Fresh Campaign Setting Sought

[Psion]

I don't own the Scarred Lands myself -- I keep telling myself to pick up Hollowfaust, but never do -- but the setting has a skyscraper-sized inert golem standing over a city and a city run by necromancers with a zombie labor force (Hollowfaust, in fact). That reads "high magic" to me. Is the rest of the setting lower-powered to bring the average magic level back down?

So, is your role in this thread to poo-poo everyone's opinion?

What it comes down to is that Scarred Lands is the remnant of a world were much magic indeed was thrown around. It's not a world where magic is conveniently thrown around to do things like empty the sewage. Communities have a fortress mentality and struggle against the remnants of the titantic forces arrayed against them.

 

[Iku Rex]

Maybe it's too obvious but... Eberron?

For those now getting ready to tell me "Eberron is high magic": No, it's wide magic. High magic is hard to come by and mostly used as a plot device.

Though if by "high magic" you mean "lots of magic", Eberron is not for you.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So, is your role in this thread to poo-poo everyone's opinion?

No, but I'm just wondering if the settings being proferred are actually a match with what the OP explicitly said he wanted: lower magic.

I've got no dog in this fight -- I don't own SL, which is why I asked a question about it -- but I just notice that in many of these threads, many of the people (although by no means all the threads or all the posters in them) just post what they enjoy, even if it's explicitly not what the poster was asking about: At some point, someone will tell him to try the Forgotten Realms or Midnight, just wait.

What it comes down to is that Scarred Lands is the remnant of a world were much magic indeed was thrown around.

So places like Mithril and Hollowfaust are the exception, not the rule, then? (Again, I'm asking, not arguing.)

 

[Psion]

So places like Mithril and Hollowfaust are the exception, not the rule, then? (Again, I'm asking, not arguing.)

Not sure what you mean.

He mentioned high magic, but he mentioned it in the context of FR, where magic is very convenient and used for things like teleporting sewage away. I think SL is unlike that. Magic may be at times necessary, but it's rarely convenient. Hollowfaust is a great example -- the tradition that after you die, your body is not yours, such that it can be used in defense of the city, it an example of the grim necessity the keep life going in the Scarred Lands.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

"I would like my next setting to steer away from high magic" probably needs to be clarified, then.

I agree, your example from FR (is that Haluraa with the sewage?) is certainly an example of high magic, but to me, a city run by spellcasters is pretty high magic as well, even if they are highly pragmatic spellcasters.

In contrast, in Kalamar, people tend to view arcane magic as a manifestation of divine will: That's how unfamiliar they are with wizards and sorcerers and such.

But yes, if he was just looking for an absence of magic used for everyday things ("wide" magic, from a later post in the thread), SL may well be a good fit. It certainly is a lot grittier than FR, if that's something he wants.

I suspect high/low magic may be terms that people all just think mean the same things to everyone, while actually having a lot of variation along a scale.

 

[Psion]

"I would like my next setting to steer away from high magic" probably needs to be clarified, then.

I'm sure the OP can figure out if it sounds like what he's looking for.

I agree, your example from FR (is that Haluraa with the sewage?)

Waterdeep, but it wouldn't surprise me if other places had the same...

is certainly an example of high magic, but to me, a city run by spellcasters is pretty high magic as well, even if they are highly pragmatic spellcasters.

In contrast, in Kalamar, people tend to view arcane magic as a manifestation of divine will: That's how unfamiliar they are with wizards and sorcerers and such.

Perhaps. But at the same time, the OP asked for something unusual, and KoK strikes me as very bog-standard D&D.

 

[Gundark]

I'm not sure that "I want to steer away from high magic" means "and please let me replace it with steampunk-by-another-name."

I don't think this is a fair evaluation of the IK either. I understand there is steam elements...but steampunk? Nah. The term steampunk means that steam stuff is everywhere, not so with the IK. IMHO

 

[Voadam]

In Scarred Lands the Gods and Titans were full of huge world shaping magic. New races and monsters popped up in the wake of the titans at their will. In the aftermath of the god/titan war the world is torn apart and much of civilization as well. The Relics and Rituals book presents tons of magic spells and items but says most magic is too rare to be bought and is only found. I think Scarred Lands would be a lower wealth world with smaller cities so the big gp markets for buying and selling magic simply are not there as they are in high level D&D default assumptions where PCs go to metropolises for magical weapon shopping sprees.

There is an isolated city-state run by necromancers who use animated dead as their city's armies. There is a holy city with a quiescent giant mithril golem forged by the smith/paladin god himself. There is a city with war wizards. There is a beleagured dwarven city that has many runsesmiths but trade is limited because of their two front war. There are evil spellcaster cults. There is D&D magic.

I think the trade and magic market issues make Scarred Lands not as high magic as default D&D.

 

[Stormborn]

First I want to make sure I understood your desires correctly Dark Serph. You want:

- A setting with lots of published materials to provide campaign depth
- A setting in which magic plays a part, but high powered magics (iow 7th + level spells, magical creations, epic level NPC casters running around, etc) are not common.
- A setting with a unique feel.

Is all that correct? If so then...

The IK setting is very rich in detail and for the most part can serve very well. It is, however, steampunk-ish (the over all tech level is higher than traditional fantasy, and while not neccesarilly steampunk lots of the illustrations and PC gear make it feel that way- they call it "Full Metal Fantasy") so may not be what you want. Persoanlly I have found some problems with a bit of the setting specific rules and classes. I found the gunmage disappointing, and would recommend homebrewing a better version. The item creation rules are fairly complex as well and less than satisfying. However, if you steer clear of those things I have to say that I find it one of the most facinating campaign worlds available. There are lots of minis (via the Warmachine Minis wargame), a regular magazine called No Quarter, and a good fan base. The Monsternomicon is the best monster manual ever, and a sequel is coming out. The Witchfire Trilogy, the introductory adventure is quite railroady, however, and is another one of my frustrations with the setting. What it boils down to is the setting provides excelent fluff but a wide range of crunch ranging from wonderful to poor. You could, however buy the campaign setting book and run it in whatever system you like and do just fine for the most part.


Freeport is a great and well detailed city and could serve as a minicampaign setting. No real need to make it a piratical type game, just an urban one in a port city. Lots of supplements for it both in print and pdf.

Now this might seem a bit odd, but World of Warcraft RPG offers a well detailed setting with a magic level similar to the core books. Lots of well done supplements for that too. I have never played the MMORPG (but was always a fan of the RTS series) and found it very nice. Just be careful about checking to see which edition books are for if you go picking up several.

I have heard lots of good things about Kalamar and while I dont own the core book I do have a few of the supplements that I have used for others settings. It is well done and certainly on par with FR or Midnight in my opinion.


I am also among those who would suggest that Eberron is Common Magic not High Magic, however it can have a "feel" similar to that of high magic, in that magic is a common part of everyday life. There are lots of preview materials over at WotC's site so you might want to look over them first.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm sure the OP can figure out if it sounds like what he's looking for.

I hope you don't think I was attacking you; your responses read as though you might feel that way.

Any time we have one of these threads (several times a week, in other words), the OP is forced to look through a lot of stuff that has little to do with what they're looking for. Yes, they can wade through a lot of it, but why does every poster who asks this question have to do it every time?

Waterdeep, but it wouldn't surprise me if other places had the same...

Ew, that's excessive and, frankly, unnecessary. Teleporting away sewage certainly takes away some of the grit from a city that, I always thought, was supposed to be gritty. A dungeon crawl through the sewers isn't terribly gritty if it's as clean and empty as it was on "Angel" or "Blade: The Series."

Perhaps. But at the same time, the OP asked for something unusual, and KoK strikes me as very bog-standard D&D.

And that's a very valid point and a point in favor of SL, which has a very different vibe to it.