Okay gang, these are just SOME of the possible campaign and setting styles we could look at for future games. I have no idea when we might get around to any of these, or when we might manage to dig up rules for all of them, so this is just a sounding board. Would you be interested in: Horror themed settings, such as Call of Cthulu and Ravenloft, or the upcoming D&D Horror accessory rules? Science fiction settings, ranging from Star Wars to Mechwarrior to Buck Rogers, and of course the wonderful gritty world of all things cyberpunk? Asian settings, focusing on Japanese and Chinese/Korean societies and more 'fantasy' environments with Asian themes and flavors? Divine or semi-divine settings, which could include Greco-Roman mythology settings or fantasy campaigns where the players are descended from gods? Steam-punk settings, ranging from alternate history Victorian ages to D&D type worlds in an industrial revolution... think League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for a rough idea? There are also some more novel settings to look at, like Bunnies & Burrows, where you role play rabbits! About the only thing that I won't serriously consider is FATAL, and the less you know about *that* game the better. We could look at games where you rule entire countries, or games where the very world you live on is your greatest enemy... The following are some specific popular game systems that we can look at: Vampire: the Masquerade - most people have heard of this one by now, I hope. Break out your copy of Interview with a Vampire, gain 20 pounds (mostly pale makeup), and dress up in black! Live-Action Role Playing is not yet possible over the net, but we can reserve that for doormencons to come. Eberron - the most recent official D&D campaign world, it's got a steam-punk atmosphere in a fairly traditional fantasy setting, and it looks good and funky. They even have official sound-track CDs and suggest watching Tim Burton's goth movies to get a feel for the atmosphere. Forgotten Realms - possibly second only to Middle Earth in terms of fame and popularity, Forgotten Realms is an epic high-magic campaign world with lavish detail and rich history. And an ethnicly confused elf with very phallic scimitars. Darksun - this is a personal favorite which I never got to play... a desert world leeched of it's precious life force by corrupt use of magic... every day is a constant struggle to survive. Dune meets D&D! Discworld - Yes! it's true! There's a set of Discworld rules for the Generic Universal Role Playing System (GURPS). Rule books can be found at most Forbidden Planet and Traveling Man shops in the UK. they'd also make handy birthday presents for Buzzfloyd (only just over two shoping months left!) So... what would people like to look into as future options? I figure the more games we have going, the more people might want to join in, and we could draw more players and potential GMs as well.
My main concern is getting hold of sourcebooks. So far Roman has been gracious enough to send me stuff (many many thanks Roman) but I don't know if I want to rely on him. He's spent a lot of time on this. I'm interested in most of the options, Darksun, Forgotten Realms, Horror and Asian settings. Of course, Vampire would be great but as we're spread over most of the world that would be a bit odd to actually play. (Don't even think of suggesting doing with webcams)
well, so long as one of us can find the relevant books, they can fill the rest of us in on any new rules. a lot of stuff uses the d20 or d100 system these days. even Darksun got updated for d20! (d20 is what the current edition of D&D uses) as for vampire, we CAN play it as a table top, you don't HAVE to live action it.
Would it be any consolation for you to know that I read said sourcebooks for fun, and use you as an excuse for getting them? Have no fear, if it interests me, I'll get it eventually. As for settings, Forgotten Realms and Dark Sun are very good for standard D&D, VtM is a setting I'm very fond of (but not, I must add, for LARPing.), and having a cyberpunk or steampunk setting would be a dream come true, in a way. Not sure about other settings, though, and I have a feeling that Discworld, as a setting, would be a bit too corny.
i've never heard anything BAD about GURPS, and the GURPS Discworld setting always seems to get good reviews. as for steampunk, if you want to try and hunt down a system called Victoriana, it sounds a bit like Arcanum... a typical fantasy setting in the industrial revolution, with elves and dwarves and stuff in steam punk. Cyberpunk has several classic settings, Shadowrun being just the first one that comes to mind. There was, i think, one called just "Cyberpunk", was there not? Darksun got a 3.0/3.5 facelift in Dungeon and Dragon magazines, and I've got both the relevant issues (Dungeon 110, not sure what the Dragon issue number is...) I've got *most* of the Forgotten Realms books, but I aint transcribing the Campaign Setting or Player's Guide for love nor money. there's just too much to even type out ot give someone the 'gist'
You're right about Discworld GURPS, maybe it's worth a shot. I'll take a look at this Victoriana. The Shadowrun setting is a mix of fantasy and cyberpunk, and I feel it's not the best setting as settings go. Haven't heard of 'Cyberpunk', but as with Victoriana, I'll see what I can locate. As for trying to describe FR shortly, it's quite impossible, I agree. Still, there's bound to be a website or two around to do at least a part of the work for us on this one.
