Help me decide when to set my Greek campaign!

[MonsterMash]

I'd favour the ancient period which is why I voted for it [looks for and fails to find stating the obvious emoticon].

Both periods have a lot to recommend them, but even more than the ancient I'd favour a homeric period campaign - the gods being active, the world a much more mysterious place with monsters lurking and the barbarians at the gates!

 

[RFisher]

I voted Ancient, but my real answer would be: The anachronistic Age of Myth.

 

[~Johnny~]

If you really dig deep and get back into Homeric/mythic times, you're not even really talking about Greece. You're talking about Minoan civilization, followed by Mycenae and its neighbors. The reason the "ancient Greece" time isn't further back is the same reason I've never set one of my games in those time periods: I don't want heroes like Jason and Achilles to overshadow the PCs. The flavor of the campaign setting should be that the gods and titans are coming back for one last round before humanity and science take over the world.

The nice thing about classical Greece is that it's got the recognizeable elements of Greek history: Athens, Sparta, democracies, hoplites, and other cultures in Northern Africa and the Middle East. The thing I don't like about it is the restrictions it places on metaplot. During 475 BC, the Hellenic world is essentially drawing its breath between the Persian War and the Peloponnesian War. It's a period that only lasts 50 years, which is plenty of time for a campaign not as wide open as would be ideal.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Right now I'm leaning toward the earlier time period. I'll keep this open a couple of days longer to get the maximum amount of opinions.

 

[Pramas]

You may find this interesting...

http://www.greenronin.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prodid=1405

 

[Melkor Lord Of ALL!]

But how do you intend to mix classical Greece with magic and monsters?

 

[Cavalorn]

But how do you intend to mix classical Greece with magic and monsters?

Please excuse a blatant plug, but that's exactly what OGL Ancients was designed to do...

 

[~Johnny~]

Ah, I knew if there were already products doing this, somebody would post about them! I'll have to check them out to make sure it's even worth putting my notes into pretty PDF format. This isn't really a competing product, just a chance to put some of my ideas into a free PDF to share with fellow Hellenic enthusiasts.

OGL Ancients looks very cool. My idea is much lower concept. This is a simple, straightforward D&D conversion. I had an idea for an interesting plot about the "return" of magic and myth to a more historic era of Greece, and I realized that my idea fit perfectly with the existing d20 rules. The booklet will focus on setting information, not new mechanics.

But how do you intend to mix classical Greece with magic and monsters?

The same way d20 Modern mixes the modern world with magic and monsters: as something happening that's out of the ordinary. Assuming I make this happen, you'll find out!

 

[I'm A Banana]

For my own Greek setting, I'd take a slight variation and just assume it's always there. Centaurs have always existed in those plains to the North, and Cyclopses have always lived on this island, and such. Philsosophers could always work miracles with their logos, and priests could always invoke the gods with their mythos. It'd just require a smidge of re-structuring the world to accept the impact of obvious, everyday magic, but no biggie.

 

[Agback]

But how do you intend to mix classical Greece with magic and monsters?

Look at Herodotus' Histories. Those were written smack in the middle of the Classical Period, and describe the time of the Persian Wars only a generation before. But between Amazons and Neurians they contain all the colour and movement you could wish for.

Honestly, monsters as such are greatly over-rated.

Regards,


Agback

 

[~Johnny~]

For my own Greek setting, I'd take a slight variation and just assume it's always there. Centaurs have always existed in those plains to the North, and Cyclopses have always lived on this island, and such.

That's actually closer to what I've done in my previous Greek adventures than my d20 Modern comparison. Magical creatures have always existed on the outskirts of society -- that's how they're portrayed in Greek myth -- and they've been slowly disappearing as civilization has grown. But lately, whenever the campaign begins, they're making their presence a bit more known. (The average citizen is still more worried about Persians than harpies, but there are rumors of strange attacks on farms on the furthest edges of city-state borders, etc.)