Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DMMagic 01-31-05, 10:52 PM	There's probably already a thread on this somewhere but the search is down, so... Has anyone ever played/created/had thoughts on D&D campaigns that are based on fantasy books? I can only imagine the hundreds of campaigns that have been waged that were based on LOTR. Do these kinds of campaigns play well? Do you think it brings players, if they've read it, into the story more? Does it make surprises difficult? I'm mostly just interested in hearing your stories, but I'm also trying to decide if I should make a campaign based on George Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series.
Seeker95 01-31-05, 11:10 PM	They either sail high or sink hard. There is no middle ground for book-based campaigns. The reason is simple. Either the campaign lives up to the expectations created by the books, or it doesn't. Other elements can contribute to these expectations and the campaign's delivery. 1. Have all the players read the books? 2. Is the history in the book considered "game history"? 3. Are you using just the world, or the plotline too? 4. Did the players enjoy the series/book(s)? Add to these another layer: Regardless of the answer to the first three questions, are both players and DM in agreement that the answers given are the answers they want? Personally, I couldn't play in a Tolkein world. Too much canon that just seems "necessary" to work, but in working would serve as a straight-jacket. But I think I could greatly enjoy playing in a Pern or Xanth world. I think I would much prefer a campaign set in a novel-based world as long as the novel itself is not a part of it.
Draco Strang 01-31-05, 11:34 PM	Every so often I'll follow a FR novel and sort of use it as a general plotline for the adventure. For example, I had my players once take part in the defense of Mithral Hall against the assault of the drow, from the book Starless Nights I think it is. No, they didn't hang out with Drizzt and Bruenor, but were in fact attached to the Knights of Silverymoon as a little added muscle. They didn't make it into the hall until well after the fighting was over and they were working through the dead. Fun? Oh yea it was fun, they were taking down goblins and kobolds like it was their job, with the occasional minotaur to spice things up. Their BBEG was a drow "task force" that was similar in composition to the PC party. Good times were had by all.
CzarGarrett 02-01-05, 08:51 AM	I know I use various books I've read as a vague basis for campaign worlds. I like the idea of "demons" with different aspects wandering about the world like from the Coldfire Triology. I like the idea of a super-heavy industrial and alchemal society going against a lower tech naval power like in Tyrants and Kings. I like the idea of torcs that can enhanse psionically active creatures and give non-psionic creatures a limited amount of psionic power like in the Plieocene Exile Saga. All these books and series give me ideas that I take a little from here, and little from there, and volia, I can get an interesting campaign world that is partially familiar to some people, but still enough new that they don't know what to expect.
Hayabusa 02-01-05, 10:12 AM	I played in a Lord of the Rings game once. Very fun, the best part was Moria where some very funny things happened.
The Eye of Kyi 02-01-05, 10:19 AM	It also depends on the players and DM involved. I have run several campaigns that were loosely based on books, and as an earlier poster said they either sailed or sank. No middle ground. I think its ok in general to base campaigns on authors worlds / works, but it often gets a little hinky if you involve the characters too heavily into the plotlines in those same books. For a great example of how this would work there was a Dragon/Dungeon Mag that had the world of G.R.R Martin, A Game of Swords, or A Game of Thrones, something like that. Anyway the issue had a map of his world in it, and how to run a campaign based on his writings. It actually prompted me to go out and read the books... great low magic based campaign possibilities, and very gritty, very real.
DMMagic 02-01-05, 03:00 PM	Hey, those are the exact books I was referring to in my post! I've been reading "Game of Thrones" in Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series and that's what prompted me to post this thread. Is there any chance that you recall the issue of the magazine that contained that information? I'm interested in the possibility of such a campaign and would like to know more of the details. Thanks! P.S. If you like Fantasy, I highly recommend the above discussed series. It's a single novel broken into 6 books (like the 3 books of LOTR) of which the first 3 are published, the next is near completion (Already over 1000 pages final draft), and 2 have left to be written. They're... well... fantastic!
Seeker95 02-01-05, 09:21 PM	Is there any chance that you recall the issue of the magazine that contained that information?Issue 307: "Awakening Darkness: The Ice Wall Campaign" It focused on Westeros