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Hey Folks,
I know I'm not the only person who grew up with 2nd Edition, and remembers it fondly, even if there were very few quality "modules", per se. One thing that I noticed was pervasive about that era was an attempt to really create a sense that intelligent monsters had credible, working societies of their own, and that they were just as capable of diplomatic resolutions to conflicts as they were duking it out with adventurers.
This spirit was embraced to a large degree by the sadly short-lived comic in the back of Dungeon magazine, "Downer", which I felt was truly brilliant.
Now, with all my old 2nd Edition books lost to the four winds, I've been trying to compile a list of products that really hit on this spirit of "evil societies still function, just with more backstabbing and intrigue" and was hoping for your help.
The first products that come to my mind are Legend of Spelljammer, which had a strong impression on my juvenile mind, although I'm not sure how it'll stand up to adult scrutiny. I recall it presented a city where Mind Flayers, Neogi, Dwarves and Humans all managed to live together in an uneasy peace.
Likewise, Night Below really hooked me with the idea that the Underdark was a place where a variety of city-states warred and allied with each other, with complex politics defining each holding in contrast to one another.
Finally, I know that the Planescape line was well-lauded for its cosmopolitan and political aspects, but I'm afraid I never got into the line, so missed the boat the first time around. I'd love any suggestions you may have.
Any suggestions along these lines would be appreciated, and I'd especially like to see supplements that concentrate on extraplanar politics and the dynamics of the Underdark.
Thank you in advance for any help you might provide!
Planescape is awesome. I highly recommend it. Our group played three campaigns set there in the past couple of years; two were AD&D 2nd ed and the most recent was via Pathfinder. While not an evil society, the way so many different beings, both physically and philosophically speaking, live and interact in Sigil was done really well.
2nd Dark Sun is a great example of Evil societies. I prefer the first box set for the most part. The second box set was influenced by the setting novels, and the writer thought it was a good idea to kill off nearly every major villain from the original set.
I can't remember the name of the adventure/book/campaign, but there was an interesting supplement released towards the end of 2nd ed about Mind Flayers finally taking over the world. I also don't know if it was the module itself, or my highly skilled DM that really brought the concept to life. As a player, a very credible and realistic society where the vast majority of people were slaves destined to be used up and eaten was presented. It also went into great detail about the ecology and daily life of my second favorite brain-eaters (zombies being the first).
Great! Now I want to dig out all my old AD&D stuff. Then again, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
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The three "Monstrous Arcana" sourcebooks (I Tyrant, Sea Devils, and The Illithiad) along with the supporting modules for each had excellent information on each of those races...
The Menzoberranzan boxed set was a great source for how the drow lived (as was the FR supplement Drow of the Underdark)...
Also among the FR line was Drizzt's Guide to the Underdark, and Giantcraft...
Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head anyway...
*EDIT*
Oh, and you can't forget about the Al-Qadim/Planescape crossover: Secrets of the Lamp which detailed The City of Brass...
-That One Digitalelf Fellow-
You should keep an eye out for the American Eagles sale - we've recently unearthed some old school gaming material (including Ravenloft and other AD&D titles). You might find items to replace old collections, or fill the empty spots you've got. We'll keep updating the inventory on the last Friday for the next few months. :)
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You should keep an eye out for the American Eagles sale - we've recently unearthed some old school gaming material (including Ravenloft and other AD&D titles). You might find items to replace old collections, or fill the empty spots you've got. We'll keep updating the inventory on the last Friday for the next few months. :)
Thanks, Liz! I'm already watching those sales with great interest. While none of the Ravenloft material caught my eye, I'm certainly hoping to buy up plenty of stock of Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Al-Qadim, and Dark Sun materials.
Fingers crossed for a reasonably-priced copy of Night Below!
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Planescape is awesome. I highly recommend it. Our group played three campaigns set there in the past couple of years; two were AD&D 2nd ed and the most recent was via Pathfinder. While not an evil society, the way so many different beings, both physically and philosophically speaking, live and interact in Sigil was done really well.
2nd Dark Sun is a great example of Evil societies. I prefer the first box set for the most part. The second box set was influenced by the setting novels, and the writer thought it was a good idea to kill off nearly every major villain from the original set.
I can't remember the name of the adventure/book/campaign, but there was an interesting supplement released towards the end of 2nd ed about Mind Flayers finally taking over the world. I also don't know if it was the module itself, or my highly skilled DM that really brought the concept to life. As a player, a very credible and realistic society where the vast majority of people were slaves destined to be used up and eaten was presented. It also went into great detail about the ecology and daily life of my second favorite brain-eaters (zombies being the first).
Great! Now I want to dig out all my old AD&D stuff. Then again, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Mad love for Dark Sun - easily one of my favorite campaign settings. The 2nd Edition really suffered in quality, especially since the world's back story was so convoluted and underwhelming, but those first few boxed sets were wonderfully realized.
Any particular suggestions for Planescape? I know that the products of that line are supposed to vary widely in quality, so I'd love to know what the top tier items were.
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The three "Monstrous Arcana" sourcebooks (I Tyrant, Sea Devils, and The Illithiad) along with the supporting modules for each had excellent information on each of those races...
The Menzoberranzan boxed set was a great source for how the drow lived (as was the FR supplement Drow of the Underdark)...
Also among the FR line was Drizzt's Guide to the Underdark, and Giantcraft...
Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head anyway...
*EDIT*
Oh, and you can't forget about the Al-Qadim/Planescape crossover: Secrets of the Lamp which detailed The City of Brass...
-That One Digitalelf Fellow-
Awesome. Thanks for these suggestions. Since I'm looking to lift ideas for my Serpent's Skull game in hopes of making...
...Living cities, I'm not sure that AD&D Drow and Pathfinder Drow are necessarily compatible, I imagine the Guide to the Underdark will prove useful, and I never realized that Secrets of the Lamp was designed as a Planescape crossover. Will definitely need to keep an eye out for that.
Any particular suggestions for Planescape? I know that the products of that line are supposed to vary widely in quality, so I'd love to know what the top tier items were.
IMO the boxed sets were the best. Especially Hellbound, with the details about the fiends. Some of the adventures just didn't seem to quite match up to the quality of the setting material. Not that they were bad (though you'll probably hear a lot of heated opinions about Faction War's effect on the setting, not to mention Die Vecna, Die!...), but they lacked the same "wow, that's cool" factor that the actual setting books had for me.
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I never realized that Secrets of the Lamp was designed as a Planescape crossover. Will definitely need to keep an eye out for that.
Not sure it was designed to be a cross-over, but it is all about genies (and their homes upon the various Elemental Planes, and it describes The City of Brass in some detail (with maps)...
As for you looking for something to tie in with Serpent's Skull, you might want to check out the 1e module "Dwellers of the Forbidden City" in which the Yuan-ti play an important role...
And I agree with Paul Ryan above, Planescape was one of my favorite settings. I think Planescape and Al-Qadim were among the best settings TSR put out...
Any particular suggestions for Planescape? I know that the products of that line are supposed to vary widely in quality, so I'd love to know what the top tier items were.
The DM that ran the campaigns used the main boxed set, and would occasionally dip into supplements for back ground and fluff. I would start there and grab up whatever you need later on, depending on the course of your campaign. Pretty much all the early stuff was great. I think a lot of the later stuff started to suffer from a little power-creep, and lower quality due to so much being cranked out so fast. Our group used to have a website dedicated to our Planescape campaign, but we took it down after the last game some months ago. If you're interested, I can see if my friend the computer wiz can put it back up.
Top part was quoted. I should really pay attention to the ins and outs of how to work the boards.
Planescape? Well, Lost Gods is stunning (the main story anyway), Harbinger house is THE Sigil adventure, Faction war is a very good offering.
Any particular suggestions for Planescape? I know that the products of that line are supposed to vary widely in quality, so I'd love to know what the top tier items were.
Planescape boxset obviously
All planescape monster appendix (first two especially)
Planewalker's handbook is a perfect summary and compilation of spells, non-weapon proficiencies and kits published in other guides and boxsets.
These are the ones I recommend the most.
If you are a sucker for fluff:
Factol's manifesto has lots of good art and insights on factions. All other boxsets (planes of Law, planes of chaos and planes of conflict) and Uncaged are quite nice. I'm forgetting On Hallowed Grounds too.
If you have to pick one, get the guide to the astral before the guide to ethereal.
I've never got primer to the outlands, but had mixed reviews of it.
There are a few good adventures, and some stand halfway between an adventure and a specific campaign background (Blood Wars and Tales from the Spiral Staircase among others)
'findel
Planescape : Torment.
It's a video game, but it's a perfect way to get the feeling of the setting. Seriously, play this game. It's not a game, it's a work of art, an interactive novel wrapped in a game format.
You can get it for cheap on GOG.com
You might be interested in the old module CM6,"Where Chaos Reigns," which features a technologically advanced, time-traveling race of bad guys called the Oards. Little-known I think in the United States, perhaps had a bigger release in the UK.
Dragon Mountain presents a Kobold Society writ large. Something like 7 separate tribes inhabit a Dwarfish Fortress they conquered and are in turn ruled over by a Dragon. The Kobolds fight among themselves a great deal but fundamentally encompass a working society.
Not really a setting book, it was actually meant to be an adventure for reasonably high level players. Well done but highlights the differences between the modern versions of the game and the older versions in that I feel its not even convertible to the modern versions of the game and I tend to feel most things can be converted.