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

[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.