Rediscovering D&D

[scourger]

Here are 2 new things that are helping my old game get restarted:

1) D&D minis. They have RPG stats on the reverse of the cards--no prep work. And they add a visual element.

2) Fantastic Locations. The Frostfell Rift even has a Caves of Chaos poster map. More visuals without prep time.

Good luck.

 

[Kristian Serrano]

Have you checked out the Eberron Campaign Setting? It's chock full of material exactly for this theme. Xen'drik is an entire continent that is exactly that feel of exploration of the unknown. The continent of Khorvaire (the main continent on which the setting takes place) has tons of areas and regions that present the same opportunities. Even the depths of Sharn present unkown, long forgotten areas to explore, with even stranger things lurking within those depths.

You could place your example module anywhere in Khorvaire, and it would work very appropriately, with the exception of using orcs, though, as orcs in Eberron aren't all evil. You could, however, create a whole campaign in which the characters explore Khyber (underdark in Eberron) and fight against the Cult of the Dragon Below (mad cultists, some of which associate with abberations or other Khyber-dwellers).

PS - If you're not familiar with Xen'drik, it's similar to a mix between Africa and South America, and maybe parts of Australia.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

The Wilderlands of High Fantasy would be another good choice for a setting with these kinds of themes. And it drips "old school feel," even in its d20 incarnation (not much crunch).

 

[kinem]

For the orcs themselves I really want to get the idea that these are inhuman beasts. Not faceless hordes, but boogeymen out of a fairy tale. Bizzare behaviour, cannibalism, and so on. As they explore they'll find no orc children or females (so I can avoid *that* debate)

For that I think you should use more suitable monsters than orcs. Orcs in D&D are basically barbaric, stupid, mostly evil people. Which means they are basically people, and some of your PCs may be playing half-orcs, and not see them as alien. Which for orcs IMO is how it should be, but D&D does not go far enough in making culture the main driver of orc barbarism.

For your simplified game, I suggest using aberrations. Take the base orc stats if you like, change the skills and feats, add some tentacles or a giant mouth or something for a new look, and give it a name.

Then, if you ever feel like moving to a more sophisticated game, where bad guys sometimes have kids, regular orcs will still be available in your campaign to fulfill their role.

 

[Korgoth]

maddman,

I like the take on orcs that you've proposed. Orcs don't have to be "ugly violent humans" - go ahead and make them truly alien. Things from the underworld are supposed to be nightmarish! They don't have to 'make sense' and have ecologies... they're a coalescence of inimical chaos and psychic distress. The more you can understand them, the less are they monsters.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Yeah, I like your orcs, too; they're mythic and symbolic.

 

[maddman75]

maddman,

I like the take on orcs that you've proposed. Orcs don't have to be "ugly violent humans" - go ahead and make them truly alien. Things from the underworld are supposed to be nightmarish! They don't have to 'make sense' and have ecologies... they're a coalescence of inimical chaos and psychic distress. The more you can understand them, the less are they monsters.

This is exactly where I am going. Here's the scenes I have laid out thus far

- Ambush on the road. On the way to the keep the PCs meet each other at a crossroads, with a campsite right there. They are ambushed by orcs - they will fire arrows and charge the ones in armor, and attempt to drag off the ones not. After that they'll get to the keep and learn where the orcs come from.

- Orcs in the woods. They'll see a band a good distance off. One of them is dragging itself on the ground - it has a broken leg. The other orcs surround it concernedly, then pounce, eating their brother alive.

- Upper den. As the PCs explore the den the orcs will know they are coming. The PCs will have to rely on torchlight, the orcs only light when they need warmth. There's a cooking fire in the center of the cave with an orc staked to the ground. He's been chewed on and has his innards placed around his body. As they are inspecting it, a dozen of the beasts come charging out of the darkness.

- Idols. A rank-smelling room is full of bodies - the orcs victims no doubt. Three of them are here, these in greasy robes and no eyes. They carry small stone idols. When the PCs enter they chant and break the idols, animating the bodies as zombies. Also - they'll find a similar idol in an alley back in the keep...

- Taskmaster. Here is a huge orc (large sized) with a whip and spear. He's keeping the orcs and human slaves working, expanding their dens. When fighting the PCs his tactics will be 1. trip with whip 2. stab with spear 3. throw down hole in center of the room.

That will let them rescue some of the kidnapped townsfolk, and set up future games where they can venture deeper into the orc-hole.

 

[howandwhy99]

Part of what inspired me was a post from a 1e fan I think from Dragonsfoot that I think went something like this - don't worry about what the orcs eat or where they sleep or what the ecology of the dungeon is. They're monsters. There's a dark cave full of them, you can see their eyes gleaming, and they can't wait to drag you down into the dark with them." This is the vibe I want to go for - I really want to recapture that sense of wonder.
*snip*
For the orcs themselves I really want to get the idea that these are inhuman beasts. Not faceless hordes, but boogeymen out of a fairy tale. Bizzare behaviour, cannibalism, and so on. As they explore they'll find no orc children or females (so I can avoid *that* debate) and ultimately they are spawned out of a pit of bubbling evil. The ancient caves are part of an old dwarven citadel, and the dwarves dug too deep and awakened an ancient evil. Its stirring again, and may soon erupt in an invasion.

This sounds fun. As the main villains then, I would really try and dig deep into the orcs' psyche. Group creature types generally come off either as evil humans or as beastmen in behavior. Another variation is the unthinking undead (e.g. zombies). In your case, I suggest something like the Terminator. These orcs care nothing for themselves or their own kind. They live only to destroy the Enemy. Each scavenges for food individually. Fellows are ignored, not fought nor aided. They are solitary, cunning, unreflective machines who, once they have discovered an enemy, act with single-minded, unswerving determination to rip them to pieces. Run or hide, they will never stop looking for you. They serve no morality, no religion. They are solitaries collected only by proximity.

EDIT: example combat: after having run all day from these orcs, the players repair back to safety. During the night the scenting, tracking orcs arrive ignoring other enemies until their chosen quarry is dispatched. In combat they wish only to shred the oppositions bodies. Weapons or hands they destroy until only pieces are left. Often they willingly take AoOs to initiate grapples and, if more than one are involved, swarm, shred, and quarter the poor soul attacked.

 

[jasin]

For my initial setup, I'm going with something like Keep on the Borderlands. Not that module, because most of the group has played it many times over, but my own version of the basic concept. There's a keep out on a wilderness frontier. Adventurers and mercenaries are coming there to make their fortunes. There's a cave not far away full of orcs and other foul beasts.

For the orcs themselves I really want to get the idea that these are inhuman beasts. Not faceless hordes, but boogeymen out of a fairy tale. Bizzare behaviour, cannibalism, and so on. As they explore they'll find no orc children or females (so I can avoid *that* debate) and ultimately they are spawned out of a pit of bubbling evil.

Have you read William Hope Hodgson's The House on the Borderland? I was just browsing it the other day in the bookstore, and this really reminded me of what I gathered from a quick glance.

 

[Particle_Man]

I was thinking of eliminating half-orcs and giving all orcs the pseudo-natural template (from Complete Arcane).

For C&C, you could eliminate half-orcs, make orcs more monstrous, and maybe so terrifying that PCs have a -1 on attacks vs. them when they first encounter them. Also, don't call them orcs. Maybe have them be new to the world, just describe them, and let the players be the first ones to encounter their scouts. The players can then name them, perhaps.