A Quasi-Arthurian Setting Idea

I’ve been running a summer Prince Valiant campaign for a few weeks and mostly it’s been very Player Character focused.  I’ve kept the true legends and myths at an arm’s length to avoid having direct contact between PCs and “named” individuals from the classic stories, both from the Prince Valiant comics and the traditional Arthurian legends.  I wanted the feel but without the baggage, and without the predictability that tying too close to already-told tales can produce.

We are now far enough along in the campaign that the PCs will be traveling the wider world, beyond their home kingdom and the near-surroundings.  While I want the players to be able to use Britannia as a rough reference for their sense of place and scale, I also want them to feel as if it is still unexplored by their characters.  This is a tricky line to tread.  I need to make it fresh while still making it familiar.  One of the ways I am going to do so is by using the names of major settlements as renamed by the indigenous people after the Romans have left.  I’ll go into that more in future blog posts on the subject and as I develop the map we will use at the table.  Until then, ponder this concept of familiar and fresh and how someone could do this not only with an Arthurian setting but with any setting used for a tabletop RPG.  I dare say it comes into play more often than one might imagine at first blush.

I Choose You, Machu Picchu!

A recent BBC.com travel feature on Machu Picchu got me thinking about the inherent setting possibilities in this mystical location.  It's a decently detailed article not only of what typical travelers can hope to view on a trip to Inca-country, but also expounds on five additional locations for those explorers who wish to delve a little deeper.  The article even mentions some architectural and geographical points that will aid in further online searches for more information of a less mundane nature.  Check it out!

Grymvald Pedigree - Let's Not Forget the Movies!

Thus far I have mostly discussed the early reading and other types of games in relation to what has influenced my world-building efforts.  What I add now includes influence that began early but really didn't kick in full force until closer to 1980.  I think this is true largely because until that time any movies that I saw were either in the theatre or what could be caught on television whenever such things were scheduled on the very few channels that existed.  Television shows that could have a direct affect on gaming were few and far between.  The VHS recorder and tapes (I'll leave aside any discussion of BetaMax) changed all that, though mostly in regard to movies available.  Of course, I remember the films of my youth, monster movies, the sword-and-sandal movies, and adventure and other fantasy films that could be watched on weekend afternoon and evenings.

Some of the favorite monster movies were shown as part of the Creature Features programming with that great Henry Mancini Experiment in Terror music playing.  Listening to it now, it still gives chills.  Of course there were all of the classics, the various Frankenstein movies, Dracula films, Werewolf and Wolfman movies, anything with "creature" in the title has a good chance of showing, like The Creature from the Black Lagoon.  I even collected the Aurora Models associated with these monsters.  Add in the really big creatures, King Kong, Godzilla, Mothra, and on and on and all the variants, and I probably have similar reference points as many gamers my age or there about.

The sword-and-sandal flicks were more rarely shown, as I recall, but no less enjoyed.  Often the mythological aspects held my attention the most, but even when the fight choreography was sloppy, the swordplay drew me in.  (I just recently re-watched The Colossus of Rhodes, a 1961 Sergio Leone film with Rory Calhoun, the actor whose standing and walking impressed Monty Burns, and I was struck by how intricate the plot was, and by the number of secret doors.)  Any of the Hercules movies, or the knock offs, glued me to my seat.  I especially liked when the strong guy, whether Hercules or some other, faced creatures of great size or strength.  And, yes, I liked the Gladiator movies, Captain Oveur, so quit asking.  I'll set aside comment on the various Sinbad movies and their ilk for a separate article, in part because I think of them independent from this style of film, but also because it will allow me to wax nostalgic most extensively on the contributions of Ray Harryhausen, a film maker and special effects artist whose contributions to my gaming psyche cannot be overestimated.  Don't get me wrong, I love today's CGI and other effects, 3D and all that comes with it, but the Harryhausen stuff so profoundly affected me that I find it hard to believe when I sometimes run across a gamer who is not familiar with him or his work.  Check out my Ray Harryhausen from a Gamer's Perspective essays on the CMG corner of the blog triad.

I'll post more about movies and how they can influence setting in RPGing, and specifically how they infouenced me and my own creations, in future Grymvald Pedigree blog posts.

The Hobbit Movie Production Blogs

I have been, up until now, adding some updates on The Hobbit movies {The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) and The Hobbit: There and Back Again (2013)} on the CMG corner of my blog triad.  As I've watched the production blogs I realized how much of what happens speaks more to setting, in regard to how it relates to tabletop RPGing, so I am going to continue the updates but have them reside on the Grymvald Gazetteer corner of the blog triad instead.  Thus far, I have only linked to the various photos, mostly of Dwarves but here are the first three production blogs from Peter Jackson and company.

Conan the Barbarian (2011)

Well, I think we can see some nods to a bleak setting in the new Conan the Barbarian (2011) film trailer.  We can also see why it will be rated R.  It will be a good way for tabletop RPGers who like grim and gritty gaming styles to cap off their summer movie going season.

John Carter (2012)

The new Disney trailer for their John Carter (2012), based on the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs series of stories, looks very promising to me.  It's rife with setting-oriented opportunities for inspiration.  Enjoy!

Black Hole Shreds Star

A recent news story regarding the devouring of a star by a black hole, an event purported to take place perhaps once in one hundred million years in any galaxy (though I'm not quite sure how that gets theorized or proven), caught my attention. This rare event gives rise to some fun and intriguing setting ideas. The implications are fairly obvious for science fiction and superhero games, I suppose, but what about for Fantasy and even Medieval Fantasy games? I like the notion that such a thing could cause strife in a culture that had seen a particular star as part of its religious or mythological legacy. Let's say, perhaps, that a fantasy culture had long looked toward a constellation as having significant meaning. Let's further suggest that the shape of that constellation was humanoid with the brightest star in a location that was purported to be the heart of that humanoid. What if that was the star that had been devoured and its light no longer shone?

If that constellation represented a war god, it could be seen as a sign that the god either died or lost its power. The backlash against that religion in its region could be huge. Any number of other religions might begin preaching against the religion of that war god more openly. They might even cause a general rebellion if that religion also had political power. The events that developed could be a simple as one in a series heralding the waning of a single religion or as complex as a multi-factional, continent-wide struggle for dominance.

Or, what if the figure represented a god of compassion, perhaps the followers take it as a sign to change their own modus operandi. A region that depending largely on the goodwill of a religious organization for survival might feel quite the pinch if they suddenly one-eightied on their generosity. Maybe the leaders of that religion take it as a sign that the god of compassion no longer sees the people as worthy of her assistance. Perhaps the leaders are concerned that they've misinterpreted the constellation for the life of the religion and all sorts of new speculation could fuel a very different direction for the followers.

Do as you like but I love the idea that two neighboring states, each with one of the above interpretations, both find themselves in very differing situations because, not only of their divergent religious philosophies but also because both have long been shaped by the same star in different manners and both will now have to deal with the loss of that star.