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View Full Version : Brainstorming a Campaign Setting



BlackStaticWolf
2007-08-29, 09:45 AM
I'm currently re-reading the Temeraire series of novels by Naomi Novik, and I'd decided that it'd be a fun setting for a DnD campaign.

For those of you unfamiliar with the books, thus far it consists of three books (His Majesty's Dragon, the Jade Throne, and Black Powder War) and is a terrific read. It's set in an alternate Napoleanic era Earth where intelligent dragons exist. They take part in the the various wars and battles and are "crewed" by groups of humans (gunners, borders, and the handler).

Other than the presense of dragons, the world is completely magic dead. So no spellcasters, no psionics, and no magic weapons.

My overall campaign idea would be to place the PCs into the role of a dragon and its crew (as that is, essentially, what makes the setting unique). A problem arises though, of how to handle the party dynamic and the dragon itself.

The various breeds of dragon are significantly different in size and battle capability, but I'd prefer to place the PCs with one of the larger breeds (ie, one that could support a crew of three or more PCs).

How would you recommend handling the dragons themselves?

Lapak
2007-08-29, 10:06 AM
Hmm. I wouldn't worry too much about the dragon outshining the others in combat or anything; the dragon is going to be fighting his opponents (other dragons) while the crew fights theirs (other crews) for the most part, giving everyone something to do.

Are you setting it during wartime or not? Actually, when thinking about it, I'd say not to go with your first instinct of the larger breeds - even the smallish ones aren't going to be tremendously overstressed with a crew of three or so, and I think that the best opportunity for adventure is NOT in making them part of the front line. I'd suggest putting them on one of the courier-sized dragons and setting them up as agents rather than soldiers. Setting them up as an espionage squad gives plenty of opportunity for combat and intrigue in a variety of settings, and could be interesting in-context. Let one of them be an official traveling ambassador of sorts, with the pilot as transport and the third man as bodyguard. Letting them play in cities would open up the possibilities for adventure in the setting, and keeping the dragon's size down would keep it possible to have him operating while they were doing so, so you could allow them to be player-run without screwing their ability to participate.

Just off the top of my head, that's what I'd recommend.

EDIT: Alternatively, if it doesn't bother the other players, you could let the pilot run the dragon when they're on it, since he won't be doing much else anyway, and the human pilot when the dragon is 'parked.'

Rex Blunder
2007-08-29, 10:08 AM
It might be a lot of work to run a d&d game with no magic, napoleonic technology, and dragons that (mostly) don't have breath weapons. If you're not averse to using other systems, John Kim has done an adaptation of the Temeraire novels (http://jhkimrpg.livejournal.com/56995.html) for the Spirit of the Century system. Spirit of the Century is a pretty good rpg, and probably a better fit for the setting.