tsadkiel
Legend
Inspired by the upcoming "Land of Zo" book, American McGee's "Alice", "Wicked," by Gregory Maguire, and Castle Falkenstein, I'm planning on running a short campaign set in an altered version of the demi-plane presented in the old Greyhawk modules "Dungeonland" and "The Land beyond the Magic Mirror." (At the University they said I was mad, you know.) I'll really just be using the outlines of the demiplane, since I didn't care for Gygax's interpretations of many of the characters. I've started this thread both as a place to put my notes on the project for my own reference, and because I'd really like some advice on certain aspects of the campaign. Anyway, here's what I'm currently thinking:
Atmosphere - it's very easy to make the "Alice" books dark, and it can be done to great effect (as evidenced by 'American McGee's "Alice."') Since that's what my players will probably be expecting, I'm aiming for a different feel entirely - light-hearted swashbuckling, with a generous helping of witty banter at court instead of relentless darkness. (There will actually be a cesspool of cosmic evil, but it won't be the focus of the setting.) This is also a break from Gygax's module, where all the charming characters from your childhood were trying to kill you.
The plane - still a demiplane. I'm thinking of making it mildly Chaos-dominant. Magic would be altered in much the same way that it was in the original modules (essentially, teleportation and summoning magic won't function, along with a few other restricted spells.)
Geography - I'm picturing a small, fertile island set in the midst of a vast, featureless sea. (The sea being, of course, the setting of "The Hunting of the Snark.")
Nations - at least three city-states: Courtland (From "Dungeonland") would be the dominant political force, ruled by a strong (but insane) Queen and an innefectual King. Currently, Courtland is the scene of an undeclared civil war, as a growing Resistance plots to place the son of the current rulers on the throne. (Here's another place where I want to subvert expectations; the Queen of Hearts is a natural villain, so I plan to make her mad, a bit bloodthirsty, but not actively evil. (Think of Queen Elizabeth on "Blackadder.") The Knave, on the other hand, is dashing, charismatic, entirely sane, and very evil indeed.
Whitfield - probably the nicest nation on the island. While in theory ruled by a King and Queen, real power rests in the hands (or paws, or hooves . . .) of a Parliament. The Parliament is filled with a number of animals - the heads of the two dominant parties are in fact a Lion and a Unicorn. While basically good, Whitfield is weak - their foreign policy revolves around appeasement of their stronger neighbors.
Roseland - Ruled by a Queen. Roseland is belligerent and expansionistic - whiel the nation isn't truly evil, they are on their way. While the Queen is unmarried, there's a small but growing cult dedicated toa god called "The Red King," who (the cultists claim) is dreaming the entire plane into existence. Old records sometimes refer to the Red King as "Tharizdun."
I may give Courtland three sattelite states based on the other three suits (Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades.) Or I may not.
Religion - enlightened monotheism - while the gods of Oerth are recognized and respected, actual religious belief revolves around Murlynd, who is believed to have created the plane.
Races - I'm sort of stuck, here. Humans, obviously (possibly with the Anarchic template added) but as for the numerous talking animals? In Carroll, the animals display a wide range of anthropomorphisism - sometimes even the same animal will become more or less human-like in the course of the story. This makes me lean towards using hengeyokai (from OA.) The other options I see are simply using Awakened animals, or using the Ani-men from Mythic Races. I don't know yet.
Atmosphere - it's very easy to make the "Alice" books dark, and it can be done to great effect (as evidenced by 'American McGee's "Alice."') Since that's what my players will probably be expecting, I'm aiming for a different feel entirely - light-hearted swashbuckling, with a generous helping of witty banter at court instead of relentless darkness. (There will actually be a cesspool of cosmic evil, but it won't be the focus of the setting.) This is also a break from Gygax's module, where all the charming characters from your childhood were trying to kill you.
The plane - still a demiplane. I'm thinking of making it mildly Chaos-dominant. Magic would be altered in much the same way that it was in the original modules (essentially, teleportation and summoning magic won't function, along with a few other restricted spells.)
Geography - I'm picturing a small, fertile island set in the midst of a vast, featureless sea. (The sea being, of course, the setting of "The Hunting of the Snark.")
Nations - at least three city-states: Courtland (From "Dungeonland") would be the dominant political force, ruled by a strong (but insane) Queen and an innefectual King. Currently, Courtland is the scene of an undeclared civil war, as a growing Resistance plots to place the son of the current rulers on the throne. (Here's another place where I want to subvert expectations; the Queen of Hearts is a natural villain, so I plan to make her mad, a bit bloodthirsty, but not actively evil. (Think of Queen Elizabeth on "Blackadder.") The Knave, on the other hand, is dashing, charismatic, entirely sane, and very evil indeed.
Whitfield - probably the nicest nation on the island. While in theory ruled by a King and Queen, real power rests in the hands (or paws, or hooves . . .) of a Parliament. The Parliament is filled with a number of animals - the heads of the two dominant parties are in fact a Lion and a Unicorn. While basically good, Whitfield is weak - their foreign policy revolves around appeasement of their stronger neighbors.
Roseland - Ruled by a Queen. Roseland is belligerent and expansionistic - whiel the nation isn't truly evil, they are on their way. While the Queen is unmarried, there's a small but growing cult dedicated toa god called "The Red King," who (the cultists claim) is dreaming the entire plane into existence. Old records sometimes refer to the Red King as "Tharizdun."
I may give Courtland three sattelite states based on the other three suits (Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades.) Or I may not.
Religion - enlightened monotheism - while the gods of Oerth are recognized and respected, actual religious belief revolves around Murlynd, who is believed to have created the plane.
Races - I'm sort of stuck, here. Humans, obviously (possibly with the Anarchic template added) but as for the numerous talking animals? In Carroll, the animals display a wide range of anthropomorphisism - sometimes even the same animal will become more or less human-like in the course of the story. This makes me lean towards using hengeyokai (from OA.) The other options I see are simply using Awakened animals, or using the Ani-men from Mythic Races. I don't know yet.
