Castlemourn

[Yair]

Gormenghast is a setting based around a castle? Was it a good setting? I've never heard of that setting before.

Gormenghast is actually described in a series of books, the tale of which (at least initially) centers around a crumbling huge castle and the city sorounding it, which are very much isolated from everywhere else. It talks of the internal politics and affairs of this place which I can only describe as a mixture of byzantine tradition mixed with a smattering of senility and described with a hefty dosage of sarcasm.

There is also a very nice BBC miniseries. Which is what I saw. I bought the first book, Titus Groan, but didn't get a chance to read it yet.

I don't think there is any RPG setting based on it. (Althoguh I once started an Ars Magica saga slightly inspired by it.)

Edit: too slow....

 

[Crothian]

I liked the Castlemourn player's guide. The setting has an interesting backstory and some nice little bits in the descriptions of the countries etc. Not sure whether I'll buy the whole book though: I don't really NEED another setting.

In the topic of RPGs, one doesn't actually need any of this stuff. It's about what is fun and what we want. I am looking forward to just see how it works once it is more detailed.

 

[Dog Moon]

Okay, thanks for all the people who mentioned gorgemwhatever is a series of books. Wasn't expecting that many responses though. Hehe.

 

[trancejeremy]

Heh, sorry for the confusion, I thought most people had at least seen the mini-series (which wasn't very good IMHO, too campy) so would know what I meant.

So just what is the significance of the name "Castlemourn" then? Anything?

 

[Faraer]

A Player's Guide to Castlemourn:

Castlemourn is a land without a past. Its people do not know who they once were, where they came from, or what brought their world to its present, fractured state. There is much speculation, and it is generally agreed that centuries ago, Before the Castles Fell, there existed the “Other Realm,” the Realm of Castles—whose relics and mystic artifacts are sought by modern-day adventurers, questors, and treasure hunters. Roughly three hundred sixty years ago, a great cataclysmic event occurred. During this cataclysm, the land was broken as well as the people. The earth surged and cracked, mountains were thrust up and other regions were plunged down and flooded as the seas rushed in. None of the survivors could remember what happened, and to this day, the catastrophe is shrouded in mystery. However everyone is certain that the event was tainted by magic in some way or another.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So just what is the significance of the name "Castlemourn" then? Anything?

I think it mostly sounds bitchin'.

 

[glass]

Okay, thanks for all the people who mentioned gorgemwhatever is a series of books. Wasn't expecting that many responses though. Hehe.

You nearly got one from me too, but I decided to read a little further...

I'm in the same boat as several of the others. I have the trilogy in a collected edition, haven't got around to reading it yet.


glass.

 

[Ghendar]

My review

Based on that, ask questions

Your review states....
"........Ed Greenwood, one of the creators of the Forgotten Realms......."

Wasn't it entirely his world when TSR bought it? Who else created the Realms?

 

[Crothian]

Your review states....
"........Ed Greenwood, one of the creators of the Forgotten Realms......."

Wasn't it entirely his world when TSR bought it? Who else created the Realms?

He might have been the orginal creator, I don't know. But since then many hands have helped shape the world and I didn't want to just credit one person for a setting that has so many different people involved in it.

So, let's try to actually talk about Castlemourn.

 

[Voadam]

It was too much of a fluff teaser instead of a true player's guide IMO.

It starts off with fiction about this poison witch race that I found interesting but when I flipped to the races section I saw the core race variants and the entry on the poison race . . . with no stats for this new race that they use to define the feel of the setting in the story.

I thought it was a flaw in the Ptolus guide with their littorians and I find it a flaw here. If you want it to be a player's guide that players should use then put the basic PC race mechanics here so they can be used instead of reserving them for the DM's only guide.

I haven't read more of it since then.