| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Kris the Grey |
Posted - 13 Dec 2011 : 20:29:39
Friends, gamers, Realmsians, lend me your ears...
Many years ago, after about decade playing AD&D and noticing that players in my games tended to play thinly disguised versions of one or two 'idealized alter ego' character types ('If I had super powers I'd be a...') over and over again, no matter what settings I offered up to them, I got an idea firmly rooted in one of the classic conceits of fantasy literature. Why have players play thinly veiled idealized versions of themselves when I could cut out the middle man and just skip straight to the idea of stating them out and directly dropping them into a fantasy world Chronicles of Narnia (or Woods out Back, or Guardians of the Flame, or...well you get it) style?
It worked pretty well, despite the impact of Cheetos and Mountain Dew on the general physical fitness of the average gaming group. The players enjoyed getting to experience the settings for themselves and interact with 'legendary' people, places and things. Their 'metagaming' knowledge of the game (courtesy of Elminster and 'Ed of the Greenwood' for example) allowed them distinct advantages over the locals that made up for their lack of general physical prowess. Developing plots and complex player motivations was a breeze, characters knew what motivated (and repelled) them on every level, from classes, to races, to spells, to causes, to food, to clothes they would wear. People actually played characters with most stats well under 15. Lol. I found almost everyone who played approached the game with a new sense of wonder and moral dilemmas took on a whole new (and more enlightening dimension). To make a long story short, over almost 20 years of doing this I've run 4 major campaigns and countless minor 'Play Yourself' adventures with every group of gamers I've run across, from my regular gaming groups to pick up games at conventions and hobby stores.
As a long standing fan of the Realms, and someone who has been following Ed's creation since it first appeared in the pages of Dragon Magazine, I've always noted the connection between the Realms and Earth in general and Elminster (and others of Mystra's chosen) and 'Ed of the Greenwood' in particular, and so I've always set my PYS adventures in the Realms. My 3rd lengthy campaign, which was 2nd edition AD&D rules based, wound down (owing not to lack of plot, but merely the abundance of newly minted real world PC offspring making the group slowly slide into oblivion) in the year 1372 (as fate would have it, right after the transition to the 3rd edition rules set) and we took a little break from D&D to do a bit of non fantasy gaming.
As a loyal Realms fan, I kept up with all the published materials, source books and novels alike. I'm relatively certain there has never been anything Realms published I don't own a copy of at this point. Lol. In 2008 with the debut of the 4th edition, I suffered the same kick in the face/fits of inchoate rage that overtook many a classic (pre Spellplague) fan and promptly stopped collecting source books (beyond the first two published) and stopped reading novels set post 1385. When, in 2010, I had a group of friends ready to play D&D again, I once more hopped aboard my one trick gaming pony and started up my 4th PYS campaign.
Like many of you, seeing the events of 1385 as a travesty in motion, I set my game in 1369. Only this time, I ran my 4th campaign alongside the skeleton of my 3rd campaign... Two of the players of my 3rd campaign were still around and so, with their consent, I dropped my 4th group of players into the timeline of the 3rd group (within a year of the start) as not only world travelers, but as TIME travelers as well. Time travelers in possession of some knowledge about the future of the Realms and marked with a mysterious silver symbol eerily akin to the sigil of Mystra (magically tattooed above their hearts and visible only to those with advanced magical sight or when it flashes into life to protect them - acting on it's own and consuming one of the seven silver stars surrounding it in so doing...). I leave it to you, dear readers, to speculate as to the ultimate direction of the campaign. Rest assured, it's not a simple as it seems...
So, why, other than just sharing my campaign details, am I bringing all this up?
Well, I've always been fascinated by the very nature of the connection between the fictional Realms and Earth. You have a group of beings, every last one the Chosen of the goddess of magic, serving her will and thus subject to action at her direction, appearing to an Earther and divulging secrets of their world in a way that would only benefit people here, gamers mind you, reading that material. Over the years, a number of strange coincidences have also popped up in my games...
An example from just this month, the players were fleeing for their lives from another group of Earthers (who are contemporaries/recurring villains of my 3rd PYS campaign gaming group) who had somehow found a way to circumvent the Weave using dark magics to allow technology (read modern fire arms and explosives) to function in the Realms (and allied with a shadow dragon no less) before any of the 3rd edition materials on Shar's Shadow Weave were released. In fleeing from them, they sought a place to flee into in desperate haste where scrying would not work so they could not be tracked. Somewhere they could hold up for a month or more while their trails grew cold.
As the campaign is set in Waterdeep, the wise among them used their metagaming skills and thought of Undermountain, and the Promenade of the Dark Maiden located on it's 3rd level, fondly remembered from the pages of an old Dragon Magazine article. Your enterprising DM pulled out all of his old 2E materials to research it, starting with that article in Dragon #176 (December 1991), which first detailed the place. Funny, but here is what it says in the introduction of that article...(Quile in disguise - speaking as 'Laeral' - and making her first ever trip to Earth), "Though I am loathe to reveal all of the secrets of the Dark Halls, thou and thy readers need to be aided by news of beneficial places within this dungeon's sanguinary confines." As they said in the 90's, things that make you go hmmmm.
Anyway, amusing musings aside. I'd always wondered why nothing much was ever made of the connections and the nature of the revelations about the realms (beyond initial concerns about lawsuits from the mentally unsound as Ed himself noted some time ago). It would seem ripe for adventures of the sort I run. I wonder...has anyone else tried a PYS style Realms adventure? And if so, what were your experiences with it?
|
| 21 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Wolfhound75 |
Posted - 16 Dec 2011 : 22:30:10
I have a homebrew world that I've been building whose primary reason for existence was to keep my brain busy while deployed.
Now that I think about how to explain it, I'm not sure "world" is really the correct term. It's more of a homebrew D&D uni-multiverse where I attempted to combine the different D&D worlds including Toril, Oerth, Krynn, Eberron among others, and settings such as Ravenloft, SpellJammer, and Planescape and create a means for moving between various realms.
I admit it probably has some inaccuracies for those who prefer strict rules baron type play but, it's my uni-multiverse and I had to choose what elements to incorporate and which ones to leave out. Besides, I'm not nearly as familiar with other settings as I am with the Realms so in case of lack of knowledge, revert to what I knew.
It kept me busy and gave me a way to relax and decompress after an 18-hour mission day so it served its purpose. Thanks to those who have provided their experiences in the other settings. It just reawakened my thoughts on this project.
Good Hunting! |
| Kris the Grey |
Posted - 16 Dec 2011 : 21:34:05
An amusing system if I recall (and one that reminds me of that Dragon Magazine cover by Larry Elmore featuring an F-15 squaring off against a Red Dragon Lol).
While it certainly COULD, I can think of several reasons why it wouldn't have to (as they are the ones I use in my campaign to prevent such). To wit:
It may simply be that as the worship of the 'old gods' decreased on Earth (as monotheism took the world by storm at the end of the Roman Empire and into the Dark Ages) the old magic loving gods of Earth, faced with extinction (owing to a lack of worshipers) made a deal with the overgods to be 'relocated' off on Earth and into a place (or places) like the Realms where magic and polytheism still ruled the day. Part of that agreement involved them never returning and never extending their power back to Earth (or to Earthers traveling back and forth between the two worlds) and Earth, deprived of such gods, and by extension it's own version of the Weave, is simply not suitable for the use of higher level magics (absent those powered by visitors who carry with them their own source of magical energies to draw on - such as Mystra's Chosen with their Silver Fire). All magical beasts (such as Dragons) and races (elves/dwarves/etc) died off or were similarly relocated in pre-history (get on the boat Frodo) and Earth welcomed the age of man.
This, combined with a corresponding decrease in the belief in the very existence of magic, makes Earth a pretty mundane place for most of us (and prevents obvious incursions from magic rich worlds, creatures, etc). There are, of course, a special few in the know who fight a secret behind the scenes battle against dark forces as detailed above in the post by the Lady Herald.
Well, that's how I see it anyway. It nicely avoids splash back.
|
| TheHermit |
Posted - 16 Dec 2011 : 20:21:29
I feel obliged to mention that an Earth with connections with the Realms from the earliest part of its history might turn out very much like the delightful Castle Falkenstein setting. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 16 Dec 2011 : 18:19:49
I think 7th Sea was great concept, and I was very excited when they converted it to D20 with Swashbuckling Adventures, but I found it a bit... dry. I was disappointed in the rather lack-luster presentation. Not that it was bad... it just sorta fell-flat for me (it was just an imitation of RW cultures and history).
I imagine a Pirate-style campaign to be on a map like Earthsea - then the theme would be better suited to the world itself. But if we wanted to add-in a bit of that 'Victorian flavor', we'd have to have at least one large landmass to double as a 'Great Britain-esque' empire.
This thread has me really re-evaluating my homebrew world - I think I may scrap a lot of it and just keep a few of the good (original) things. The 'one large continent with many races/cultures' thing as been done-to-death in fantasy/RPGs (Faerûn, Mystara, Krynn/Anasalon, Oerth/Greyhawk, Golarion, Middle-Earth, Iron Kingdoms, Theah, Lankhmar, WoT, SoT, etc, etc... |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 16 Dec 2011 : 06:17:29
TSR experimented with branching D&D historical settings (Rome, Egypt, Vikings, etc), ancient/classical period fantasy settings, horror settings, Planescape, Spelljammer, Maztica, Al-Qadim, Kara-Tur, etc etc. Plus the somewhat less popular Mystara, Birthright, Eberron, Dragonlance, and Greyhawk settings. They even inserted "links" to their old (Western) Boot Hill and (sci-fi) Gamma World and Star Frontiers settings. Not to mention the loosely-installed "links" people perceive to Lovecraft/Cthulhu stuff and Traveller and innumerable other non-Wizbro RPG environments.
There are RPGs for every niche and every genre, but D&D has traditionally dominated the generic Tolkien-ish medieval-ish "classic" fantasy fanbase. Every attempt to direct D&D towards something else has attracted some diehard fans but ultimately failed, largely because one of the countless other RPGs usually offers increased focus on specialized genre/setting topics, while other products like GURPS and Palladium offer fewer setting-anchored constraints and can migrate across worlds and universes with less difficulty.
Pirates, Jungles, and Feudal Orient have already been done, and abandoned, in D&D.
[Edit]
Your whiskey commercial was funny, Markus. I've always loved Danse macabre and have spent many hours practicing that piece. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 16 Dec 2011 : 05:58:53
After my last post, I went to 'my place of deep thinking' (which takes a load off my mind  )...
I thought about The Wizards Three articles from Dragon, which not only further firmly establishes Earth's connection to The Realms, but at least two other primary D&D worlds - Oerth and Krynn.
And then I thought, "those meeting have probably been going on for quite some time". And then it hit me... Elminster doesn't go to visit Ed - that was just a 'fortunate accident'. Elminster is a thousand years old! Oh, the people he must have met! 
I had forgotten about Masque of the Red Death - it was the rules for the Gothic Earth Gazeteer product. Nice call.
I suppose there should be a sub-genre somewhere between Cthulhu by Gaslight and Steampunk - perhaps 'Gothpunk', or some-such. (Jules Verne meets Gothic Horror). I think the period has just the right mix of darkness (coming out of the dark ages) and light (the 'new technology'). The world is still mostly unexplored by the 'civilized' peoples, and shadowy secrets still await behind every stone, and inside every tomb. Magic is becoming weak, and the creatures of the night scarce, but they still exist, like cornered beasts, fighting to retain their small corners of the world. Secret societies, mysterious puppet-masters, and dark agendas - it was an age of promise... and of darkness. A time when man strove to push back the edges of the map, and make a little profit for their efforts... at any cost.
Why that time period hasn't become more popular with RPGs is beyond me. Pirates, Tarzan, and Feudal Japan! Need I say more?
EDIT: And just as I posted this, This Commercial came on. I love all the ads by this company - they really capture the spirit of what I was just saying (plus the heavy-drinking hero appeals to my Irish heritage).  |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 16 Dec 2011 : 01:38:06
Agreed, ye can never go wrong with acid-blood monsters. I personally prefer kobold hordes over zombie hordes (outside of places like Ravenloft), kobold punting is a popular competitive sport. You might find Masque of the Red Death interesting. |
| Kris the Grey |
Posted - 15 Dec 2011 : 23:27:14
The Gothic Earth setting was indeed among the better elements of the Ravenloft game. I always enjoyed mixing Sherlock Holmes style environs with a bit of the supernatural. For those who like he who lies in R'lyeh dreaming (or those who design throne rooms with plenty of corners), I'd recommend 'Shadows Over Baker Street', a collection of short stories involving the Holmes universe and elements of the Mythos.
I like the 'shocking reveal' DM tactic regardless of the game system, so non-normalness is a good way to get to that. The players think they have things figured out, only to get caught flat footed. Delta Green is an excellent system for that sort of thing, but you can have a pretty amusing evening running something like a D20 Modern game and dropping the characters into the middle of unexpected Zombie Apocalypse, or a 22nd Century 'ho hum space exploration' game where you are secretly recreating a scenario from the Aliens films. In my view, while it's always great to know you are going up against zombies or xenomorph acidic blooded aliens, it can be more fun (and more realistic if you will - odd as that may sound Lol) to think you are facing one thing only to discover it is quite another.
In my 'Play Yourself' vein, some of the most fun 'one shot' game nights (usually on Halloween) have been 'Play Yourself' Zombie Apocalypse scenarios. Short but sweet. Lol.
Oh, and Tahiti is damn hot, but the ocean more than offsets that problem in my humble opinion. My wife and I were lucky enough to have visited it (the main island of Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea) as part of our honeymoon in October.
|
| Ayrik |
Posted - 15 Dec 2011 : 08:37:26
Rendlog-Nairb, the Transformer, Prime Executor of Orbsah ... you're right, backwards exposes the evil, that's a nefarious sobriquet worthy of being listed in a grimoire like the Ars Goetia or Cthäat Aquadingen. It all makes perfect sense now. Fnord.
Interesting that Kirya sounds like a little girl's name while Yat'Sukram sounds like one who should be in the evil throneroom of Rendlog-Nairb, stoking the souls in the cozy fireplace and tending the appetites of the playful Tindalos hounds.
[Edit]
I have been to Tanelorn-called-Tahiti. Nice place. A little hotter than I liked.
Your understanding of the real purpose behind those collectible card games is flawed. Each of these shamelessly "Magic" cards bears one of the five mystic glyphs needed to invoke an event of truly unspeakable horror named "The Gathering". As the number of these cards continues to multiply - along with the complete sets they form - the Gathering on the Other Side (the Realm of Orbsah) grows in numbers and potency as well. It is only a matter of time before the sheer weight of their hunger breaches the barriers to our world. The millions and millions of dollars Orbsah makes from all this is just an incidental bonus, take Mrs. Orbsah (née Orbsetta) out to a fancy dinner, buy some extra xmas presents for the little Orbslings. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 15 Dec 2011 : 07:48:48
Interesting. One of my first story ideas for the Realms revolved around cross-world gun-dealers, and the chaos that ensued...
Elminster found it amusing. Khelben just shook his head.
I happen to like fantasy mixed with reality - which is sometimes lumped into the 'alternative history' category. Like that scene in MiB (both movies) when 'the newbie' first notices all the non-normalness around him. I picture many strange and wondrous things living all around us, and flying - sometimes quite literally - under the radar.
Its not so odd - films like Indiana Jones, The Mummy. and Pirates of the Caribbean were all hits, and they mixed fantasy with reality. You could even lump-in things like The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, Underworld, The Brothers Grimm, Van Helsing, etc, etc... stories supposedly taking place in the 'real world', but containing many fantasy elements.
I think I may be one of the very few people who preferred the Gothic Earth sub-setting to the main Ravenloft one - I thought that product was excellent. Imagine Sherlock Holmes trying to track a Rakshasa in old London, or Jules Verne discovering an ancient time-artifact - the Torwood (Dr. Who spin-off) TV show is based around such premises, as is the American program Warehouse 13. Heck, the entire Deadlands/Weird west setting falls into this genre (which borders on steampunk, but not quite - it contains Steampunk elements, but it doesn't revolve around them - Captain Nemo's Nautilus, for instance).
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Hasbro, Inc. might be run by a dragon, fiend, or other inhuman agent working to promote (or destroy) Mystra's influence on our world.
All sorts of possibilities.
Actually, they coerced the goodly Wizards who dwelt upon the Coast, who had already established a beach-head on our world quite some time ago. They cleverly used their knowledge of other Planes to create a collectible card-game, with the hopes of using their new wealth to rule the world economically.
Alas, their leader decided the Fiends of Orbsah (because everything is eviller if spelled backwards) were better suited to world domination, and took the money (and a few souls) and retired to Tahiti (which few know is actually a trans-planer resort, known on most worlds as Tanelorn). |
| Kris the Grey |
Posted - 14 Dec 2011 : 05:44:10
Lady,
Thank you very much for the kind words in your post (and through you, Ed's). I sent you a message (well at least I think I did Lol) which you hopefully received. It is moments like this one that have kept me firmly fastened to the Realms all these many years (and hopefully will for many more). |
| The Hooded One |
Posted - 14 Dec 2011 : 03:33:05
Heh. Great thread.
Kris the Grey, here's a Realms secret: Ed has always run a side-campaign, all about the connections between the Realms and the real world, and those who know about them, who fall into three groups: people (often children or teens) who stumble onto (usually THROUGH, actually) them; those who know about them and keep very quiet about it, using them sparingly and hiding what they know; and those (often not human) who ruthlessly seek to control them and manipulate, blackmail, or kill the other two sorts.
Ed quite often runs short-scope adventures for kids who want to "play D&D" by using this "borderland" sort of play, and keeping things mysterious. For one thing, it's an escape valve for unhappy or shy or disadvantaged kids, holding out hope that "there's more lurking around us than the mundane and sordid everyday" and that THEY personally matter.
Ed has also written short stories about these links between the Realms and our real world for both children and adults (that he gives to them privately, to be their own; no Realms names or D&D-specific critters and terms appear in them).
I passed your initial post on to Ed, and he and I both enjoyed it very much. Your campaigns sound GREAT. 
love,
THO |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 14 Dec 2011 : 02:38:41
Not trying to wear a mock at all, just a punishing bad attempt to slip in a warded wardrobe. |
| Kris the Grey |
Posted - 14 Dec 2011 : 02:14:45
You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were mocking me. Scandalous.
Wardrobes are ideal in my book. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 14 Dec 2011 : 01:16:28
Sounds like a good foundation for Planescape-styled play. A portal in Sigil could connect, in theory, to a cabinet in your kitchen. Or to a large wooden wardrobe if that's more your style.
I would hope that it's warded to prevent entry into your kitchen by random extraplanar beings. |
| Kris the Grey |
Posted - 14 Dec 2011 : 01:03:19
That's the spirit. I've always had a bad feeling about those folks over at Hasbro... Lol.
If you enjoy that POV you really should check out Ed's 'Falconfar' books (if you already haven't). I was really amused by his central premise (and they must have been nicely cathartic for him to write).
|
| Ayrik |
Posted - 14 Dec 2011 : 00:57:22
Who says we don't have to worry about fantastic magics and creatures taking root on Earth? Or, indeed, that they didn't originate here?
Likewise with common deities, such as Mielikki - they might have arrived here from the Realms. Or arrived at both worlds through the Feywild for all we know.
Although I do agree with your ideas about Mystra (or similar powers) possibly seeding other worlds to disseminate knowledge and worship of her doctrine. She may be prohibited (by Ao, or simply by limitations on her own power) from directly interacting with another world, like Earth ... but there might be ways to influence things across the boundaries, to affect the dreams and works of those who are already reaching towards Mystra's world of their own volition.
Ed might be a receptacle, a shard of Mystra's divine power "safely" hidden on our world.
Atlantis might be one of the "missing" Netherese cities which fled Faerûn, crashed into our oceans.
Cthulhu-entities might have migrated from their Far Realms into the D&D universe by using our world as a bridge.
Gith incursions might account for alien abductions, cattle mutilations, and other weirdness. They look kinda grey.
Hasbro, Inc. might be run by a dragon, fiend, or other inhuman agent working to promote (or destroy) Mystra's influence on our world.
All sorts of possibilities.
|
| Kris the Grey |
Posted - 14 Dec 2011 : 00:13:13
While I certainly appreciate (and also respect) the Classic Fantasy Purist point of view (after all, I'm the one bemoaning the 4th Edition FR changes), I'd have to disagree with your assertion that there is 'too much transfer' between the worlds. Mystra's edicts (enforced through the Weave) on the use of electronics, other such advanced technology, and gunpowder (the Earth non magical formula) generally prevent the negative impact of having a select few 'people from Earth' roaming around the Realms.
What's more, it is (to me anyway) perfectly Mystraesque for there to be a sub plot that involves her Chosen relaying key information about life in the Realms (and the various threats thereto) to gamers on Earth with the idea that, at some point in the future, such people would be drawn to the Realms and swept up in the various struggles between the gods occurring there. Mystra is always setting plots into motion designed to have an impact well down the line (they don't call her the Lady of Mysteries for nothing). With the inevitable 'many Mystras' problem that occurs over time, you can easily have Mystra 2.0 initiate a plan that even Mystra 3.0 (Midnight) knows little to nothing about.
You don't have to worry about 'Shadowrun' style reverse events owing to Ao's (well his boss or bosses) ability to prevent Realms magic using people and creatures from taking root on Earth. It's more than a little amusing to me that several Realms deities (Sharess, Mielikki,etc) have their roots on Earth. Perhaps they left Earth as monotheism took root here (or as Merlin might say, "there is no room now for the old gods, their time has past") and were forbidden from coming back. I addressed the desire of one of my players to worship Mielikki with exactly that admonition. Sure, you can worship her all you like, but since you are from Earth and she has a 'no powers may be granted by you to Earthers as this may lead to a revival of your worship on Earth, something you gave up when you agreed to come here to the Realms' clause in effect, you won't be getting any spells from her.
In any event, do understand that I'm saying such crossovers must be handled with care. However, making the players special and their special status as heroes the keystone of the campaign is generally in keeping with your typical long term D&D campaign.
Last, I just wanted to take a second to say that while I didn't quite follow the, 'adding a modern element to a classic fantasy world has been overdone, so instead the world must remain utterly pure classic fantasy...which certainly hasn't been overdone...' line of reasoning, I wanted to try to address the underlying concerns raised by your argument. I'm painfully lawful as a human being (see my chosen profession Lol) and I wanted to simply assure you that I'm not just running something pell mell without taking into account all of the things I'm setting loose into the world(s)...
|
| Ayrik |
Posted - 13 Dec 2011 : 23:31:52
Too much crossover destroys the fantasy and flavour which distinguishes the Realms. The line which divides worlds is arbitrary but not placed lightly, in fact there's probably already too much transfer between these worlds.
I suppose that works both ways, but it would be interesting to read a "Forgotten Realms" novel set on Earth. A dragon attempting to build a "hoard" containing portfolios of corporate holdings? A druid who opposes the dragon's industrialized strip mining of natural habitats? An illusionist seeking employment in Hollywood? An evil mage using magics to control world leaders? A priest of Asmodeus attempting to establish his cult? Tiefling rockstars? Elven lawyers? Dwarven mechanics? Orcish athletes?
The problem with all these ideas is that they've already been done to death. Shadowrun, Buffy, Piers Anthony, a thousand other sources. Plus, once again, the warrior and thief classes would be shuffled onto the backburner while the spellcasters get all the glory. |
| Kris the Grey |
Posted - 13 Dec 2011 : 22:46:05
I know exactly what you mean about camp (I was fond of the City of Greyhawk and it's environs before the Realms), and I too recall the Coca Cola Golems (and several other wacky cross overs from the April Fools issues of Dragon - Lol), but here I'm noting that the breaching of the '4th wall' nature of the presentation of the Realms material (the publishing of the first grey FR boxed set is an event in the Grand History of the Realms for example - Lol) lends itself well to actual serious attempts at games centered around earthers adventuring in the Realms in a way that you don't get with Oerth, Krynn, Eberron, Dark Sun, or what have you.
I've also always wondered if Ed has ever addressed this issue anywhere? Do any of the moderators know? I was amused by his 'Falconfar' series of novels (written in the Realms hiatus period of 2007 to 2010) for some of the same reasons I like play yourself games in general... |
| Markustay |
Posted - 13 Dec 2011 : 20:53:21
For some reason, most folk get annoyed when the (canon) connections between The Realms and Earth are pointed out. They don't seem to mind overly much that they are there, so long as you don't draw emphasis to it (like picking at a scab).
On the other hand, there were no canon connections that I can recall between Earth and Oerth (Greyhawk), aside from the similar names, and such silliness as Coca-Cola Golems (I kid you not). Yet, my co-DM for years had dropped several real people into our games - various friends of ours who were not full-time players, but sat-in on sessions. Rick (my friend) would just say that the character was the actual player, and he fell through some sort of rift (alleviating quite a bit of PC-generating, which was great for these one-or-two usage characters). One guy actually rode his Harley into Greyhawk (the city) - he had a blast, until he ran out of gas.
In D&D's 'younger days', such antics were common, and a hoot, but I think as the players grew-up, the game itself matured, which is a damn shame, because all that silliness was a lot of light-hearted fun. Sometimes you don't want to fight the 'Dark Lord' and save the world - sometimes you just want to babysit an obnoxious princess... or a young dragon... or get the King some Nachos. |
|
|
