Friday, January 11, 2008

ZeFRS resolution Part II

So, of the various settings I’ve considered, I like a Fantasy Earth “Dark Ages” setting the best (with a Thundarr setting running a very close second).
I say fantasy Earth, not in the way of elves and faeries (god no) but in the way that -Low magic is present, diabolical forces can and do manifest, and history is altered somewhat to give more opportunity for adventure and expression.
Primarily, Berber traders would have “discovered” the southeastern side of the Americas, Norsemen would colonize the northern half, and over on the west coast, Chinese traders would have mapped out Polynesia and begun colonies on the western side of the Americas.
That would open the whole world up with still plenty of mysterious places to explore. You could stay in the old world or take your chances in the new one. And this will be without the advantage of gunpowder. And of course magic will work, with a lot of effort and sacrifice, but it will work.

I’m looking at several sources such as TSR’s AD&D sourcebook “Charlemagne’s Paladins” and possibly some other Dark ages RPG sources.

And lest we forget it’s a S&S game world we are trying to invoke, I’m also looking at gathering some issues of DC Comics; “Arak-Son of Thunder” which was a great series that dealt with the Carolingian empire as a backdrop to the heroes adventures.



7 comments:

  1. Arak was some kind of awesome. Issue #6 was one of my favorites as a kid, from the breathtaking cover to the cool vampire story inside. I miss the hell out of Arak.

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  2. Wow, thats a blast from the past. I used to pick those up on my weekly trip to the local flea market.

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  3. That's an awesome idea for a campaign. So... much... cool! And so many cool things you can throw in there. The mysterious Anasazi roads, the blood-magic of the Aztecs, Norse rune magic, Chinese alchemy...

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  4. And here's some artistic inspiration for you:

    http://www.keeganprints.com/JaguarMoon.htm

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  5. yeah it's really kinda wide open and not too much out there written for that period RPG wise.

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  6. Anonymous12:09 PM

    You should check out John Maddox Roberts' short alternate history novel King of the Wood. It's that setting you describe almost to a tea, with Vikings all over the eastern part of North America, Mongols to the west, and a powerful Aztec empire to the south. And it is crammed with action. A fun, rip-snorting read, and not pointlessly long, either.

    Howard Andrew Jones

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  7. Cool!
    Thanks Howard, I'm on it!

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