Post by Grognard on Jul 9, 2009 13:09:28 GMT -6
Maybe this topic would get more exposure in General, but I figured it fit best here. Feel free to move it elsewhere if need be.
I've been thinking about running a campaign that falls into the Dark Ages/Medieval era. Some would probably say that what I'm shooting for is already covered well enough by "vanilla D&D," but I'd like to think that the Dark Ages and the medieval period are interesting and robust enough that there'd be a lot of meat chew on for a campaign set therein.
Here's the stuff I'm thinking about so far:
Castles and fortified towns/cities are the primary base areas for PCs, given the need for constant protection from raids and wars.
Viking and humanoid raids are common place, and nearly every village, town, or fortification seeks to train and equip men and demi-men to defend civilization.
Averoigne would be a neat locale to drop into the campaign (drawn mainly from CAS, rather than from module X2).
Elements or the flavor of The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings would fit well.
Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table would have their place on the campaign map, as would a Charlemagne-like figure replete with paladins.
Robin Hood and his merry men would have a base in some forest somewhere.
There would a be a Holy Church, inspired obviously from medieval Christianity but drawing inspiration from other sources as well (like the church in Hawk the Slayer). A very rudimentary, quasi-Christian religion would serve as the basis for the cleric and paladin classes. Crosses and holy water abound!
The end game of clearing a wilderness area and building a keep would be a dominate part of the game. Wargaming sessions would be part of the overall campaign, obviously for higher level play (but no reason lower level types couldn't be involved in battles either!).
I'd like a well-rounded campaign that includes dungeons and megadungeons, wilderness exploration and adventure, as well as town and city encounters, court intrigues, and the like.
Open-ended adventuring. Wars and other events in the campaign world happen over time, and the players can participate or not in those events.
Collision between the old pagan faiths and the "new" Christian religion. Druids and pagan priests/sorcerers seek to preserve the old ways, while the new faith seeks to teach men the errors of their ways.
Wizardry fits somewhere between a pseudo-science like alchemy and mystical form of physics. Note that I'm not interested in turning wizardry into "magical science" here, but rather want to emphasize the notion that through research and practice, men can control and manipulate the world through arcane formulas and procedures.
Dwarves and elves will run the gambit between the Tolkienesque and the faerie types found in Poul Anderson's early fantasy works. Hobbits will pretty much be hobbits (boring I know). I probably won't allow any other PC races, although I've toyed with the idea of lizardmen (chaotic PCs only).
Keep on the Borderlands would be a good sample of the type of base camp I envision for the PCs, although I'd add a village around its walls or very close by. I'd probably replace the Caves of Chaos with my own megadungeon, or simply tack the Caves onto it. Some of the other classic modules would fit as well (B1, G series, etc.).
Rather than having Islam spring up as a rival faith, I think I'd shoot for a sect/culture that worships/serves demons, makes human sacrifice, dabbles in necromancy of all sorts, and so on. This society seeks to expand and dominate its kingdoms at the cost of those around it. Playing up the Law vs. Chaos angle here.
While most of the world is troubled by warfare, famine, disease and the like, there are a few spots (like Camelot, or the court of Charlemagne) where civilization still shines and is resurgent.
For rules I'm shooting for something between OD&D & AD&D, drawing on Holmes and Moldvay as well. Mostly rules-lite for fast and furious game play, but with a lot of extras in terms of classes, spells, monsters, and so on.
Guilds are an important facet of life in nearly every town or city. Guilds of thieves, assassins, mercenaries, tradesmen, merchants, and the like, as well as cabals of wizards and secret societies, vie for power and wealth.
So, what obvious stuff am I missing that would really spruce up a quasi-medieval campaign? I'm really in the broad strokes of painting the canvas at the moment, trying to nail down the flavor and feel more than anything.
I've been thinking about running a campaign that falls into the Dark Ages/Medieval era. Some would probably say that what I'm shooting for is already covered well enough by "vanilla D&D," but I'd like to think that the Dark Ages and the medieval period are interesting and robust enough that there'd be a lot of meat chew on for a campaign set therein.
Here's the stuff I'm thinking about so far:
Castles and fortified towns/cities are the primary base areas for PCs, given the need for constant protection from raids and wars.
Viking and humanoid raids are common place, and nearly every village, town, or fortification seeks to train and equip men and demi-men to defend civilization.
Averoigne would be a neat locale to drop into the campaign (drawn mainly from CAS, rather than from module X2).
Elements or the flavor of The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings would fit well.
Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table would have their place on the campaign map, as would a Charlemagne-like figure replete with paladins.
Robin Hood and his merry men would have a base in some forest somewhere.
There would a be a Holy Church, inspired obviously from medieval Christianity but drawing inspiration from other sources as well (like the church in Hawk the Slayer). A very rudimentary, quasi-Christian religion would serve as the basis for the cleric and paladin classes. Crosses and holy water abound!
The end game of clearing a wilderness area and building a keep would be a dominate part of the game. Wargaming sessions would be part of the overall campaign, obviously for higher level play (but no reason lower level types couldn't be involved in battles either!).
I'd like a well-rounded campaign that includes dungeons and megadungeons, wilderness exploration and adventure, as well as town and city encounters, court intrigues, and the like.
Open-ended adventuring. Wars and other events in the campaign world happen over time, and the players can participate or not in those events.
Collision between the old pagan faiths and the "new" Christian religion. Druids and pagan priests/sorcerers seek to preserve the old ways, while the new faith seeks to teach men the errors of their ways.
Wizardry fits somewhere between a pseudo-science like alchemy and mystical form of physics. Note that I'm not interested in turning wizardry into "magical science" here, but rather want to emphasize the notion that through research and practice, men can control and manipulate the world through arcane formulas and procedures.
Dwarves and elves will run the gambit between the Tolkienesque and the faerie types found in Poul Anderson's early fantasy works. Hobbits will pretty much be hobbits (boring I know). I probably won't allow any other PC races, although I've toyed with the idea of lizardmen (chaotic PCs only).
Keep on the Borderlands would be a good sample of the type of base camp I envision for the PCs, although I'd add a village around its walls or very close by. I'd probably replace the Caves of Chaos with my own megadungeon, or simply tack the Caves onto it. Some of the other classic modules would fit as well (B1, G series, etc.).
Rather than having Islam spring up as a rival faith, I think I'd shoot for a sect/culture that worships/serves demons, makes human sacrifice, dabbles in necromancy of all sorts, and so on. This society seeks to expand and dominate its kingdoms at the cost of those around it. Playing up the Law vs. Chaos angle here.
While most of the world is troubled by warfare, famine, disease and the like, there are a few spots (like Camelot, or the court of Charlemagne) where civilization still shines and is resurgent.
For rules I'm shooting for something between OD&D & AD&D, drawing on Holmes and Moldvay as well. Mostly rules-lite for fast and furious game play, but with a lot of extras in terms of classes, spells, monsters, and so on.
Guilds are an important facet of life in nearly every town or city. Guilds of thieves, assassins, mercenaries, tradesmen, merchants, and the like, as well as cabals of wizards and secret societies, vie for power and wealth.
So, what obvious stuff am I missing that would really spruce up a quasi-medieval campaign? I'm really in the broad strokes of painting the canvas at the moment, trying to nail down the flavor and feel more than anything.
