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Message: <blockquote data-quote="exile" data-source="post: 2814570" data-attributes="member: 20068">I play far more often than run games, but the last game I ran was set in a slightly modified version of the Forgotten Realms. It ran only four weeks (designed as a brief story arc, not an incredibly bad game). I set the game in the Silver Marches and most details were pretty much as written. I purposefully stayed away from powerful/recognizeable NPCs (not because of any ill-will toward them, just thought 1st level characters woudl have no reason to encounter them). Low-power NPCs of my own making served admirably for interaction with the characters; higher-powered NPCs of my own creation lurked in the background as ultimate bad guys (to be encountered during a later arc).I made an effort to inject a pulp feel into the game. To accomplish this, I used action points (a la Unearthed Arcana), focused the initial adventure on an overland trek (with more travel to exotic locales just over the horizon, future arcs), included lots of tribal baddies (orcs and goblins), included two wily nemeses for the initial arc (an aged orc called Kingmaker, a brutal goblin wolf rider), and included a monstrous (really big anyway) spider- nothing says pulp like oversized animals.I also made an effort to infuse the game with a Cthulhu-esque horror feel. To accomplish this, I put the BBEG in the background (far removed from early interaction with the PCs, though in pulp style I gave one of the PCs some history with the BBEG) fronted by innumerable minions (many of which don't even know they are serving the ends of the BBEG). I included lots of mysterious books- nothing says Cthulhu-esqu horror like mysterious books. I created a sense of distrust between the characters (each of them started the game with a slightly different fund of knowledge related to the backstory and most of them had reason to keep this to themselves). I made magic as strange and unknowable as possible without actually limiting it and making my Realms a lower magic world. I did this by playing weave users against shadow weave users (had both in the party).Alright, I'm rambling...and I should be reading stuff for work. Enough for now. I hope this helps (at least a little).Chad</blockquote>

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