Hey there all!
I'm feeling out the waters to see if folks would like to play a game set in Menzoberranzan a year or two before Lolth's Silence. The game would be heavily player driven as opposed to DM plot driven. There would be open recruitment with player's being able to create one or more characters as a denizen of the city; Drow nobles, monstrous slaves, foreign iblith, etc.
Focusing on the dire interactions of Menzoberranzan's black hearted citizens players can build and destroy noble houses, ally and/or plot against one another, scheme for power, enact revenge, actively worship Lolth or other powers (worshiping those other powers in secret of course).
In addition to player's gangster-like activities outside complications will be consistently thrown in the mix, the largest of which will eventually be Lolth's Silence and all the dire bull s+*% that comes along with it.
And in addition to that while playing spider kissers and their monstrous slaves players will be allowed to create characters that don't quite fit the status qou as well, good hearted surface dwellers enslaved and desiring freedom, Vhaerun worshiping Drow seeking the downfall of the city, etc.
If this sounds of interest to you guys sound off, if enough want to play I'll go about some proper recruitment and character creation rules.
I think Drow of the Underdark is probably the best book produced out of 3.5 Dungeons and Dragons as far as setting, flavor and balance. I perk up my ears at a game like this, but it will either be awesome or totally terrible depending on players so consider me interested but wary!
I read the 6 books about Lolth's silence and of course Salvatore's story about Drizzt. Greatly enjoyed the Menzoberranzan plots. Would enjoy a game with spider kissers ;).
I suggest the campaign to be a bit higher leveled to allow for the player character being able to push others around. Maybe some daughters of matron mothers, wizards of Sorcere, and mercenaries from Bregan D'aerthe. Sounds fun. Heck someone could even play Artemis Entreri ;). Dibs on Kimmuriel.
Shame that mind flayers are not part of pathfinder :(.
Perhaps it is fun to have the group be of one of the lower houses that is working its way to the top, eventually defeating mighty Bearne for prime position.
I think the span of levels I will allow for character creation to be 1-18, gives a good range for any concepts players want. I have toyed with the idea of running the game as 3.5 instead of pathfinder for the wealth of relevant materiel, although I suppose I could just add it into the pathfinder game as it is kinda compatible.
I read the 6 books about Lolth's silence and of course Salvatore's story about Drizzt. Greatly enjoyed the Menzoberranzan plots. Would enjoy a game with spider kissers ;).
I suggest the campaign to be a bit higher leveled to allow for the player character being able to push others around. Maybe some daughters of matron mothers, wizards of Sorcere, and mercenaries from Bregan D'aerthe. Sounds fun. Heck someone could even play Artemis Entreri ;). Dibs on Kimmuriel.
Shame that mind flayers are not part of pathfinder :(.
Perhaps it is fun to have the group be of one of the lower houses that is working its way to the top, eventually defeating mighty Bearne for prime position.
The game will not necessarily have a tight focus on one particular group at all times, Bregan D'aerthe mercenaries can manipulate surface kingdoms while the same players can have a tight knit group of Drow Nobles in a house fighting for advancement. The slower pace of pbp means I can run multiple story-lines without losing track. Also players can feel free to take the role of cannon characters if they wish, with only a few exceptions.
Great fan of the Realms, Drow and Menzo.
I want to express my interest emphaticly.
I am interested in playing. I will confess though, I have little knowledge of this setting. When you say you want to run this, what sort of level are you potentially looking to start us at? Even with my fondness for making characters I still find myself wanting higher level play. As of now, the only active PC I have over 4th level is my ancient silver dragon.
I would be interested in about 7th-9th level play. Thoughts?
It's whatever level for me. I haven't done an above level 4 start since the Complete Champion released.
Definitely interested! I love, love, love me some Drow and I this sounds like it has a ton of potential. Seems like a perfect game to make use of Ultimate Campaign as well.
Definitely interested! I love, love, love me some Drow and I this sounds like it has a ton of potential. Seems like a perfect game to make use of Ultimate Campaign as well.
Haven't seen you in a bit! How are things? Glad to know you are still around. :)
I don't know much about the setting, but I might be interested in putting something together for it. I probably would not play a drow but rather something a bit more monstrous that has carved a niche out in drow society through cunning lies and creative violence.
I would be interested
I am interested in playing. I will confess though, I have little knowledge of this setting. When you say you want to run this, what sort of level are you potentially looking to start us at? Even with my fondness for making characters I still find myself wanting higher level play. As of now, the only active PC I have over 4th level is my ancient silver dragon.
I would be interested in about 7th-9th level play. Thoughts?
As stated up thread characters up to level 18 would be allowed.
I don't know much about the setting, but I might be interested in putting something together for it. I probably would not play a drow but rather something a bit more monstrous that has carved a niche out in drow society through cunning lies and creative violence.
Yeah, that would work well, we'll get into the specifics of character creation if/when I make a recruitment thread. At the moment I'm just trying to see if there is enough interest here for a decent sized cast.
Interested, for sure. I saw you mentioned slave characters... Would you -have- to be a slave to be non-drow, though?
I only ask that because they occasionally trade with/have peaceful times/ect with Duergar, and I've had a soft spot in my heart for those gray-skinned, bald headed s.o.b.'s for a while now, and this would be a perfect opportunity to play one (possibly).
The concept I have in mind is a monstrous race slave to one of the PCs. I envision the slave being given greater latitude than a slave in a similar position. Think more along the lines of personal bodyguard/messenger/head of security type than a menial servant. Does this sound like it would work? Or do you have any modifications that would make this fit better?
I think Drow in general view all other races as slaves. Except perhaps the dangerous mind flayers and aboleth. Demons of course are viewed differently, as every demon sent by Lolth is a divine messenger.
Driders are also a different story. And of course spiders are holy, so spideresque monsters might have some sort of respect.
Of course there are specific exceptions, but those are very rare. Even with his unique position and strength Artemis was viewed as a slave by most Drow. So I imagine that even if you have a non-drow that is respected in one house, all other drow regard it as a slave.
@Yuugasa I think it would be best if everyone was around the same level so that the players can play together. Or did you have something completely different in mind?
You can be a free non Drow living in Menzo, however Rizzen is right, in addition to having no rights in the city non Drow can be slain, tortured etc. on sight by Drow, the only consequence being if your a slave your masters property is damaged and she may be insulted and require recompense! None the less non Drow can slay Drow as long as they are not seen, Artemis killed a Priestess of Lolth, the highest social rank in the city, and got away with it.
If your a Duergar trader, an Orc mercenary, an angry slave, kill whoever you want just don't get caught! (and hope noone cares enough to use divination)
@ Rizzen- my games in general tend to shy away from the classic 4-5 adventures of equal level travel meeting threats of equal level etc. that make up 90% of pathfinder gaming. This game particularly is more about many tales set in one setting as opposed to travelogues with balanced encounters and treasure. Think less Lord of the Rings style and more Sin City style. (hmm actually Sin City is a really good example) If you have a character of high level most of the threats you meet will be below your level, if really low level most threats will be higher, my expectation will be most players when joining will make an 18th level character, but, being allowed to have multiple characters may make more at a lower level later on for an interesting tale or two they have in mind.
Also I should mention PvP will be allowed with a GM referee(myself or other GM's I recruit if the game gets really big).
In addition expect the potential for character death, Menzoberranzan is one of the most vicious and honestly, despite the tyrannical rules, lawless places in Faerun. Noone is ever safe, revenge killings are the norm, and Lolth is cruel, laughing as her children battle for her attention.
I am really excited about this game. I have a few characters and concepts in mind.
Two for sure, with a possible 3rd.
Question: Aside from using Faerun's gods, will the various powers of Hell/Abyss/Abbadon be the same as PF, for the sake of ease? With of course the various specific named beings from the Realms added in as well??
This is a setting I have little experience with, but have had an interest in since my frequent 3.5 days. Consider me interested!
As soon as you said Sin City, my interest went from "slightly wary" to "completely stoked." That sounds like a genius set-up.
I am really excited about this game. I have a few characters and concepts in mind.
Two for sure, with a possible 3rd.
Question: Aside from using Faerun's gods, will the various powers of Hell/Abyss/Abbadon be the same as PF, for the sake of ease? With of course the various specific named beings from the Realms added in as well??
I set my games in what I call the Omniverse, which is basically all the various DnD settings plus Pathfinder. All gods, planes and worlds are accessible in it, for the most part this means little in most games but it does mean clerics can worship the gods they want etc. Also there are sometimes nearly identical powers and planes out there, doesn't matter much, the Omniverse is a big place...
9 players so far, wanna start an official recruitment thread? Please? Pretty please?
Definitely interested. Dibs on Pharaun or a mindflayer (there are some conversions for PF)!
EDIT: Or maybe Jegred as a bloodrager. There are so many options! And I just noticed the multiple characters thing. Seems pretty genius.
There seems to be enough interest in this kind of game on this board to work on moving forward. One of the things that struck me recently is when reading the 5ed Player's Handbook is how easy it would be to properly referee PvP battles, something that could play a decently large role in the game. Also with limited player material it would be harder to create cheesy, rule interpretation loose killer characters.
At the moment I'm deciding whether to run the game as 3.5, pathfinder or 5th ed.
I think what I will do is wait for all the 5th ed core books to come out to see if I really like it, before making a decision and opening recruitment. That will also give me time to do write ups about setting material, what players can expect from the game, Player code of conduct etc. Also it will give me plenty of time to weight all the aspects of the game and decide the best way of doing each thing.
I apologize, a couple month delay is prolly not what you guys where hoping for, but I am a real big fan of taking my time, thinking things through and doing things right, it makes for a better, more stable and fun game in the long run I have found.
I see. At this point I have to withdraw interest. I do not like PvP in my RPGs.
Good luck to you!
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Honestly, I really, really want to play in this, but only if its Pathfinder, with setting specific material from 3.x allowed
I have seen some of the 5e stuff, and I did not like it, at all.
Also, my main concept relies on being an Infernal bloodline Sorc, which I do not believe exists in 5e.
Finally, I have zero desire to learn a new ruleset, which I'm sure many people share.
Not to mention the utter butchering of Faerun and the Realms thanks to 4e.
All the nope there.
Honestly, I really, really want to play in this, but only if its Pathfinder, with setting specific material from 3.x allowed
I have seen some of the 5e stuff, and I did not like it, at all.
Also, my main concept relies on being an Infernal bloodline Sorc, which I do not believe exists in 5e.
Finally, I have zero desire to learn a new ruleset, which I'm sure many people share.
Not to mention the utter butchering of Faerun and the Realms thanks to 4e.
All the nope there.
I hear you, ultimately though I will go with whatever strikes me as the best idea, even if it is 5ed. If I go 5ed and no one joins when I pop the recruitment thread, oh well, on to my next gaming project.
As a side note the game wouldn't be set in 'modern' Faerun anyway, the game will start a year or two before the Silence of Lolth, which takes place in the 3ed era.
Off to begin reading more relevant material and do some more thinking on the game, perhaps I will see some of you on the recruitment thread when it pops. Looking forward to it, take it easy everyone.
I see. At this point I have to withdraw interest. I do not like PvP in my RPGs.
I'm guessing you didn't read the various Forgotten Realms books featuring heavy drow interplay, such as the War of the Spider Queen series, or the Drizzt background stories?
Drow that aren't pvping aren't really drow. They're just emo elves with an excellent tan. *cough* drizzt *cough*
Add me to the list of people who, while interested in this, are not so much should it come to 5e. (I'd be looking for games over at Wizards.com if that were the case.) I haven't read too much 5e, and while I'm sure it's better than 4e (couldn't be much worse), I share all of Monkeygod's sentiment regarding learning new rulesets, the butchering of Faerun, etc.
If possible I would kill for the opportunity to play Jarlaxle ;)
Interested. I love the Salvatore novels, loved all the Menzo stuff.
I should also mention that my interest depends on it staying within the rule set of PF/3.5 only. 5e actually looks pretty neat, but I'm not going to invest in a new game anytime soon.
Also, playing actual characters from the novels feels obtuse to me. If that is allowed then I'll need to bow out.
So yeah, if its PF/3.5 then I'm interested!
If it is Pathfinder, is Dreamscarred material allowed? I really want to play a Vhaerun worshiping Drow Stalker (possibly going into the Umbral Blade prestige class). His favorite pastime is killing priestesses of Lolth.
Or, another fun character with that material, a Warlord that takes the Dragon Fury prestige class, focusing on the dual-wielding (not of scimitars) that drow find second nature. He would of coarse be a House Weaponmaster.
I already have a name picked out too, Darkadius Duthrax
Would this campaign be PG-13, R, or NC-17?
Interested.
Game system doesn't matter to me...
Personally, I do prefer Pathfinder. Character-wise, it depends on acceptable source material, but I'm thinking something along the lines of a Lovecraftian summoner either in service to a particular family or calling things up mercenary-style, just for a bit of unexpected chaos. XD Weird vs Evil, as it were.