How to run Classic Sword and Sorcery Adventures

[JoeGKushner]

It's workable but...

Conjuration has been beefed up considerably. Complete Arcane and it's various Orb spells for example, would probably make a poor fit for any campaign that didn't have the evocation spells. It's almost a spell by spell decesion. Looking at books like Relics & Rituals series and seeing how they did their spell lists might give you some ideas.

Some other factors, like magical healing, still have to be tonned down. Of course having the Pokemount thing going on still doesn't help the game retain it's Sword & Sorcery feel either. Nor does having Monks in a campaign unless you change their origins and feel. Secret Society of Assassins is much more palatable than just good old monks.

It's why I wouldn't go this route and just go with one of the games I mentioned.

My belief, stated many times in the past, is that you can acheive a good old-fashioned sword and sorcery feel simply by eliminating evocations from core D&D. Wizards and Sorcerers become specialists for free (essentially taking evocation as their first banned school). Removing evocations in most other places has little effect. Some evocations (mostly divine ones like spiritual weapon or consecrate) become a new category of "sacred" spells. Other spells with good flavor (ones which are not instant damage spells), like fire shield or shatter, slip into other schools (conjuration and transmutation in this example).

Removing evocations has a profound effect on the feel of the game. Arcanists become conjurers, necromancers, enchanters, etc., as you find in the classic swords and sorcery literature. Since the change is basically an enforced specialization, it is already balanced within the core rules with only a little tweaking necesary.

The game becomes "High Adventure, No Fireballs!" which is the catchphrase for the campaign I am perpetually working on, but never really making any progress upon.

-Dave

 

[Psion]

Of course having the Pokemount thing going on still doesn't help the game retain it's Sword & Sorcery feel either.

I'm having trouble finding what feel the pokemount would fit...

 

[DaveStebbins]

That's the way I've always played the game.

However, when I DM, it's hard to get that Leiber/Howard gritty feel with magic missles, lightning bolts and the like going off. (It is for me anyway).

That's exactly what led me to start working on the 'no evocations' idea. I'm not as deep into the S&S feel as others, so I don't have a problem with D&D healing, monks, or even the summonable warhorse. I just wanted something simple that made wizards in the game seem less like artillary and more like the scheming and inventive types in the literature I read growing up. Fireballs, flame strikes and lightning bolts were the most jarring items to my suspension of disbelief, and since there was an already-existing rule which I could use to get rid of them without dumping game balance or nerfing wizards, I jumped at the chance.

Henry, I know I'm not the first to suggest the idea, it's just that there are certain posts I see myself writing time after time over the years and I like to let people who are tired of reading it know that, yes, I'm repeating myself again.

-Dave

 

[francisca]

That's exactly what led me to start working on the 'no evocations' idea. I'm not as deep into the S&S feel as others, so I don't have a problem with D&D healing, monks, or even the summonable warhorse. I just wanted something simple that made wizards in the game seem less like artillary and more like the scheming and inventive types in the literature I read growing up. Fireballs, flame strikes and lightning bolts were the most jarring items to my suspension of disbelief, and since there was an already-existing rule which I could use to get rid of them without dumping game balance or nerfing wizards, I jumped at the chance.

Henry, I know I'm not the first to suggest the idea, it's just that there are certain posts I see myself writing time after time over the years and I like to let people who are tired of reading it know that, yes, I'm repeating myself again.

-Dave

Should I run 3.5 again (unlikely, as any d20 I run will be something else, like Conan), and IF (and that is in fact a big if) the players went for it, I'd do so. I may play a wizard like that in the future though.

And frankly Dave, some ideas are worth repeating.

 

[francisca]

I'm having trouble finding what feel the pokemount would fit...

mmmmmm..... Maybe Lone Ranger d20?

 

[Dr Simon]

For non-d20, I'd suggest RuneQuest, but I doubt you'd be able to get hold of that these days.

I ran a years-long campaign based on Leiber's work using that system.

OTOH, the two main features of RQ that make it good for such a setting are:

No massive damage-dealing spells (well...very few...), which you could use Dave's idea of no Evocation magic to effect.

Small, smart, dextrous people are also viable fighters. This was not an option in old D&D, but in d20 system thanks to feats like Weapon Finesse, Dodge and Combat Expertise you can now build a Grey Mouser quite nicely.

 

[francisca]

Been kicking this around a bit more in my head, and I think eliminating sorcerors and wizards altogether, replacing them with the Warlock from Complete Arcane, and rarifying magic items could go a long way to imparting that feel.

I remember distinctly reading about the Warlock and thinking, "Ah-ha! there is a D&D class that The Mouser could have been at first level, using the eldritch blast to waste his girlfriend's old man."

 

[MetalBard]

Would Arcana Unearthed have that Sword & Sorcery Feel?

I've been thinking of developing a campaign and home-brew inspired by Lankhmar and I've been toying around with using the Arcana Unearthed rules-set. Has anyone else had much success in using Arcana Unearthed for that Sword and Sorcery feel? It seemed like it would work as long as the only races around were humans and maybe some mojh for the creepy wizard thing.