Points of Light approach to setting

[Ydars]

I understand about suspending disbelief etc but the reason I am asking this question is that I believe the answers we come up with will spur us to better, more interesting games.

And PLEASE don't talk about ecosystems; my day job is running a Biology lab at a University. All ecosystems thrive on complete mayhem and murder. In an ecosystem, you don't need a reason to attack something; if it is weak you take advantage because that is how nature works.

I want to see how far we can get in making PoLs work in order to see what exciting and adventure laden answers we can come up with. This is not a place to start discussions about simulationism etc that seem to start in every thread on this board.

 

[Ydars]

Just read my last post and it seems a little grumpy to me; apologies to you Spacekase. I am sure you were only trying to help.

I agree that Monsters could cause serious trouble for other monsters. So how can we build ecosystems that are realistic. Afterall, most monsters would qualify as "top carnivores"?

I guess one way would be to make them less monsterous; how about tribes of Goblins that follow the migrations of elk across the plains and hunt them? They would attack PoLs if they thought they were weak or if the PoL starting killing alot of elk or blocking their migration but otherwise would just ignore them.

I like this idea; that to make the PoL setting work we have to start thinking about how monsters fit into the landscape.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Well I think one good example of PoL in action. is The Village if we figure:

First: They are self-sustaining within this circle of area they control.

Second: They have specific guidelines when it comes to the monsters in the forest (let us assume that in this case the monsters are real).

Third: They have counter-measures inplace, such as the yellow cloaks (I believe they said the monsters couldn't see yellow that well or something)

Fourth: They have come to some sort of agreement with the monsters, with not going into the forest and them not coming into the village.

 

[Ydars]

This works very well Seraph; sometimes PoLs can come to terms with some local monsters that through years of superstition become inborn habits that prevent conflict. This sounds like something perfect for a low level adventure.

I like your idea about bubbles of the far realms into this world as well; if monsters were tied to an such a co-terminous part of the world this would also explain why they can't attack PoLs.

 

[Ydars]

So, to summarise, so far we have;

1) Some monsters are restricted to certain areas (the sea, areas that overlap with certain planes etc) and therefore cannot directly attack the PoL.

2) Some monsterous humanoids are just a natural part of the landscape, are migratory only interact with the PoL at very specific times of year; a sort of siege then takes place.

3) Pacts with local monsters can lead to the definition of territories and/or no-go areas and behaviours that become local customs, the violation of which could be a nice thread for some adventures, like in the Village

4) Some monsters could be protectors of PoLs.

5) Monsters might demand tribute for not attacking (a maiden every full moon!).

Do we have any I have missed?

 

[drjones]

I read PoL thing as a way to make a more generic setting for adventuring where the question 'why didn't the local legion take care of this?' doesn't always come up. You don't need to flesh out the political intrigues of the country you are in because they have little bearing on the locale the adventurers find themselves in.

And because it is so un-civilized there is a lot for adventurers to do to make an impact while still having the titular PoL to not make the experiece too grim/hard. It also adds to the 'PCs are special' angle. With no powerful authority figures to go to when trouble comes up they are encouraged to deal with the problems themselves which is a lot more satisfying than telling the town guard about the Big Baddies evil plan and going home to watch Seinfield.

I don't think they are saying that all DnD games should take place in this framework. Just that the hamlet of Genericonia that a beginning dm might want to use works well this way without a ton of DM work.

 

[Scipio202]

PoLs could be effectively invulnerable in ways that aren't movable:

Physical: villages built on top of Mesas or underground in caves where they can seal themselves off when needed.

Magical: There are "rift points" scattered through the land that lead to extra-dimensional spaces where all the inns/villages are located. Travelers have to discover or be told where these are to safely travel. Alternately a magical mineral creates a local illusion.

Divine: spirits/totems can protect a small area but are tied to the land.

 

[Enkhidu]

The easiest way to create PoL setting is to meta-plot in some reasons for the PoL to be safe havens from normal hazards.

Example:

400 years ago an empire crumbled, its fall heralded by (or possibly brought about by) the God's displeasure as expressed by a constellation's stars falling to earth. Cities were destroyed, great works were dashed to the ground, etc. And at each place a star (or its fragment) fell, there was a lasting impact - some places are still barren 400 years later, some have been overrun by unnatural creatures, and some are strangely protected from plague and pestilence.

So very quickly, the setting has tons of room for dungeons (ruins of the fallen empire), a source for all kinds of magical beasts and beasties, and dozens of areas that dot the countryside that are safe from harm by DM's fiat (vales that hide themselves from enemies, forests that are anathema to unnatural creatures, or mesas who's trails and paths disappear when approached by large groups).

 

[Ydars]

I like your style Scipio; some of these are really fun. I can see some great campaign ideas coming out of this.

Dr Jones; you are correct about why WOTC came up with the PoL setting, but we are trying to examine some of the logical consequences of this to create novel and interesting stories for adventures.

Enkidu; this is similar to the plot I first came up with and I like it very much. My idea was that the stone a past civilisation used to create their cities is monster repelling and the PoLs re-used this stone and so gained a measure of protection. I opted for this because I don't want things to be too contrived or heavy handed.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Also I think Points of Light and the Darkness can be in constant shift, for example:

A major city or town has many farms and villages, scattered about it. The city sends out daily patrols and has watchtowers placed sporadically about.

These measures however only stem the carnage. Even as the farmers cut their fields, they themselves are cut down by monsters that sneak through the high grass.

At night most people huddle in their homes, inns or the walled town; all night you can hear the howling and yipping of the monsters. Mixed into this is the occasional shot of surprise as a watchtower guard spots a monster and fires his bow, or yell of terror as a person is dragged out.

In the morning the guards and clergy of the city travel throughout the surrounding land, helping those wounded and burying the dead. Then life continues on as normal.