One of my favorite RPG settings is Fading Suns. I routinely forget about it for a year or so here and there, but I keep coming back to it. One of the things I admire about it is the way the just about every story you can think of can be told with the setting. High fantasy world-saving stories, alien prophecies, zombie apocalypses, mythic quests, gritty and dirty politics... It's got it all.
But what does having that much room buy us? And alternately, what is the risk in breadth? And can we avoid some of those risks?
A game with a narrow focus is likely to be able to have better key mechanics. I slightly yearn to play Trail of Cthulhu for a good investigation game (with rules designed for investigation games!). This type of game, however, is probably no good for anything other than they're designed for though, whereas Fading Suns can handle a lot.
With the Rule of Law, one of the things that I envision is the Chinese Rome notion, where all roads lead to the Empire. The Empire is a melting pot of cultures, but is still threatened by barbaric hoards and the diabolical (maybe even literally devil-bound) Elven Kingdom. I like the freedom to tell and retell the great myths and stories of human history. I worry that the game/setting might lack focus, however. In a game with everything, what's to stop the players from rolling up a paladin, infernal warlock, shaman, and inquisitor? How do you fit characters from the Arabian, Chinese, Incan, and Iroquois cultures in the game together?
That's why I'm interested in building a small number of possible regions for a focus, and using alignment for the party.
What is a party alignment? Well, it basically means that the party is broadly allied with law or chaos, and their patrons might differ based on these choices. Law always has the three pillars of the Empire as its choices: Imperium, Church, and Guild. Chaos, however, has regional powers. The Elven Kingdom, The Elven Assassin clans, Unconquered Vau, the Isles of Abandon, The Barbarian Plains... Each of these is a chaos power on the boarders of the Empire. And each influences what the party should be.
By choosing one of these regions and a party alignment, we also arrive at a relatively small subset of game elements to choose from. A Law game would focus on agents of the Empire, so Clerics, Wizards, and Cavaliers might be emphasized along with the stable races of the Empire like Dwarves and Hobgoblins. A Chaos party in the Barbarian Plains might have more High Ogres, Gnomes, and Half-breeds as races as well as Shamans, Berserkers, and Sorcerers.
This initial choice of alignment with the Empire (law) or a regional power (chaos), I hope, will give the party something to work with. It also eliminates some kitchen-sinkism that broad worlds like Forgotten Realms and such have: roles like outlander or infiltrator might be allowed, but there will be fewer holy knights travelling with pagan priests and charlatans.
I think that party alignment plus regional focus also gives the right level of granularity for some of the early choices. It would force the players to decide on some aspects of the game before their own characters. Would a law campaign be one of heroes fighting the remnants of the old gods? Or would they be oppressive tyrants? Or crusaders bringing civilization? Would a chaos game be one of terror and destruction, or would the party be freedom fighters? The regional focus would determine whether the game is dealing with Elven ninjas, pirates, or barbarian tribes. Once the players know they'll be bringinging the light of order to the pirate isles (for example), the party just might fit together much more.
But what does having that much room buy us? And alternately, what is the risk in breadth? And can we avoid some of those risks?
A game with a narrow focus is likely to be able to have better key mechanics. I slightly yearn to play Trail of Cthulhu for a good investigation game (with rules designed for investigation games!). This type of game, however, is probably no good for anything other than they're designed for though, whereas Fading Suns can handle a lot.
With the Rule of Law, one of the things that I envision is the Chinese Rome notion, where all roads lead to the Empire. The Empire is a melting pot of cultures, but is still threatened by barbaric hoards and the diabolical (maybe even literally devil-bound) Elven Kingdom. I like the freedom to tell and retell the great myths and stories of human history. I worry that the game/setting might lack focus, however. In a game with everything, what's to stop the players from rolling up a paladin, infernal warlock, shaman, and inquisitor? How do you fit characters from the Arabian, Chinese, Incan, and Iroquois cultures in the game together?
That's why I'm interested in building a small number of possible regions for a focus, and using alignment for the party.
What is a party alignment? Well, it basically means that the party is broadly allied with law or chaos, and their patrons might differ based on these choices. Law always has the three pillars of the Empire as its choices: Imperium, Church, and Guild. Chaos, however, has regional powers. The Elven Kingdom, The Elven Assassin clans, Unconquered Vau, the Isles of Abandon, The Barbarian Plains... Each of these is a chaos power on the boarders of the Empire. And each influences what the party should be.
By choosing one of these regions and a party alignment, we also arrive at a relatively small subset of game elements to choose from. A Law game would focus on agents of the Empire, so Clerics, Wizards, and Cavaliers might be emphasized along with the stable races of the Empire like Dwarves and Hobgoblins. A Chaos party in the Barbarian Plains might have more High Ogres, Gnomes, and Half-breeds as races as well as Shamans, Berserkers, and Sorcerers.
This initial choice of alignment with the Empire (law) or a regional power (chaos), I hope, will give the party something to work with. It also eliminates some kitchen-sinkism that broad worlds like Forgotten Realms and such have: roles like outlander or infiltrator might be allowed, but there will be fewer holy knights travelling with pagan priests and charlatans.
I think that party alignment plus regional focus also gives the right level of granularity for some of the early choices. It would force the players to decide on some aspects of the game before their own characters. Would a law campaign be one of heroes fighting the remnants of the old gods? Or would they be oppressive tyrants? Or crusaders bringing civilization? Would a chaos game be one of terror and destruction, or would the party be freedom fighters? The regional focus would determine whether the game is dealing with Elven ninjas, pirates, or barbarian tribes. Once the players know they'll be bringinging the light of order to the pirate isles (for example), the party just might fit together much more.
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