Aubrey's Rise of the Runelords campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Aubrey the Malformed

I'd be happy to go with the flow on system. My preference would be 4e, for my personal ease of preparation, but that would turn some of you off and it's more the quality of player I'm looking for. D20 Modern is a possible - I have the rulebook, but I've never played it, so it would be a voyage of discovery. I was fairly resigned to doing it with PF - we all know the rules (more or less) and we all like them.

That said, we are not talking about anything happening tomorrow or next week. I still have "thinking" to do. But we are looking at:

- a quasi-British Empire (the Forces of Good) tentatively named Albion
- a perfidious European Empire ruled by the quasi-French tentatively named Franconia
- North America is a bunch of Vikings in Vinland on the East coast battling "skraelings" in the plains
- South America is an Aztec Empire
- East and Central Asia is dominated by a Mongol horde

I haven't thought through too clearly the details, but I also quite like the notion of arctic (or Antarctic) exploration with airships. I've been quite heavily influenced/inspired by the Ketty Jay books of Chris Wooding (which I would recommend and the reading of which wouldn't spoil much, as the setting isn't what I'm planning so much even if the general "flying around in airships here it's cold" angle is. I also started a slightly abortive RL campaign that had arctic elements, but which changes in conception as I went along so I suspended it to think more about what I wanted. I'm also thinking less of the usual "save the world from the BBEG" and more a clash of the Great Powers sort of thing.

But I'd also be quite interested in your input too.

p.s. If you like Steampunk, I have to recommend this one of the best novelists I've read.

I've seen those but the review on Amazon are mixed. Based on your recommendation I'll pick it up and give it a whirl.

I'm interested - sounds cool!

Probably not so interested in 4e. It's probably a great system, but I just couldn't really get my head into it when I started trying to make a character for your Kingmaker game (and even still following along with the game I'm having a sort of mental block as to how things work - healing surges and when you can and can't do certain things for example).

Don't let me ransom people to a choice of system though - at the end of the day it needs to be something that you can run easily, otherwise its likley to have a short life-span (or, as I well know, one can end up taking on too much and all one's games suffer).

But yeah ... my vote is for PF or maybe d20 Modern (perhaps with some PF-like modifications).

- a quasi-British Empire (the Forces of Good) tentatively named Albion
- a perfidious European Empire ruled by the quasi-French tentatively named Franconia

Hehe ... no, no one can see your cultural leanings there Aubs!

I love airships in fantasy. Cold is cool ... I got my dad a book about Scott’s two Antarctic voyages for Christmas, been meaning to borrow and read it, that stuff is brutal.

Do you have Frostburn (or whatever that late era 3.5 ‘cold’ sourcebook is called)?

For a while I was toying with running a campaign using a lot of stuff from Blackmoor and the Cold Marshes (if that’s what its called) in Greyhawk, and having a nearby glacier and using Frostburn resources ... never got off the ground, as per many of my campaigns, but I see some similarities to what you’re proposing – at least with the cold and a higher than ‘standard fantasy’ level of technology.

Anyway, just some rambling thoughts, maybe there'll be some inspiration in them.

Aubrey the Malformed wrote:

- a quasi-British Empire (the Forces of Good) tentatively named Albion
- a perfidious European Empire ruled by the quasi-French tentatively named Franconia

Hehe ... no, no one can see your cultural leanings there Aubs!

You think?

Aubrey the Malformed wrote:

Guys, I've been turning over in my mind a sort of steampunky sort of homebrew, which at the moment is little more than a thought experiment but which I do feel calling at me rather insistently. Assuming I can cobble together something than might resemble a campaign, would you guys be interested? I'm thinking of something pretty much on an invitation-only basis, a bit like we kicked off RotRL with you guys from the Eberron campaign.

Yeah, I would definitely be willing to guinea pig your homebrew steampunk.

One small request, though: Can we start at higher levels? We've been playing in your various games for over 3 years now and have yet to see level 10. :)

I'll think about it. I was thinking that it might be fun to have the PCs start out very wet behind the ears (i.e. lvl 1) but if people want to be a bit more seasoned, I could run with it. But not too high. What do the others think?

In any case, the rules for magic would have to be heavily altered to get the feel I would want - i.e. made a lot harder, at least for PCs. Having wizards warping reality at a whim would not be what I have in mind. I might lean towards a more 4e-ish/skill rolls to activate rituals sort of approach, with magic being more in the use of items rather than bandying spells.

I love airships in fantasy. Cold is cool ... I got my dad a book about Scott’s two Antarctic voyages for Christmas, been meaning to borrow and read it, that stuff is brutal.

Do you have Frostburn (or whatever that late era 3.5 ‘cold’ sourcebook is called)?

For a while I was toying with running a campaign using a lot of stuff from Blackmoor and the Cold Marshes (if that’s what its called) in Greyhawk, and having a nearby glacier and using Frostburn resources ... never got off the ground, as per many of my campaigns, but I see some similarities to what you’re proposing – at least with the cold and a higher than ‘standard fantasy’ level of technology.

Anyway, just some rambling thoughts, maybe there'll be some inspiration in them.

I've got Frostburn - hadn't thought to employ it though, so thanks for the reminder.

It sounds interesting.

White Wolf's game Adventure!, maybe Fate System's Spirit of the Century (both of which are based around pulp fiction), or even the newer WoD Mortals rules might match the general idea better than any iteration of D&D rules with their heavy reliance on magic and item slots and so on. But getting a bunch of people settled in their ways to try out a new gaming system is tough and I know cause I'm one of those people.

Ritual magic only for a setting like that does sound like it would make more sense. Hell, for something like this I'd be down for no magic at all other than crazy inexplicable technological devices and extremely prepared group rituals- Call of Cthulhu style.

In any case, the rules for magic would have to be heavily altered to get the feel I would want - i.e. made a lot harder, at least for PCs. Having wizards warping reality at a whim would not be what I have in mind. I might lean towards a more 4e-ish/skill rolls to activate rituals sort of approach, with magic being more in the use of items rather than bandying spells.

How about this - toss out the Wizard, Cleric and Bard classes. All spellcasters are Sorcerers, with the severe limitations on spells (and weapons and armour, maybe?) known that that carries with it Furthermore, they have to learn spells rather than just knowing them. However, they can learn cleric spells. Thus, spellcasters need to choose between nice utility formulas like healing and buffing, or being able to blow things up. You can then keep spells you don't like unavailable as "nobody can teach you this" - or, in the very least, make it a huge adventure to find the guy that can teach you Fireball and convincing him to teach it to you.

... my vote is for PF or maybe d20 Modern (perhaps with some PF-like modifications).

That would be my preference as well.

I know nothing about Steampunk, but I love your work and the company you keep, so if you are willing to put up with my play, I'd be open to giving it a shot. Sounds like fun.

How would you handle a steampunk engineer type of character? Expert with master craftsman feat? Caster as Vatt's suggests above where learned spells represent use of an unstable device rather than actual magic?

Hmmm...a steampunk setting. I'm in. And I'm the same as Mothman in rules preference - PF or d20 Modern (w/PF modifications).

Aubrey the Malformed wrote:

In any case, the rules for magic would have to be heavily altered to get the feel I would want - i.e. made a lot harder, at least for PCs. Having wizards warping reality at a whim would not be what I have in mind. I might lean towards a more 4e-ish/skill rolls to activate rituals sort of approach, with magic being more in the use of items rather than bandying spells.

How about this - toss out the Wizard, Cleric and Bard classes. All spellcasters are Sorcerers, with the severe limitations on spells (and weapons and armour, maybe?) known that that carries with it Furthermore, they have to learn spells rather than just knowing them. However, they can learn cleric spells. Thus, spellcasters need to choose between nice utility formulas like healing and buffing, or being able to blow things up. You can then keep spells you don't like unavailable as "nobody can teach you this" - or, in the very least, make it a huge adventure to find the guy that can teach you Fireball and convincing him to teach it to you.

[

The alchemist class, and/or some version of the artificer class might fit well also.

I like the sorcerer idea Vatts, although in some ways learning magic from ancient books of forbidden lore (aka, spellbooks) seems to fit better to me (assuming Aubrey wants a magic user class at all). Something like the Archivest (is that the one?) from Heroes of Horror might work.

How would you handle a steampunk engineer type of character? Expert with master craftsman feat? Caster as Vatt's suggests above where learned spells represent use of an unstable device rather than actual magic?

You might modify the artificer, so that his creations are quasi-tech rather than magic.

There was also a d20 mini-game in one of the 3.x era Polyhedron magazines that had a pulp inventor class iirc ... I'll see if I can find it.

I would prefer a Pathfinder or WoD ruleset since I have never played d20 Modern and know literally nothing about it. That said, if it's fairly close to the bog-standard 3.5/d20 system, I can't imagine it would be hard to learn.

A low-magic campaign would be pretty novel, though. I am fine if you want to eliminate the major spellcasting classes, despite my bias. :)

Honestly, for a steampunk game, I would want to play the Alchemist class from the APG. Someone who knows a lot about the guts and gears of the world's technologies and uses that knowledge to further his own agenda, etc. It is a caster class, but it's not a pure caster and I think the thematics of the Alchemist class fit well in a steampunk setting. Of course, I'm not married to the idea and it is indeed far too early to begin speculating in earnest.

D20 Modern is mechanically almost identical to D&D 3.x; combat works the same, skills work the same etc. Skill lists and feat lists are very similar between the two. Classes are very different (but generally work the same way as classes in 3.5).

I don’t have the books myself, but I participated in a d20 Modern pbp and created a character for a RL game in the same system using the Modern srd which is available online.

I like the sorcerer idea Vatts, although in some ways learning magic from ancient books of forbidden lore (aka, spellbooks) seems to fit better to me (assuming Aubrey wants a magic user class at all). Something like the Archivest (is that the one?) from Heroes of Horror might work.

I didn't mean that they would be sorcerers, just that they would use the sorcerer spells known/spells per day tables. I was thinking about something like this:

"Magician"

Hit dice, saves, skills: as Wizard
Spell progression, spells known, spells per day: as Sorcerer
Class spells: chosen freely from the Cleric, Druid and Wizard spell lists. Magicians can forget and re-learn one spell per level

Magicians are proficient with simple weapons and light armour, but not with medium or heavy armour or any shields. They are subject to arcane spell failure if they wear armour. They can turn or command undead if they take the relevant feats.

Magicians do not automatically learn any new spells upon gaining a level. Instead, they have to be taught new magic; whether this is from supernatural forces, other magicians or through some other agency is up to the GM.

Or, if you want to be a complete jerk, you could require all spellcasters to be Adepts. :§

[I'll think about it. I was thinking that it might be fun to have the PCs start out very wet behind the ears (i.e. lvl 1) but if people want to be a bit more seasoned, I could run with it. But not too high. What do the others think?

I prefer starting at low levels for a number of reasons. It allows me to develop the character more organically, and better understand or decide what motivates them. Also, I get really really bored with the ‘buying starting equipment’ side of character creation. Having more money and more equipment (magical item) choices just exasperates that. No, that doesn’t mean I want a high level character with first level starting equipment ...

But ultimately I don’t mind, mid and high levels are fun too.

Or, if you want to be a complete jerk, you could require all spellcasters to be Adepts. :§

Is that some sort of challenge?

OK, I've set up a dedicated thread here.

A completely off-topic question for the resident Limeys and Aussies - as I have had no luck yet getting a job here or back home in Norway, I thought I'd expend my job searching to "all English-speaking countries, globally". England would be the easiest, as I won't need visas and work permits, but Australia and New Zealand would be interesting, too (hell, I'd move to South Africa if they offer me a job). So could you suggest some websites I could go to as part of the hunt?

Depends what you want to do. However, I've found linkedin.com very good for getting your profile out there - it's a sort of business Facebook - but it is primarily business-based rather than academic.

What line of work are you looking for again Vatts?

As a very general starting point, I've heard very good things about 'seek.com.au'

But I think it is pretty general, if you are in a very specific industry or profession it might not be of much use to you.

I think I'm gonna come back around a little more now; I'm through the rapids as it were on this river called life.

Gimme a week or whatever, to read everything and figure out what's going on, longer if there isn't a sensible reinsertion point.

Just watched In the loop - I was laughing my ass off, while my wife was struggling with understanding the Brits in it... Having said that, she's terrified of Scots now in general and Peter Capaldi in particular. Great movie.

Oh, and welcome back, Heathy!

Thanks!
Just caught up on the Eberron campaign...

Woohoo! Heathy's back!

I'll just quickly work him back into the thick of things...

Depends what you want to do. However, I've found linkedin.com very good for getting your profile out there - it's a sort of business Facebook - but it is primarily business-based rather than academic.

So are you a "normal" linked in person, or a linked in connection whore like I am?

Hudak's caught up. Aleph's next.

Anyway, I've got a copy of Prince of Wolves which I was sent free by Paizo. As they want me to hand it to someone who might like it, who wants it and I'll post it to you?

I've read it. Count Jeggare's entries being epistolary style early on was a little grating, but overall I liked it well enough. I liked Prince of Wolves more than Winter Witch all around- but that man eating devil gnome in WW was still pretty sweet :)

Anyway, I've got a copy of Prince of Wolves which I was sent free by Paizo. As they want me to hand it to someone who might like it, who wants it and I'll post it to you?

I would be interested in checking out the quality of the Pathfinder fiction, so if you're offering, I will gladly take it off your hands. :)

Damnit, that's the second time today I've been too late to accept that offer! :D

Damnit, that's the second time today I've been too late to accept that offer! :D

You have only yourself to blame - you are in the right time zone, after all. Fatey - I need an address. You can email me at malexanderfell at hotmail dot com.

The opening of the book is a bit of a shock as you expect Radovan to be the narrator and he isn't - at least in the first chapter, as they alter between Radovan's and Jeggare's voices. But you get used to it.

I enjoyed Winter Witch and just got Plague of Shadows in this shipment. It's fair to say thay aren't AMAZING but for RPG-world fiction they are pretty decent and perfectly readable.

I'm away this weekend so won't be able to post until Monday afternoon.

I've read it. Count Jeggare's entries being epistolary style early on was a little grating, but overall I liked it well enough. I liked Prince of Wolves more than Winter Witch all around- but that man eating devil gnome in WW was still pretty sweet :)

Yeah, I thought it was pretty good. Certainly a step up from most of the FR fiction I've read. Haven't got Winter Witch as yet though.

Nevynxxx wrote:

Damnit, that's the second time today I've been too late to accept that offer! :D

You have only yourself to blame - you are in the right time zone, after all. Fatey - I need an address. You can email me at malexanderfell at hotmail dot com.

I know, I know, I missed Ilessa's twitter offer by a couple of hours, so I'm getting better ;)

You have only yourself to blame - you are in the right time zone, after all. Fatey - I need an address. You can email me at malexanderfell at hotmail dot com.

E-mail sent. Thanks again!

Fatey:

I'm getting the feeling that there was something going on there at the gnome party.

I'm down to go back and go in them fey woods, man. Now that I've thunk about it more.
Sometimes you gotta beat me over the head, dungeonmaster.....;)
Who's game?

Fatey:

"You there! Help me put on my armour!" Alwyn grabs a cabin boy and rushes downstairs. He reemerges a couple of minutes later, in loin cloth, and panting, sees the boggards, and rushes back downstairs, finally coming back up dressed in spiky platemail, effortlessly twirling his greatsword. "There froggies will never know what hit them..."

There we go, fixed that for you ;)

Clearly he needed some weapon work before he put on his armour.

Deviants.

I guess I was asking for that, though. Serves me right for appropriating a cabin boy. ;P

Ayy Carumba!!!!!

Rodger the cabin boy?

One of my old players was far too fond of Rodger The Cabin Boy and Master Bates And His Jolly Seamen references...