D&D General Faerun '68 (+)

[Autumnal]

Trains. Not magitech ones. There might be magical elements in them, but mostly they’re just trains. In civilized areas, you get the great cost per passenger/ton carried. In dangerous ones, they can be well armored and carry a bunch of defenders and still be a good deal for moving valuable goods and people.

 

[GreyLord]

-1968 DR

Another thing to note, Forgotten Realms existed in 1968. It was far before the Grey Box and before D&D, but you'd have to ask Greenwood (or others who may be familiar with it) what it was like back then.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

If we are going to really make this a 1960s pastiche I'm surprised you are all focusing on the technology.

FR is insanely sex positive, and not only in the ways we in the 21st century would think are good. It's basically Xanth light. If 1967 was the Summer of Love, imagine what Faerun, what with its many festhalls, lack of compulsory heteronormativity and easy access to gender reassignment magic might give us. To say nothing of all of the psychedelic substances that are readily available.

naughty word it man; Faerun DR 1968 should read like Naked Lunch.

 

[Marc17]

To do Faerun '68, you need to back up some. Industrialization needed to happen earlier. Metalurgy and crafting tools progress, but so does magic. There is probably the option for magical industrialization, such as artifact level magic items that produce more magic items, but I suspect that tech and magic will come up hand in hand. If anything, magic and enchantments will probably replace engines and electricity in many cases. There will of course be magical siege weapons also.

There needs to be a Realm War 1, which some have already mentioned, and then an even worse Realm War 2. Thay, the red menace, which aided in the previous Realm War also made a play for land and still have their sights on other countries, but the United Dales of Faerun have formed an alliance of nations to stop them. Now the older generation is still trying to deal with the trauma of what they lived through, and the younger generation is expecting the bright new future they were promised. Civil rights for humanoids and giants. End of war. Free food, clothing and shelter for everybody. Meanwhile, there is an undercurrent of drugs and grifters supplying the addictive meat of a certain aquatic black centipede into the scene and secret conspiracies (if we go with the Naked Lunch idea).

Since this is D&D, there will be an evil force coming up in the shadows. Possibly the same as from Realm War 2, but now it is much more subtle. It is corrupting both Thay and the United Dales of Faerun.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

It is corrupting both Thay and the United Dales of Faerun.

Gotta wonder in what way it would corrupt Thay even further

 

[Maxperson]

Thay, the red menace, which aided in the previous Realm War also made a play for land and still have their sights on other countries

They were also the suppliers of Agent Red, a magical compound designed to kill shambling mounds, treants, and other plant creatures.

 

[Marc17]

Gotta wonder in what way it would corrupt Thay even further

I'm a fan of existential cosmic threats personally. Not the world shattering kind, but ones that slowly spread darkness until everybody has no choice but to submit to see anymore. Invasion of ineffible outsider entities that seek to corrupt the world to more their liking.

Also, to continue the allegory, after Realm War 1, the Red Wizards had a cleaning of house where they disposed of all the ancient lich wizards and formed a new order for the living*. Just make the claim that necromancy is the work of the gods and no longer allowed. They're still evil despotic Thayan wizards, but they can at least say "we're not that."

(I had an idea for some games that I never quite got finished. Lovecraft in WW2 with magic/psychic powers based on Wilhelm Reich's Orgone theory and mad science tech based on Tesla's death rays. First game was to be called Flying Saucers of the SS. I actually did get the background written up as part of NaNoWriMo a decade or two ago. The idea was the PCs were Nazi Lovecraftian cult hunters. I was almost finished with the fiction when I learned of The Laundry series and held off reading it until I was finsihed. The second idea had more promise I though, Flying Saucers of the KGB. Cold War era game set in 1968, both superpowers are both exploring the new psychic and other tech but it was a world where youth cults were possibly the more dangerous threat. PCs were cult investigators and the theme was that they didn't know who to trust. The KGB agents were at least human and doing the same work, but they could be corrupted, but then again, so could their own people.

*ETA: The TTTP, Thayan Thaumaturgic Technocratic Party, has the goal of free intelligent life of the Prime Material Plane from the enslaving influences of the Outer Planes so that people may live to their fullest potential through arcane magic. A vanguard of wizards and sages will promote the cause through ongoing revolution by countering the negative influences of the outer planes. They will take control of society and ensure that society is free of the limiting influences of divine magic. All those willing to contribute the advancement of free life who show the ability and loyalty to the cause will be allowed to join the TTTP and contribute to the elevation of all people.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

I'm a fan of existential cosmic threats personally. Not the world shattering kind, but ones that slowly spread darkness until everybody has no choice but to submit to see anymore. Invasion of ineffible outsider entities that seek to corrupt the world to more their liking.

Also, to continue the allegory, after Realm War 1, the Red Wizards had a cleaning of house where they disposed of all the ancient lich wizards and formed a new order for the living. Just make the claim that necromancy is the work of the gods and no longer allowed. They're still evil despotic Thayan wizards, but they can at least say "we're not that."

(I had an idea for some games that I never quite got finished. Lovecraft in WW2 with magic/psychic powers based on Wilhelm Reich's Orgone theory and mad science tech based on Tesla's death rays. First game was to be called Flying Saucers of the SS. I actually did get the background written up as part of NaNoWriMo a decade or two ago. The idea was the PCs were Nazi Lovecraftian cult hunters. I was almost finished with the fiction when I learned of The Laundry series and held off reading it until I was finsihed. The second idea had more promise I though, Flying Saucers of the KGB. Cold War era game set in 1968, both superpowers are both exploring the new psychic and other tech but it was a world where youth cults were possibly the more dangerous threat. PCs were cult investigators and the theme was that they didn't know who to trust. The KGB agents were at least human and doing the same work, but they could be corrupted, but then again, so could their own people.

I actually ended up incorporating Orgone energy into my homebrew D&D setting based exclusively on the fact that I own a DEVO energy dome and sometimes wear it while DMing.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I actually ended up incorporating Orgone energy into my homebrew D&D setting based exclusively on the fact that I own a DEVO energy dome and sometimes wear it while DMing.

The idea of someone who looks like Guy Fieri (or maybe you ARE Guy Fieri) with a DEVO energy dome on head while running D&D brought a smile to my face this evening...

 

[doctorbadwolf]

(If the premise doesn't appeal to you - no problem. Just ignore this little corner of the internet. The entirety of the rest of ENWorld and the web is out there for you to engage with).

I just starting listening to the Yes Indie'd podcast episode with Tim Denee (of Deathmatch Island fame). His new project is called Blades '68, which takes the Victorian setting of Blades in the Dark and moves it 100 years into the future, so that it's now set in something like an art deco/magical realism late 1960's version of the gritty fantasy city of Duskvol. (Evil Hat website: Blades '68 - Evil Hat Productions)

I'm super curious what the ENWorld community would come up with for various ideas for a Faerun; but it's 1968. Here are some ideas that came to me. If this idea resonates at all - throw out your brainstorm ideas. As with all brainstorms, no such thing as a dumb or bad idea. Let's get it all on the wall. Here are some that came to me on my drive home.

• There's now a cold war going on between the Sword Coast in the West and the Red Wizards in the East
• There's thauma-fuel, which enables non-magic users to harness great power. For example, autonomous powered wagons get people all over Waterdeep, such that now's there traffic jams. At the same time, Waterdeep has become the hub of the west, with towering... towers, filled with apartments and businesses.
• Airships ply the skies, as do dragons who get paid very lucrative contracts to carry passengers everywhere (took this one from the Craft novels of Max Gladstone).

Other ideas folks have? Steering clear of the rules/mechanics at this point; just interested in snippets of setting and vibes.

Ever seen pictures of Iran when it was secular? That is how i picture Calimshan, with areas that look more like modern Istanbul.

Advanced, modern, beautiful, and potentially caught in the crossfire of your proposed Cold War.

As a lover of Calimshan, i would be soooooo down to play a Calishite Artificer or Thief Rogue in that world.