Different New "of Legend" Settings

[alex_greene]

I'm partial to the idea of keeping otherworldly entities and species as just that: otherworldly, creatures spoken of in myth and, well, legend, but rarely encountered as actual PCs.

The "otherworldly" PCs could be human, but with ... otherworldly ancestry. Consider the Lucifuge from the White Wolf game Hunter: the Reckoning - people who, if the legends be believed, have Satanic pedigree due to them having been visited by some Hellish Noble on a rare visit to Earth ("The Devil came down to Georgia ...")

So you could have those born to human parents, but unusually tall and lithe, or unusually strong with a tendency to nocturnal behaviour, or moon-faced and wide-eyed and prone to otherworldly visions, or just simply looking ... different. They could have Alf or Svartalf blood, or they could have been swapped at birth by a heavily-disguised Alf midwife ... but on the outside, they'd look human with ... differences.

In the modern era, such creatures are depicted as having been exposed to radiation, Children of the Atom, and in a SF setting we would call them mutants, or half-aliens like Spock or Deanna Troi. In Shadowrun they'd be victims of UGE, Goblinisation or, later on, SURGE.

But you would know them as Changelings.

 

[Asyme]

Agree with the 'not too much in the way of the twist' comments.

This supplement wouldn't really be for me or those like me, but for the legion of people who want a 'standard fantasy' realm to run around in.

A good example (from my youth) was the forgotten realms. It was pretty bog standard, but well presented, felt... slightly unique? Or unique enough to define D+D by it's terms for the era. I think you want the classics, packaged in an appealing way with good artwork and a sense that this game is slightly darker than standard (e.g. there's sanity) or world weary, or heroic or crumbling into ruin or optimistic.

A while back I was asked by a friend to help him work up the background for a facebook MMO he was doing (he does a few fairly successfully and I'd done one like it before for him which he liked). My initial pitch was based on my own campaign which I regarded as classic. He apologized and said 'listen.... that might be normal to you but to me? It's pitch black and gloomy. I want something with dragons, elves, good guys, ruins and the whole shabang'.

You sort of need that as your gateway into fantasy RPG - THEN you can get clever and pitch weirdness (and incidently - Love AoL setting - really nice it's just not quite what the above is).

 

[languagegeek]

I have had some thought about this, and I reckon that among the possible new Legend sourcebook titles there ought to be room for:-

A couple of these suggestions have well-made BRP equivalents, so perhaps new settings ought to appear before duplication of existing product.

- A book based on the Stone Age, perhaps the late Neolithic, as it merges with the Bronze Age)

We're just finishing up our year-long late Neolithic campaign. The Legend system works brilliantly for that era (I think), where the boundary between myth and reality is pretty hazy.

 

[Prime_Evil]

We're just finishing up our year-long late Neolithic campaign. The Legend system works brilliantly for that era (I think), where the boundary between myth and reality is pretty hazy.

I'm running a pseudo-Arthurian game, but with echoes of prehistoric myth. Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood sequence has been an important influence - along with Rosemary Sutcliffe, Henry Treece and Bernard Cornwell.

 

[HalfOrc HalfBiscuit]

Personally, I'm not too sure of the need for a "generic" fantasy setting - I'd rather see adventures than assume a generic setting (with references to the Sun God the Grain Goddess etc. rather than named deities) that can be easily dropped into homebrews.

On the settings front, I'd prefer to see Mongoose concentrate on the "historical" settings line in the wake of Vikings and Land of the Samurai. The one change I'd like to see there though is the inclusion of divine magic cults for the relevant pantheons, so that if you want to, it's easier to turn up the "fantasy dial" on a campaign.

 

[alex_greene]

In other words, you'd like to see factions such as cults, guilds and so on, with Pacts, Common Magic and grimoires. Even some spirit cults practicing shamanic magic.

There were plenty of them in Cults of Glorantha, indeed, but the idea of creating sample cults for Legend - and possibly a toolkit for creating your own, so you could pick the ones you want rather than tie them to a specific setting like the Glorantha cults - does actually appeal.

 

[Asyme]

Something like that would be a good idea. A sort of cult for all major types of god (e.g. death, nature, healing, the various elements, war, and so on).

I'd be curious to know how much expansion is actually planned though. I got the impression that legend was released to keep the game on the market, but as runequest it was never a big seller for Mongoose, unlike traveller. The updated version is pretty much the old books minus any mention of glorantha (and I suspect vikings and samurai will carry on that trend) with a few references changed.

That said if it's selling well, hopefully it's enough to make them consider a more focused line with new products.

 

[Dan True]

Something like that would be a good idea. A sort of cult for all major types of god (e.g. death, nature, healing, the various elements, war, and so on).

Something like the domain system for D&D 3.x, which could be used to quickly generate gods and cults.
Another thing to include in a possible world-building supplement.

- Dan

 

[Mixster]

Something like that would be a good idea. A sort of cult for all major types of god (e.g. death, nature, healing, the various elements, war, and so on).

Something like the domain system for D&D 3.x, which could be used to quickly generate gods and cults.
Another thing to include in a possible world-building supplement.

- Dan

I remember somebody doing this on the old forum. Could just be republished with a few, "if a god with domain A also has spheres of influence around yadda yadda, he might swap out spell x for spell y".

 

[Prime_Evil]

If I recall correctly, this approach was also taken by the Magic Book for Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying system - a close relative of Legend...

 

[Titus]

License a popular video game setting. For example, how about an Elder Scrolls RPG powered by the Legend system? The problem is that video game publishers can be difficult to work with and may object to the notion that the core rules are published under the OGL.

I would love to see the Morrowind setting done. I had been tinkering with that for a while, but had to set it aside to prep a Glorantha game for one group and an AoT game for another. I think the island of Vvardenfell with its cultures, factions, geography, flora and fauna would make a fascinating setting. I was planning to have the PCs arrive in Seyda Neen, check in at the Census and Excise Office, and then turn them loose on the island. It would have been set shortly before or concurrent with the rise of the Nerevarine. Just have to have the Nerevarine develop a lot slower than in the computer game.

Bethesda Softworks might allow it to be licensed, as it is an older game. They could milk it for a few more bucks. And if it became popular, they might consider licensing other parts of Tamriel.

 

[hanszurcher]

...
A steampunk setting would be great, either a classic Victorian era one, or an atomic pulp era one. Perhaps even a steampunk-fantasy-noir setting like China-Mieville's setting of Bas-Lag as portrayed in the Perido Street Station novel - the Savage Worlds setting 'Runepunk' was an attempt at this genre, although it didn't received the widespread appeal. I suspect using Bas-Lag itself as a setting may gather a few new faces to the game.
...

Adamant Entertainment has been working on just such a game. Word is the TALES OF NEW CROBUZON RPG will be BRP powered...so rejoice!

Here is a little more info posted by Jason Durall.

 

[Dan True]

I remember somebody doing this on the old forum. Could just be republished with a few, "if a god with domain A also has spheres of influence around yadda yadda, he might swap out spell x for spell y".

Hm, doesn't ring a bell to me.

I must admit that I see most people just grabbing the worlds they enjoy most and taking advantage of Legend being so greatly customizable. As mentioned earlier I think than instead of introducing more new worlds, (except perhaps conan) Mongoose should write a large supplement helping people convert or build worlds themselves:

Cult building (as per "packages" as for classical cult themes) and some base-myths to expand upon, notes on combat style/CM variety, equipment designing background, house-rule suggestions for greater feel configuration and possible variations on skills and heroic abilities, perhaps a sample village which can be dumped into just about any settings as a campaign starter and some general advice and tables on how to make economics work and set the "wealth level" of a setting.
In this book can then be included a chapter (10-20 pages) with a very basic "generic fantasy world". Just sample notes, a name for a king and his capital, a small map with a few additional villages, a wood, a mine and some old ruins etc. Just stuff to get you started and allow you to expand upon, perhaps with a few ideas as possible expansion avenues.
More than anything the book should be a source of inspiration and idea generation.

I think such a supplement will have a much larger buyers base than any single fantasy world addition Mongoose can attain or create themselves. Especially since many of the advices, tables etc will be relevant for us who already have world we play in, as they will be fairly generic DM-resources.

- Dan

 

[DamonJynx]

stuff...

I would certainly purchase such a GM Toolkit book, no doubt about it. The only negative with such a tome is the time poor GM who wants to run a game, but doesn't have the time to develop his own world. Therein lies the beauty of the fully developed setting.

I still feel Mongoose would be better off expanding Wraith Recon than adding another setting. I know a lot of folks would like to see Conan done, but from my reading of the Chronicles of Conan that setting is definitely S&S, akin to the Elric setting more than high fantasy. Whereas Nuera has a much more high fantasy feel like Eberron or the Forgotten Realms.

As has been mentioned in another thread, part of the popularity and indeed the sustainability of D&D and Pathfinder is not that they have multiple settings, but that they have significant support for those settings in the various supplements produced, a large amount of which are adventures. In my mind, this is what Mongoose should be looking for and offering. I am going to buy Spider Gods Bride when it is released and will devour any and all YK supplements, particularly those that provide scenarios. YLMV

 

[CaptainTrips]

I just saw this free D100 supplement at DriveThruRPG - Renaissance.

"Renaissance is a free D100 roleplaying system designed for historical and fantasy gaming in the age of black powder weapons. It features familiar mechanics, grim and gritty combat, extensive period weapons and equipment lists, dozens of professions, and rules for factions and belief systems. It also includes two magick systems - the powerful battle alchemy first introduced in Clockwork & Chivalry 1st Edition, and a streamlined and expanded version of the witchcraft rules from the Silver Oggie Award-winning supplement Divers & Sundry. Based on Newt Newport's OpenQuest and released under an Open Gaming License, which allows companies and individuals to incorporate the rules into their own games, is also showcases the rules system of Clockwork & Chivalry 2nd Edition, the epic historical fantasy RPG from Cakebread & Walton"

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=97426

Although this isn't an official Legend supplement, it may provide some easy to use/convert information for Legend, and you can't beat the price.

 

[alex_greene]

I have a copy. A setting reminiscent of White Wolf's Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade, with elements of the 2000AD strip Defoe albeit with fewer of the more outlandish elements of the latter.

A good foundation for a story set in the default setting of historical Britain.

 

[languagegeek]

I still feel Mongoose would be better off expanding Wraith Recon than adding another setting.

I think Wraith Recon is pretty good in the end. It works as a relatively generic fantasy world (with a few non-standard species). I find the 'Special Ops' aspect of the PC-group: neatly gets rid of all the 'we meet in a tavern' hassle and works well for longer campaigns as well as one-shots. Wraith Recon is also not Rune Questy in feel, so it might spark the Gloranthophobes' interest.

I know a lot of folks would like to see Conan done

Maybe I'm alone in this, but I think official Conan is more trouble than it's worth. For those who want to play in that world, it's easy enough to adapt to Legend, isn't it?

 

[hanszurcher]

Maybe I'm alone in this, but I think official Conan is more trouble than it's worth. For those who want to play in that world, it's easy enough to adapt to Legend, isn't it?

You're not alone. While I'd like to see a generic S&S Hyborian Age-esque setting that's wide open to interpretation and built for Legend, I've already invested in enough Conan source-books to last a life time..

 

[Prime_Evil]

You're not alone. While I'd like to see a generic S&S Hyborian Age-esque setting that's wide open to interpretation and built for Legend, I've already invested in enough Conan source-books to last a life time..

I'd also be happy with a generic swords & sorcery sourcebook, but an official Conan adaptation would definitely attract new players to the system.

 

[languagegeek]

but an official Conan adaptation would definitely attract new players to the system.

While that certainly may be true, I wonder...

For example, I got interested in Elric because Mongoose published MRQII Elric stuff; I had never read the books before. To get into the setting I needed context, so I had to rummage around used book stores to find copies of the Elric books (which are an inconvenient maze of versions/editions to the uninitiated). So it wasn't the novels which brought me to RQII/Legend, but the game setting which made me track down the novels. Certainly Elric didn't bring me to RQII. Was it worth the effort? I'm not sure yet.

I figure the same thing for Conan, if there's the game setting, do I have to go find copies of the novels, read 'em, to decide whether I want to play in the setting or not?

Maybe (and I'm just shootin' the breeze here), the demographic that would follow the Conan IP around already has a whack of sourcebooks and a shelf full of RPGs. To attract new players to the system, I don't know if a series of books from the 50's, no matter how amazingly good those books are, would be the best bet.

I think generic/genre settings are the way to go, and here's why. If I think back about 20 years ago, we pretty much had a shared popular culture: we could gather by the water cooler at work and talk about last night's Seinfeld episode because we all had watched it. There wasn't a lot of choice - or not a lot of access to choice - so we all knew similar culture references. There was also a time before big bookstores and the interwebs when we all read from the same pool of books and knew those worlds and characters inside out. So gaming in those worlds was easy, no info dump for the players. These days, I wonder if we have a shared culture like that anymore, certainly we all listen to different music, read different books, visit different websites. I can't count more than 2 people I know who have read Elric, and maybe 2 or 3 who have read Conan. We're not unlettered brutes - there's just so much to choose from now and many people prefer the modern over the classics. For us, there's little interest in playing those settings. However, we all have an idea about generic fantasy or generic sci-fi, customized to taste of course, so that's an easy sell.

Or maybe I'm completely wrong (always a strong possibility).