What Campaign Setting for your Module?

[manikus]

Originally Posted by Uatu (Optimus Prime... sort of ruins the fantasy atmosphere, I think )

Yup. That's why I would use (if I were going to add sci-fi elements) old-school 1950's B-movie looking robots. That, and women with short skirts and tall hair.

[Arminius]

Originally Posted by resincake Well, It would be about 75% fantasy setting (based on my current written design), but I have the artwrok,SFX & MIDIs, and plan on incorporating:- Prehistoric Modern Future Alien As well as a variety of genre-based realms (ie./ horror, military, etc..), so to answer your question Manikus, yes, there will be technology too, but the items and such (guns, armour, shield generators,etc..) I'm not sure about yet. I already know the 'monsters' & 'NPCs' will be using realm-specific items, but I am unsure if to allow the PCs to use these items too. There are pro's & Con's for both arguments, taht I ahve come up with. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, you know .. ;> ¬-ResinCake¬-

Love this idea ResinCake! If you have any trouble finding any materials you need for it let me know and I'll search through my extensive library of raw materials for game design. I can probably help more in the modern, military, sci-fi, and horror realms than anything else. Oh and I can do ancient civilizations and prehistoric too as I was interested in those areas for many years before I got into the modern and dark futuristic thing.

Count me in for play testing too if you ever need that. I also invite you to my game designer group's Forum where you can advertise your project to gamers interested in alternatives to pure fantasy. Maybe your game could be a way of bringing more non-fantasy gamers into fantasy and more fantasy gamers into non-fantasy.

[Arminius]

Originally Posted by manikus Yup. That's why I would use (if I were going to add sci-fi elements) old-school 1950's B-movie looking robots. That, and women with short skirts and tall hair.

For an excellent seamless integration of fantasy and modern check out Arcanum. The technology in Arcanum is mostly early modern but incorporates some primitive robotics and tesla type stuff.

[Arminius]

Originally Posted by Uatu Prehistoric and future is often included in standard AD&D, of course (cavemen, mammoths, and dinosaurs are standard fare, while various modules like City of the Gods include medieval PCs ooing and ahing at the light sabers and lazer guns that they find (and use!))...

Don't forget the super advanced alien technology in Expedition to Barrier peaks wherein the fantasy party explores the half buried ancient ruins of a crashed alien space ship which is roughly the size of a large castle with many levels to explore.

Edit: Sorry folks, posted before reading the rest of the thread and my comment about Expedition to Barrier Peaks seems a bit redundant as it was already mentioned. I have the module if anyone was wanting any info or pics from it. Also I have the Arcanum game disks and also a very extensive Guide to the world of Arcanum with all the items, places, maps, races, classes, magic, technology, etc, etc. So if anyone needs any info from that I can help there too.

[manikus]

Lately, I've been getting re-interested in cyber-punk and into steam-punk (which I don't know that much about yet).

I want to do a bronze-punk adventure some time. I will involve the gnomes quite heavily, I think. There may be some magic involved with the automatons and machinery, but not in a way to make the automatons golems, etc. I think I will keep the magic system the way it is... I don't know, just doing some brain-storming here. I haven't ruled out tying this in to my Old Empires game, yet. As Mulhondar is supposed to be an ancient land with ancient technology not found elsewhere int he realms, perhaps there is a gnome city...

[Arminius]

I like how in the Guardians of the Flame series one of the college studant AD&D players who is sent by their Professor/DM into an alternate universe as a magic-user decides to forsake magic and use his intelligence for something more constructive that benefits his new world and everyone in it.

Each of them have kind of split personalities since their arrival to this fantasy realm but with a strong enough will one could choose to ignore the new personality and allow the old earthly one to dominate. They pretty much all end up doing that but not to the extent that Lou does.

He was studying engineering in college and so he begins applying his knowledge in this new fantasy realm which has never before seen gun-powder, fire-arms, and all sorts of public construction projects he initiates.

Lou forms a guild for his craft and trains others. He becomes one of the most powerful forces for law and order in the land! [They didn't call em 'peace-makers' in the Ol'West for nothin you know... ]

[manikus]

I'm not familiar with "Guardians of the Flame", but it sounds interesting.

[Uatu]

Phew... So, now that I have officially given up on the contest entry, I have decided to do the Greyhawk thing after all

Things to do:
1. Make an (big) overland map
2. Think of where to place the adventure

I like Greyhawk because the Realms has a tendency to sound corny sometimes (In terms of corniness, I would list Middle Earth, Greyhawk, and then the Realms in that order (least to most) )

Also, Greyhawk leaves a lot more for the DM to decide - which means that I have a lot of freedom! There are also the futuristic elements to play with as well (both in the Barrier Peaks and in the City of the Gods).

[manikus]

I've always felt that what was published about the Realms is a good place to start. There is a lot of info out there about certain places, but not so much about most places (I'm not counting anything 3e and beyond). The other thing I like is that you can just set your adventure before or after the published material...or explain how that Volo guy got it wrong.

I'm excited to see Oerth get some props though. I've had some GH books that I picked up at a used bookstore years ago (b/c they were like a buck or two each ) that I've always thought would be cool backgrounds.

If I work on the Realms, and you work on Oerth and we can convince Steve McDonald to get active again so he can finish his Dragonlance campaign, we will have a pretty good representation of the AD&D 'published' universe.

[Arminius]

Originally Posted by Uatu I like Greyhawk because the Realms has a tendency to sound corny sometimes (In terms of corniness, I would list Middle Earth, Greyhawk, and then the Realms in that order (least to most) ) Also, Greyhawk leaves a lot more for the DM to decide - which means that I have a lot of freedom! There are also the futuristic elements to play with as well (both in the Barrier Peaks and in the City of the Gods).

For my list of fantasy corniness I would place Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age pulp fiction stories from the 1930's at the top for the least corniness of all. All other fantasy I've encountered seems corny by comparison. And that which doesn't seem corny seems like a less than perfect imitation. Guess thats why I've deviated so far from my fantasy roots. Though I have certainly found corniness in non-fantasy places aw well.

Gamma-world for example is extremely corny for a post-apocalyptic world. It's right up there with Eastman & Laird's ninja turtles comics [which I must admit I collected along with Boris the Bear, Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters, Pre-Teen Dirty-Gene Kung Fu Kangaroos, and Geriatric Gangreen Jujuitsu Gerbles... hey, I was a kid raised on MTV, USA Up All Night with Gilbert Godfry who was totally annoying, and Mad Magazines, so I can be king of corniness - lol].

I remember the Dragonlance stories about the brothers Caramon and Raistlin being my favorite stories as for as AD&D fantasy goes.