Why is the Scarred Lands Setting so popular?
- Thread starter Fenros
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JoeGKushner
Adventurer
For me it came down to a well support world. Now there's Kalamar and SL, both good settings. Kalamar in some ways is a little too standard while SL has some difficulties in putting 'standard' materials in, but so far I've been able to wedge just about everything I want into it.
The various unique monsters, magic, and other bits of crunch go a long way in giving the campaign setting it's own unique feel. The sourcebooks provide an excellent backdrop. In many ways, despite my own longing for some more player friendly areas, it's smart to showcase all the 'hot' spots so that the players can become involved with them in one way or another.
The various unique monsters, magic, and other bits of crunch go a long way in giving the campaign setting it's own unique feel. The sourcebooks provide an excellent backdrop. In many ways, despite my own longing for some more player friendly areas, it's smart to showcase all the 'hot' spots so that the players can become involved with them in one way or another.
jester47
First Post
To be a thread heretic:
I have been playing in the Forgotten Realms and I find that in the 2nd edition stuff it did pet NPCs and in the 3rd it does not. I think the powerful monster fodder factor is pretty low. I think what a lot of people miss about the Forgotten realms is that the NPCs are there for examples and status quo players. I have a party that may encounter a 22HD doomsphere in cold northern wood if they wind up going there. And that is worst of thier troubles. They stillhave to deal with the numerous incorporeal undead and the occasional bugbears and hobgoblins. Not to mention Orcus Cultists. So there are egyptian gods in the FRs. Unless you are tying the distant past to your game or running your adventures in eastern Thay or Mulhorand, they should rarely come into play.
Keep in mind, there is only so much background you can put into a session. I find that I start with some random stuff and then just let complete randomness drive the car. When I need a background anchorpoint (place name, event in history) I look in the FRCS. Operate that way and any setting will work great for you.
Aaron.
I have been playing in the Forgotten Realms and I find that in the 2nd edition stuff it did pet NPCs and in the 3rd it does not. I think the powerful monster fodder factor is pretty low. I think what a lot of people miss about the Forgotten realms is that the NPCs are there for examples and status quo players. I have a party that may encounter a 22HD doomsphere in cold northern wood if they wind up going there. And that is worst of thier troubles. They stillhave to deal with the numerous incorporeal undead and the occasional bugbears and hobgoblins. Not to mention Orcus Cultists. So there are egyptian gods in the FRs. Unless you are tying the distant past to your game or running your adventures in eastern Thay or Mulhorand, they should rarely come into play.
Keep in mind, there is only so much background you can put into a session. I find that I start with some random stuff and then just let complete randomness drive the car. When I need a background anchorpoint (place name, event in history) I look in the FRCS. Operate that way and any setting will work great for you.
Aaron.
Running a campaign there now. I'll skip the Faerun bashing and give you what I hope you need to know.
1.) Gritty nastiness. The Gods just recently destroyed the Titans, the entire continent's ecology is screwed up with foul, monster-spewing locations, big chunks of land are inhospitable and teeming with ruins. Adventuring makes sense. In a lot of other settings, I'm always thinking "There's a city RIGHT OVER THERE, why haven't they cleaned out thses tombs...?"
Although the gods are not in-game, their recent appearance and well-designed pantheon revitalize clerics and paladins - ordinarily not easy characters to push past stereotype. These religions have personalities and agendas.
Their version of the Harpers are the Vigil. Not travelling adventuring poets. Think the Spartans. Brutally trained, devoted, relentless, and not above dying unpleasantly en masse tp protect the innocents.
2.) Political fun. The Southern section of the continents is controlled by Calastia, a kingdom of nations of not-necessarily-evil-but-still-very-bad guys. They're looking hungrily towards expansion. The Elves don't have a shining kingdom - they live in one of the last big forests and gaze out at the human insanity warily. The dwarven capitol of Bork Torm has been under siege for decades. Vesh to the North is a nascent republic, and the western coast is a hodgepodge of good guys and bad guys, with lots of "contested ground". Kingdoms have enemies who are specific enough to build adventures around, but whose structures -- even in the supplements -- are fluid enough to tweak for your own game.
Add to that the world's the right size for cross-country travel without the need for teleport spells.
3.) low-to-mid level magic. Even though there are the same spells, the feel of adventuring is constant danger and bad-asses trying to kill each other with sharpened pieces of metal, not huge spell duels. There's one high-magic race, but they got temselves wiped out a while ago, and nobody's all that happy at the thought of them coming back ...
4.) The overall tone. Besides the Gazeteer, each major location and faction is getting a splatbook, and each is detailed enough to run a campaign from that location alone. That, and each has a very, very distinct feel.
Hollowfaust - city of the surprisingly un-evil necromancers. Mithril, the shining outpost to the North with a very seamy underbelly. The Calastian sourcebook almost convinced me to run a campaign of good guys in the service of a bad Empire. Each book contains prestige classes and multiple adventure hooks.
In summary, Scarred Lands is the perfect blend of enough details to save you time and inspire you as a DM and flexible enough to drop entire mini-campaigns in the blank spots.
And I recommend the Monsternomicon heartily. The creatures are well-designed and the art's gorgeous. The tone of those monsters fits perfectly with the Scarred Lands.
Have fun.
1.) Gritty nastiness. The Gods just recently destroyed the Titans, the entire continent's ecology is screwed up with foul, monster-spewing locations, big chunks of land are inhospitable and teeming with ruins. Adventuring makes sense. In a lot of other settings, I'm always thinking "There's a city RIGHT OVER THERE, why haven't they cleaned out thses tombs...?"
Although the gods are not in-game, their recent appearance and well-designed pantheon revitalize clerics and paladins - ordinarily not easy characters to push past stereotype. These religions have personalities and agendas.
Their version of the Harpers are the Vigil. Not travelling adventuring poets. Think the Spartans. Brutally trained, devoted, relentless, and not above dying unpleasantly en masse tp protect the innocents.
2.) Political fun. The Southern section of the continents is controlled by Calastia, a kingdom of nations of not-necessarily-evil-but-still-very-bad guys. They're looking hungrily towards expansion. The Elves don't have a shining kingdom - they live in one of the last big forests and gaze out at the human insanity warily. The dwarven capitol of Bork Torm has been under siege for decades. Vesh to the North is a nascent republic, and the western coast is a hodgepodge of good guys and bad guys, with lots of "contested ground". Kingdoms have enemies who are specific enough to build adventures around, but whose structures -- even in the supplements -- are fluid enough to tweak for your own game.
Add to that the world's the right size for cross-country travel without the need for teleport spells.
3.) low-to-mid level magic. Even though there are the same spells, the feel of adventuring is constant danger and bad-asses trying to kill each other with sharpened pieces of metal, not huge spell duels. There's one high-magic race, but they got temselves wiped out a while ago, and nobody's all that happy at the thought of them coming back ...
4.) The overall tone. Besides the Gazeteer, each major location and faction is getting a splatbook, and each is detailed enough to run a campaign from that location alone. That, and each has a very, very distinct feel.
Hollowfaust - city of the surprisingly un-evil necromancers. Mithril, the shining outpost to the North with a very seamy underbelly. The Calastian sourcebook almost convinced me to run a campaign of good guys in the service of a bad Empire. Each book contains prestige classes and multiple adventure hooks.
In summary, Scarred Lands is the perfect blend of enough details to save you time and inspire you as a DM and flexible enough to drop entire mini-campaigns in the blank spots.
And I recommend the Monsternomicon heartily. The creatures are well-designed and the art's gorgeous. The tone of those monsters fits perfectly with the Scarred Lands.
Have fun.
Nightfall
Sage of the Scarred Lands
Looks like I'll have to be spending a lot of my hard earned denerio when my gaming shop opens noon tomorrow....
mega, do what you want. Run it whole sale, in pieces, matters not.
I'm just glad there's something for everyone without making it feel like it's just a homogenus little place.
jezter, as the Evangelist (there I got spelled right for those you complaining to me!) and part time heretic burner, I SMITE thee!
mega, do what you want. Run it whole sale, in pieces, matters not.
I'm just glad there's something for everyone without making it feel like it's just a homogenus little place. jezter, as the Evangelist (there I got spelled right for those you complaining to me!) and part time heretic burner, I SMITE thee!
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