Okay, this whole "points of light" thing . . .
- Thread starter Shortman McLeod
- Start date
William Ronald
Explorer
hectorse said:
That may be an option, but I presumed that the DM wanted to have a few spellcasters more powerful than the PCs.
With time, PCs can and perhaps should supplant the NPCs of established guilds as the people that those in power turn to in times of need. (The PCs may chose to become those in power, but they may find that politics can leave little time for adventuring.)
I think of 'Points of Light' as meaning something like the Wilderlands, with small areas of relative civilisation, and most of the world howling wilderness of ruins and fell beasts.
The typical D&D fantasy world has been more like Greyhawk/Oerth, with strong, civilised core kingdoms and adventure on the Borderlands between the Realm of Man and the wilderness/Realm of Chaos. Kalamar and Mystara follow this approach. They basically present a nicer version of 15th-16th century late-medieval and Renaissance Europe, with powerful states and large standing armies. Ironically, most of the middle ages were rather closer to the 'points of light' paradigm, with few powerful kingdoms and endemic warfare between competing nobles.
Forgotten Realms actually has fewer strong kingdoms and more wilderness on the map; FR's problem is the preponderance of uber-NPCs who seem capable of dealing with any serious problem, but it could be presented as a Points of Light setting.
The typical D&D fantasy world has been more like Greyhawk/Oerth, with strong, civilised core kingdoms and adventure on the Borderlands between the Realm of Man and the wilderness/Realm of Chaos. Kalamar and Mystara follow this approach. They basically present a nicer version of 15th-16th century late-medieval and Renaissance Europe, with powerful states and large standing armies. Ironically, most of the middle ages were rather closer to the 'points of light' paradigm, with few powerful kingdoms and endemic warfare between competing nobles.
Forgotten Realms actually has fewer strong kingdoms and more wilderness on the map; FR's problem is the preponderance of uber-NPCs who seem capable of dealing with any serious problem, but it could be presented as a Points of Light setting.
