shadow said:
After what seemed like a deluge of "grim and gritty" and dark settings, two heroic mythical settings are coming out. This IMO is a good thing because I've always loved epic and mythical campaigns. However, I'm torn between Goodman's Morningstar and FFG's Dawnforge. From what I've read of them, they both seem really cool. The idea of the "canticle" in Morningstar seems great, lending a sense of urgency. However, the idea of racial talent trees in Dawnforge also seems really cool. What setting should I choose? Which of the two is more "epic" and "heroic"? Does anyone actually know anything about these settings?
Well, I can't exactly compare the two, but I can answer any questions about Morningstar.
In Morningstar the elder races have powers beyond their PHB equivalent, and thus have 5-level racial classes of their own. If you play a dwarf or elf, you can "multiclass" in your racial class and your traditional class, gradually becoming a more powerful representative of your race.
The elves of Morningstar retain their true fey nature and serve a living, breathing goddess called The Empress, who resides in a crystal city in Ynnidon. There are several varieties of elves, my personal favorite being the Cairn, or bone elves, who are "mystic furnaces burning with life." Morningstar is a world of latent magic where locations have a "spectrum strength" indicating what kinds of magic are inhibited or promoted by the area. Bone elves literally change the nature of magic in an area by radiating their own life force. But it strains them, and they become gaunt and washed-out -- hence their name.
The dwarves have several subraces of their own, including stonecutters, storm dwarves, clay dwarves, and my favorites, the flayed dwarves. Flayed dwarves are the most militant dwarves. They are living, walking histories of their battles: whenever they suffer a great wound, they filled it gem dust, ensuring a gruesome scar that becomes a sparkling tattoo when healed. You can read the history of their combats from the glittering scars on their skin.
The mysterious Prophecy called the Canticle of the Morning Star has begun speaking across the world, in different ways in different lands. In Brendir, prophets go mad and begin spouting verses. In the dwarven nation of Kharkon, great volcano erupted, and the lava carved verses of the Canticle in the remaining mountainside. In Zeikrus, the draconic Empire, the severed heads of dead dragons now speak prophecy. And in Ynnidon, land of the elves, the Canticle speaks directly to The Empress herself.
Morningstar is an epic golden age world where something epic is about to happen. The Canticle speaks of changes -- but it speaks cryptically. Something huge looms on the horizon, but no one is sure what it will be.
Incidentally, for those who try to decipher the Canticle and figure out what's really going on in Morningstar... here's a hint: pay careful attention to The Empress.
