Campaign idea..

[gridlore]

While reading the latest Dragon (to give an idea of how old a gaming-geek I am, I still call it The Dragon, a name they haven't used in almost 20 years) something gave me an idea for a D&D3e campaign.

The basic idea is swashbuckling adventure with Renissance level technology. Some concepts that popped into my head:

- Set either in archipeglio or in a desert with scattered settlements, sea travel or flying ships as appropriate.

- While handguns and muskets are avalible, nobody uses cannons becuase of the danger a single fireball could do to your ship.

- The history involves a war between the Dwarfs and the Elves. This reached apocolyptic levels, and the dwarfs mostly left the region, and the elves are rare. I was thinking of using either the Mediterranian or Carribean as the setting. If I use the desert idea, the Persian Gulf.

- Magic is fairly rare in daily life. Wizards are mistruted, and rare. Sorcerors tend to keep tjheir abilities to themselves except among close friends. Magic would be mysterious and deadly.

- Fighters would be more the fencer type rather than the armored knight. I'd encourage tactical thinking over "I attack the monster. Again."

- Haven't given much thought to religion, but I'd probably build a connected pantheon.

- Monsters. I want to get away from the steriotypical goblinoid hordes. Lizardmen, this is your day! If I go with the Carribean idea, dinosaurs will be found in the jungles of Columbia. The most dangerous enemy, as isomeme taught me, is a group of humans just like the PCs.

- Campaign push. Since I love the Illuminati, having the characters caught up in the search for lost artifacts of the vanished Elvish and Dwarf empires. Lost cities, sunken ships, undead legions, rival groups, intrigue, captured princesses, and a conveinent chandellier in every room.

So, what do y'all think? And do the local gamers find this to be interesting enough to play in? Which setting sounds more interesting, the desert or the Caribean islands?

Comments

[twfarlan.livejournal.com]

Well heck, man, I wish I lived close enough to get in on a game like that.

[johno.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a seriously cool game.

[soldiergrrrl.livejournal.com]

*I* wanna play. Can't you move down to So Cal, already??? :::ducking and running:::

[jemstone.livejournal.com]

I ran a very similar campaign for about five years, until I just got burned out on running D&D. It started as a 2E game and very slowly creeped into 3E. Never used Sorcerers, because I already had a spontaneous cast, mana-based system for Wizards, which I can share with you if you'd like.

My players loved the game, because of the various fiddly bits that were just different enough from normal style game play to keep them coming back. Swashbuckling earned XP, for instance. :)

Good luck!

-JEM

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

Sounds cool. Pirate towns, imperial fleet sorts in spiffy uniforms, sea monsters, and so on. It might be interesting to see where players would start. As crew on a ship? Pirate? Private? Navy?

And can I play Horatio Hornblower as played by Ioan Gruffud? (http://www003.upp.so-net.ne.jp/gyokusekikonko/horatio.jpg)

[psychoticdreams.livejournal.com]

Damn this sounds like a very interesting idea. If only I didn't live across the country in Albany. I'd say the Caribean islands one sounds more interesting way of going about it.

[lysana.livejournal.com]

I think the Mediterranean or Caribbean sounds better. Flying ships in the desert are cool, but if magic is rare and distrusted, how do they fly without third wave technology?

And I like the sound of the game. Gee, yet another place to wear my black suede buccaneer boots. :)