dragon approach then it would have to be a short series of columns or something like that.

Dragon would probably be better, since Dungeon seems to focus solely on adventures. Unless you strung several together as an adventure.

I think you're right... Dragon would be more appropriate.

 

[jaldaen]

So I've started work on this project but wanted to get a bit of feedback on how you would like individual entries to look. Here is the set-up I'm going with at the moment. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, then please let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Bridges
Short introduction to bridges as fantasy backdrops. Will probably include plank, rope, stone, tree, and wooden bridges.

Each entry might look something like this:

Rope Bridge
Setup
Provides the basic parameters of the fantasy backdrop along with read aloud text.
Actions and Skills
What are the actions and skills that could be brought to bear on this fantasy backdrop? Perception to notice frayed ropes, Acrobatics to cross double-line rope bridge, etc.
Features
What are some standard and/or unique features you could add onto the rope bridge to make it more interesting.
Tactics
What are the tactics you might employ in a particular fantasy backdrop?
Variants
Any variant rules for special situations, conditions, etc. What if rope bridge is made out of a poisonous vine, etc.?
Encounters
A list of suggested encounters for various tiers of play.

So does this look pretty good or have I missed something you think would be important...

Design Note: I might combine the Features and Variants sections and just list standard and variant Features together. Anyone prefer them to be seperate? Thanks

 

[Rechan]

A suggestion for a variant rope bridge: floating blocks connected by tendrils of arcane energy (that aren't solid enough to act as hand-holds!). They behave similar to a rope bridge (rock one side, it rocks the others), but it looks fantasy-ish.

The only other idea would be a bridge of zombies or skeletons. Literally an undead rope bridge, formed similar to how ants cross rivers by climbing on each other until there's enough of a span to cross.

 

[jaldaen]

A suggestion for a variant rope bridge: floating blocks connected by tendrils of arcane energy (that aren't solid enough to act as hand-holds!). They behave similar to a rope bridge (rock one side, it rocks the others), but it looks fantasy-ish.

Nice visual... I like it... sort of has a floating rock/stepping stone feel to it.

The only other idea would be a bridge of zombies or skeletons. Literally an undead rope bridge, formed similar to how ants cross rivers by climbing on each other until there's enough of a span to cross.

Okay... that's just creepy... cool, but creepy

 

[jaldaen]

I've realized that I could probably do an entire supplement on just "Bridges," there are an insane number of variants I could come up with from crawl bridges to monkey bridges to incan bridges... and that's just rope bridges! I'm going to really have to think about how to condense all these possibilities. They all have something unique to offer DMs and players in terms of tactical options, but I'm not certain I want to write "Bridges of Made-Up County."