Reinventing fantasy cliches

[Clavis]

Actually, sounds more Ayn Rand.

So, are your campaigns at all serious?

Sure. But I try not to take myself or the game too seriously. The general tone of my games is heavily informed by movies like Jabberwocky and Army of Darkness. I like to use doses of satire and parody to lighten up the otherwise grim and grimy world. Also, my human cultures are drawn from historical medieval ones (although with tweaks). Therefore I use modern culture as the inspiration for the Demi-Humans, to emphasize how different they are from humans. Since my players are very interested in modern politics, conspiracy theories, occultism, etc., they like seeing many cultures and organizations that echo a twisted version of the real-world.

 

[Rechan]

stuff

That sounds a little less "Good" then some parties I've known are willing to operate under.

Then again, I've known some parties that don't "care". So, different strokes.

 

[haakon1]

In any case, an idea I've been playing with is having the default cultural context be Native American, particularly Algonquin and Iroquois. There would be tribes and territories, perhaps even powerful city-states, but no kingdoms. Think Pathfinder (the movie, without the Mandatory White Protagonist). However, I won't simply reverse the cliche and make Europeans the "uncouth savages." I prefer putting non-humans in that role.

How do you deal with equipment for a Stone Age culture? The game assumes armor and so on. I guess you could go the root of Spirit Pouches replacing armor and so forth, but I think it would be more interesting if you didn't. The classes available also might vary.

Also, definitely read up on the Eastern Woodlands Indians. These are not your typical 1950s Western movie Plains Indians. The Iroquois, for example, had a complex political organization, with a constitution.

I suspect the PC's would expect the Pilgrims to show up eventually -- or the French Jesuits and fur traders, or Dutch merchants if they are more historically inclined. If I had contact with Europeans, however, I'd be inclined to have it be Vikings . . .

 

[haakon1]

Please tell me the dwarfs are all Hell's Angel bikers, easy riding in their horned helmets and leather studded armour!

They ride ponies that go vroom-vroom-vroom instead of neigh-neigh-neigh when they ride into town.

About orcs, mine are Lawful Evil, not Chaotic Evil, and act more like Stormtroopers (Nazi or Star Wars) than anything else -- fanatical warriors, sometimes smart, sometimes not, but usually willing to die to the last . . . um, orc.

I've had archer orcs and sapper orcs too, not just big melee weapon orcs. My favorite orc weapon is the bardiche -- big pole cleaver thing.

 

[Afrodyte]

How do you deal with equipment for a Stone Age culture? The game assumes armor and so on. I guess you could go the root of Spirit Pouches replacing armor and so forth, but I think it would be more interesting if you didn't. The classes available also might vary.

I probably wouldn't alter a thing. Whatever that's available with Stone Age technology is available for PCs. I won't even levy penalties since Stone Age is the baseline. However, things from a Bronze Age or Iron Age culture would get bonuses.

As far as classes, I might alter some of what's available by sprucing up generic classes and making some class abilities available as feats.

Also, definitely read up on the Eastern Woodlands Indians. These are not your typical 1950s Western movie Plains Indians. The Iroquois, for example, had a complex political organization, with a constitution.

Please don't insult my intelligence. I already knew that (hence why I said Algonquin and/or Iroquois instead of "Sioux" - don't get me started on this insult used as a name - or Comanche or Apache), and if I didn't, I already knew several ways I could find the information.

I suspect the PC's would expect the Pilgrims to show up eventually -- or the French Jesuits and fur traders, or Dutch merchants if they are more historically inclined. If I had contact with Europeans, however, I'd be inclined to have it be Vikings . . .

*shrug* Whatever. Maybe Pilgrims don't exist yet. That's my honest preference.

 

[Imp]

Hmm. Chariots pulled by some sort of scary-ass animal. Like boar, vicious dogs, etc. That might work.

Hell hounds. \m/

"Hey Kaneda, they stole your dog."
"No way! My dog?"
ROWR *fwoosh*

 

[haakon1]

Please don't insult my intelligence. I already knew that (hence why I said Algonquin and/or Iroquois instead of "Sioux" - don't get me started on this insult used as a name - or Comanche or Apache), and if I didn't, I already knew several ways I could find the information.

Yowza!

Remember earlier in this thread, when we were talking about how D&D players coming from many different cultures, and it being possible that people have different ideas of what a castle is like? The same applies for knowledge of the sketchy history of the Woodlands Indian tribes, especially among people who are not from North America. We even talked about how many Germans have a skewed view of American Indians.

OK then, never mind.

 

[Afrodyte]

Yowza!

Remember earlier in this thread, when we were talking about how D&D players coming from many different cultures, and it being possible that people have different ideas of what a castle is like?

I'm sorry. I overreacted.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Back on track...

I'm currently designing a background for a potential PC in an upcoming campaign. It will be a twisted riff on the Chosen One/Last Heir trope.

(Details on the PC can be found here
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=223891&page=1 )

It is said that "the First King was a lucky soldier." Seth Trollslayer was that lucky soldier. He took advantage of the fog of a war 'twixt Man & Trolls to place himself on the throne of a small kingdom in the northern mountains and take a beautiful shapeshifting sorceress as his queen.

Now, King Seth has had time to raise a family. All three of his sons are strong, quick, and charismatic young men- perfect leadership material. If only the youngest had the wit and wisdom required to be truly great...

Nevertheless, the youngest son took up the reins of a small company of his father's men- his long time personal arms trainer among them as his Sergeant- and regularly went out to patrol the kingdom's borders.

It was on one such patrol that a messenger arrived from his mother, the Queen, bringing word of the death of his father and 2 older brothers...and ordering his assassination. The word was given while he was away from the camp for...recreation. Alone among the company, the Sergeant was loyal to the young prince, and he died killing off the would-be assassins.

It seems that the family his father "displaced" had one member he didn't know about- the former King's youngest brother- whose lifelong love was the Queen whom Trollslayer married. She ordered her entire family killed to be reunited with the long-lost flame she once thought dead, restoring him to his rightful throne.

The good but dim young Trollslayer knows none of the reasons behind the attempted assassination. He also doesn't really know the way home. Now he seeks his way in the world, his long-term goal to restore himself to the throne his father once held. He is quick to show anyone who is curious the birthmark that graces his left (nether) cheek that marks him as King Trollslayer's Scion, in order to get them to help him regain what he lost, never realizing that his birthmark also marks him for death.

 

[haakon1]

I'm sorry. I overreacted.

No worries, me too.

And I am interested in hearing more about your campaign, if/when you feel like talking about it.

I grew up in a woodsy/hilly/swampy part of New York, near Connecticut, and when I was a kid we used to go to a huge county park where there was a wigwam and so forth. The coolest thing was when the naturalist at the park -- our local druid -- talked some members of the tribe that was there hundreds of years ago to visit and teach us kids the folkways that been handed down, about making wigwams, digging groundnuts, eating certain grasses, etc. That and learning how to make maple syrup candy from sap and snow.