Northern Crown?

[ragboy]

There's a feat in there, and there's ten 10 fencing moves/special attacks. Was that what was in the author's first version?

I don't remember precisely how the fencing rules worked, but that sounds like at least the spirit of how he had it before. From what I remember he had several different fencing styles (which were feats, IIRC) which then gave you access to various fencing special attacks/maneuvers.

Also, is it built from a d20/D&D or d20 Modern rule base?

 

[GMSkarka]

Also, is it built from a d20/D&D or d20 Modern rule base?

D20/D&D base. There are notes for using the standard classes, and a bunch of new core classes and prestige classes unique to the setting.

 

[Psychotic Jim]

I see only one fencing feat, but it works basically the way you described. There's a Greatsword and Polearm feat that allows you to get a shield AC bonus and use the weapon as a double weapon, among other things though. There's also various feats that allow you to do special things with guns.

There's also a Fencing Master PrC.

 

[dougmander]

I'm on board if anyone wants to ask me about Northern Crown. Sorry to join the thread late; I just spotted it. The original campaign was called Septentrionalis, by the way. It was available on the web as a free PDF about five years ago.

As for the fencing rules, they are pretty much the same as in the old PDF. One feat buys you access to ten fencing "moves" that come with varying penalties to attack, but allow you to do cool things like switch places with your opponent, catch his weapon in your own blade, and so on. You also get a shield AC bonus that increases as your BAB increases -- this is a crucial feature in a low-armor setting. I inserted AC buffs into Northern Crown anywhere I saw a creative way to do so.

 

[Stormborn]

Doug,

Thanks for chiming in. I picked up NC this weekend, but am holding off on the Gazatteer until I can give it a good read through. It looks interesting.
For our inspiration:Of all of the games/campaigns you must have played in this setting, what was your favorite? Characters/Villains? What did you want to do with a campaign that you didn't do?

 

[Bobitron]

I'm going to be playing Isobel in an upcoming pbp of 'The Caves of Chisca'. Looks like fun, I'm excited to get going. I don't have the NC book yet, so I'm a bit concerned about how fencing will work now that you mentioned the special moves, Doug, but I'm sure I'll be able to work it out with the DM.

 

[dougmander]

Doug,
For our inspiration:Of all of the games/campaigns you must have played in this setting, what was your favorite? Characters/Villains? What did you want to do with a campaign that you didn't do?

The round-the-world voyage of the Lorelei comes to mind. The PCs raced a Français pirate to the discovery of the Northwest Passage, and found that the crucial strait was controlled by the descendents of the Welsh prince Madoc, who had preserved some pretty powerful magics from the previous age. Shangri-la like, they were trapped there for a long while until they were able to defeat the wizard who was pulling the strings of Madoc's heir. They defeated a floating ice-fortress of frost giants, were captured by the even-gianter giants of Brobdignag, went to work as mercenaries for the emperor of Fusang and rescued his daughter from evil monks, solved the mystery of Rapa-nui, rescued a marooned Sir Francis Drake from the shogun of Xipangu, beat the Portugeuse to establish a trading post there, delivered Drake to Queen Gloriana of Albion, and made it back to Sophia in time for tea.

Other memorable adventures included storming the Witchling city of Naumkeag to unmask and unseat an evil coven mother, and rescuing an Onandaga powwaw from the dungeons of the Chateau Frontenac in Québec. There have also been several adventures of political intrigue in the city of Sophia, and supernatural terror on the fog-shrouded streets of Boston.

Annalisa X, the evil natural philosopher who runs the College of War in Vandalia, is a probably my favorite villain. Think of Q from the James Bond films, but evil. The sorcerers of Le Dragon Rouge and the vampires of L'Ordre du Sang weave in and out of many of the adventures.

The areas of Northern Crown I'm most eager to expand are the city of Havana, the mean streets of Nieu Amsterdam, and the courtly society of Charles Town. They haven't been fleshed out in nearly the same detail as Boston and Sophia. I'd really like to do some adventures that take place exclusively in First Ones territory, with minimal Uropan involvement, but the research required to get it right is taking a long time. I'm ploughing through Mooney's classic Cherokee Myths and Sacred Formulas and thinking of writing a nearly crunch-free sourcebook that focuses on the Cherokee world, which is so rich in magic, monsters, fey beings, witches, heroes, and giants that it could almost be done as a stand-alone campaign.

 

[Turanil]

I bought the 'core' book (New World Adventures) & the Gazetteer at GenCon. Is there anything specific you would like to know?

I'm on board if anyone wants to ask me about Northern Crown. Sorry to join the thread late; I just spotted it. The original campaign was called Septentrionalis, by the way.

I remember Septentrionalis, and it was already great. I love movies featuring Amerindians such as Dancing With Wolves or The Last of the Mohicans and loved to read Jack London's and Fenimore Cooper's novels when I was a child. As such, I would be glad to purchase Northern Crown, if only for the read.

Nonetheless, at first thought this kind of setting looks less exciting when it comes to run a D&D/d20 game in it... I mean, I wouldn't know what to feature beyond an evil shaman in a cave, or a wandering salem witch, or what? So, could you tell us the sort of exciting adventures that can be run in Noerthern Crown, and be true to the setting. And I mean: exciting stuff that we usually see in typical fantasy campaigns. If there are no weird creatures, hordes of rampaging gnolls, armored dark knights, succubus in disguise, dungeon crawling in antediluvian ruins, what remains for fun campaigns in Dakota and Canada?

 

[Stormborn]

Thanks Doug, that all sounds fantastic.

Hmmm...I am picturing PCs sent into the interior to map ley lines, lost cities, and eventually discovering The Shogunate of the Golden Bay (San Francisico).

 

[dougmander]

So, could you tell us the sort of exciting adventures that can be run in Northern Crown, and be true to the setting. And I mean: exciting stuff that we usually see in typical fantasy campaigns. If there are no weird creatures, hordes of rampaging gnolls, armored dark knights, succubus in disguise, dungeon crawling in antediluvian ruins, what remains for fun campaigns in Dakota and Canada?

A fair question: in the language of the moment, what's the core story? Well, the free adventure
Caves of Chisca is a dungeon crawl I wrote to assure new players that NC doesn't necessarily require them to give up some of the comforting adventure formats found in other d20 fantasy games, but can just put a different spin on them.

Instead of rampaging gnolls, think flocks of pauguk (flying skeletons) or a troop of clockwork soldiers gone amok.
Armored dark knights are so medieval. How about a black-cloaked headless rider, galloping down a dark, fogbound lane in search of grisly trophies?
There aren't any succubi, but plenty of witches who can change their guise at will and are every bit as enchanting.

So it is possible to have a one-to-one correspondance in NC with the kinds of adventures you find in D&D, but if you play the game at that level only, you're missing out on what's unique to the setting. I gave some hints of the sort of adventures I've done in a previous post on this thread.