Swords and Sorcery/Weird Horror setting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Swords and Sorcery/Weird Horror setting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
CombatMedic
12-30-07, 10:14 PM Just for fun, I want to design a D&D campaign world that leans towards swords and sorcery with a heavy dose of horror. Lots of weird Lovecraftian stuff. I'll just post some rough notes here and edit them later. Feel free to comment, that's why I put this up.:)

Arcane Magic ; Arcane casters risk their sanity as they progress in their studies. Evil spells also corrupt the caster, even to the extent of warping his body if cast too frequently. The risks of arcane studies , along with the need for years of schooling, tend to keep the number of true mages down.

Divine Magic and the Gods: The gods are generally quite distant [think Eberron, and you'll be on the right track]. Divine magic works well enough, but the gods don't grant it to just anyone- only devoted and exceptional priests have such powers.

Psionics Psionics is the result of a mutation. Psi powers can possibly be granted through dangerous psychic surgery, but otherwise, a character must be born with the power. Psi is poorly understood in most societies, and strong prejudices against ''witches'' often make life difficult for psionicists who don't hide their talents.

Alignment Ignore this stuff. Divine casters need to follow their sect's strictures, or they risk losing spells/getting curses. Might use Taint instead...

Monsters:

I'll include a lot of horror themed beasties, naturally. Not just vampires and werewolves, but weird stuff. Moonrats are a good example. Weird undead and stuff from Heroes of Horror or Libris Mortis will probably fit in well, for the most part. Dunno much about Lords of Madness.

Some of the familiar D&D stand-bys will be absent, their places taken by less commonly used critters. I'm not including any orcs,drow, or hobgoblins. Troglodytes will definitely be an important Underdark species. Myconids are definitely in. I'm debating the use of flinds/gnolls [they may be linked with ghouls, if I do use 'em].

Player Races:
Humans. The PHB demihumans are probably out, though I might make room for a couple of demihuamn types [ maybe elves or dwarves ,they'll be portrayed bit differently than the generic D&D treatment, if I include 'em]. Races should not be too powerful [LA 0, in D20 terms, would be nice].

More to come....
GoriceXII
12-31-07, 01:17 AM I'd actually suggest using the SAN system, very simple and straightforward.

Also, Yuan-Ti (for Serpent Folk) Sahuagin (with a curse added for contact with humans to make Deep Ones), Ghouls (not undead but strange creatures who can travel between worlds if they tunnel through graveyards, and who eat the bodies of the dead--but may yet attack the living...)

For the cosmology you could develop the Moon, Dreamlands places and the Outer Worlds.

I would as you've suggested simplify spellcasting so that rather than have a number of spellcasting classes certain characters can choose feats that enable them to learn certain spells, can obtain lore to do so and so on. The challenge is not to go insane while doing it!
CombatMedic
12-31-07, 05:24 PM King of Witchland, I like the suggestions. I dunno how much mileage I'll get out of it, but I may adapt some stuff from my Guide to the Dreamlands[ Call of Cthulhu supplement].

Here are my initial thoughts on various monsters[ taking to heart some of your excellent suggestions]:

Troglodytes & Lizardmen:
One change is that a surface-dwelling variety of trogs exists, called 'lizardmen'. These are not the same species as the Lizardfolk of 3E.

Ghouls:
I may work in the stuff from AD&D 2E about ''true ghouls'' [it was in Dungeon Magazine- written by Wolfgang Baur, IIRC]. There will definitely be a kingdom of intelligent ghouls somewhere in the Underdark.

Sahuaghin:
The original Monster Manual suggests a theory of their origin as follows: the sahuaghins' ancestors were a particularly evil nation of humans who were transformed by a powerful evil god in order to preseve them when their homeland sank beneath the waves.

I like that, though I may change it around a bit. Maybe the homeland sank [divine retribution, or just a natural disaster?] and the sahuaghin made a pact with some alien entity, being transformed in order to survive.

Some versions of the sahuaghin use the malenti, sea elf lookalikes. I won't be using sea elves, but what about hybrids or atavistic sahaughin that can pass for human with a simple disguise? These would make good inflitrators and spies for use against human towns along the coast.
Pure_bordem
12-31-07, 06:27 PM as a general suggestion...if your going for horror style I recommend traps and illusions to really mess with their heads. As well any doppelganger style creature that can change shape could really drive someone nuts; especially if it changes between very grotesque shapes.

Another thought might be to use the shadow realm and its creatures since the shadow realm mirrors the real world, only very blurry and dark (sorta like frodo putting on the One ring in LOTR)
taradusis
12-31-07, 09:27 PM Libris mortis has a lot of undead,BOVD might be a good investment as well. A drug that can be fed to the living,makes them taste better to ghouls and vampires. Has an effect like opium on undead?A metal that reduces supernatural appetites. 1 LB is required per 100 LBs of Undead. A ghoul usually has a crown of this metal bolted to the skull,allows him to survive "the Hunger'. A vampire usually wears a bracer to avoid "the Thirst".A black ovoid that falls to earth. It explodes in ebony waves of energy. 10% of people exposed to this radiation die and rise as skeletons or zombies. I like a visual where people drop dead,then their bodies begin to twitch,this is followed by the skeletons ripping free of their bodies and attacking.
die
01-01-08, 12:59 AM Wolfgang Baur did some more ghoul stuff in October you might like
Empire of the Ghouls (http://wolfgangbaur.com/opendesign/empire_ghouls.aspx)
True Ghouls (http://home.gwi.net/~rdorman/frilond/rul/dm/ghoul.htm) from “The Kingdom of the Ghouls” (Dungeon 70)

Ghouls:
I may work in the stuff from AD&D 2E about ''true ghouls'' [it was in Dungeon Magazine- written by Wolfgang Baur, IIRC]. There will definitely be a kingdom of intelligent ghouls somewhere in the Underdark.

In Dragon 349 the stuff about coastline cults of Dagon and the Kuo-toa is really cool. It would tie in good with the Aberration Blood feats from the Lords of Madness book.

Sahuaghin:
The original Monster Manual suggests a theory of their origin as follows: the sahuaghins' ancestors were a particularly evil nation of humans who were transformed by a powerful evil god in order to preseve them when their homeland sank beneath the waves.

And of course there is the d20 CoC book

random bits of unnameable yuckiness
Creating a Proto-Shoggoth (http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=10425)
Deep One Hybrid (Template), Drooling Thing, Creatures of the Dreamlands (http://members.aol.com/CountryGrrlHere/cofcd20.html)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
CombatMedic 12-30-07, 10:14 PM	Just for fun, I want to design a D&D campaign world that leans towards swords and sorcery with a heavy dose of horror. Lots of weird Lovecraftian stuff. I'll just post some rough notes here and edit them later. Feel free to comment, that's why I put this up.:) Arcane Magic ; Arcane casters risk their sanity as they progress in their studies. Evil spells also corrupt the caster, even to the extent of warping his body if cast too frequently. The risks of arcane studies , along with the need for years of schooling, tend to keep the number of true mages down. Divine Magic and the Gods: The gods are generally quite distant [think Eberron, and you'll be on the right track]. Divine magic works well enough, but the gods don't grant it to just anyone- only devoted and exceptional priests have such powers. Psionics Psionics is the result of a mutation. Psi powers can possibly be granted through dangerous psychic surgery, but otherwise, a character must be born with the power. Psi is poorly understood in most societies, and strong prejudices against ''witches'' often make life difficult for psionicists who don't hide their talents. Alignment Ignore this stuff. Divine casters need to follow their sect's strictures, or they risk losing spells/getting curses. Might use Taint instead... Monsters: I'll include a lot of horror themed beasties, naturally. Not just vampires and werewolves, but weird stuff. Moonrats are a good example. Weird undead and stuff from Heroes of Horror or Libris Mortis will probably fit in well, for the most part. Dunno much about Lords of Madness. Some of the familiar D&D stand-bys will be absent, their places taken by less commonly used critters. I'm not including any orcs,drow, or hobgoblins. Troglodytes will definitely be an important Underdark species. Myconids are definitely in. I'm debating the use of flinds/gnolls [they may be linked with ghouls, if I do use 'em]. Player Races: Humans. The PHB demihumans are probably out, though I might make room for a couple of demihuamn types [ maybe elves or dwarves ,they'll be portrayed bit differently than the generic D&D treatment, if I include 'em]. Races should not be too powerful [LA 0, in D20 terms, would be nice]. More to come....
GoriceXII 12-31-07, 01:17 AM	I'd actually suggest using the SAN system, very simple and straightforward. Also, Yuan-Ti (for Serpent Folk) Sahuagin (with a curse added for contact with humans to make Deep Ones), Ghouls (not undead but strange creatures who can travel between worlds if they tunnel through graveyards, and who eat the bodies of the dead--but may yet attack the living...) For the cosmology you could develop the Moon, Dreamlands places and the Outer Worlds. I would as you've suggested simplify spellcasting so that rather than have a number of spellcasting classes certain characters can choose feats that enable them to learn certain spells, can obtain lore to do so and so on. The challenge is not to go insane while doing it!
CombatMedic 12-31-07, 05:24 PM	King of Witchland, I like the suggestions. I dunno how much mileage I'll get out of it, but I may adapt some stuff from my Guide to the Dreamlands[ Call of Cthulhu supplement]. Here are my initial thoughts on various monsters[ taking to heart some of your excellent suggestions]: Troglodytes & Lizardmen: One change is that a surface-dwelling variety of trogs exists, called 'lizardmen'. These are not the same species as the Lizardfolk of 3E. Ghouls: I may work in the stuff from AD&D 2E about ''true ghouls'' [it was in Dungeon Magazine- written by Wolfgang Baur, IIRC]. There will definitely be a kingdom of intelligent ghouls somewhere in the Underdark. Sahuaghin: The original Monster Manual suggests a theory of their origin as follows: the sahuaghins' ancestors were a particularly evil nation of humans who were transformed by a powerful evil god in order to preseve them when their homeland sank beneath the waves. I like that, though I may change it around a bit. Maybe the homeland sank [divine retribution, or just a natural disaster?] and the sahuaghin made a pact with some alien entity, being transformed in order to survive. Some versions of the sahuaghin use the malenti, sea elf lookalikes. I won't be using sea elves, but what about hybrids or atavistic sahaughin that can pass for human with a simple disguise? These would make good inflitrators and spies for use against human towns along the coast.
Pure_bordem 12-31-07, 06:27 PM	as a general suggestion...if your going for horror style I recommend traps and illusions to really mess with their heads. As well any doppelganger style creature that can change shape could really drive someone nuts; especially if it changes between very grotesque shapes. Another thought might be to use the shadow realm and its creatures since the shadow realm mirrors the real world, only very blurry and dark (sorta like frodo putting on the One ring in LOTR)
taradusis 12-31-07, 09:27 PM	Libris mortis has a lot of undead,BOVD might be a good investment as well. A drug that can be fed to the living,makes them taste better to ghouls and vampires. Has an effect like opium on undead?A metal that reduces supernatural appetites. 1 LB is required per 100 LBs of Undead. A ghoul usually has a crown of this metal bolted to the skull,allows him to survive "the Hunger'. A vampire usually wears a bracer to avoid "the Thirst".A black ovoid that falls to earth. It explodes in ebony waves of energy. 10% of people exposed to this radiation die and rise as skeletons or zombies. I like a visual where people drop dead,then their bodies begin to twitch,this is followed by the skeletons ripping free of their bodies and attacking.
die 01-01-08, 12:59 AM	Wolfgang Baur did some more ghoul stuff in October you might like Empire of the Ghouls (http://wolfgangbaur.com/opendesign/empire_ghouls.aspx) True Ghouls (http://home.gwi.net/~rdorman/frilond/rul/dm/ghoul.htm) from “The Kingdom of the Ghouls” (Dungeon 70) Ghouls: I may work in the stuff from AD&D 2E about ''true ghouls'' [it was in Dungeon Magazine- written by Wolfgang Baur, IIRC]. There will definitely be a kingdom of intelligent ghouls somewhere in the Underdark. In Dragon 349 the stuff about coastline cults of Dagon and the Kuo-toa is really cool. It would tie in good with the Aberration Blood feats from the Lords of Madness book. Sahuaghin: The original Monster Manual suggests a theory of their origin as follows: the sahuaghins' ancestors were a particularly evil nation of humans who were transformed by a powerful evil god in order to preseve them when their homeland sank beneath the waves. And of course there is the d20 CoC book random bits of unnameable yuckiness Creating a Proto-Shoggoth (http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=10425) Deep One Hybrid (Template), Drooling Thing, Creatures of the Dreamlands (http://members.aol.com/CountryGrrlHere/cofcd20.html)