Drudwyn
2007-05-06, 02:39 PM
Has anyone tried this? I'm trying to start up a core rules campaign within the world described in George R. R. Martin's "Ice and Fire" [edit] saga. In it, magic has been dead for several hundred years, with the death of the last dragons, and has assumed the status of folklore. Magic is only now re-emerging, due to the (unrecognized) return of dragons in the East. There will be lots of political intrigue, a slow conversion from a military to a magical environment, invasions by ghouls and zombies from the frozen north, and other details from the books. Lots of elements from the books, from direwolves, to fire and cold magic, to elves, will convert nicely to a DnD setting.
Weapon materials: I'll use cold iron for the rare Valerian steel weapons, and was thinking about making all such weapons (very rare and not available to the PCs, at least, not for a long, long time) keen weapons. I'm also working up an obsidian material to fight the "Others" from the north -- 20 hp/inch of thickness and hardness 10.
Direwolves: The novels also feature a group of siblings who've adopted direwolf cubs and grow up with them -- at the point when my adventurers will first encounter them, the wolves will still be young -- about the size of a regular adult wolf. Does anyone have any suggestions on backing adult monster stats to generate a younger versions? I'd like the wolves to slowly grow into their adult stats as the adventure progresses. Should I back the hit die down four and subtract one from one of the ability scores (reversing the monster advancement suggestions from core rules)? I'm also thinking about dropping the size to medium, (along with subtracting 8 str and 4 con, adding 2 dex, dropping 2 natural armor but adding 1 for size change, etc.).
My biggest question is how to handle magic and unusual races in this environment. I want it to be assumed that most people don't believe in either, so that my magic-wielding PCs have to look up histories of magic in libraries or collected by antiquarians in order to pick up the knowledge for level advancement. And I feel like barring unusual races -- allowing half-elves, halflings and dwarves, but having them initially mistaken for wierd-looking people.
Are there any suggestions for handling these issues in-game? I really want to create an experience of the world coming alive and slowly tranforming from political battles and straight-up engagements with warriors and brigands, to increasing encounters with magical beasts and magic users.
This will be the first time I've DM'd, and any suggestions/insights, or clarifying questions would be most appreciated. I've read several of the discussions around here, and understand some of the basic concerns in terms of party balance, managing stories while not straightjacketing the PCs, and dealing with group dynamics. I'm hoping to use a combo of game genie and fractal mapper to generate and run the world; i've been practicing and drawing up maps for several weeks, and I'm going to use a large flatscreen monitor laid on its back (and covered with some plexiglass) as the board.
Thanks in advance for your collective wisdom.
Weapon materials: I'll use cold iron for the rare Valerian steel weapons, and was thinking about making all such weapons (very rare and not available to the PCs, at least, not for a long, long time) keen weapons. I'm also working up an obsidian material to fight the "Others" from the north -- 20 hp/inch of thickness and hardness 10.
Direwolves: The novels also feature a group of siblings who've adopted direwolf cubs and grow up with them -- at the point when my adventurers will first encounter them, the wolves will still be young -- about the size of a regular adult wolf. Does anyone have any suggestions on backing adult monster stats to generate a younger versions? I'd like the wolves to slowly grow into their adult stats as the adventure progresses. Should I back the hit die down four and subtract one from one of the ability scores (reversing the monster advancement suggestions from core rules)? I'm also thinking about dropping the size to medium, (along with subtracting 8 str and 4 con, adding 2 dex, dropping 2 natural armor but adding 1 for size change, etc.).
My biggest question is how to handle magic and unusual races in this environment. I want it to be assumed that most people don't believe in either, so that my magic-wielding PCs have to look up histories of magic in libraries or collected by antiquarians in order to pick up the knowledge for level advancement. And I feel like barring unusual races -- allowing half-elves, halflings and dwarves, but having them initially mistaken for wierd-looking people.
Are there any suggestions for handling these issues in-game? I really want to create an experience of the world coming alive and slowly tranforming from political battles and straight-up engagements with warriors and brigands, to increasing encounters with magical beasts and magic users.
This will be the first time I've DM'd, and any suggestions/insights, or clarifying questions would be most appreciated. I've read several of the discussions around here, and understand some of the basic concerns in terms of party balance, managing stories while not straightjacketing the PCs, and dealing with group dynamics. I'm hoping to use a combo of game genie and fractal mapper to generate and run the world; i've been practicing and drawing up maps for several weeks, and I'm going to use a large flatscreen monitor laid on its back (and covered with some plexiglass) as the board.
Thanks in advance for your collective wisdom.