Northern Crown - Fantasy Adventuring in Europe's Colonization of North America

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

From the African Setting thread. I have cut & pasted some relevant tidbits on Atlas' upcoming Northern Crown d20 setting books, as they deserve their own on-topic thread:

Yep. Northern Crown: New World Adventures. It should be out, in two volumes, at Gen Con. Probably the last of d20 for us...but you know, who knows. Something else as cool as Northern Crown or Nyambe may come along again one day and knock our socks off, hold us up at swordpoint, and demand that we publish it or forever be ashamed at our failure to do so.

A flyer to announce and promote NC:NWA is at press right now. You can find it on our website at the bottom of the retailer info page: http://www.atlas-games.com/retailer.php

On the topic of Nyambe -- no more support is, sadly, planned. There is a great fan site with added material (http://www.nyambe.com), however -- well worth checking out, full of great links, crunchy bits, etc.

Also, it may be of interest that Northern Crown assumes Nyambe in the place of Africa for its version of fantasy Earth. It would be fun to have adventures ranging across both continents.

When asked about the online scan being difficult to read online:

...
Anyone who would like a copy of the Northern Crown flyer itself (and the Ars Magica flyer/poster map, for that matter) is welcome to send us a self-addressed, stamped envelope -- to Atlas Games, 885 Pierce Butler Route, St Paul, Minnesota, 55104. Just include a little note saying you want the Northern Crown flyer/map.

England got renamed because it has been taken over by the Fae. You know that whole thing about Elizabeth and the "Faerie Queen"? Well, in this world Gloriana literally became the Faerie Queen.

When asked about the content of each of the two books:

...
One volume is called Northern Crown: New World Adventures; the other is called Northern Crown: Gazetteer. The former is more focused on characters, the latter on setting, in very rough terms....

The books author finds the thread! :

Speaking as the author, I don't mind, derail away!

Someone asked earlier how the Shawnee are depicted in the book. Like all of the native American backgrounds for PCs included in Northern Crown, the Shawnee are cast as a heroic, larger-than-life version of their historical selves. My take on them is that they are a far-traveled people, having come to the central woodlands from the south after long wanderings, and that they are famed traders, scouts, hunters, healers, and guardians of the living earth. They are suspicious of arcane magic, having a longstanding enmity with witches, and they have a complex system of clans and political subdivisions, each with different roles in the community.

Hope that satisfies your curiosity!

Yes, Gloriana is the half-fey daughter of Auberon and Elizabeth, who returned from Faerie long after her mother's death, kicked Oliver Cromwell out of power, and brought back the Old Ways to England, now renamed Albion. It's true what John Nephew said about there being only limited info concerning Europe, but there's a lot of background material that just didn't make it into the book, and I'd love to make it available someday for people interested in that part of my game world.

Your first guess is correct; there are no demihuman PC races in Northern Crown, but if you wanted to do a crossover adventure using wakyambe elves, agogwe halflings, or other Nyambe demihumans, why not?

Native Americans do have their own legends about little people and fey-like creatures independently of European mythos. The pukwudgee of the Wampanoag, the nan-a-push of the Leni-Lanape and the nunnehi of the Cherokee are three examples; Northern Crown will include stats for several of them.
I'm not sure if native fairy lore influenced European folklore, since such lore was already well-established by Spenser and Shakespeare's time. My guess is that like dragons, fairy creatures fill an important niche in the ecosystem of the subconscious, and so are found across many cultures.

Yes, it uses the regular d20 magic system, with the following changes:

Two new core classes with unique spell lists
A modest number of new cleric and wiz/sor spells, including some exclusively for native spellcasters, and some related to guns or machines
A major reconceptualization of druidic magic that explicitly ties druids' power to the health of the natural environment

There are few major rules variants in terms of messing with the basic mechanics of feats, skills, combat, and so forth. I was going for "out-of-the-box" playability for anyone who has played D&D. But there are:

seven new core classes
nine prestige classes
rules for fencing and black powder weapons
rules for creating fantastic baroque-era inventions like flying machines
lots of monsters from American lore, like haints, wendigo, and headless horsemen
stats for legendary NPCs like Paul Bunyan and Mike Fink

The Five Nations, once warring nations now united by the principles of the Great Tree of Peace, are of course a regional power in the game world, trying to corner the northern fur trade and preventing incursions from the Puritan Commonwealth and other European invaders. The Mohawk, aka the Keepers of the Eastern Door or the People of the Place of Flint, are one of 17 PC culture backgrounds detailed in the book. One of the two narrators who introduces each chapter in the book is a Mohawk rakarota (bard in d20 terms) named Okwaho.

Any other questions about the setting?

**whew!**

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

How much information is available on the Caribbean and Uropa? Anything, a paragraph or two, a few pages, a chapter?

Will the various ethnic groups have varying racial stats to replace the variation provided by demihuman races in core D&D?

What do the fencing rules entail? A few more feats? A different combat resolution system? Something in the middle?

This sounds great, and as I used to work next to (a) Shawnee High School, the region and history covered in this book are a particular interest of mine.

 

[Turanil]

In Nyambe it is easy to add ruins, dungeons, and the like, and to make great adventures based on Charles Saunders' novels (Imaro). However, what kind of adventures in the new world? I suppose it won't be concentrated on central America and Aztec civilization? The only kind of adventures I can think of, are those seen in the movie "Last of the Mohicans". But I would tire of it after three or four gaming sessions of it. I think a hefty dose of supernatural (not only a bunch of spellcasting classes) will be necessary to make it worthy... In any case, i will be interested in getting a look at it when released.

 

[Psychotic Jim]

How much information is included on the Aztecs (or their fantasy equivalents)? Also, is a southern New World continent mentioned?

Does this book assume normal D&D magic levels?

 

[mythusmage]

In Nyambe it is easy to add ruins, dungeons, and the like, and to make great adventures based on Charles Saunders' novels (Imaro). However, what kind of adventures in the new world? I suppose it won't be concentrated on central America and Aztec civilization? The only kind of adventures I can think of, are those seen in the movie "Last of the Mohicans". But I would tire of it after three or four gaming sessions of it. I think a hefty dose of supernatural (not only a bunch of spellcasting classes) will be necessary to make it worthy... In any case, i will be interested in getting a look at it when released.

There's always the 7 Cities of Cibola or El Dorado to find, explore, and loot. Or old Mississippian mounds and Anasazi ruins.

And forget not the old Indian legends and folktales. Think of the trouble somebody like Coyote or Hare could give the typical adventuring party.

If you're into obscure ancient stuff, you have the hypothesized original aboriginals. Descendents of the ancestors of the Australian Aborigine. There are also the Lemurians, the Muvians, and the Atlanteans. Stray Phoenecians, Vikings, and even the odd Irish Monk.

On a more historical basis, descendents of English, Breton, and even Basque fishermen gone native. The Explorer Henry Cabot sailed for England in part to investigate stories of English villages established in a land where the King's Law (and thus taxes) did not extend.

Then you have a legend found among a number of Indian tribes, that their ancestors came from an underground realm. What if, in Northern Crown such stories are true?

 

[Krieg]

There's always the 7 Cities of Cibola or El Dorado to find, explore, and loot. Or old Mississippian mounds and Anasazi ruins.

The lost Shawnee Silver Mines

 

[dougmander]

How much information is available on the Caribbean and Uropa? Anything, a paragraph or two, a few pages, a chapter?

The Gazetteer lists several locations in the Carib, and the political situation there is spelled out explicitly. Spain is the big player, with Albion, Carolingia, and the Nederlands taking bites here and there. Cimarrons (escaped African captives who have regrouped in the mountains) are becoming increasingly organized and are fighting for independence on their respective islands.

Will the various ethnic groups have varying racial stats to replace the variation provided by demihuman races in core D&D?

Each culture gives PCs a unique set of skill bonuses, favored weapons, and languages, maybe a free feat or a save bonus. Although a PC of a particular culture can be any class, all cultures have "appropriate classes" with cool class variants.

What do the fencing rules entail? A few more feats? A different combat resolution system? Something in the middle?

Fencing is just one feat: Fencing. If you have it, you can use a palette of fencing moves that come with a penalty to your attack roll but allow you to do things like bind your opponent's blade, switch squares with your opponent, or inflict temporary Dex or Str loss instead of damage.

Fencing is just one of four martial arts feats available, along with Guns, Polearms and Greatsword, that let you do some pretty neat tricks with those weapons.

 

[dougmander]

In Nyambe it is easy to add ruins, dungeons, and the like, and to make great adventures based on Charles Saunders' novels (Imaro). However, what kind of adventures in the new world? I suppose it won't be concentrated on central America and Aztec civilization? The only kind of adventures I can think of, are those seen in the movie "Last of the Mohicans". But I would tire of it after three or four gaming sessions of it. I think a hefty dose of supernatural (not only a bunch of spellcasting classes) will be necessary to make it worthy... In any case, i will be interested in getting a look at it when released.

The focus is on North America, not Central or South America. The supernatural is a major factor, with witches holding a great enclave near Boston and infiltrating the courts of all the colonial powers; a cabal of French sorcerers seeking to undermine the free state of Sophia; and vampires establishing dynasties in Nouveau Orleans.

This is a game for people who love American history, lore, and legend. We wanted NC to make early America come alive as a mythic place the same way Ars Magica reimagines Europe's past. It really helps to visualize the sorts of adventures possible if you've read Card's Alvin Maker series, J. Gregory Keyes' Age of Unreason, or REH's Solomon Kane stories. And tales of Daniel Boone, Paul Bunyan, Mike Fink, Blackbeard, Jonny Appleseed...

 

[dougmander]

The lost Shawnee Silver Mines

I couldn't get the link to work, but never fear, the secret silver lode of the Shawnee is already in the manuscript. Ha!

 

[Tonguez]

In Nyambe it is easy to add ruins, dungeons, and the like, and to make great adventures based on Charles Saunders' novels (Imaro). However, what kind of adventures in the new world?

The Septentrionalis (sp) stuff that was Dougs free pdf material had an adventure involving Ghouls in the local graveyard and underground tunnels. Another involved gun running irc (and fits into the 'Last of the Mohicans' model) and another involved the haunting of Boston. The Gangs of New York movie provides another set of ideas, as does the Headless Horseman, the Illuminati conspiracy in Washington and of course Black Beards adventures in Lousiana (read On Stranger Tides). Me I like natural dungeons (canyons, caves, tangled hedgerows) so its all good

PS Doug will you be putting out modules like the above?