JoeGKushner
First Post
Anyone read Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson? The trilogy has some background elements that are reveleaed as the series progress that detail a lot of where the races and magic of the setting comes from. Least I spoil too much, the two biggies or originators are Ruin, the big bad, and Perevation, the 'good' of the two. It's an interesting series and provides some potential for any home brewed setting.
For me though, there are some different elements in a game.
Slavery for example, is evil. However, if you're in a slave holding culture, chances are you're not going to see it that way. Culture has a lot do to with evil. In fantasy games, a lot of evil gets personified. Ditto for comic books.
In a role playing game, it all depends on what the players want to do. If you want high heroism and all the players care about is looting tombs, you've wasted a ton of time and should've just went with the Forgotten Realms (which has oodles of baddies to bust out when need does arise.)
If you want high heroism and the players just want to fight for whoever pays the most... then you've got a potential Black Company scenario going on where about the only thing that's going to get them to break 'contract' is to betray them.
If they are 'good', and they come from these cultures, it's going to be a little strange unless you've already arranged underground resistances and other bits. After all, even in our own history, heresy was not something one did without repentance, death, or publication after one's own death. There is a lot to the social contract after all.
In addition, even when people are being evil and controlling and practicing dark arts, there are various levels of evil. For example, in the Mistborn series, Ruin is the end. It wants the destruction of the world. That's probably a little worse the the Lord Ruler, the big bad of the first book, whol rules with an absolute tryanny thanks to his vast power.
For me though, there are some different elements in a game.
Slavery for example, is evil. However, if you're in a slave holding culture, chances are you're not going to see it that way. Culture has a lot do to with evil. In fantasy games, a lot of evil gets personified. Ditto for comic books.
In a role playing game, it all depends on what the players want to do. If you want high heroism and all the players care about is looting tombs, you've wasted a ton of time and should've just went with the Forgotten Realms (which has oodles of baddies to bust out when need does arise.)
If you want high heroism and the players just want to fight for whoever pays the most... then you've got a potential Black Company scenario going on where about the only thing that's going to get them to break 'contract' is to betray them.
If they are 'good', and they come from these cultures, it's going to be a little strange unless you've already arranged underground resistances and other bits. After all, even in our own history, heresy was not something one did without repentance, death, or publication after one's own death. There is a lot to the social contract after all.
In addition, even when people are being evil and controlling and practicing dark arts, there are various levels of evil. For example, in the Mistborn series, Ruin is the end. It wants the destruction of the world. That's probably a little worse the the Lord Ruler, the big bad of the first book, whol rules with an absolute tryanny thanks to his vast power.
