Rise of the Unthread! Nightfall's "Ask the Sage!" for Scarred Lands Q&A!

[Nightfall]

I could raise up the old thread...but nah.

So here it is folks. More SL goodness flows out again. I got the time, you got the questions (or maybe just the comments!), and we all go to Scarred Lands together.

Yep.


*whistles*


So no questions huh?

How about this? Anyone want to see NF's take on Charduni? Or better yet, Drendalia aka Dark Elves?

 

[Nightfall]

Geez...

26 views and not a SINGLE question?!

What I need to start GIVING free stuff out?!

 

[Roudi]

Sure, give us free stuff! We need something to complain about.

Obscure reference to another thread on the forum, with no link provided... done!

 

[Nightfall]

Roudi,

K. Well I have something around here...*hands him a piece of string* There you go. That came from Enkili's coat. Did you want stats for his coat perhaps?

 

[jdrakeh]

Okay, I have a few questions off the top of my head:

• What area of the Scarred Lands could be seen as a close analogue to Robert Howard's Hyborea in terms of climate (i.e., arid, desert-like, etc)?
  
  
• Is there a Socialist state (or a near analogue) that exists within the boundaries of the Scarred Lands? If not, where might such a government be added to the setting without shaking up the established conventions too much?
  
  
• What (if any) direly important setting conventions am I missing by not picking up the Relics & Rituals books or Creature Collections II and III?

 

[Twowolves]

Okay, I have a few questions off the top of my head:

• What area of the Scarred Lands could be seen as a close analogue to Robert Howard's Hyborea in terms of climate (i.e., arid, desert-like, etc)?

• 
  
  
  Ghelspad climate is.... a bit wonky. You have a very savannah-like area (the Bleak Savannah, actually) right next door to a very nordic area (Albadia). The Plains of Lede are very much like the high plains of the US midwest, but it's very far north (with icy waters off it's northern shore). The war had some very very strange effects like that everywhere.
  
  
  

  [*]Is there a Socialist state (or a near analogue) that exists within the boundaries of the Scarred Lands? If not, where might such a government be added to the setting without shaking up the established conventions too much?

  
  I don't think there is. National government is a rarity, IMO in the Scarred Lands. The Calastians are very much like the Roman Empire, Vesh is technically a military state, and most of the rest is either tribal/clannish, city-states, or just fractured remnants of the old Ledean Empire (with their own kings). In short, I don't there there is a government large enough to try to be able to provide the kinds of services a socialist state would, most are more concerned with A) staying alive and/or B) gaining personal power.
  
  
  

  [*]What (if any) direly important setting conventions am I missing by not picking up the Relics & Rituals books or Creature Collections II and III?

CCIII is almost all Asherak and Termanan monsters. If you don't run your game there, you don't need this book at all. The only exception to that would be the excellent section on angels, custodians, demons and devils and the equivalents from the MM for the Scarred Lands.

CCII has a number of good monsters. All around a solid book, IMO. The appendix also has monsters by CR for the MM and CCI (although NOT for CCRevised), and it has alternate Summon Monster charts.

RRI and RRII are MUCH more key for setting conventions, however. Even with all it's flaws (due to it being such an early in the life cycle of 3rd ed release), the RRI has the lowdown on the Gods and their Domains, Arcane Heat, Ritual Magic (although the updated version in Green Ronin's Advanced Player's Manual/Witches' Handbook is better/cleaner), some PrCs (which need MAJOR overhauling for 3.5 ed) and spells and magic items. The magic items in RRI don't have market prices, but there was an eratta list to fix that online somewhere. Many of the spells are a bit over the top, but the little flavor text blurb before each helps root the whole into the world. Likewise, even if you can't use many of the magic items without careful consideration or reworking, the history and flavor is indispensible. As for RRII, it is better balanced, with more PrCs (and good ones at that), the lowdown on the Scarred Lands Zodiac (meh), more True Rituals, a smattering of feats (beating WotC to the "Divine Feat" idea by a few years) and lots more items. It also has rules for making use of psionics, including PrCs and an alternate Psion class (pre-Expanded Psionic's Handbook) and some alternate rules on maintaining powers and concentration. Oh, and a section on the "lost tomes" of the Scarred Lands.

Hope that helps.

 

[Azgulor]

I don't have questions about the setting, per se, but rather the style of the setting. Scarred Lands was one of the things that got me interested in d20 gaming after swearing off D&D years before. Not enough to switch to D&D but enough to invest in the books. I've found the setting to be very intriguing and it seems whatever SL book I'm reading, adventure or campaign ideas spring to mind. The only problem: I'm not a big fan of high-fantasy D&D.

I am however, a huge fan of swords-n-sorcery. Enter games like Conan (which got me to embrace d20 & OGL games), Thieves' World, Grim Tales, and Game of Thrones. Conan is now my baseline rules set, tweaked with elements from the others mentioned above and selected d20/OGL supplements.

I keep kicking around the idea of running a SL campaign in a swords-n-sorcery vein rather than the default High-Fantasy. I keep holding off because I'm not sure if by toning down some of the fantastic elements it won't be Scarred Lands anymore. With real-life continually intruding on my gaming time, I just don't want to false-start a campaign just to scrap it.

On the surface, I think it's doable. Hell, SL, from a cultures and adventure-potential standpoint screams Conan/Hyboria to me more than any other setting. But then I get to thinking about the Blood Sea, giant mithral golems, etc. and think "Nah, it can't be done."

So has anyone run SL in a non-High-Fantasy style? How easy was it to integrate/adapt non-SL published adventures (which I would obviously modify to better suit S&S as well)?

Sidebar: I also find it ironic that a company names Sword & Sorcery studios ignored the genre in their sourcebooks. I mean there's advice in the Player's Guides to Clerics & Druids for running SL as a gothic campaign, but none for S&S?

 

[Twowolves]

I think the Scarred Lands are a place where the legends and myths are there, but instead of being so shrouded by the mists of history, they are still fresh in memory. Many of the myths of ancient greece seem kinda weird, but in the Scarred Lands, they DID happen that way, and the proof is there.

Considering that the Mithril Golem doesn't get up and fight anything, the Blood Sea is just, well, blood-red, and lots of the other "high fantasy" elements are just backdrops (sinkhole of non, the obsidian pyre, etc), I don't see the problem. Unless you have very specific definitions for "High-Fantasy" and "Swords and Sorcery" that are holding you back. I mean, even Conan had iron golems, giant snakes and semi-intelligent killer apes! And don't even get me started on Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser's larger than life adventures.

I just don't see the Scarred Lands being so "high fantasy". I see it a lot more like the Black Company, only in D&D (with elves, dwarves and lots more spells).

 

[Khairn]

I agree with Twowolves.
I ran an Iron Heroes game in SL that went very well. The flavor of IH and SL meshed very nicely together, so I think using the setting for a less than "high-fantasy" game is definitely feasible.

FYI ... I used EoM for the magic system and loved it. It really gave me the ability to alter the magic to fit the style I was looking for.

 

[Nightfall]

Geez... I go to get a sandwich in Mithril and now we get responses!

Two wolves, I'm considering promoting you to near Page status.


JD,

There is no socialist state but Vesh could be construed as such considering it's run by a semi-milita style Vigils and their fans. Like Two wolves said, they believe more in surviving than questioning what kind of government works best. At least in Ghelspad. It might be different on Asherak, but hard to say for sure.

Ghelspad has a wide variety of climates, much like any typical fantasy world. That said, Ghelspad is more "default" than other areas. Termana, for example, could be considered more of a African continent deal in some ways, a 'lost world' in places. Asherak has two societies, one devoted to the gods and thus a large society. The other more tribal and live in deserts and/or in the mountains. Mostly the Soul burn Wastes and the Desert of Onn tend to predominate life on Asherak more than the deserts in Ghelspad. The Dragon Lands are more of an archipelago type of living. Not to mention structured by dragons and kobolds.

Now for the R&R series, yes R&R I has some stuff that need work, but honestly it's good for the artifacts, some spells and of course, magic items. (Which still need work). I myself believe more in a system (using the DMG/SRD pricing) where you increase the market cost in some cases. Same is true for the scrolls, depending on level and type. (IE some arcane spells are common, some are uncommon, some are rare. (Like scrolls of wishes and limited wishes). Divine scrolls (for the "common spells") are more common and often go off with less "hitches" for those that can "access' the divine. But even so, scrolls of raise dead and war scrolls are less common. Same is true for resurrections.

CC III is nice cause I wrote one monster! But yeah the section detailing the idea of modifying the usual "Guardinals", "Archons" and "Eladrin" to be more...unifying in some ways (IE some Archon types serve at the whim of Madriel and thus can get more healing power and thus are considered Angels) is one aspect I truly enjoy. Plus the Intercessors of Hedrada are nice too.

My only problem with CC II is there are couple mistakes when it comes to a few monsters and probably the need to revise the summoning charts to be more in line with 3.5. Otherwise, Slacerian Dragons rule!!

Iron Heroes + SL is doable. Just because they rely less on magic items doesn't mean the gods have abandoned them. Nay, calling on the might of the gods might indeed be the premise of a great Pr-class. Of course I need to tweak the rule set for that...but other wise it has potential.