Adding "points of light" concept to 3.5, with Minsc?

[aboyd]

One of the things I've liked about the new 4.0 edition is the concept that the world is mostly wild, with civilization as merely "points of light" in the darkness. I am about to begin a campaign in 3.5 edition, using that concept. Now for the problems.

I'm creating this game for my kids, and my daughter loves Minsc and Boo. She desperately wants to play a druid from Rashemen, with a hamster for her animal companion. I thought, uh, well, Rashemen is indeed full of barbarians. Maybe it could be utter chaos. But upon buying "Unapproachable East" I was bummed to find that the land of barbarians and witches is actually fairly civilized. And 99% human! I'm not sure how 2 elves and 2 dwarves fit plausibly (I'm taking suggestions).

So here is where I need help. I could just invent my own Rashemen, but first I'd like to try to work within the game world. So I am considering setting it in the year -1070. Rashemen was overrun by orcs back then. For Forgotten Realms experts, is that decent? I just started in FR, being a Greyhawk geek my whole life. So I really don't know, and I could use advice.

Lastly, if there are any Spelljammer experts out there, any suggestions about how a giant space hamster not only crossed game realms (as Minsc's hamster did) but also, how my daughter's druid managed to get one 2400 years before Minsc did? The tinker gnomes wouldn't even have bred them yet, would they? I don't know Spelljammer.

 

[Herobizkit]

When it comes to the Realms, no player can be reasonably expected to run a "perfect simulation" of the Time of Troubles, or know at the drop of a hat the campaign doings of the entire Flanaess.

What *I* did, which is pretty much what I always do, is create my own little hamlet/burg/small cluster of towns that is my very own, and insert various Realm-isms as I go (such as temples, merc orders, a few choice NPCs). The bottom line is, your kid isn't going to care how well you know the inner political workings of the adventuring area; she wants to be a "doo-dad" with a hamster.

Hope this help a little.

 

[Pbartender]

Lastly, if there are any Spelljammer experts out there, any suggestions about how a giant space hamster not only crossed game realms (as Minsc's hamster did) but also, how my daughter's druid managed to get one 2400 years before Minsc did? The tinker gnomes wouldn't even have bred them yet, would they? I don't know Spelljammer.

Remember that Boo was miniature giant space space hamster... In effect, just an ordinary hamster. It is often thought that Minsc was delusional about Boo actually being from space.

What if, sometime down the road of her adventures, your daughter meets some crazy gnomes from outter space who are fed up with having to run inside paddlewheels to make their space ships go and she's the one who gives them the idea of using giant hamsters? She could be the start behind their breeding program.

 

[Ipissimus]

Not to mention the time gates. There are a few time-spanning devices on Krynn and Time Gates on Faerun, and presumably on other crystal spheres (if you're using Spelljammer). There's even a time distortion effect in the 'Egg of the Phoenix' 1e adventure for Greyhawk that briefly catapults the PCs back to an age where demons ruled Oearth, so it's not out of the question that a Giant Space Hamster came through any of these devices or natural phenomena.

The Dwarves and Elves could be exiles from their native lands, there is still a 1% demihuman population after all.

It could be that this small group of adventurers, faced with a fairly momocultural humanocentric society, have banded together for mutual protection.

 

[aboyd]

What if, sometime down the road of her adventures, your daughter meets some crazy gnomes from outter space who are fed up with having to run inside paddlewheels to make their space ships go and she's the one who gives them the idea of using giant hamsters? She could be the start behind their breeding program.

Well now that is a pretty excellent idea. I wonder if I can prompt her to think that up naturally, so she owns the idea instead of me. Thanks!

The Dwarves and Elves could be exiles from their native lands, there is still a 1% demihuman population after all.

It could be that this small group of adventurers, faced with a fairly momocultural humanocentric society, have banded together for mutual protection.

Yes, I like this. I'm not sure if I'm ready to have racial minorities banding together for protection in a kid's game world, but the truth is that they are minorities in real life, and they have already seen racism in their lives. So perhaps it might even resonate with them. Maybe I'll just put it out there and see if they run with it. Thanks for the ideas!

 

[Dire Lemming]

Hm, well, you could try taking inspiration from the only Forgotten Realms computer game since the gold boxes that didn't take place on the Sword Coast. The Neverwinter Nights 2 expansion pack Mask of the Betrayer takes place in Rashemen. I haven't played it but, it certainly didn't sound boring from what I know.