Outline for an E6 campaign

[mfrench]

So you're using 100% free stuff, right? If so this is a godsend.

Edit: You mentioned somewhere in your OP that it's not ALL free - what isn't free? I might be able to track down a free alternative...

Some of it is Dungeon Magazine. Many of the maps are available, I believe, as free Paizo web enhancements. If you get the summaries, nothing is that complicated to build on your own. (That is, a CR appropriate bandit group, a wererat, etc.).

Also, I was going to use non-standard races, but it isn't strictly necessary.

 

[Ry]

OK, this gave me a great idea that will work in parallel with one of my previous great ideas.

I took out the pbwiki esix.pbwiki.com and ogcesix.pbwiki.com

The former will be for E6 gaming stitched out of online freebies, the latter for E6 gaming stitched out of OGC material. Now all I need is about six more hours a day to devote to gaming

 

[Dragonblade275]

Now all I need is about six more hours a day to devote to gaming

Well, there's always skipping sleep.

 

[Ry]

mfrench:

Check this out - this is just the tip of the iceberg, but here's 4 races from Sword and Sorcery Studios that might be handy as your variant races:

http://esix.pbwiki.com/Races

Edit: Note, all of these are just links to free stuff, not reproducing anything.

 

[mfrench]

Races

While E6 addresses one of my nagging problems with the standard races, it can't help the other one. Namely, campaign events that are ancient history to a human (IRL, say, the discovery of the New World) could have been witnessed by a demihuman's parents. The lifespans (while toned down from 2nd edition) are still quite a bother to me. I want this campaign's history to be influenced by events that could have been within demihumans' lifetimes, so I'd like to cut them out. (On top of that, there are balance issues, flavor issues, etc. etc.)

As replacements, I've looked through lots of stuff that I have available, and I'm choosing things that are closer to humanity, and much shorter lived. I've come up with the following:

From Oriental Adventures, modified versions of the Nezumi, Vanara, Korobokuru, Spirit Folk, Hengeyokai (with some inspiration from this pdf, which has a free sample at the bottom of the page)

From Eberron: Changelings, Shifters

 

[Ry]

Fair enough

I'm going to look at how all these freebies can work together in the one wiki, and the other one will be for strictly-OGC stuff.

 

[mfrench]

Fair enough

I'm going to look at how all these freebies can work together in the one wiki, and the other one will be for strictly-OGC stuff.

I like what you've done to put that together. In my experience, those things are best when grown organically. I'll try to contribute to it (incrementally!) if I can finally get this campaign outline wrapped up. Having a list of OGC resources for E6 settings would be great.

 

[mfrench]

Races (Cont'd)

Several of the PC races translate fairly well into the new races I've selected:
Half-Orc -> Shifter (physically strong half-breed, stays on the outside of society)
Dwarf -> Korobokuru (nearly identical stats, very different cultures)
Halfling -> Nezumi (racially isolated group, very clanish, sneaky)
Elf -> Vanara (tree-dwelling, inquisitive, in tune with nature)
Half-Elf -> Changeling (almost human, socially adept but vaguely out of place)

Gnomes don't have a great analogue, but Spirit Folk replace them as a spiritually-in-touch race.

Hengeyokai I'm not sure about. I'm considering making them an important NPC race rather than PC focused. In that case, they're rarely found in cities, and I'd say that they are intelligent animals that take human shape, and not vice versa. The possibilities really expand for them in that case.

In either case, shapechangers have become an important focus of the setting. I want changelings to not be true-bred; rather, they are children that have been replaced by fey. This makes them outsiders, and they might live a normal life without their family knowing. Shifters are marginalized, and live on the wilderness side of society. Nezumi are thought to be cursed men from an older society, whose magical research twisted them into what they are today. They fulfill the gypsy-type, hard to pin down role. Spirit Folk can mix in human company without being obvious, and they are usually revered for their spiritual side. They also don't frequent cities. Vanara are an oddity, they mostly keep to their own. The Kor are barbaric, and can be useful when scouting in the mountains.

 

[mfrench]

A Personal Touch

Ryan : One of the reasons that Dark & Stormy Knight won't get out of my head is that it reminds me of a site in Ireland that I was lucky enough to visit when I was younger. It is an old hill called Newgrange that predates the Celts by many years. It is much older than Stonehenge, and has astrological significance. On the Winter Solstice, it is designed such that the rising sun lights up the main chamber for a few minutes.

Details and pictures can be found here, with outside pictures and inside images. I imagine adjusting this to hobgoblin/bugbear/ogre size, and place the tomb in the back where a king of old was buried. The two side rooms will be where others of religious significance were buried. The white stone walls are very evocative as the PCs approach, and I've added a stairway spiralling on either side of the entrance for access to the tower on top of the tor (not there in real life). The huge standing stone with the tri-spirals will be what used to block the entrance, and the motif is repeated inside on the walls and ceiling. This gives the hobgoblin culture some depth, and a chance to give some imagery to the Jibigi cult.

Hope you enjoy it.

 

[mfrench]

Oh, and since the tower on top of the tor is mentioned but not mapped, I yoinked the free Wizard's map-of-the-week from here. I love those free maps!