Emirikol the Chaotic

[subplotkudzu]

It's becoming clear to me that I lack the mental energy in a post-baby universe to run the Revolution game the way I want. I can't be guaranteed of having anywhere near enough sleep the night before the session, or enough concentration the week before to get the multitude of plots and sub plots sorted out. At the session proper we've been digressing a lot lately (not aided by having a toddler around for the last 3rd of every session) and while we're having a fun time it's not producing the immersive and sometimes intense gaming that I want from the game.

In short, I end each session with a mixed feeling of enjoyment and frustration at lost opportunities. No one's doing anything wrong, it's just we have a new reality, and I have to adapt to it. Hence, this month or next is probably the last Revolution game for a while - time to put that one back on the shelf until the kids are older.

So what to do next?


I know that ladegard mentioned possibly running a Weapons of the Gods game, but I also know myself well enough to know that if I'm not running something I'll go quietly mad - and netcurmudgeon is currently behind the screen with my other group. For ease of strain on my psyche I'm thinking of something fairly episodic, low impact and tolerant of digressions, and that means some sort of fantasy, likely in D&D. Both Bec and Cambias said they were cool with that (and this is my sneaky way of getting Ladegard's input), and then Cambias kicked something over in my head by saying he'd never been in a swashbuckler game that got off the ground.

What fell out from that kick was Trampier's Emirikol the Chaotic picture from the 1st edition DMG. I always found that scene, especially the city it presented, as evocative, but nevr felt I got the city right in any other game. A group of lower level (campaign running from, say, 1st to 6th level to keep the fencing matches gritty) fighters, rogues et al in such a city, with a conflict between Law and Chaos, a noble 'phoenix guard' type group for the PCs to aspire towards, with extensive docks and waterborne trade if the players want do some privateering, and tombs of old, dead imperial lines filled with ancient treasures to be unearthed, sounds like it could work.

I'd have a couple of pre-set dungeon tombs for the weeks when I have minimal brain power, and more complicated urban plots for the weeks when I'm better off. I've always found D&D easy to run and plan for, and the setting should keep the kudzu to a minimum.

More on this as it develops.

Comments

[doc-mystery.livejournal.com]

If you lack the prep time or energy or sleep, you may find respite with some of the many innovative German-styled board-games that have been released over the last decade.

Some, like "Betrayal at House on the Hill" have some limited role-playing (and minis!). Others have dungeon or fantasy exploring themes like "Dungeon Twister", "Runebound" or "Descent" if you want to get a D&D-like kick. You may want to avoid games with lots of choking hazards for little ones (I'm looking at you, "Ticket to Ride" until your little one is a little older.

::B::

P.S. Nod about that image of Emirikol the Chaotic being both inspiring and evocative.

[brianrogers.livejournal.com]

We're not really board gamers, no matter how interesting the game might be. We have resorted to Munchkin a few times, but our focus doesn't really run that way. Not sure why, but in general we'd rather do an 'off the top of the GMs head' one shot than pull out a board game.

[mylescorcoran]

I always liked Emirikol the Chaotic too, though I didn't fancy being a town guard in the city he lived in.

I like the Tekumel gimmick of the city built on previous cities and the catacombs of generations gone by just outside the city walls as an excuse for mixed urban and dungeon adventures. It's not far from the Pavis/Big Rubble set-up from Runequest too.

If you're comfortable with D&D and find it easy to plan for then it's ideal for your needs, and I'm mad keen on the Draegera/Phoenix Guard stuff, though I'd lean more towards the Taltos books than the Khaavren ones.

For the proper threat of violence, keeping the HP low, and therefore the levels low, is probably the way to go, but it might restrict the players choices of feats and other cool nifties.

Did you ever read the thread on RPG.net about the city built on the body of the Tarrasque? Sheer genius of a setting, I thought.

[brianrogers.livejournal.com]

No, I hadn't read that, and it is indeed Tres Cool.

I'm trying to avoid the city on top of city, or city near the rubble, because I don't want on big dungeon. I want a lot of little, smaller dungeons so I can keep things episodic. There's nothing wrong with an enormous dungeon crawl, but that becomes more of a strategic, long term exercise than I'm looking for here. Hence the ancient family tombs.

Ancient families that worshiped chaos gods. Chaos gods whose statues look like chubby-cheeked buddha demons with rubies for eyes. Hell, if I'm drawing inspiration from one Trampier drawing, I might as well go whole hog.

Personally, much as I like Vlad I'm way more in favor of the Khaavren books than the Taltos ones - conflicts between the guard groups, dueling in the streets and bars, gasping statements of friendship by those you have just killed in honorable combat, the whole works.

[mylescorcoran]

I can see the appeal of the Khaavren setting but I much prefer the writing in the Taltos books. The pastiche or homage to Dumas gets annoying after the first book.

For what you're trying to do though, it's perfect. The Taltos setting is too modern in its mindset to be right.

It sounds like a good idea to go with multiple, smaller tombs and mausoleums rather than the vast catacombs or previous cities and it should let you control the pace of the exploring/dungeon delving and the ratio of urban to dungeon too.

[ladegard.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't mind the genre at all. Of course, part of me notes that this seems to be your default fallback campaign and itterations of it doesn't always last for many sessions.

My only real problem is that I'm not sure D&D is a good match for the genre. Maybe one of the flavoured books, like parts of Iron Heroes, or maybe another system would be better.

[brianrogers.livejournal.com]

Of course, part of me notes that this seems to be your default fallback campaign and itterations of it doesn't always last for many sessions.

I'm not sure I follow that. With this group the last fallback was the Mecha Space Western, which was vry much not swashbuckler fantasy. Then the Harkness Academy on shot, which was more mecha. Prior to that was the ED game, which was fantasy, but much more 'kids from small town entering the world' fantasy, and that lasted through 2 story arcs and 6 sessions. The last time I tried to run swashbucker fantasy was back in college, and that was my usual 'make it up as I go' farrago of nonsense, with me focusing on the journey and you wondering when the hell we were going to get there. Since I'm starting you in the city this time - with some pre-game discussion of PC goals - this will not be a problem.

In any event, I only plan on this going somewhere between 6 months and a year.

As for changing systems, I know that D&D is sub optimal, but it's also the one I have internalized where everyone owns the rulebook. If one of the goals is to keep my brain from melting in an overload of game planning, learning a new system is contra-indicated. I'm willing to look at other D&D books that I could mine from (I've already added some feats from Heroes of Battle) but I'm certainly not moving to a whole different mechanic. In some ways the structured nature of D&D makes it easier for me, in ways that moving to, say, BESM would not.

[brianrogers.livejournal.com]

Annother thought - I'd like to seee some more cultural backing to the fencing styles that the feats and skills represent (for skills read: Bluff for fenting and Tumbling for evading). If you want to join me in cobbling together something of that sort, I'd be down with that.

I have just printed out "honor most criminal", "Martial Arts of Yrth", "Western Way of War" and "Vichten Unde Schirmen" from the Pyramid achives to get some better ideas on what those styles might entail.

[ladegard.livejournal.com]

More than happy to.