Stone Age D&D Games?

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

My contribution to the thread:

Primitive Hunter (Tough Ordinary 2): CR 1; Medium Humanoid (human?); HD 2d10+4, hp 15, Mas 15; Init +1, Spd 30 ft.; Def 13 (+1 Dex, +2 class); BAB +1, Grap +3; Atk club +3 melee (1d6+2) or spear +3 melee (1d8+3); S/R 5 ft./5 ft.; AL any; SV Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +1; AP 0, Rep +0; Str 14, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 10.
Occupation: Tribal (class skills: Hide, Listen, Move Silently; bonus feat: Archaic Weapons Proficiency)
Skills: Hide +3, Intimidate +1, Knowledge (earth and life sciences) +1, Listen +3, Move Silently +3, Navigate +2, Spot +3, Survival +7.
Feats: Archaic Weapons Proficiency, Guide, Track.
Possessions: primitive clothing and weapons.

Maybe it's just me, but IMO a fighter without magic items or even armor is going to be pretty lame.

I think some low-level rangers could work, though.

 

[fusangite]

I did indeed run a stone age/ice age game. I ended up using the Barbarian unmodified and modified versions of the Bard, Ranger and Green Ronin's Shaman. I took a bunch of skills off the market, needless to say, as well as feats that seemed to be designed for formalized dueling or jousting.

 

[VirgilCaine]

There was a similar thing in that druid style life magic made it possible to use every part of a creature in very high powered ways. Yield from a creature became a very important thing.

So that let's say you meet a bear. Everyone knows that bear bladders are good for healing. The fighter kills it, the ranger cuts out the proper organ, the druid 'identifies' its natural properties and that's how you get a heal potion. Thus loot can be found even in a place that has only known nature.

I never got to run it, but I've always wanted to.

I'm a pseudo-survivalist IRL, and I'm all for using the animal's body and not just trophy hunting, but thats just nasty and stupid. I'll add a Filth Fever infection chance. But thanks.

Thanks for everybodys responses!

-- I had once an idea for a Stone age setting. Basically, it's the humanoid prehistoric age, a century or two after the fall of the two "alien" species which dominated the world. That is: Mind Flayers against Yuan-Ti. So, there is plenty of ruins to explore, otherwise a Stone Age would be a dull things of caves and mammoths (something you tire of very quickly...)

Not a bad idea.

Hmm, kinda depends on the type of stone age you're aiming for. The stone age is a technological category, not necessarily a cultural one - historically, societies have advanced from the stone age based largely on whether there were accessible surface metal deposits available to them. Babylon, Egypt, the South and North American aboriginal peoples... all of these had sophisticated civilizations before widespread metal use. So if you want a caveman bonks sabretooth campaign, you can do that, but you can also run a city-based campaign in the stone age if you want.

Of course, "city" in this context meaning several hundred people?
Thanks for correcting..err...educating me. And with me taking Art History I and just talking about pre-historic cities!

 

[rowport]

Neanderthal Race

There is a Neanderthal race option in WOTC's _Frostburn_ that might work well for your idea, plus several different primitive weapon stats. And, of course, if you want to play in the Ice Age there might be some other useful material.

 

[VirgilCaine]

I'd like to find some kind of fetish-type magic--like for the trolls/orcs crouching in caves and painting on walls and such. Something suitably...primitive flavored.
Anyone know where I could find something like that?
Besides possibly Nyambe?

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

I'm a pseudo-survivalist IRL, and I'm all for using the animal's body and not just trophy hunting, but thats just nasty and stupid. I'll add a Filth Fever infection chance. But thanks.

Man, I think you dismiss this too easily. Firstly, it's a part of the whole adventuring milleaux. Secondly, there's more than a little primitive emphasis on the magical power of hunted down organs. I wasn't at all suggesting that it was a heal potion in the literal sense so much as the functional equivalent.

Further it opens the way to the vast body of lore built around dark canabalistic magics. Eating the livers and hearts of one's enemies and so forth.

At the very least, I don't see why you would pass up the chance to incorporate hunting and gathering into the actual RPing experience. Certainly works for MMORPGs and it fits the genre.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

Of course, "city" in this context meaning several hundred people?
Thanks for correcting..err...educating me. And with me taking Art History I and just talking about pre-historic cities!

Tenochtitlan was stone age and one of the largest cities of the period, certainly larger than anywhere in Europe. Somewhere in the hundreds of thousands.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

There were indeed neolithic cities, not just villages, try looking it up. There was Neolithic as well as Paleolithic 'stone age'.

Skara Brae in the British Isles, Great Zimbabwe in Africa, and the above mentioned Tenochtitlan all come to mind, as does the cliff cities in North America.

The Auld Grump

 

[Tonguez]

Fighters - Weapons and Light armour only. Heavy armour may be gained through quest (eg a breatplate made from the shell of a Glyptodont).

Yes all men are expected to be warriors but only a few a taken and taught the secrets of the spear, these are the Tribal Champions and War Leaders who command the raiding parties

Paladin - Chosen of the War Spirit, the Spirit Warrior carries this totem into battle with him, in return for which he is empowered beyond mortal men

Bards - the Areoi of ancient Tahiti were Bards in all regards they were minor religious functionaries (thus magical), and included poets, dancers, wrestlers, spear fighters, acrobats, jugglers and clowns who composed songs and dances and performed huge plays in honour of the War god Oro and chiefs.

Wizards - the Cave Wizard is not an adventuring type and mainly an NPC, this is because Cave Wizards incribe/paint their spells onto the walls of deep caves. These are forbidden places with the walls marked with various arcane symbols and signs understood only by the few. A Cave Wizard must sleep in his cave each night to prepare his spells.

This allows magical dungeons to be created - imagine the PCs being sent to rediscover the lost cave of Flaming Goruk a painted cave protected by magic and fire elementals

Monks - wrestlers mayber but um

Oh and imc (which has an illiterate neolithic culture) I used knotted cords (based on Inca Khipu) to replace scrolls - they must be undone to cast the spell contained theirin thus destroying it each time (although individual strings are reusable

 

[Gez]

We did a stone age one shot.

Player races were among humans, neanderthals (known as Trusk in the setting, had half-orc stats, without darkvision, and with a +2 Wisdom -- not smart nor charismatic, but wise, with a strong artistic and mystical bent), halflings, gnomes, elves, and dwarves. No half-elves, no half-orcs. The races were roughly tied with the setting's primordial gods -- Gaia the Earthmother created gnomes as her servants and elves as her toys; Ouranos the Skyfather created the dwarves as his prophets and the hins as his messengers, and Azd, the Sun created both the Trusks and the humans as (failed) attempts of having servants who would protect balance in that chaotic place.

Classes were sorcerer, druid, and hunter (a mix of ranger and barbarian, with a bit of rogue).