[CMG PR] Free Preview Download!

[Mark]

It is the function of all Creative Mountain Games supplements to work together making cross-referencing from one to another easy and useful. Eventually, as you collect CMG supplements, you will find that all documents will contain links that help you to utilize them as you might use any other files with cross-referencing links on your computer system. Granted, supplements can be printed, collected in binders and they will serve as inter-related tomes but ideally those who can take advantage of electronic mediums will gain the satisfaction of having an interactive series of documents. As each new CMG Questus, Questathon, Focus, Locus or Plexus is made available, Lexus supplements will be updated, or renewed, with the appropriate links contained in the new rendition. By storing these in a proper file/folder structure on your system, they will interconnect making CMG supplements a powerful collection to assemble.

The first offering being made available is both a stand-alone guide to service a GM while they flavor their setting and a reference file for the CMG Lexus. This particular Lexus supplement also serves as a preview to the upcoming Revloc Questus, The Whispering Woodwind. In this case the Lexus highlights what in CMG vernacular is called a "Culture Class" which is a derivation of NPC classes. A Culture Class is designed to render added detail to a campaign setting by creating a number of parameters to guide the GM in determining the specifics of an NPC in regard to the culture to which they belong. In this particular case the Culture Class being highlighted is the "Trundlefolk".

Since the beginning of my own campaign setting in the late 1970's, The World of Revloc, I've developed various NPC cultures, some based on existing, historical societies and others inspired through game play and my own personal ideas. How someone else uses them in their own campaigns is, of course, entirely up to them but I will always give my own perspective on how I personally utilized them within Revloc. I have also updated the formatting of my own creations to be used with the current d20 rules system. I think you will find them interesting and helpful whether you choose to use them as I did or in your own method.

Please check out this free supplement "Culture Class - Trundlefolk" by clicking here!

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hi there!

As each new CMG Questus, Questathon, Focus, Locus or Plexus is made available, Lexus supplements will be updated, or renewed, with the appropriate links contained in the new rendition.

Can you explain further the terminology used above!?

I am guessing Questus would be an adventure(?) but I am curious about the rest!?

Thanks!

 

[trancejeremy]

I'm guessing his writing style was heavily influenced by Gary Gygax....

BTW, The Culture Class thing is a very interesting idea. Very much like in Mystara.

 

[Mark]

Can you explain further the terminology used above!?

I am guessing Questus would be an adventure(?) but I am curious about the rest!?

Howdy Krusty!

Here's a break down of the terminology I am using in presenting my supplements...

Locus - These supplements explore a location in the World of Revloc with an eye towards its history, climate, politics, economy, resources, religion, and its connection to its neighboring environs. Maps of areas and structures of a given Revloc Locus are also included with each supplement.

Focus - These supplements expound on a group of people or personalities within the World of Revloc with a common theme or region. They expand on capsules of information given in a Revloc Locus of prominent individuals, detailing their followers, allies, and foes. In the case of those with lineage of importance, it tells of their ancestry and the deeds of their fore bearers whether heroic, horrific or mundane.

Plexus- These supplements include environmental and/or mythological information regarding creatures of Revloc, both specific and specious. Historical backgrounds of creatures are outlined along with stories of legendary encounters, whether fact or fiction, within the World of Revloc.

Lexus - These supplements explain terms common or unique to the World of Revloc. Elements standard to the whole World of Revloc Campaign Setting, such as Revloc regional calendars, histories, legends and mythologies, are presented in capsule form and referenced to which other Revloc supplements should be targeted for more detailed information.

Questus - These supplements bring together Locus, Focus, Plexus and Lexus into an exciting, plotted adventure setting. A Revloc Questus can be modified to drop into any campaign setting but will be more fully realized and appreciated if run within the World of Revloc Campaign Setting. Maps and drawings useful with a given Revloc Questus supplement are also included.

Questathon - These supplements are much like a regular Revloc Questus but larger in scope and scale. While also adaptable to any campaign setting, like a regular Questus, they are best served up to players while using the World of Revloc Campaign Setting. Although a Questathon is a complete adventure, many of the bits and pieces will be useful when devising other adventures. Maps and drawings useful to the Questathon are included with the supplement.

I'm guessing his writing style was heavily influenced by Gary Gygax....

"his"? Did you think I was gone? Who's been playing since 1975 that hasn't been influenced by Gary Gygax?

Aside from Gary Gygax, my fiction writing has also been influenced by Abbey, Asimov, Asprin, Bradbury, Eddings, Howard, McCullough, Morris, Offutt, Tolkein, and many others. I'd be hard pressed to name a favorite author or style I find most pleasing. Also, I enjoy playwriting and among my favorite writers of plays are Ayckbourn, Chekov, Dietz, Durang, Hellman, Ibsen, Ionesco, Mamet, Miller, Odets, O'Neill, Orton, Shaw, Shepard, Wilde and many more here, as well. Unfortunately, either type of writing doesn't lend itself well to creating RPG supplements. Both suffer from the need for a writer to draw conclusions and preselect the path that the characters (all controlled by one force) will take from beginning to end. It might be fun to meet some of the characters of those settings if it is on an equal footing (or close). It might also be interesting to walk through the same lands in which they have dwelled. But to know the outcome, or have no influence over the path taken, just wouldn't be much of a game, IMO.

To my mind, as a DM of more than two decades, the best approach is to bring as much definition and detail to a setting as possible. If a character orders an ale in a seedy bar, I want them to have to shoo a few flies from the top of the glass before being able to take a drink or get one in their teeth. If everyone buys their saddles at a cut-rate dealer because "the price is right", someone is going to have a strap break before they get to the next town. The old farmer that points you in the right direction has a wife, kids, grandkids and a few stories to tell, not that anyone is obliged to listen to them.

I think that adventures require more than one plot. By this I mean that there needs to be alternate possibilities for players to explore. If those possibilities lead to one conclusion, that's fine. Ultimately, if the player characters are in search of "Random Factor A" (be it an object, person, settlement), being funneled off into multiple directions that wind up at "Random Factor B" or "Random Factor C" doesn't wind up as satisfying.

A setting and the characters therein need to have many more factors than can ever be completely explored, even if designed for a single adventure. They also need to be presented in a way that doesn't confuse the plot, but rather allows it to unfold in the hands of the players.

BTW, The Culture Class thing is a very interesting idea. Very much like in Mystara.

I've heard of Mystara, of course, but have never read any of the materials associated with it. In fact, when it comes to campaign settings, my only experience with any published settings is limited or recent as a DM with the RPGA since last March with Living Greyhawk. I've always created my own material, most of which will become my line of supplements as I format it for 3E/d20 CMG. However, I am sure there are many ideas that will always resemble other ideas. Ideally what I will bring to the market is strong characterization and setting delineated in a fresh and focused style, combined with proffered suggestions on how to present and handle those elements to best serve the DM, the players, and the game. I hope you'll keep your eyes on me and let me know how I'm doing.