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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Melan" data-source="post: 1745311" data-attributes="member: 1713">I don't know anything about Dawnforge, but I do run a Wilderlands campaign, and have been doing so since about mid to late 2002. As I worked on the materials that went into the boxed set (and edited some of them, too), my experiences may be different from those who only own the PG at the moment. But here it goes:The Wilderlands is very adaptable. There is some relation between the various lands, pantheons and races, but you can just as easily modify/drop some or many of them. For example, I dropped the Demon Empires from the world (as I do not think they really fit), reduced the number of non-humans to more accurately reflect sword&sorcery traditions and messed around with ancient history (my Wilderlands experienced a nucular war around -8000, then a golden age with the Atlantean Empire vs the Dragon Kings, ending in yet another cataclism that eventually destroyed both), etc. Until late 2003, I used the 3.0 rules, but switched to my own variant of Castles & Crusades thereafter, which I use to this day. As evident from what I have written above, you will have little problem changing the ways the world works. I love the mixed pantheons, myself, but you can substitute a better organized one with ease. Once you get the box (hopefully mid 2005... hopefully), you can just as easily drop and add things. It works modularly. Just because I, a designer, added some laser rifles, you can remove them if the thought bothers you. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />That doesn't mean the Wilderlands is just an empty canvas. Far from it. It is pretty much "D&D meets classic sword&sorcery". It was influenced by fantasy lit that was mainstream in that era, but has fallen by the wayside since (and seems strange today for this reason). Here are a few key features (as seen in my games - the baseline setting is a little bit tamer):1) Think of the "known world" as the Ancient Mediterranean in the Hellenic age. This is a much better historical paralell than "mediaeval Europe cca. 1200", even if you encounter chainmail and whatnot. This is an era of strange gods, discovery and independent city states which constantly change allegiances, war against each other, or engage in trade to far away locations.2) Cultural norms vary. You can encounter the strangest ideas and beliefs in isolated pockets of the land. Communities are self sufficient and can protect their own. Most common men can and do fight. 3) Many different faiths exist in the same place, and their power is often only local - some of these small gods are just extraordinarily powerful mortals or monsters. Religion isn't all-encompassing. There is no "common morality" either. Evil clerics don't have to hide from the authorities - on the contrary, many of them are so well entrenched that they rule over smaller cities.4) There are also ruins from bygone ages everywhere. The wilderness is full of crumbling walls, abandoned edifices and strange temples. Monsters stalk these uninhabited areas. Sometimes they are occupied by cultists, brigands or they are the strongholds of high level (read: 6th to 9th) NPCs. If you look hard enough, you may even find a downed spaceship or an abandoned command outpost from the days when an interstellar race ruled over the planet. Not too likely, though.5) Slavery (of the antique variety) is commonplace. Most cultures own slaves and don't think twice about it. Drugs are consumed for religious purposes or entertainment. Sexual mores are loose - when you have a temple of Aphrodite (or of Tama Hama!) in your town, you won't be thinking too much about it.6) Much of the world is sea (as opposed to others, where seas usually surround continents - e.g. Greyhawk or the FR). The islands are a veritable repository of the strange and unusual. Ever read (or seen) Sindbad? Or the adventures of Odysseus? That's what awaits. Rocs, decadent high level wizards, mysterious standing stones and lost cities.Maybe I'll write more later.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></blockquote>

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