Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Gamemastering advice on preparing adventures for Sword & Sorcery campaigns
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="ART!" data-source="post: 8364378" data-attributes="member: 79926"><p>I can see arguments for asking this in any number of S&S-themed threads, but I think it's more of a "how to run" question.</p><p></p><p>How do you pitch a S&S tone without it sounding depressing and nihilistic? When I ran some of what i saw as the core concepts past a few players in our group, the response was either static or "sounds depressing". Firstly, I'm a little surprised that playing S&S isn't automatically appealing to them, but I they're all very, very used to D&D's kitchen sink approach to fantasy.</p><p></p><p>The concepts or themes I pitched were basically:</p><p>1. Freedom and danger > oppression and safety. Civilization trades danger - the natural state of all living things - for safety, but also trades freedom for oppression and corruption. The only way to truly live is to seize your freedom and face the danger. PCs aren't beholden to any great cause, faction, or hierarchy.</p><p>2. Goals and quests are personal, not epic. That rumored treasure in those strange ruins could set you up for life - or at least a fun life until the money runs out. The crew members who left you for dead on a desert island will pay! Saving the world from evil is nowhere on the list of goals.</p><p>3. Magic is dangerous and corrupting.</p><p>4. Whatever gods there might be are not demonstratively active in the world.</p><p>5. No race or class restrictions, but innate spellcasting will be replaced with a feat, and a lot of utility spells and a few others will be unavailable.</p><p></p><p>Reading that, I guess I can see how that would read as drudgery if you're used to default D&Disms and aren't familiar with S&S as a genre. Did I over-sell or under-sell things here? I feel like I didn't make it sound fun. How would you handle this?</p><p></p><p>EDIT: Come to think of it, no one bit when I pitched the 5E <em>Adventures in Middle-Earth</em>, either, so maybe my group just wants default D&D and nothing but.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ART!, post: 8364378, member: 79926"] I can see arguments for asking this in any number of S&S-themed threads, but I think it's more of a "how to run" question. How do you pitch a S&S tone without it sounding depressing and nihilistic? When I ran some of what i saw as the core concepts past a few players in our group, the response was either static or "sounds depressing". Firstly, I'm a little surprised that playing S&S isn't automatically appealing to them, but I they're all very, very used to D&D's kitchen sink approach to fantasy. The concepts or themes I pitched were basically: 1. Freedom and danger > oppression and safety. Civilization trades danger - the natural state of all living things - for safety, but also trades freedom for oppression and corruption. The only way to truly live is to seize your freedom and face the danger. PCs aren't beholden to any great cause, faction, or hierarchy. 2. Goals and quests are personal, not epic. That rumored treasure in those strange ruins could set you up for life - or at least a fun life until the money runs out. The crew members who left you for dead on a desert island will pay! Saving the world from evil is nowhere on the list of goals. 3. Magic is dangerous and corrupting. 4. Whatever gods there might be are not demonstratively active in the world. 5. No race or class restrictions, but innate spellcasting will be replaced with a feat, and a lot of utility spells and a few others will be unavailable. Reading that, I guess I can see how that would read as drudgery if you're used to default D&Disms and aren't familiar with S&S as a genre. Did I over-sell or under-sell things here? I feel like I didn't make it sound fun. How would you handle this? EDIT: Come to think of it, no one bit when I pitched the 5E [I]Adventures in Middle-Earth[/I], either, so maybe my group just wants default D&D and nothing but. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Gamemastering advice on preparing adventures for Sword & Sorcery campaigns
Top