The default campaign world - new article

[TerraDave]

I guess that depends on how many greedy dragons, rapacious orcs, mischievous fey, ambitious bandits, and mad cultists live in that forest and stare at the glittering walls of Portland with malice in their eyes.

Also on whether you have a decree from Ed Koch permitting you to enforce his laws in places his all-volunteer militia cannot tread and claim all treasures located therein.

ya, sure. (but I don't know about this decree bussiness, who needs a stinking decree?).

But decrepit kingdoms, empires, and cities should be part of any fantasy setting, especially one that claims to be "medieval fantasy" and "swords and sorcery".

EDIT: AND, my real anoyance is the designers own ignorance about the world creeping into the game. In a way that is completely uneeded.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

I suppose you could call the Points of Light setting "post-apocalyptic"...except that I'm not even sure you need the "post" part. It's just simply apocalyptic. Which is cool.

The post- part helps somewhat, in that gives an extra reason for ruins and other lovely dungeon complexes, and lots of random magic items to be around.

Brad

 

[Scribble]

The setting reminds me of Scarred Lands, without the whole Titan God war thing going on...

It's also how I like to run my games.

 

[Irda Ranger]

I personally would rather it be this "points of light" (4e) than a core setting that assumes there is a trade in magic items in every town with a decent gp limit (3e).

There is nothing to stop one of these points of light being a large "city state" with all the political intrigue you could want.

Double plus darn right! On both counts!

Interestingly, this "point of light" view of the world is accurate for large parts of FR and Eberron too. This perfectly describes large sections of FR, such as the North, the majority of the Sword Coast, the Dale lands and Moonsea region, Tethyr, etc. etc. The Eberron book also always suggested to me that the "kingdoms" therein control their cities, but that the vast swaths of territory those kingdoms claim to rule are best avoided via the lightning rail or skyship, and that monster infested hills and villages who didn't even hear about "the War" until it was over are common.

Neither setting would be a a change in fact; merely in emphasis.

Lastly, a "point of light" could still be a city-state of considerable size, allowing for specialization in crafts and professions, political intrigue, guilds, etc.

People shouldn't get too bent out of shape though. I don't think we'll see this "points of light" philosopy in the rule books. It'll mostly effect how the adventures are written and designed.

All hail the Iron Heroization of D&D!

 

[Gundark]

Hmmm no where in that article did anyone say that there was going to be no political intrigue or city adventures. I really don't get why people get so worked up over a few paragraphs. Sure maybe the king has "order", but that doesn't mean there are thieves guilds, cultists, political spies, and the what not in the civilized areas. In fact a setting like this seems more natural for city adventures and political intrigue to take place.

This world reminds me of the Warhammer fantasy world. Which btw is full of political intrigue and city campaigns.

I love city adventures, IMHO there are not enough of them out there.

 

[Gentlegamer]

I wonder if this heralds the return of stronghold rules for high-level characters? In AD&D the culmination of a character's career was when they cleared a region of monsters and built their keep, creating another "point of light".

I would LOVE that! Bring back strongholds for "name" level characters in 4D&D!

 

[Nahat Anoj]

World of Warcraft is very much a 'points of light' setting too. Step outside town and it's pretty much wall-to-wall monsters.

I agree, actually. Who knew that WoW replicates that old school, D&D 1e feel better than D&D 3e?

I really like the assumed setting being "Points of light ..." It makes the peril seem greater and the efforts of the adventurers that much more amazing. And I don't believe "points of light" applies only to the Heroic levels of 4e. I believe this theme will carried over to all levels of plays, so that even at epic levels the PCs learn that our little world exists in a pocket of normal space that's surrounded by truly horrifying, Lovecraftian nightmares.

To those people who believe that the "points of light" setting won't allow for city-based or intrigue-heavy adventurers, take a step back! In a "points of light" setting, there are most definitely cities, but they are ruled by cruel dictators, debauched nobles, alien demigods, greedy merchant councils, and so on. Conversely, poverty and squalor reign in the poorest districts, and thieves' guilds rule from the shadows. The city watch, in the pocket of ruling classes or organized crime, turns a blind eye to commoners seeking help from the monsters stalking shadowed alleyways and dank sewers. Ancient, forgotten crypts and the remains of previous cities lie beneath, tantalizing would-be explorers with stories of wealth and eldritch treasures. Only adventurers possess the requisite drive and guile to navigate such a treacherous "urban dungeon." Incidentally, this *is* very much like the City State of the Invincible Overlord.

Having said all this, I am aware that such adventures are possible in any edition of D&D, but I feel that 4e's major contribution will explicitly make this sort of play the default. Although I'm pretty sure players who don't like it will be able to simply ignore it.

As far as FR in 4e goes, it wouldn't surprise me if WotC advances the timeline by some number of years and does a big upheaval with the setting. Things like necromantic plagues, hordes of vicious humanoids, fiendish betrayals, and other evils that plunge the Realms into a dark age. It would be like the Time of Troubles, but this time the bad guys win. Most of the heroes of the setting (Elminster, Alustriel, etc.) will be gone (killed, imprisoned, diminished, etc.). At the very least, civilization will suffer some big setbacks, and the adventurers will spend much of their campaigns rediscovering lost treasures from the previous age.

 

[Gentlegamer]

You could still have the likes of the Byzantine Empire in such a setting, but it's a distant entity.

The fantasy equivalent would be Gondor.

 

[IanB]

Sounds like Keep on the Borderlands to me. Not a big problem IMO.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

As far as FR in 4e goes, it wouldn't surprise me if WotC advances the timeline by some number of years and does a big upheaval with the setting. Things like necromantic plagues, hordes of vicious humanoids, fiendish betrayals, and other evils that plunge the Realms into a dark age. It would be like the Time of Troubles, but this time the bad guys win. Most of the heroes of the setting (Elminster, Alustriel, etc.) will be gone (killed, imprisoned, diminished, etc.). At the very least, civilization will suffer some big setbacks, and the adventurers will spend much of their campaigns rediscovering lost treasures from the previous age.

One can only hope.