I've recently been really excited at the prospect of starting up a new campaign since the end of my irregular Dolmenwood campaign. Simultaneously I've also been playing through the classic installments of Baldur's Gate and getting really into the AD&D rendition of the forgotten realms. Throw Campaign 26 into the mix (whose deadline I've already blown past due to only finding out about it last week) and my decision to start a new classic fantasy game this year seems like a clear choice. A personal renewed interest and recent studies of medieval history is just an added bonus.
Another goal of the campaign will be to play through some of the adventures i've picked up recently, chiefly the necrotic gnome adventure anthologies as well as the adventures found inside the vacant ritual assembly zines. These were some of the first gaming supplements I ever got my hands on yet I've never had the chance to play through them. I've pondered running some sort of mega-dungeon campaign yet I'm thinking it might be a bit too much to throw people who are very new to the OSR playstyle into something so daunting.
I'm hoping to have the campaign running by the start of march. We'll see wether I can stick to that promise or if the old end-boss of scheduling conflicts and finding somewhere to play rears its twin heads again. I suppose the only way of doing is by first trying.
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| A battle of brother against brother in a war for the throne |
The System
I shall once again look to the excellent Old School Essentials provide the mechanical structure for the campaign, albeit with several caveats.
For one I will be using my own version of the split ancestry and class system, giving some more interesting abilities to both demi-humans and humans alike. Choice of ancestry and class will initially be limited: dwarves, elves, halflings and humans are the available ancestries and clerics, fighters, magicians, and thieves are the only initial class choices. The idea is to make other more "advanced" ancestries and classes available as the campaign progresses and the players encounter them in-game.
Many of the changes to the base version of B/X made in the Dolmenwood game system will also be ported into the campaign. I particularly like the d6 skill- and ability check system as well as the many procedures for camping, foraging, and smoking pipe-leaf for instance. A lot of the changes to classes will also be brought along; thief customisable skills, fighter combat feats, cleric holy orders, and magician magic detection.
Finally some minor additions like blackpowder weapons and a slew of new arcane spells will also be included. All-in-all I hope even the fairly simple mechanical basis of B/X will prove crunchy enough (at least initially) to my 5e-familiar players.
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| A few urban islands in a sea of rural sprawl |
The Setting
I plan on setting the campaign in what i shall call "Schrödingers campaign setting", in which most things will not be developed until they become relevant as the come up in the campaign. It can be assumed that most things follow the conventions of the standard "euro-fantasy" tropes. The only initial setting-information will be the campaign hex-map as well as the following very rote "campaign truths" (see below). This is all very inspired by this classic Hill Cantons post.
The great kingdom is in disrepair with several claimants vying for the throne and the rule of law at an all-time low. The campaign is not initially set in the heart of these dynastic disputes but the ongoing conflicts create refugees and plot hooks, and attract mercenaries (new PCs and hirelings). In keeping with gaming tradition the kingdom itself is a pastiche of the medieval holy roman empire.
High level characters are rare and often found at the fringes of society or leading it themselves. This fact makes the PCs special and may serve to give their actions more weight within the setting. There are no level 20 captains of the guard to forcibly keep the party in line, but there might be one or more local mid-level wizards which are open to taking on apprentices.
Demi-humans are rare but not unheard of as they occasionally live alongside humans (a'la WFRP) although most prefer to keep to themselves in their own secluded enclaves. Humanity outnumbers all demi-humans put together 10-to-1 and most folk—human or demi-human—are superstitious of anyone significantly different to themselves.
Monsters are encroaching on settled lands, threatening ordinary folk and claiming old ruins as their own strongholds. Since the kinghts and soldiers who would normally take care of such creatures are busy with killing each other it falls to the humble adventurer pick up both the proverbial and literal torch.