Scarred Lands: Ask the Sage [Version 3.65729 with Upgrades!]

[reiella]

Well, most of my questions will be waiting on if/when I get hte next batch of review products from White Wolf. The last few reviews I've doen on their old products have been in the 2-3 range with some of the earlier ones being 4s.

Here's one for ya. Have you ever thought of using Luclin from Everquest (their Moon), as a Moon in the SL setting and using it as is?

Actually, ya know, thinking about it. Luclin may well fit as a setting. The moon is the domain of a 'shadow-themed' god, which matches Luclin pretty closely.

The shissar's back history 'almost' fits in snuggly, except for the part about the goddess offering them sanctuary.

A further problem would be the history of Katta/Seru and the Nexus, although you may present some of those structures as remnants from the Penumbral Lords... I could actually really see that being possible.

Now, I have no clue how the Vah Shiir would fit, if at all. But the general theme could work out rather nicely with minimal work to adapt it to SL.

 

[Nightfall]

Well Rei that's your call. I prefer to keep as much EQ out of my SL as possible. (Though the weapon speed stuff from EQ is fine.)

 

[Nightfall]

Bump up for goodness.

 

[dreaded_beast]

1. Permanent magic items (like swords and armors) cost three times as much to purchase (due to curse of Mesos and general scarcity of those who know how to make them), and as such are much less common.

2. When you pray, your god sometimes answers (sometimes gaining +1 to rolls), but when you don't may get punished.

3. All divine races unite against titanspawn. Evil and good guys may (and should) work together against titan worshippers.

4. Halflings are discriminated.

5. Gnomes are primitive savages from Termana.

6. Sometimes good guys do harsh things (the lesser evil).

Regards,
Ruemere

Would anyone care to make a list of Scarred List "Essentials" similar to the above, along with where the info can be found bookwise?

When I say essentials, I mean around the bare-minimum (probably a bit more)information needed to incorporate into a Scarred Lands campaign to make it feel like a Scarred Lands campaign. Something that newbie Scarred Lands DMs can refer to in their efforts to maintain a Scarred Lands feel. Something like that list above.

I'm looking more along the lines of whatever could be the "bare-minimum" in terms of accessories, to run a Scarred Lands campaign. I'm assuming that would be the Creature Collection book, along with Scarred Lands: Ghelsphad.

 

[Nightfall]

db,

Essential besides Ghelspad I'd say is Relics and Rituals series. Why? Because they are to the setting much like magic of Faerun is to Faerun.

Also the Divine and the Defeated is another book I consider essential along with one or both of the Vigil Watch Series. (Mostly because they are great at giving some umph and character to each SL specific monster.)

Psionic wise, Echoes has some good flavor and certainly accentuates the differences between psionics and regular magic.

If you really want your players to feel the rawness however, put them in say Geleeda's forest, and constantly assault them with spiders, strange sounds, and even a few hag covens. That along with Pisceans and Blood Krakens make for much more interesting challenge. Accentuate the power of the wilderness and have those classes, along with sea faring rogues, (using Blood Sea) to make this place feel more alien and otherworldy. Lots of NPC deaths, but make sure you have impact by having them survive a while.

Hope that's helpful (Btw the x3 rule about buying magic items I feel truly helps a lot. )

 

[Trickstergod]

Would anyone care to make a list of Scarred List "Essentials" similar to the above, along with where the info can be found bookwise?

When I say essentials, I mean around the bare-minimum (probably a bit more)information needed to incorporate into a Scarred Lands campaign to make it feel like a Scarred Lands campaign. Something that newbie Scarred Lands DMs can refer to in their efforts to maintain a Scarred Lands feel. Something like that list above.

I'm looking more along the lines of whatever could be the "bare-minimum" in terms of accessories, to run a Scarred Lands campaign. I'm assuming that would be the Creature Collection book, along with Scarred Lands: Ghelsphad.

Bare minimum, you could arguably just go with the Creature Collection Revised (even if you're playing a normal 3rd edition game, it's still a generally superior book, and probably would need less fixing to make it fit with 3rd edition than the 3rd edition Creature Collection needs general fixes) and the Ghelspad Gazetteer.

Bare minimum.

For my part, I put the core setting books at, and in order of importance, Scarred Lands Campaign Setting: Ghelspad (though this can arguably be switched with the Scarred Lands Campaign Setting: Termana, but Ghelspad is both a superior book, a less expensive book, and more set up for more familiar D&D play to boot while still maintaining Scarred Lands flavor), the Creature Collection Revised, Divine and the Defeated, and Relics and Rituals.

Beyond that, a lot of the other books are niche books and hardly essential.

 

[Nightfall]

As always Trick, you make good points but I still make better ones.

 

[Trickstergod]

As always Trick, you make good points but I still make better ones.

You just tried pimping upwards of eight books when a minimum of accessories was asked for. I fail to follow where that's better.

Anyway, Dreaded Beast, the Ghelspad Hardcover gives you a place to play, the Creature Collection the different monsters to help set that place apart from the creatures found in other D&D campaigns, Divine and the Defeated the ability to flesh out the religion and culture and provide a unique mythology along with motivation for PC's and NPC's alike, and Relics and Rituals a greater idea and feel for the magic of the setting.

The Ghelspad gazetteer has snippets of most of that, providing a very condensed version of what's in the hardcover, while the Creature Collection Revised gives some of those setting-specific encounters.

And heck, if you really wanted to be minimalist, you could just go with the Ghelspad gazetteer. It'd be a very spartan, loose way of using the setting, but that's not always such a bad thing, particularly when funds are a problem.

Part of the setting essence also lies in the relationship between gods, titans and their followers. Even in lands run by the Lawful Evil god of slavery (Chardun), for example, you're going to find altars to gods like the Chaotic Good goddess of freedom (Tanil), and even a bit of camaraderie between such groups when it comes to opposing titan worshippers - who for the druids parts, might be seen as almost blasphemous to what one might expect out of a divine caster, as their spells don't result directly from the titans, and thus, aren't as beholden to act respectfully towards them.

 

[Nightfall]

Hey it's no more than some FR people say about pimping what minimium requirements for making a realistic FR game.

 

[dreaded_beast]

Very helpful answers guys!

Could you also make a list, of say "Top 10 or 5 Things to Incorporate In a Scarred Lands Campaign"?

For instance (this is by no means accurate)

1. Titanspawn

2. Titan's Blood

3. Scarcity of Magical Items

4. Hatred of Halflings

5. Invoking the names of the Gods

On another note, how are the various classes viewed in the Scarred Lands?

For instance, I was talking with another player and he said that Sorcerers are distrusted, feared, and looked upon with supiscion. He said the Sorcerers keep their sorcereous powers secret and almost never say they are "Sorcerers". I tend to disagree with him since I have not been able to find anything that says this. The closest thing that I have found is that Sorcerers are able to use their powers as a result from being "tainted" by the Titans.