High Concept Setting

This is mostly for my players but you can read along too. :) It's some high concept statements about a setting for a new campaign.

The last Great War between the humans and the elves ended 117 years ago. The humans lost. The elves made several conditions in the surrender.

• The elves keep a presence in human lands. Every noble court has an elf advisor and there are elven settlements scattered throughout.
• The human High Throne was destroyed, along with the High King. It was the High King who united the human kings into a single warmongering army against the elves, say the elves.
• Trade between elves and humans must continue for the betterment of the humans.
• The most promising humans are accepted by elves for training in elven lore and ways, in the hope that elven values will permeate throughout humankind.

Dwarves were neutral during the war, selling metals, weapons, and armour to both sides. The dwarven lands are not united under a single monarch leaving each clan or king to trade as they wish.

Human monarchs reign in an inherited dynasty for as long as the gods allow. There are times in history when the gods send a Qerub to announce the end of one dynasty and the selection of the new one. The astrologers have announced that the next Qerub will come at the next solar eclipse, in seven moons time.

The current dynasty has granted more titles than any dynasty before. Intended to be positions of responsibility, paid for by the kings, they have turned into competitive squabbles for land. A number of vassal king arrangements have been established as the hierarchy of nobility has become more complex than ever. Minor nobles seek to strengthen their lands, towns, and villages, in preparation for eventual conflict.

Orcs continue to raid the lands of humans, elves, and dwarves, as they have done for centuries. They have never shown signs of uniting under a single ruler.

Most of the lands of humans, dwarves, and elves, are free from the worst monsters. However, the wild lands are still wild. Only the brave or foolish travel them alone. But the rumours are that the wilderness still has lost treasures in old battlefields, mines, and forgotten places. Some of these treasures are the ancient relics of power that bards still sing about.

Burn the Wheel

I've been listening to a few D&D podcasts of late and now I want to play fantasy games. There's something that still appeals to me about both the genre and the F20 rules style. Attributes, skills, bonuses, magsic items, pages and pages of spells, classic monsters, and more. Throw it all in!

But rather than throw down another stack of cash for D&D 5e (as beautiful as they are!), I looked at my shelf to see what's already there. Freeport Fate has a lot of D&D about it, complete with stats and monsters. S7S looks good too, but not quite the same. I even have Dragon Age, pending play. And then there's Burning Wheel.

(I'm going with this one, in case you've not noticed).

I know it's Burning Wheel Revised and not the shiny new one, but it's still a great game and I don't think I've gotten my value out of it yet. So it's off to Burning Wheel for me. I have a few ideas for the world, but let's see what the players come up with for characters.

Dungeon Designs

I've taken time off from blogging while I did some study in the last six months. Let me know if you missed me.

What I've still enjoyed, though, is some gaming. In amongst it I bought a copy of Skyrim in the 2nd-hand bin. It's my little treat after submitting assignments or finishing a subject.

Although there's a lot I could say about it, the thing that really has my attention are the designs of buildings, towns, and dungeons. Straight lines are few and far between. Most dungeons are built into caves and straight walls are rare. Some caves include a specific place for a crypt, or an eating hall, or some other living space. Those kinds of spaces usually include intentional lines; mostly straight, some curved. The distinction between the natural formation and the artificial formation makes a difference. It announces the intent of the space. Bandits may have stumbled onto a cave to use for their hideout, but they also want some comforts.

I could say similar things about the towns and buildings as well. An entire building of straight line rooms - as you might see on a gridded map - only happens for the very rich or powerful. A lord or jarl could have one. A bandit probably won't.

All of this has been very instructive for me. A dungeon crawl (still do them, they're fun!) isn't going to be in a maze system with an art deco layout. It's more likely to be a natural cavern, or minor tunnels, with amendments by the dungeon builder. There might even be natural tunnels that simply narrow to a point. Any dungeon complex that is made up of entirely artificial lines is going to be for a powerful occupant and their hoard of gold.