Spread the Scarred Lands Gospel (MASSIVE SPOILERS)

[Ruined]

I always offer this type of thing, although it may not be as good as an email list. I have a message board system on my website that has pretty good security features. I can set up a private board where the only people who can see or post to it are members of the group (a la the Scarred Lands DM group). This way we can have lots of threads to look over, possibly post critters or plot elements not for general consumption.

It's a thought, and its easy to do. I just know that with email lists, if I get bogged down, they will get overlooked. With a msg board, I can quickly check and see if there are new topics for me.

Or if someone wants to take the initiative and do another mailing list, that's cool by me. Sign me up. =)

 

[Nightfall]

Well I have my own message board over at mortality.net as well as a private forum called the Role-player's reprieve, so that's another possibility. I'm a Mod at both, so I can probably keep some people out.

 

[Grraf]

In no particular order:
I like Scarntalk. Other than occasional threads like this its the best collection of SL people I've encountered so far.
An archive is good. Anybody who wants to run a community submission page/board/etc is a great person and I'll feed them stuff I've been working on.
The mortality boards are neat but they're very low traffic.

I think that more than a medium (list/archive/web page), what's important is content & existence of a community that feeds itself. As threads like this attest to there is a lot of interest in SL but its fragmented. I think its also because people who are attracted to SL are probably more interested in using the system for their own ideas than anything else.
There isn't enough fan-content yet (says the guy who's always just about to post something but never get around to it). Everything else is fed by good ideas with stats.

To stay On Thread: Roderick what to do
Game writing is pretty personal but...
IMHO you have a lot of good stuff in your game already. I wouldn't nessessarily add more groups. Lots of NPC groups can make the last combat just overwhelming for you and distract from the group I see two different tracks
1. Give the group a break. The PCs are in Mithril they can do something different for a bit. Maybe they get asked for help by a Vigil, or the Shadow Guild wants them to do them a little favor. Is one of your players really into going into a dungeon and getting treasure? You can give them a dungeon crawl.... (I hate DMing dungeon crawls but I know a lot of people who like them). Something without time pressure, where the PCs set the score and can leave whenever they want and go back to time.

2. On the other hand you do have a spiffy game going and maybe you don't want to lose momentum. Honestly IMHO the best way to do this is to let the PCs hit the plot from an angle some ideas:
1. The PCs get a hint from something (not sure what) that the device didn't kill the Pickup Group (the halfing gets a "flash" maybe). They just get an image but if they inquire about the humanoids they saw in their image a responce comes back from a pecular place. The Order of Mithril (OK so they're called the Fists of Mithril in the book but I changed the name). It turns out that a strange monk passed through Mithril a few months ago and in exchange for santuary he taugh the monks some strange techniques (maybe from the Dragon). The figure bears an uncanny resemblance to the figures who attacked the caravan. Maybe the figure continues to meditate in the Monestary or else has traveled on and the PCs must track him down. He's a Githzerai and he knows his dark cousins well. The PCs can work to try to find out more about the Gith. Perhaps they ultimately can track down some information and find out about the THING (which would give them a big leg up in the last confrontation compaired with the other agitators).
2. The PCs obviously need a better source of lore than can be found in Mithril. Archmage Blackburn (or Silverheart) has an old aquaintance who might be able to help them.... a Gynosphinx. She's the best source of information on ancient history and peculiar items this side of the Kelders. As a bonus she's quite friendly to the divine races. Armed with a letter of introduction the PCs set off. After some trials and travaels (urg sp) they make it to her abode only to discover that she's missing. Her daughter, a half-sphinx half-forsaken-elf is there as well (quite friendly with humaniod races). Ostensibly her daughter is also searching for her mother.
(this one is a simplified verson of my current game. Except that the daughter is actually an assasin and wants her mother killed of allowing her father to perish during the forsaken elves' battle with Chern).
3. The PCs could get word that an agent of Calastia has been snooping around looking for the object. Its one of Anteas' agents. Geleeda's agents have decided that the agent is getting a bit too close and have tipped off the authorities. The agent will commit suicide before being captured but Geleeda's agents will plant evidence suggesting that he serves Anteas and is affiliated with Titans.
Maybe, just maybe, the Queen will get two birds with one stone: the device and the key will come to her and the players will appear with some very incrimiating evidence about Anteas.
(depending this could be a really bad idea... but I like it).

 

[shouit]

Running a Campaign

To fill in more detail, save my diff but same comment.

I am currently running a campaign in SL. It has started around Mullis Town and I am currently running them through Pits of Loch Durnan, putting Loch Durnan in the foothills south of Moanscar Mountains. The campaign is based around some of the PC's parents. They were an adventuring group that found an entity of immense power and locked it up with leaving one of them behind to guard. Well, someone has found out what it is and is trying to get it back. Some of the parents are missing, and the ones that are not, go searching for them, leaving the party with pieces of the map to get to the ruins of these things. It is very similar to Roderick's campaign, with a twist. Been talking to Nightfall privately about the campaign, he be the one that finally sold me on SL. The very evil individual.

But alais, it is an interesting world and I am always love learning how others are running their campaigns, through it. If someone starts something up, I would love to be able to post ideas and suggestions. Also I am working on a project with Wilderness and Wastelands, a series of spreadsheets that have all the random encounters for all the regions, if anyone is interested in helping.. Thanks..

 

[Nightfall]

Well I will agree with Grraf. We ARE fragmented. While I don't have the skills, I WOULD like to make maybe a "unoffical" fan page for both Dms and Player alike for the Scarred Lands.

I know the Mortality board IS low traffic but I have gotten some good responses there.

I would like to say thanks to everyone here, because you ALL make it worthwhile to be a Sage for this place. Goodness knows I've encountered SOME resistance by various peoples. Even now I'm hard at work convincing some Harnaic to give our world a go. Anyway that's a story for later.

What IS important is my attempt for a SL campaign. Hollowfaust is the designated spot but so far I have to WAIT and see what characters my players choose before I decide what to use. Anyway I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

[Nightfall]

Just another thought I had in regards to using another setting with the Scarred Lands. Oathbound, by Bastion Press, is pretty interesting. Not enough to make me switch but definately enough to want to run it as side venture. Definately with some SL features, like having the Slarecians there AND maybe giving them their own domain...Just random thoughts like that...

 

[Roderick]

Thanks for the input folks, you have been very helpful. This response has encouraged me to start a campaign write-up next week.

 

[Nightfall]

Sweet! Can't wait to see it Rodrick!