Points of Light approach to setting

[Ydars]

Seraph; How about that your PoL is forced to use undead to till the fields as they can no longer afford the toll it exacts on their young men and women?

 

[Enkhidu]

...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.

Don't be so quick to dump stuff like this, especially if you don't overuse it. Having a big bad threaten a PoL just by stealing their monster repelling mojo is a good fallback adventure.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Seraph; How about that your PoL is forced to use undead to till the fields as they can no longer afford the toll it exacts on their young men and women?

Well depends on how magical the campaign is. Also it won't be large numbers of dead killed, you figure in the Dark Ages a good number of peasants would die or atleast be to sick to work each-day. So one or two people dying each day/night actually isn't that high of a number. Especially when the majority would most likely be children or elderly (less likely to fight back).

 

[Filcher]

The best answer, IMHO, on how to explain/defend points of light, is the PCs.

It's not like they get to be heroes in their leisure time. They're tackling that orc lair because there is a NEED.

And if the PCs don't do it --- poof. One more point of light goes out. Remove it from the campaign map and wish the heroes better luck next time.

 

[Ydars]

I have no intention of dumping it and thank-you very much for the encouragement; it may form the basis of a PoL based world I am writing for 4E. I harbour secret hopes of publishing it as the setting for a 4E adventure next year, but we shall see.

It is also uncanny how similar your idea is to my second PoL world; I was going to have it so that the sun had been destoryed in a great war in the long past and the fragments of it had been collected and hung in the sky over certain places. the rest of the world is completely dark apart from the moon, that always hangs in the sky. These tiny sunlit lands are the places where PoLs have been made and everywhere else is always in moonlight only.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

And if the PCs don't do it --- poof. One more point of light goes out. Remove it from the campaign map and wish the heroes better luck next time.

I am actually contemplating using a dice-roll mechanic with any future, isolated village that could easily be poofed out, when the PCs get nearby.

 

[Filcher]

I am actually contemplating using a dice-roll mechanic with any future, isolated village that could easily be poofed out, when the PCs get nearby.

That is an AWESOME idea.

"We go back to town to restock and resupply!"

*rolls dice*

"You find a smoking ruin, a bunch of crows and giant tracks leading north to the Wilds. What do you do?"

 

[Mirtek]

The Old West is a great Points of Light example.

Actually I disagree. No RL world example is a good example for a D&D PoL world because the kind of darkness threatening D&D PoL just doesn't exist in RL. Even the darkest RL darkt would be considered bright light compared to mediocre D&D darkness

 

[Ydars]

Filcher; I agree when the PCs find the PoL they are part of how it survives but how did it do so while they were growing up etc? Also, if it is all PC driven, is there only going to be one PoL in your entire world?

We are trying to create stories and metastories that can allow us to explain, credibily, the existance of PoLs but also their fragility amid the presence of many monsters.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Actually I disagree. No RL world example is a good example for a D&D PoL world because the kind of darkness threatening D&D PoL just doesn't exist in RL. Even the darkest RL darkt would be considered bright light compared to mediocre D&D darkness

That being said, Wild West-esque people would be rampant in PoL. There would be tons of guns-for-hire, brothel towns, ghost towns, bandits, lone sheriffs, highwaymen, heavily armoured convoys of Pennington men taking gold or magical items across PoL.