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Drenai -> d20/OGL starting point?
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<blockquote data-quote="SJE" data-source="post: 2787483" data-attributes="member: 13282"><p>Essentially Gemmell doesnt go overboard with monster variety in his books. Most opponents are other men. Perhaps evil or wicked men, but still men nonetheless. Bandits, barbarians, tribal swordsmen (like the Sathuli) or deserting soldiers are the basic staple of his initial encounters. These shouldnt be discounted as boring or mundane encounters, as these villains are threats that establish the superlative skills of the Gemmell-PC's over mortal norms. (i.e. Waylander killing the deserters and rapists)</p><p></p><p>One particular fascination I've noticed in his work is for corrupted or twisted Orders of Knights. Perhaps developing such a group and background for them, including their honour system and or mystic abilities (another favourite of his- the evil warrior/mystic knight) would be a good thing to introduce? They are a threat because they match the superlative skills of the Gemmell PC's but are better resourced/organised.</p><p></p><p>And last, but not least is the Other. The Monster of the Other World, a physical representation of evil that is completely outside the experience of the characters. Joinings, demons, Windborn, etc- all are far more deadly than any human and usually evil to the core. Except given Gemmells militant Christianity, even they are not excluded from eventual redemption. These creatures are a threat because they are far beyond the superlative skills of the Gemmell PC's with high DR or incredible speed that must be beaten by some innovative tactic or self-sacrifice by the PC's.</p><p></p><p>So really, a Gemmell campaign is going to have three levels of antagonists in order of ascending challenge rating-</p><p></p><p>-normal humans</p><p>-An evil or corrupted knighthood</p><p>-A magical monster.</p><p></p><p>Also, if you want to preserve the Christian themes of Gemmells universe, then the redemption of one of the villains such that he then joins the heroes for the final battle is a good twist. Portraying that conflict within the personality of the NPC and encouraging the PC's to make it work is the main challenge for the GM for this surprise twist.</p><p></p><p>SJE</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SJE, post: 2787483, member: 13282"] Essentially Gemmell doesnt go overboard with monster variety in his books. Most opponents are other men. Perhaps evil or wicked men, but still men nonetheless. Bandits, barbarians, tribal swordsmen (like the Sathuli) or deserting soldiers are the basic staple of his initial encounters. These shouldnt be discounted as boring or mundane encounters, as these villains are threats that establish the superlative skills of the Gemmell-PC's over mortal norms. (i.e. Waylander killing the deserters and rapists) One particular fascination I've noticed in his work is for corrupted or twisted Orders of Knights. Perhaps developing such a group and background for them, including their honour system and or mystic abilities (another favourite of his- the evil warrior/mystic knight) would be a good thing to introduce? They are a threat because they match the superlative skills of the Gemmell PC's but are better resourced/organised. And last, but not least is the Other. The Monster of the Other World, a physical representation of evil that is completely outside the experience of the characters. Joinings, demons, Windborn, etc- all are far more deadly than any human and usually evil to the core. Except given Gemmells militant Christianity, even they are not excluded from eventual redemption. These creatures are a threat because they are far beyond the superlative skills of the Gemmell PC's with high DR or incredible speed that must be beaten by some innovative tactic or self-sacrifice by the PC's. So really, a Gemmell campaign is going to have three levels of antagonists in order of ascending challenge rating- -normal humans -An evil or corrupted knighthood -A magical monster. Also, if you want to preserve the Christian themes of Gemmells universe, then the redemption of one of the villains such that he then joins the heroes for the final battle is a good twist. Portraying that conflict within the personality of the NPC and encouraging the PC's to make it work is the main challenge for the GM for this surprise twist. SJE [/QUOTE]
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