I'm about 20% through my current campaign, which is a D100 Fallout campaign. Its going great and I love it, I'm really impressed with how well the system works, at least with the numerous changes I've made. You really should check it out sometime Here. Its really a blast and a good step back from Pathfinder. Anyway, that's just to stroke my ego, you can favorite it too if you really want to make me feel good.
Anyway, that's not what this post is about. I have finished programming the entire campaign into map tools(I pretty much run exclusively online), and am contemplating what to do with my next campaign. I have had several ideas and was looking for peoples thoughts and feelings. I won't be running it for quite some time (probably several months to a year while I run this campaign) but I like to plan ahead and get everything going, and it takes some time to program a game into map tools, so I can at least get that started. So here are my current thoughts.
1) An Elder Scrolls PF game. There is a lot to choose from for this game. I'm not really sure what event I would focus around. Certainly not anything from Morrowind or later, but perhaps a Daggerfall centered game as most players haven't ever played it, and even fewer have made significant headway into the storyline. Of course I'd be open to other event periods, but my Tamriel lore isn't as good as it was when I was younger, and am not sure which historic event I'd like to focus on. Any thoughts/suggestions? Would you enjoy a game like that?
2) For any who remember, the Quest For Glory series, I've always wanted to run an RP off of that. I actually ran a solo campaign for a buddy and we made it all the way through the 2nd game by the end of Summer. Unfortunately it never got picked back up and that person now lives very far from me, so its not feasible to try and make progress in a summer run. Its a great series though, and has a lot of neat RP potential. If you know the series what do you think? Is its something you'd consider?
3) Way Of The Wicked. I've seriously considered running this, but the last AP I ran(Carrion Crown) I got burnt out about half way through. I like to generally have a basis I'm going off of, but not a strict plot/storyline. For instance, my Fallout game is based on Van Buren, the cancelled Fallout 3 by black isle(before Bethesda bought it). It gives a nice basis but lets me explore the game more creatively I feel, and railroad my players less. So I tend to lean away from AP's. Besides, I run PFS, which I have no say in, why run an AP that does the same thing. How do people feel about this?
4) My sweet steampunk Homebrew that I made Domcur. I am fully convinced this is the best homebrew I've ever done, and if I did it up it'd be a publishable setting. Unfortunately when I started it I only recruited four players. Two players dropped in the same week due to different reasons, and I lost heart for it. I also didn't know about The Tangled Web (best recruiting sight ever!) Or I likely would have filled in my player base. Its highly customized, mid tech, mid magic (I weaken magic significantly, though the players still felt the casters did fine. What do people feel about this Steampunk PF games?
5) My most successful campaign ever was probably my Dark Sun game. For those who don't know, Dark Sun is a post apocalyptic very high magic/psionic world with low loot, stronger races and classes. I put an extreme amount of work into converting this too PF (from 2e with some help of some 3e conversion from Athas.org), so it would be really easy for me to run another Dark Sun game if I so desired. I effectively have the world craft done. How do people feel about this setting? Are you interested in it?
6) Any other thoughts/suggestions or what you'd like to see. Doesn't even have to be PF necessarily.
Just trying to bounce some ideas around and come up with my next direction for my next game. I have time to plot storylines and setting craft as necessary, just not 100% sure which direction I want to take it. Any thoughts/advice would be cool. Thanks.
>>An Elder Scrolls PF game.
i have actually played in one, its certainly interesting i guess. but its really for the people who like the mythos, so make sure your players are interested in it.
I nearly forgot:
7) An Urban Thieves guild campaign. Basically, everyone works for the thieves guild, but they may have...other loyalties as well. Several factions have plants in the guild, but all the players work together, and maybe sometimes against each other. Its based loosely on one of my most successful campaigns that I ran back in 2e, but I'm a much better GM than I was back then. I really like this idea because it focuses a lot on archetypes/PRC's that are very flavorful and cool, but near worthless in a normal campaign (Like master spy, amongst about a dozen others) and it would be cool to see those get used. The bad is PF is so combat oriented, I'm not sure PF is the right system to really run this setting, and of course the wizard/sorcerer(or better trickster) can probably dominate this game by mid levels. But still, that is another campaign I have been contemplating.
I vote Dark Sun, but I'm in love with the Dark Sun setting (to the point of working on my own conversion for it after finishing a campaign of it). Otherwise, I'd vote steampunk.
Tiehunter: Ya, my Darksun game was awesome, probably one of my best games ever, if not my best. You can check it out if you want. I have tons of rules write up that aren't posted I can send to you if your interested. I spent several dozens of hours on conversions, and you may find something useful in all my junk.
VRMH: Thank you. I love quest for glory and it really does well as pen and paper too, at least on the solo I ran it was great. You picked choices that are close to my heart.
Of the options listed, the QfG game would probably be my vote.
In the write-in category, Eberron.
Thanks Zhayne! Didn't expect QFG to be in the front!! My steampunk game has a lot of Eberron feel, but is better:) Well, maybe not, but I like to think so.
Personally I would love the forgotten realms before 4th edition screwed it up. It's almost as familiar as home... Other than that, elder scrolls would be a top pick for sure. I already know the leader of the thieves guild, assassin guild, Mage college, companions lodge, and bard college in skyrim. We go way back.
Ya, I loved FR, but I thought it started going downhill before 4E myself. The last year or so of 3.5 really killed it for me.
I probably wouldn't run in one of the last three games, cause people have knowledge/expectations (some probably more than myself). I was considering possibly running in Daggerfall. The time of Nevervaine the 1st seems like it may be cool, but it would be odd as there are no Dark Elves yet, and bringing in races outside of Dark Elves(or Chimer before the change I think) and Dwarves doesn't really make sense, so races would be pretty limited.
I can't think of what other time period event would be cool to run. I used to know the lore pretty well, but it seems I forgot a lot.
Off-topic, I know, but ...
Who cares what happened when with FR? If you think everything went downhill after FR year 1932*, then start your game in 1931 and ignore everything that happened after that. Just because it's 'canonical' doesn't require you to use it.
*Year chosen at random. I have no idea how the FR calendar works.
I would go with 5, since it's the most ancient style setting of the options listed. I'm not a fan of early modern settings at all.
Forgotten Realms -3830 was the starting point from which I made my Ancient Lands settings. It's the point at which the elves of the High Forest thought the early Netherese settlers the first basics of magic. But it's actually so far removed from almost everything most people know about the setting that I simply stripped the label off and went wild with my own ideas.
I've always been a big fan of Darksun. And would love to get a copy of your houserules. (E-mail address is my user name with @aol.com)
A second choice would be the steampunk game.
Oh, man! Hard Fun... err, Dark Sun is one of my favorite settings! I love the brutal, tyrannical, post-apocalyptic, magic-as-radiation world that is Athas. Of course that has my vote.
Also, your steampunk world sounds really cool! I can certainly agree, that it is brilliant homebrew. That gets a secondary vote.
Off-topic, I too miss the Realms pre-4th. Ever since the last bits of 3.5, I've had no incentive to continue with the canon, which sucks because I used to follow the canon quite obsessively (I knew about the Realms before actually playing D&D) I haven't stuck to Realms canon for 5 years. My Realms group's made its own divergent timeline, in which it's 1392 and is having a Renaissance of sorts.
Zhayne - I know, its something wrong with me. Once a setting goes downhill for me its over and I can't play it anymore. I totally understand your point, I just got issues with it.
Yora - thanks for the input. An ancient forgotten realms game sounds interesting.
Shadowcat - email sent!
Hey Necrotic. Must have missed your post. Dark Sun was great fun, and its a great setting. Thanks for the nice complements on my steampunk.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has had issues with the realms!
Worldbuilder wrote: Zhayne - I know, its something wrong with me. Once a setting goes downhill for me its over and I can't play it anymore. I totally understand your point, I just got issues with it. Fair enough. I didn't really consider the 4e changes to be 'downhill', just 'different' and I didn't mind them ... if I did, I would have just ignored them. Of course, last time I ran FR, I killed off Drizzt, Elminster and a few other big names, and basically collapsed the Underdark on itself because I think drow are pretty lame ... and did a Star Wars game where Anakin Skywalker died before he became Vader.
Canon doesn't mean much to me. ;)
For something really different, there's Rite Publishing's Kaidan setting of Japanese horror (PFRPG) with a trilogy of modules (5-7) of a party of western adventurers sailing by ship to a far east island nation. The Gift, Curse of the Golden Spear: Part 1 is the first module of the trilogy.
Also several other Kaidan products, including 2 one-shot modules and a mapped bath house location can fit into and around The Curse of the Golden Spear for more challenges. The Tolling of Tears is a 3rd level one-shot, that could be beefed up to face a 4th level party upon arrival to the dreaded isles. Haiku of Horror: Autumn Moon Bath House would work well as the inn the PCs stay at the end of the first adventure with a CR 6 ghost and some haunts for fun. Finally, Up from Darkness one-shot adventure for 7th level party works great to run the NPC baddies the PCs must face in the third module of the trilogy, Dark Path.
It's a horrific and esoteric setting, unlike anything you or your players have experienced before...
I just started a Google+ Community for fans of the Kaidan setting of Japanese horror so you can learn a lot more!
Hmm, I'll check it out. Thanks.
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