jdrakeh
Front Range Warlock
A while back I posted about a D&D campaign taking plae at the end of a 'heroic age' not unlike that portrayed in Larry Niven's 'Warlock' trilogy -- magic is dying, demi-humans are largely relegated to myth, and technology has paved the way for a brave, new, tomorrow. Insofar as a campaign, I'd like to set up some kind of a 'last hurrah' for aged heroes of years past -- one last chance for them to save the world (or kingdom).
The previous thread got dumped on pretty hard but I'm still interested in the idea, so I think that it deserves another go. Specifically, I'm interested in house rules that might suit such a campaign well. D&D out fo the box, obviously, won't work very well for such a camapign, what with its 'magic everywhere' approach and demi-humans crawling out of the woodwork. So far, this is what I'm looking at:
1. Races limited to humans, half-elves, halfling, dwarves, and gnomes -- though the latter three races have lost any cultural idenity that they once had and are now merely accepted as diminutive humans by most folks (though legends persists of lost cities and the like).
2. The barbarian lands were long ago been absorbed by the larger Empire and, thus, Barbarians are no longer an allowed PC class.
3. The non-casting variants of the Paladin and Ranger which are present in The Complete Warrior will supplant the normal Rangers and Paladins of D&D, reflecting the diminished role of magic in the world.
4. Similarly, the base spell casting casting classes of D&D will be supplanted by the Priest and Wizard of Slayers d20, reflecting that magical energy is still 'out there' and powerful, but harder to access and control in this age of lost lore.
5. As a corollary to #4, the default D&D system of relatively easy to come by 'fire and forget' magic will be supplanted by the magic system in Slaters d20 (ij regard to priests and wizards).
6. Bards are no longer available as a PC class, having been supplanted by scrivners and poets who, while skilled with words, know not the power of magic.
7. Druids will be supplanted by the Urban Druid of Dragon Compendium 1. Their magic will remain unchanged, still cleaving to the old path more closely than modern priests and wizards.
8. A modified version of the Traveller20 'past history' rules will be used to determine, roughly, what the PCs have been up to in years past.
The previous thread got dumped on pretty hard but I'm still interested in the idea, so I think that it deserves another go. Specifically, I'm interested in house rules that might suit such a campaign well. D&D out fo the box, obviously, won't work very well for such a camapign, what with its 'magic everywhere' approach and demi-humans crawling out of the woodwork. So far, this is what I'm looking at:
1. Races limited to humans, half-elves, halfling, dwarves, and gnomes -- though the latter three races have lost any cultural idenity that they once had and are now merely accepted as diminutive humans by most folks (though legends persists of lost cities and the like).
2. The barbarian lands were long ago been absorbed by the larger Empire and, thus, Barbarians are no longer an allowed PC class.
3. The non-casting variants of the Paladin and Ranger which are present in The Complete Warrior will supplant the normal Rangers and Paladins of D&D, reflecting the diminished role of magic in the world.
4. Similarly, the base spell casting casting classes of D&D will be supplanted by the Priest and Wizard of Slayers d20, reflecting that magical energy is still 'out there' and powerful, but harder to access and control in this age of lost lore.
5. As a corollary to #4, the default D&D system of relatively easy to come by 'fire and forget' magic will be supplanted by the magic system in Slaters d20 (ij regard to priests and wizards).
6. Bards are no longer available as a PC class, having been supplanted by scrivners and poets who, while skilled with words, know not the power of magic.
7. Druids will be supplanted by the Urban Druid of Dragon Compendium 1. Their magic will remain unchanged, still cleaving to the old path more closely than modern priests and wizards.
8. A modified version of the Traveller20 'past history' rules will be used to determine, roughly, what the PCs have been up to in years past.
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