Utgardloki
Mongoose
I finally convinced the local store owner to stock Runequest books, so now I am motivated to try to run a relatively simple Runequest game at his store to try to drum up interest in that game. Thinking of my options, I settled on an Atlantis setting as a good way to go.
My previous posts on Atlantis were brainstorming ideas without a real campaign behind them, although fertile for developing ideas for both prehistorical campaigns ala 10,000 BC and for providing backstory for my runequest modern idea. But for this campaign, I think I'll go back to about 40,000 BC and have the PCs as Atlanteans in a period just before the third war against Hyperborea.
Running a 40,000 BC campaign would be different from a standard campaign in many ways, which leads to things that need to be considered, such as:
1. Technology in 40,000 BC is very primitive. Traditionally, Atlantis is represented as having advanced technology, but I was never satisfied with that. Instead, I'd like the Atlanteans to have access to magic to make their lives easier, but not magic that duplicates technology. You don't have magic cars or magic airplanes; you just have magic that can do things that can't be done by savage technology, but it doesn't look like modern technology, either.
An example would be the ability to enchant cloth so that it is hard and rigid and suitable for armor.
2. There is no metal. There are nuggets of metals like copper and gold and iron that people might find, but not enough to do anything useful with them. Nor can magic create pseudo-metals.
3. There is no money. Money has not been invented yet. Characters might receive tokens of favor, but these have no set value and can typically only be used for a specific purpose.
4. For races I am thinking human, halfling and elf would be appropriate for PCs. However, instead of choosing to be a "human", an "elf" or a "halfling" the bloodlines have been intermingled so that one person might be a half-elf, another might be a 3/4 elf, another might have a trace of elfish ancestry.
For halfling, I can determine that by size, using 3D6 instead of 2D6+8 -- size under 8 indicates halfling status. For elf, I am not sure how to handle it, perhaps with a pseudoskill "Elfishness" which can only be determined at character creation and can not be raised or lowered afterward. A character's "Elfishness" determines how strong his elfish traits are, which translates to a budget for buying bonuses to skills and abilities.
5. I imagine a strong caste system in Atlantis. Brainstorming, I came up with a list of about 15 professions, but many are the same professions except for different castes, e.g. shaman vs priest or soldier vs palatine. I will probably define the professions that way, with the provision that professions of the lower castes have more skill points to compensate for the lower social advantage.
The lack of money is probably the biggest thing to consider because without money, there is no way to buy things. I will probably have to have some sort of skill to represent the PCs ability to "purchase" resources, but I'm not sure exactly how that will work because it is not quite like D20 Modern. The mechanic of making a skill roll for a purchase might still apply.
My previous posts on Atlantis were brainstorming ideas without a real campaign behind them, although fertile for developing ideas for both prehistorical campaigns ala 10,000 BC and for providing backstory for my runequest modern idea. But for this campaign, I think I'll go back to about 40,000 BC and have the PCs as Atlanteans in a period just before the third war against Hyperborea.
Running a 40,000 BC campaign would be different from a standard campaign in many ways, which leads to things that need to be considered, such as:
1. Technology in 40,000 BC is very primitive. Traditionally, Atlantis is represented as having advanced technology, but I was never satisfied with that. Instead, I'd like the Atlanteans to have access to magic to make their lives easier, but not magic that duplicates technology. You don't have magic cars or magic airplanes; you just have magic that can do things that can't be done by savage technology, but it doesn't look like modern technology, either.
An example would be the ability to enchant cloth so that it is hard and rigid and suitable for armor.
2. There is no metal. There are nuggets of metals like copper and gold and iron that people might find, but not enough to do anything useful with them. Nor can magic create pseudo-metals.
3. There is no money. Money has not been invented yet. Characters might receive tokens of favor, but these have no set value and can typically only be used for a specific purpose.
4. For races I am thinking human, halfling and elf would be appropriate for PCs. However, instead of choosing to be a "human", an "elf" or a "halfling" the bloodlines have been intermingled so that one person might be a half-elf, another might be a 3/4 elf, another might have a trace of elfish ancestry.
For halfling, I can determine that by size, using 3D6 instead of 2D6+8 -- size under 8 indicates halfling status. For elf, I am not sure how to handle it, perhaps with a pseudoskill "Elfishness" which can only be determined at character creation and can not be raised or lowered afterward. A character's "Elfishness" determines how strong his elfish traits are, which translates to a budget for buying bonuses to skills and abilities.
5. I imagine a strong caste system in Atlantis. Brainstorming, I came up with a list of about 15 professions, but many are the same professions except for different castes, e.g. shaman vs priest or soldier vs palatine. I will probably define the professions that way, with the provision that professions of the lower castes have more skill points to compensate for the lower social advantage.
The lack of money is probably the biggest thing to consider because without money, there is no way to buy things. I will probably have to have some sort of skill to represent the PCs ability to "purchase" resources, but I'm not sure exactly how that will work because it is not quite like D20 Modern. The mechanic of making a skill roll for a purchase might still apply.
