Anyone tried d20 Horizons -- Spellslinger?
- Thread starter Kunimatyu
- Start date
Byrons_Ghost
First Post
I'm currently running a game. The setting is pretty light; the book is mostly new classes and rules. I like the setting a lot, myself, but I'm starting to run out of things to do in it. I think it would be better for a mini-campaign, really.
For long term, you might want to consider running something like Age of Worms or another long campaign, that will bring a lot of its own detail with it. I've been trying to do short, episodic adventures (come to town, fix problems, go to next town) and things have been sort of bland. Since the setting itself is mostly just an outline and some ideas, it seems like it would be best to wrap the setting around another product.
The main thing I didn't like about the setting was the native wolfman race. There's a lot of reasons I could go into, but basically I felt they were mechanically unbalanced and thematically cliched. It's pretty easy to ignore them, though- IMC I replaced them with some spirit folk variants.
Things I did like were the Branded, which are the setting's only supernatural PCs. It works similar to Dragonmarks but gives access to spellcasting, etc depending on the Brand chosen. There's also some nice monsters (I especially liked the Grey Dead) and some good thematic work with the Range Wars. The mechanics are sort of fifty-fifty, but since you weren't much interested in those I can skip that part.
All in all, I would say it's worth the price, since it's a cheap book, and is sure to give you plenty of ideas, even if you don't use the setting as written.
For long term, you might want to consider running something like Age of Worms or another long campaign, that will bring a lot of its own detail with it. I've been trying to do short, episodic adventures (come to town, fix problems, go to next town) and things have been sort of bland. Since the setting itself is mostly just an outline and some ideas, it seems like it would be best to wrap the setting around another product.
The main thing I didn't like about the setting was the native wolfman race. There's a lot of reasons I could go into, but basically I felt they were mechanically unbalanced and thematically cliched. It's pretty easy to ignore them, though- IMC I replaced them with some spirit folk variants.
Things I did like were the Branded, which are the setting's only supernatural PCs. It works similar to Dragonmarks but gives access to spellcasting, etc depending on the Brand chosen. There's also some nice monsters (I especially liked the Grey Dead) and some good thematic work with the Range Wars. The mechanics are sort of fifty-fifty, but since you weren't much interested in those I can skip that part.
All in all, I would say it's worth the price, since it's a cheap book, and is sure to give you plenty of ideas, even if you don't use the setting as written.
Kunimatyu
First Post
Thanks! I'm not planning on using the setting as-is -- I'm replacing the Grey Runners with several species of lizardfolk, removing elves, and giving the orcs a Mormon twist, among other things.
I'm disappointed to hear that the setting is very light, though -- I was hoping for a decent geography to play around with.
I'm disappointed to hear that the setting is very light, though -- I was hoping for a decent geography to play around with.
Karl Green
First Post
I ran a fairly short game arc with it a while back and we have a GREAT time... but it is a VERY short little book, so not lots of setting info.
I expaned the world a LOT, and used Greyhawk as sort of my base world, but 1000 years in the future and on the 'New World'. But I think the idea of running the Age of Worms in the setting is GREAT!!!!!
Anyway, I dug up my old notes for the game, here it some of the BASIC's...
Some basic background tid-bits about the world…
The ‘Old World’ is based somewhat off Greyhawk, although the landscape is a bit more European like and the year is 1178. This ‘New World’ has been settled by many different peoples over the last two centuries and about a dozen Old World cultures have set up petty kingdoms and nation-states, pushing the ‘Pack’ (natives of these lands) back past the Ghost Mountains (some 500 miles west of the eastern coast). The lands east of these mountains are the semi-settled lands of the Free Peoples (Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Halflings, Half-Elves and Half-Orcs). The Ghost Mountains are haunted, and the dead do NOT remain resting there… ever. Most right-thinking people avoid them, but the dwarves have two fairly large mining city-states set up on their edged. The Pack does not like this at all, and occasionally raid their caravans east (the Rail has not reach this far west and the Pack and others attack the builders all the time, so the Gnomes have not tried extending it any closer then 150 some miles from the mountains).
The landscape of the New World looks vaguely like the eastern seaboard of the continental U.S. with the Ghost Mountains being located farther back then the Appalachians but before where the Rookies should be (about 500 miles inland). This range separates the semi-civilized Territories of the Free Peoples with the wild-free lands of the Pack. There is also another, much lower mountain range that separates the northern badlands and the southern plains. Called the Middle Mountains, there are numerous wide passes through them.
Along the Eastern Shoreline the lands are heavily forested and somewhat low (just above sea-level in most places) and are referred to as the “Colonies”. These lands are the most heavily populated and industrialized and are made up of 11 nation-states or colonies (see below). These lands don’t extend more then 100 miles inlands, and the lands past them and running all the way to the Ghost Mountains are called the “Territories”. These are unclaimed by any of the Colonies, and the people living out in there for the most part want to keep it that way.
The lands of the northern Territories, called the Badlands are a semi-arid badlands, of high mesas and plateaus, where the winters are very cold with good a bit of snow (about the only rainfall that the lands get). These lands are the least settled of the Territories, mostly prospectors and a few cattlemen. Shattered settlements dot the landscape, increasing in number the farther south one goes. Farther north (about where Canada would be in our world) the land rises sharply – called the Up-Lift or the Shelf. These lands are heavily forested with huge pine-wood timber, and settled by mostly woodcutters and a few trappers. The Green River, a wide river, runs along this Shelf and feeds into a great lake system called the Spirit Lakes.
The lands south of the Middle Mountains are mostly grasslands and parries, called the Great Plains and are more heavily settled by farmers, cattlemen, sheep-herders and some industry. Even farther south, the land drops off fairly quickly and becomes very marshy, especially around the Ever-Marshes to the extreme south (Florida area on Earth). These lands are settled by backwoods trappers and fishermen.
Most of the Colonies are fairly peacefully with each other, or at least there aren’t anything more then a few small border wars going on, while out in the Territories it’s a bit different. The ‘Brand-Wars’ have calmed down a bit, but hanging and reprisals between Magi and Blackhands continue to this day. There are also the ‘Range Wars’ between various cattle barons over grazing right, the ‘Claim Wars’ between the mining Unions and of course raids by renegade Pack tribes, especially around the Ghost Mountains.
The religions of this world are loosely based off those found in the PHB 3.5, but heavily changed due to the ‘silence’ or waning of the gods over the last thousand years. Some examples are the ‘Reformed Church of Pelor’ the ‘Churches of Truth and Justice’ the ‘Predawn Fellowship of Wee-Jee’ the ‘Keepers of Belor’s Ways’ and even the ‘Heart of Iuz’. There are literally hundreds of different sects, including Druidic and Shamanic traditions practices and preached here. As the ‘gods’ have gone silent, as it were, people’s faith has become fractured but people still go to church and listen to the Padre’s sermons on Godsday (the day or worship)
The 11 colonial nation-states running along the east coast of the New World are…
1. Northern Cross Alliance – the colony farthest northern, set up by exiled nobles merchants, bandits, thieves and pretty much any undesirables from Nyrond, who still are beholding to their homeland and swear allegiance to their King back in the Old Country. The population is involved mostly in timber harvesting, trapping and some boar-raising, and they are rowdy and uncivilized lot for the most part.
2. United States of the Sun – just south of Northern Cross, this nation was formed by religious sects that had split with the main Orthodox Pelor Church back in the old country and had come here to practice this branch of it as they saw fit. The lands here are rich for farming and pig rising and the people are law-abiding and church going. Most follow the Reformed Church of Pelor, but there are many other sects within its borders, all dedicated to their own ideas of what Pelor really stands for.
3. the Spring Court – settled by many tribes of Elves from the Old World, who were looking for a fabled ‘promised’ lost land of the Elven people. The borders are heavily protected and they only allow limited trading with the other colonies. This nation in fact has only one sea port, called Greyhaven, set up within it heavily forested lands.
4. Federation of the Free People – this nation was formed when it rebelled against the taxes and rule of the old world United Kingdom of Ahlissa, and spit the United Lands of Ahlissa in two (see below). Members of other Free People races flocked here for the independency offered and it is one of the strongest colonies to date, with a good industrial and agricultural base.
5. United Lands of Ahlissa – made up of loyalist to the United Kingdom of Ahlissa (a world-wide empire), this nation still smarts from the lost of the Federation whom they see as traitors of the worst kind. The nation is fairly heavily industrialized but sends a great deal of raw materials back to Ahlissa instead of manufacture good here.
6. Nation of the Just – a semi-theological state founded by priests and warrior layman worshippers of the Heinorious, God of Justice. They have evolved into a very simple, hard working agricultural society that is based around the Church of Truth and Justice, of which there are at least one in very city, town and village hamlet. Gambling, prostitution, drinking and most other vice-crimes are outlawed here, and the people are thought to be about the most boring on the planet.
7. the Trade and Machinist Pact States – set more or less in the middle of the colonies and without any sea-ports themselves (their trade does flow through the Stone Land Union’s port almost tariff free as the Gnomes and Dwarves have many ties and the Dwarves use the Gnome Rail-lines to connect with their mining operation in the Territories), this is the most heavily industrialized nation of the New World (and maybe even the Old World). Ruled by the Gnomish Trade and Machinist Pact Companies, pollution and goods pour out of this colony day and night. Almost all Rail-line originate from this nation and are controlled by the Gnomes (hence the nick name for the Gnome-Rails).
8. Stone Land Union – smallest of the eastern colonies, this port of call is mostly used by the Dwarves for its’ Territorial mining city-states in the Ghost Mountains; High Mountain (in the north) and South Hall (in the south) where they export must of their mineral and manufactured wealth back to the ‘Irongate Union’. Landfall, the largest and deepest ports on the New World and the first landing of Old World colonist is located here, but the dwarves, though careful maneuvering, acquired full rights to it and it is now their national capital.
9. New Furyondy – a colony of the Kingdom of Furyondy, this is a fairly good and open society that has granted it citizens many of the freedoms that are common within the Federation. The people remain loyal to their homeland, Furyondy, and the Parliamentary Government that exists there. Religious and racial tolerances are the cornerstones of life here and it has a fairly strong industrial and fishing based economy.
10. the Confederation of Noble Cavaliers – formed from many of the second and third sons and daughters of the Old World, this nation gained its independence around the same time as the Federation did. These noble sons and daughters started their own royal houses and control the country with an iron fist. There are few large cities or even towns here, mostly huge family control plantations, where the work force of indentured humanoids (Orcs, Half-Orcs, Goblins, etc) toil on the lands.
11. Moot Townships – just north of the Ever-Marsh lands and south of the Confederation, this quite and medium sized state is made up almost exclusively of Halflings. The people are mostly law-abiding, peaceful, hard working farmers with a few small hamlets especially on the coast where some fishing takes place.
What will the players do?
The characters are young adventure-types that will be a joining an "adventuring guild" of sorts and travel the Territories, seeking fortune and fame. A rich and eccentric gnome by the name of Isaac Fortune started the "Fortune Express" guild about 20 years ago and now has stations all over the Territories. The main job is to provide a pony express mail delivery service to the many different towns in the Territories not linked by the Rail BUT they are also something of a detective agency and troubleshooters (the guilds motto is "Fortune favors the bold!"). Members are called the ‘Fortune Rangers’ and wear a silver badge on their left breast. This badge is in the shape of a kite-shield, about two inches high and an inch wide, with dragon shaped creature clucking a large coin in the center.
The town of Skull Creek is just about to open a local chapter office and the characters are young adventures come looking to join. There will be about 20 or so other youngins that have also come looking also to join, but there are only six openings available. So everyone has to go though a 3 day compotation to make sure that they get the best. The head of the Fortune Station 72 in Skull Creek is a chaw-chewing ornery fowl mouthed dwarf by the name of Grizzil Ironbottom. The town is in the southern part of the Badland country, within the Grey-Hills (foot hills of the Middle Mountains and about 70 miles east of the Ghost Mountains, so they have the occasional problems with the walking dead). Most people round there make there living mining or farming, with a few cattle ranches and large sheep herds.
The message that draws the young heroes to Skull-Creek is…
*basically starting age for your race; **the 2nd month Spring
I will be starting the game just when the different players arrive in Skull Creek, the night before the ‘big’ compotation that will take place so that Grizzil can chose the best for his Outpost. None of the Players will be from Skull Creek, or even the area. I don’t want to stretch the compotation out much, but I want to have a few of the tests and some interaction with the NPC and other players.
After they have been accepted into the Fortune Rangers they will get their first ‘job’ about a week later. A widow from the town of Red Mesa to the south in the Middle Mountains, wants to hire the Ranger to investigate her husband’s murder. Seems someone or something killed him two weeks ago and took his head. The Sheriff of the town has done nothing to solve it and now four other people have died… and all of their heads are missing!
The first game Murder at Red Mesa is about to welcome the newest members of the Fortune Rangers into it dark and twisted fold…
I expaned the world a LOT, and used Greyhawk as sort of my base world, but 1000 years in the future and on the 'New World'. But I think the idea of running the Age of Worms in the setting is GREAT!!!!!
Anyway, I dug up my old notes for the game, here it some of the BASIC's...
Some basic background tid-bits about the world…
The ‘Old World’ is based somewhat off Greyhawk, although the landscape is a bit more European like and the year is 1178. This ‘New World’ has been settled by many different peoples over the last two centuries and about a dozen Old World cultures have set up petty kingdoms and nation-states, pushing the ‘Pack’ (natives of these lands) back past the Ghost Mountains (some 500 miles west of the eastern coast). The lands east of these mountains are the semi-settled lands of the Free Peoples (Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Halflings, Half-Elves and Half-Orcs). The Ghost Mountains are haunted, and the dead do NOT remain resting there… ever. Most right-thinking people avoid them, but the dwarves have two fairly large mining city-states set up on their edged. The Pack does not like this at all, and occasionally raid their caravans east (the Rail has not reach this far west and the Pack and others attack the builders all the time, so the Gnomes have not tried extending it any closer then 150 some miles from the mountains).
The landscape of the New World looks vaguely like the eastern seaboard of the continental U.S. with the Ghost Mountains being located farther back then the Appalachians but before where the Rookies should be (about 500 miles inland). This range separates the semi-civilized Territories of the Free Peoples with the wild-free lands of the Pack. There is also another, much lower mountain range that separates the northern badlands and the southern plains. Called the Middle Mountains, there are numerous wide passes through them.
Along the Eastern Shoreline the lands are heavily forested and somewhat low (just above sea-level in most places) and are referred to as the “Colonies”. These lands are the most heavily populated and industrialized and are made up of 11 nation-states or colonies (see below). These lands don’t extend more then 100 miles inlands, and the lands past them and running all the way to the Ghost Mountains are called the “Territories”. These are unclaimed by any of the Colonies, and the people living out in there for the most part want to keep it that way.
The lands of the northern Territories, called the Badlands are a semi-arid badlands, of high mesas and plateaus, where the winters are very cold with good a bit of snow (about the only rainfall that the lands get). These lands are the least settled of the Territories, mostly prospectors and a few cattlemen. Shattered settlements dot the landscape, increasing in number the farther south one goes. Farther north (about where Canada would be in our world) the land rises sharply – called the Up-Lift or the Shelf. These lands are heavily forested with huge pine-wood timber, and settled by mostly woodcutters and a few trappers. The Green River, a wide river, runs along this Shelf and feeds into a great lake system called the Spirit Lakes.
The lands south of the Middle Mountains are mostly grasslands and parries, called the Great Plains and are more heavily settled by farmers, cattlemen, sheep-herders and some industry. Even farther south, the land drops off fairly quickly and becomes very marshy, especially around the Ever-Marshes to the extreme south (Florida area on Earth). These lands are settled by backwoods trappers and fishermen.
Most of the Colonies are fairly peacefully with each other, or at least there aren’t anything more then a few small border wars going on, while out in the Territories it’s a bit different. The ‘Brand-Wars’ have calmed down a bit, but hanging and reprisals between Magi and Blackhands continue to this day. There are also the ‘Range Wars’ between various cattle barons over grazing right, the ‘Claim Wars’ between the mining Unions and of course raids by renegade Pack tribes, especially around the Ghost Mountains.
The religions of this world are loosely based off those found in the PHB 3.5, but heavily changed due to the ‘silence’ or waning of the gods over the last thousand years. Some examples are the ‘Reformed Church of Pelor’ the ‘Churches of Truth and Justice’ the ‘Predawn Fellowship of Wee-Jee’ the ‘Keepers of Belor’s Ways’ and even the ‘Heart of Iuz’. There are literally hundreds of different sects, including Druidic and Shamanic traditions practices and preached here. As the ‘gods’ have gone silent, as it were, people’s faith has become fractured but people still go to church and listen to the Padre’s sermons on Godsday (the day or worship)
The 11 colonial nation-states running along the east coast of the New World are…
1. Northern Cross Alliance – the colony farthest northern, set up by exiled nobles merchants, bandits, thieves and pretty much any undesirables from Nyrond, who still are beholding to their homeland and swear allegiance to their King back in the Old Country. The population is involved mostly in timber harvesting, trapping and some boar-raising, and they are rowdy and uncivilized lot for the most part.
2. United States of the Sun – just south of Northern Cross, this nation was formed by religious sects that had split with the main Orthodox Pelor Church back in the old country and had come here to practice this branch of it as they saw fit. The lands here are rich for farming and pig rising and the people are law-abiding and church going. Most follow the Reformed Church of Pelor, but there are many other sects within its borders, all dedicated to their own ideas of what Pelor really stands for.
3. the Spring Court – settled by many tribes of Elves from the Old World, who were looking for a fabled ‘promised’ lost land of the Elven people. The borders are heavily protected and they only allow limited trading with the other colonies. This nation in fact has only one sea port, called Greyhaven, set up within it heavily forested lands.
4. Federation of the Free People – this nation was formed when it rebelled against the taxes and rule of the old world United Kingdom of Ahlissa, and spit the United Lands of Ahlissa in two (see below). Members of other Free People races flocked here for the independency offered and it is one of the strongest colonies to date, with a good industrial and agricultural base.
5. United Lands of Ahlissa – made up of loyalist to the United Kingdom of Ahlissa (a world-wide empire), this nation still smarts from the lost of the Federation whom they see as traitors of the worst kind. The nation is fairly heavily industrialized but sends a great deal of raw materials back to Ahlissa instead of manufacture good here.
6. Nation of the Just – a semi-theological state founded by priests and warrior layman worshippers of the Heinorious, God of Justice. They have evolved into a very simple, hard working agricultural society that is based around the Church of Truth and Justice, of which there are at least one in very city, town and village hamlet. Gambling, prostitution, drinking and most other vice-crimes are outlawed here, and the people are thought to be about the most boring on the planet.
7. the Trade and Machinist Pact States – set more or less in the middle of the colonies and without any sea-ports themselves (their trade does flow through the Stone Land Union’s port almost tariff free as the Gnomes and Dwarves have many ties and the Dwarves use the Gnome Rail-lines to connect with their mining operation in the Territories), this is the most heavily industrialized nation of the New World (and maybe even the Old World). Ruled by the Gnomish Trade and Machinist Pact Companies, pollution and goods pour out of this colony day and night. Almost all Rail-line originate from this nation and are controlled by the Gnomes (hence the nick name for the Gnome-Rails).
8. Stone Land Union – smallest of the eastern colonies, this port of call is mostly used by the Dwarves for its’ Territorial mining city-states in the Ghost Mountains; High Mountain (in the north) and South Hall (in the south) where they export must of their mineral and manufactured wealth back to the ‘Irongate Union’. Landfall, the largest and deepest ports on the New World and the first landing of Old World colonist is located here, but the dwarves, though careful maneuvering, acquired full rights to it and it is now their national capital.
9. New Furyondy – a colony of the Kingdom of Furyondy, this is a fairly good and open society that has granted it citizens many of the freedoms that are common within the Federation. The people remain loyal to their homeland, Furyondy, and the Parliamentary Government that exists there. Religious and racial tolerances are the cornerstones of life here and it has a fairly strong industrial and fishing based economy.
10. the Confederation of Noble Cavaliers – formed from many of the second and third sons and daughters of the Old World, this nation gained its independence around the same time as the Federation did. These noble sons and daughters started their own royal houses and control the country with an iron fist. There are few large cities or even towns here, mostly huge family control plantations, where the work force of indentured humanoids (Orcs, Half-Orcs, Goblins, etc) toil on the lands.
11. Moot Townships – just north of the Ever-Marsh lands and south of the Confederation, this quite and medium sized state is made up almost exclusively of Halflings. The people are mostly law-abiding, peaceful, hard working farmers with a few small hamlets especially on the coast where some fishing takes place.
What will the players do?
The characters are young adventure-types that will be a joining an "adventuring guild" of sorts and travel the Territories, seeking fortune and fame. A rich and eccentric gnome by the name of Isaac Fortune started the "Fortune Express" guild about 20 years ago and now has stations all over the Territories. The main job is to provide a pony express mail delivery service to the many different towns in the Territories not linked by the Rail BUT they are also something of a detective agency and troubleshooters (the guilds motto is "Fortune favors the bold!"). Members are called the ‘Fortune Rangers’ and wear a silver badge on their left breast. This badge is in the shape of a kite-shield, about two inches high and an inch wide, with dragon shaped creature clucking a large coin in the center.
The town of Skull Creek is just about to open a local chapter office and the characters are young adventures come looking to join. There will be about 20 or so other youngins that have also come looking also to join, but there are only six openings available. So everyone has to go though a 3 day compotation to make sure that they get the best. The head of the Fortune Station 72 in Skull Creek is a chaw-chewing ornery fowl mouthed dwarf by the name of Grizzil Ironbottom. The town is in the southern part of the Badland country, within the Grey-Hills (foot hills of the Middle Mountains and about 70 miles east of the Ghost Mountains, so they have the occasional problems with the walking dead). Most people round there make there living mining or farming, with a few cattle ranches and large sheep herds.
The message that draws the young heroes to Skull-Creek is…
*basically starting age for your race; **the 2nd month Spring
I will be starting the game just when the different players arrive in Skull Creek, the night before the ‘big’ compotation that will take place so that Grizzil can chose the best for his Outpost. None of the Players will be from Skull Creek, or even the area. I don’t want to stretch the compotation out much, but I want to have a few of the tests and some interaction with the NPC and other players.
After they have been accepted into the Fortune Rangers they will get their first ‘job’ about a week later. A widow from the town of Red Mesa to the south in the Middle Mountains, wants to hire the Ranger to investigate her husband’s murder. Seems someone or something killed him two weeks ago and took his head. The Sheriff of the town has done nothing to solve it and now four other people have died… and all of their heads are missing!
The first game Murder at Red Mesa is about to welcome the newest members of the Fortune Rangers into it dark and twisted fold…
Psion
Adventurer
Kunimatyu said:
Funny you should mention that. I was just posting a bit earlier about an old campaign we ran with that feature...
Kunimatyu said:
There's a map of a decent-sized "western" territory, and capsule descriptions of the towns and such. Enough to hang your hat on, at least.
Like all the Horizon products I've read, Spellslinger does a really good job of quickly adapting D&D to a new genre. I think it's easily worth the $20 or so, even though I didn't actually use most of the rules stuff (since I use Sidewinder: Recoiled as my d20 wild west ruleset). I converted the Spellslinger brands to Sidewinder talent trees, used the Spellslinger map and their range war setup along with some of the critters, and I was good to go for a short weird west campaign. Worked well for me.
Kunimatyu
First Post
Psion said:
It sounds like your take on it was a bit different than mine...
IMC, the orcs and humans formed a great and powerful empire that lifted both of their cultures out of their former savage ways. Upon reaching the Terrorities, a orc prophet of the Faith, was struck with divine inspiration, and he preached a need for the orcs to return to the old ways, and led a massive following of orcs into the wilderness.
It's a fun twist, having the orcs go from civilized to savage, rather then the other way around.
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