"YES, we killed the BBEG, took all of his tresure, and somehow all of us are still alive, okay now lets go back to town and stay in bed for a month to recover all of our hit points." "But wait Bob what about that lycanthropy you contracted?" "Ehh, we'll figure something out."
Now with that said, just curious guys have any of you had the guts to play a campaign in say 100AC or anywhere in that time frame for that matter.
Also note, contrary to my semi-sarcastic scenario above, I do mean this in both an in game and out of game context.
No were creatures in Krynn.
LOL I know man, I was just using lycanthropy to flavor my point, if it makes you feel better change it to mummy rot or something.
Now with that said, just curious guys have any of you had the guts to play a campaign in say 100AC or anywhere in that time frame for that matter.
A friend of mine ran a Cataclysm-era game years ago. He gave it such a dark portrayal that it has deeply affected how I see campaigns set in that time frame. They should be very dark and very brutal.
Our group started out about 6 months prior to the Cataclysm. We took a bit of background from The Silken Threads, by Weis and Hickman.
Just before the fiery mountain struck, one John Dragonhelm (played by my best friend, Kenneth) was cursed with immortality. I say cursed because, during the night of the Cataclysm, John and his 9-month pregnant wife were both trapped under a boulder. John spent the rest of the night gazing into her lifeless eyes. John lived centuries past his wife and unborn child, and many of his friends and family (including my character, his brother Paladian Dragonhelm).
Our characters discovered the worthlessness of gold first hand. The family keep had sunk to the bottom of Newsea, one lone spire jutting out from the water's surface just off the eastern shore. We saw hunger first-hand. Our dwarven bard (2e variety), a healer who could have been a cleric had things gone differently, went a little nuts during the Dwarfgate Wars when diseased bodies were being catapulted into Garnet. He and his loyal follower, my gully dwarf named Bugr, both died that day.
We saw armies march to their doom, though given hope from promises that could not be kept. We saw Morgion's handiwork firsthand with the Blood Riders and their leader, Choronozon (our version of the Kurgan). Yes, we took a lot of influence from Highlander and the Beastmaster in this game. We saw a Black Robe who foresaw his death, and possessed my Kagonesti beastmaster ranger, leaving him tainted for life.
Quite simply, it was the finest campaign I ever had the pleasure to play in. For a while, it ruined me as a DM as I tried to recapture the epic feel of that game. Little did I realize at the time that magic like that can't be manufactured. It either happens or it doesn't. It would be a while later before I got back into my old groove as a DM.
So long story short, Cataclysm era games can be lots of fun. Keep it dark, keep it brutal, and put the characters through hell.
Just a thought.
... what the hell must of adventuring been like between 0AC and 351AC.
Nasty, brutish, and short.
...what the hell must of adventuring been like between 0AC and 351AC.
QUOTE]
Boring.
Boring.
I strongly disagree. I've played in a game that spanned from six months prior to the Cataclysm to 110 years after the Cataclysm (long-lived characters and time jumps), and we had a blast. Best campaign I've ever played in.
Wolffenjugend has the right idea. Cataclysm/Time of Darkness campaigns are very nasty, and very brutish. The world has been drastically altered. Disease runs rampant, people are starving, and the economy is shattered, as the gold standard makes way for steel.
And what of the gods? They're gone, but mortals don't all know that. Some look for the old gods, while others seek new gods. Some have given up on gods altogether and made their own way.
The strife generated from all of this is cause enough for many adventures. Boring? Not by a long shot.