Desdichado
Hero
Actually, the campaign I described above is what it has evolved into!dave_o said:Joshua - whatever happened to your Bloodlines campaign setting? I dug it profusely.
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Ditching traditional fantasy conventions?
- Thread starter Desdichado
- Start date
Desdichado
Hero
Eh, I haven't really updated any website with the latest info, it's more a work in progress.
Anubis the Doomseer
First Post
You want nontraditional fantasy - try Tribe 8 
That said a lot of the problem is that much of D&D is cluttered with traditional D&Disms like other have said - a billion varieties of goblin, a basketful of good natured elves (and their black-skinned, BDSM loving strong women evil variety), humans have some magical je-ne-sais-quois that makes them the most important race in the world, a non-pantheon of random gods which don't really seem to interact all that much, etc.
To start dealing with differences you only have to look at Diablo (no elves, no dwarves, only humans and demons), or Warcraft (noble orcs, evil non-BDSM elves, humans as just another race).
That said a lot of the problem is that much of D&D is cluttered with traditional D&Disms like other have said - a billion varieties of goblin, a basketful of good natured elves (and their black-skinned, BDSM loving strong women evil variety), humans have some magical je-ne-sais-quois that makes them the most important race in the world, a non-pantheon of random gods which don't really seem to interact all that much, etc.
To start dealing with differences you only have to look at Diablo (no elves, no dwarves, only humans and demons), or Warcraft (noble orcs, evil non-BDSM elves, humans as just another race).
Piratecat
Sesquipedalian
I was speaking with someone the other day as we flipped through Nyambe. Originally, the Hawaiians were from Tahiti (thanks, Tonguez!!), and traveled innumerable miles in tiny boats to reach an island only rumored to be there.
If that doesn't make a great RPG, I don't know what does.
So you start the PCs out on a small boat, travelling to a new land - and when they arrive, everything is new. Either they suss out the secrets of the new land, or no one survives, and you have a wonderful chance to play with the myths and small gods of the islanders. Could make for a fun game!
If that doesn't make a great RPG, I don't know what does.
So you start the PCs out on a small boat, travelling to a new land - and when they arrive, everything is new. Either they suss out the secrets of the new land, or no one survives, and you have a wonderful chance to play with the myths and small gods of the islanders. Could make for a fun game!
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Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
Piratecat said:
Hey you've been reading my campaign notes!
and Hawaiians came from the Tahiti/Marquesas area PC. They are Polynesians, and Polynesian culture originated in the Fiji-Samoa-Tonga area and descend from the earlier 'Austronesian' peoples of SE Asia. Now Austronesians would make an interesting campaign too - A Seafaring people being forced out of their homeland by the spread of the Chin Empire into SE Asia who thus go out and settle the largest area in he world - from the coast of Africa (Madagascar) to the Coast of South America and everything in between
Anyway the topic
As I said in the 'inspiration thread' a lot of my ideas come from Mythology and so many of the tropes are remodelled along their 'mythological form'. I'm also rained as an Anthropologist and as suchI tend to focus more on culture then 'race' and to take ideas from various cultures and then rework DnD to fit
In my current campaign - set in Mythic Polynesia btw!- I dropped dwarfs entirely and elves and halfling are NPC 'Fey'. Orcs don't exist their role taken by Sahuagin.
Playable races were originally Human (Human, Half-Elf and Half-orc) and Menehune Gnomes (I like gnomes
). I then added Goblins for flavour and am thinking about giants and a race of flying humans
Desdichado
Hero
As a side note, we use trope around here to talk about conventions of the genre, but that's not really the correct word, as a trope refers to using a figure of speech in an innovative way -- I'm not sure how it got attached into the phrase "fantasy trope" to mean conventions of the fantasy genre. Is there another word that fits better?
I've heard people use "trope" to refer to very specific genre conventions, but I suppose "convention" would be the clearest term.
So, what are the main conventions of fantasy? This is actually a complicated question--fantasy novels do exhibit a great deal of variety when examined closely, and FRPs vary from the novels in significant ways. It might be better to limit us to modern, post-Tolkien fantasy. So, what are the conventions? Here's a list of the top of my head:
1. Clear moral orientation. There are clearly identified sides that are good and evil.
2. Grand struggle. The protagonists are generally engaged in activities in which the cosmological balance is at stake (or preparing or training for such a struggle).
3. Fantastical creatures. There are intelligent non-humans that inhabit the world. Specific to the Tolkien tradition would be a derivation from Scandinavian myth: elves and dwarves.
4. Fantastical monsters. The challenges that the protagonists face include incredibly powerful monsters that do not exist, but may have a basis in myth or legend (such as dragons).
5. Magic. There are forces that defy our understanding of physics, and those forces are controllable by some group within the world.
My current campaign, I am afraid, is rather convetional:
1. Moral orientation: there is one, but it is unknown to most of the players, who are distracted by the many shades-of-gray political and theological conflicts instead.
2. Grand struggle: there is one, but it is currently too subtle for the players to notice.
3. Fantastic creatures: In my writing, there are only two intelligent humanoid races: humans and a race of dragon-men. As a concession to players, I have allowed dwarves and halflings, with some modifications. This convention seems to be the one most people modify.
4. Fantastic monsters: Very rare. Through the first four levels, the party has encountered two fantastical creatures (neither from the Monster Manual). Another common one to modify.
5. Magic: I use a homebrew system, but it is a world where magic is uncommon but powerful. Fairly conventional.
Wow. I'm actually disappointed at how conventional my world is. I need to work harder.
So, what are the main conventions of fantasy? This is actually a complicated question--fantasy novels do exhibit a great deal of variety when examined closely, and FRPs vary from the novels in significant ways. It might be better to limit us to modern, post-Tolkien fantasy. So, what are the conventions? Here's a list of the top of my head:
1. Clear moral orientation. There are clearly identified sides that are good and evil.
2. Grand struggle. The protagonists are generally engaged in activities in which the cosmological balance is at stake (or preparing or training for such a struggle).
3. Fantastical creatures. There are intelligent non-humans that inhabit the world. Specific to the Tolkien tradition would be a derivation from Scandinavian myth: elves and dwarves.
4. Fantastical monsters. The challenges that the protagonists face include incredibly powerful monsters that do not exist, but may have a basis in myth or legend (such as dragons).
5. Magic. There are forces that defy our understanding of physics, and those forces are controllable by some group within the world.
My current campaign, I am afraid, is rather convetional:
1. Moral orientation: there is one, but it is unknown to most of the players, who are distracted by the many shades-of-gray political and theological conflicts instead.
2. Grand struggle: there is one, but it is currently too subtle for the players to notice.
3. Fantastic creatures: In my writing, there are only two intelligent humanoid races: humans and a race of dragon-men. As a concession to players, I have allowed dwarves and halflings, with some modifications. This convention seems to be the one most people modify.
4. Fantastic monsters: Very rare. Through the first four levels, the party has encountered two fantastical creatures (neither from the Monster Manual). Another common one to modify.
5. Magic: I use a homebrew system, but it is a world where magic is uncommon but powerful. Fairly conventional.
Wow. I'm actually disappointed at how conventional my world is. I need to work harder.
Azure Trance
First Post
There are a few things I can't really quite get rid of. A few:
- If you go East, you'll eventually hit the Orient. Usually a 'silk road' analogue to follow the path of silk and spices.
- Dwarves live in mountains
- Elves have an appreciation of nature
- Human-centric
Rune
Once A Fool
Is this a good time to pimp mmadsen's Little Changes with Big Flavor thread?
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