Chaosvii7
2013-02-11, 12:33 AM
So, I've embarked to develop a campaign for my friends at my FLGS that also serves to test their resolve and endurance as individuals AND as a group in a world that is itself been slung into peril. The core foundation is that there is NO Arcane magic on the world anymore(Divine and Primal magic is still running strong, though), AND they are severely limited in language options - Only one instance of a language can occur among the party.
What I mean to say is, to start only ONE player can know Common, only ONE can know this language or that language. The only exception is Druidic, which I've still limited in that the party can have a maximum of TWO druids in one party(Which means they can coordinate with each other, but they still don't operate on the whole with a team).
The idea behind this comes from an episode of Green Lantern I watched, in which the core characters(all Ring-bearing superheroes, obviously) lose the powers of their rings, including their translators, which limits them to common gestures, thinking alike, and rationale.
I think it would be perfectly acceptable and interesting to watch them as they either play to the strengths of their class(As in, a tanky fighter would fight like a tanky fighter, etc.), or develop some crude form of communication until they can learn each others' languages(Read below). This would allow them to roleplay more independently, and the team ethic is driven by what everyone thinks is good for each other.
As for actually learning languages and "learning too many languages", I've made sure to keep those things monitored - They all start with INT 10(seeing as they don't really need it for spellcasting or anything important), only knowing a language of their choice(obviously they'd get to discuss who gets what language), and then they're off. If they get Linguistics, they have to raise their INT modifier to be able to learn a language. Then they have to go into study and actually learn it, which works like using Linguistics to craft a "magic item" - the language they desire to learn. Then from there they can teach it to the members of the party(which will allow them to proliferate the knowledge as they so desire to eventually unlock the ability to comprehend each other).
That's really the huge takeoff from other campaigns - in a world which has been driven into magical chaos, people from all walks of life must assemble to reform the bonds of society, by overcoming great adversities.
The idea behind banning arcane casters(As well as most advanced tech) is that they rely on cultures, they rely on their religions, they rely on their engrained mentalities and habits as they match their characters to help each other along all sorts of adversities.
I was wondering if any of you had input on the nature of the game - The idea is that it's a standard campaign, but they have to actually build a team by coming to a sort of mechanical solidarity and agreement of certain things. I expect them to think rationally, and I'm sure the opportunity to talk to each other will arise where appropriate, but the real challenge in the game is forging the bonds of togetherness and promoting equality by coming together to help the world rise out of its ashes where there is no initial connection, like writing to a penpal you know can't read or speak english.
I'm pretty proud of myself for doing this. If you have questions, feel free to ask them. If you have ideas or input, feel free to post, I just thought it would be an interesting point of discussion to mention this.
What I mean to say is, to start only ONE player can know Common, only ONE can know this language or that language. The only exception is Druidic, which I've still limited in that the party can have a maximum of TWO druids in one party(Which means they can coordinate with each other, but they still don't operate on the whole with a team).
The idea behind this comes from an episode of Green Lantern I watched, in which the core characters(all Ring-bearing superheroes, obviously) lose the powers of their rings, including their translators, which limits them to common gestures, thinking alike, and rationale.
I think it would be perfectly acceptable and interesting to watch them as they either play to the strengths of their class(As in, a tanky fighter would fight like a tanky fighter, etc.), or develop some crude form of communication until they can learn each others' languages(Read below). This would allow them to roleplay more independently, and the team ethic is driven by what everyone thinks is good for each other.
As for actually learning languages and "learning too many languages", I've made sure to keep those things monitored - They all start with INT 10(seeing as they don't really need it for spellcasting or anything important), only knowing a language of their choice(obviously they'd get to discuss who gets what language), and then they're off. If they get Linguistics, they have to raise their INT modifier to be able to learn a language. Then they have to go into study and actually learn it, which works like using Linguistics to craft a "magic item" - the language they desire to learn. Then from there they can teach it to the members of the party(which will allow them to proliferate the knowledge as they so desire to eventually unlock the ability to comprehend each other).
That's really the huge takeoff from other campaigns - in a world which has been driven into magical chaos, people from all walks of life must assemble to reform the bonds of society, by overcoming great adversities.
The idea behind banning arcane casters(As well as most advanced tech) is that they rely on cultures, they rely on their religions, they rely on their engrained mentalities and habits as they match their characters to help each other along all sorts of adversities.
I was wondering if any of you had input on the nature of the game - The idea is that it's a standard campaign, but they have to actually build a team by coming to a sort of mechanical solidarity and agreement of certain things. I expect them to think rationally, and I'm sure the opportunity to talk to each other will arise where appropriate, but the real challenge in the game is forging the bonds of togetherness and promoting equality by coming together to help the world rise out of its ashes where there is no initial connection, like writing to a penpal you know can't read or speak english.
I'm pretty proud of myself for doing this. If you have questions, feel free to ask them. If you have ideas or input, feel free to post, I just thought it would be an interesting point of discussion to mention this.