| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Gellion |
Posted - 04 Apr 2005 : 01:50:33
So, it seems this island is a bit ignored a lot of the times. My qeustion is, how have you included it in your game? What plots have you set in Lantan? What other than raw materials and those things mentioned in the FRCS do the sell to mainland Faerun? |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| The Sage |
Posted - 11 Apr 2005 : 06:33:41
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
No, I was thinking of The Goblin's Return (start of the Second Unhuman War). The main scro base was located inside the shell of a large gammaroid (which greatly resembles in both size and appearance an asteroid). They had a witchlight marauder hidden in the center of the base sitting in a modified life jammer.
This reminds me a little of that April 1st SJ adventure back in 2003 that featured the crew of a Hammerhead facing off against my D&D interpretation of Ego, the Living Planet-oid.
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| Hoondatha |
Posted - 09 Apr 2005 : 06:45:14
Generally true. That gammaroid (which isn't as large as an island probably, I know. I can't find hard numbers on its dimensions) is one of only two exceptions to the 100 ton rule I know of in Spelljammer. The second is Spelljammer itself. I think it's the exceedingly large lifejammer that allows something normally too huge to move to spelljam.
Or, for an extra fun thought, you could have multiple witchlights chained together like a series helm. Enough of them would make even a large island fly (it'd be interesting to try to run the math and figure out how many would be needed for major FR islands).
But of course, only one's needed to slag an entire planet... |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 09 Apr 2005 : 04:52:26
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
No, I was thinking of The Goblin's Return (start of the Second Unhuman War). The main scro base was located inside the shell of a large gammaroid (which greatly resembles in both size and appearance an asteroid). They had a witchlight marauder hidden in the center of the base sitting in a modified life jammer.
Still, there's one heck of a difference between a gammaroid and an island. Islands are huge, compared to spelljamers. Most means of spelljamming can't move something larger than 100 tons -- and Lantan would weigh hundreds of thousands of tons, if not millions... |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 09 Apr 2005 : 04:22:51
No, I was thinking of The Goblin's Return (start of the Second Unhuman War). The main scro base was located inside the shell of a large gammaroid (which greatly resembles in both size and appearance an asteroid). They had a witchlight marauder hidden in the center of the base sitting in a modified life jammer. |
| ericlboyd |
Posted - 08 Apr 2005 : 07:32:25
You can find a nice unofficial write-up of Lantan (2e) here:
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Castle/2566/lantan.htm
--Eric |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 08 Apr 2005 : 06:37:40
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
Well, I dunno. One of the Spelljammer adventures had an entire mobile asteroid. But to make Lantan fly would require a witchlight marauder to be on Faerun, and that's just too scary to think about.
If we're thinking of the same thing (Hurricane Halvor's Real-Cheap Spacedock), the asteroid itself wasn't powered, it was towed by sarphardin. That I can buy. An island that becomes a spelljammer? Nay, can't buy that one. |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 08 Apr 2005 : 03:16:15
Well, I dunno. One of the Spelljammer adventures had an entire mobile asteroid. But to make Lantan fly would require a witchlight marauder to be on Faerun, and that's just too scary to think about.
And for my two cents, I don't mind guns, as long as they come from the Spelljammer setting. I generally keep them out of ground-pounder hands. The only time they've shown up were when the PC's encounter Imperial Fleet soldiers. |
| Kuje |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 23:53:21
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Donnachie
What about Lantan being a massive spelljammer ship? One day the pcs get it working and fly out of FR...
The entire island? That's too much of a stretch for me.
Ditto! Less it was the freaking Spelljammer itself. :) |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 23:28:00
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Donnachie
What about Lantan being a massive spelljammer ship? One day the pcs get it working and fly out of FR...
The entire island? That's too much of a stretch for me. |
| Lord Donnachie |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 18:59:43
What about Lantan being a massive spelljammer ship? One day the pcs get it working and fly out of FR... |
| Mareka |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 09:02:32
quote:
Originally posted by Chosen of Bane
My PC is a Cleric 6/Techsmith 9 and ALL of his feats are item creation. He constantly crafts new weapons and changes his weapon of choice on a whim (usually using something he is not proficient with). His latest idea was to try to make a weapon that he can just aim at people and blow them up. So, I may have him craft some sort of cannon/gun. I'm usually against guns and stuff like that in Sword & Sorcery gaming but it really just seems to fit with this character.
What do you think? Cannon/Guns...Balanced? Cheesey? Good Idea? Simply Out of Place?
P.S. I know it's up to the DM but...he NEVER says no. Fortunately we have a pretty mature group of gamers that doesn't take advantage.
Seems reasonable. The character is already known for his inventions, and it fits with the concept, so why not? It's not like he's going to start mass producing them. |
| Kuje |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 05:24:58
I guess I'm the odd one then since I allow smokepowder and use them all the time. :) But then maybe that's because I also enjoy Spelljammer and I see no reason why, in the multiverse, yes my setting kept the multiverse, that smokepowder weapons would not exist.
Hells, Elminster's retreat has portals to Earth, so I see no reason to disclude smokepowder. |
| Chosen of Bane |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 04:46:49
I too have never seen a DM or Player utilize a gun in an FR game. However, I have recently been toying with the idea. Here's what's going on...
I have a 15th level Gnomish Cleric of Gond who is currently on Oerth...We started the game there but I'm such an FR junkie that I worked it out with the DM that I was from Lantan originally but due to a major accident ending in the destruction of a temple I was Quested to perform a great task for Gond, there was then a non-game mechanically described divine force of magic that wisked me away to somewhere I was not familiar with...Oerth. Later we had a new member join are group and the first session he brought a Sun Elf from Evermeet because he just assumed we were in the realms because he heard about my character. So, his character and my character now have a plan to take Craft Portal at 18th level and travel back to the realms (I have completed my Quest).
My PC is a Cleric 6/Techsmith 9 and ALL of his feats are item creation. He constantly crafts new weapons and changes his weapon of choice on a whim (usually using something he is not proficient with). His latest idea was to try to make a weapon that he can just aim at people and blow them up. So, I may have him craft some sort of cannon/gun. I'm usually against guns and stuff like that in Sword & Sorcery gaming but it really just seems to fit with this character.
What do you think? Cannon/Guns...Balanced? Cheesey? Good Idea? Simply Out of Place?
P.S. I know it's up to the DM but...he NEVER says no. Fortunately we have a pretty mature group of gamers that doesn't take advantage. |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 03:34:29
quote:
Originally posted by Mareka
A lot of people don't like guns and gunpowder in the Realms. Even though we play on the Sword Coast quiet a bit, we have never used them. Nobody has ever wanted one, no one has ever given an NPC one; it's just not come up. It doesn't bother me that they exist, though. They're rare.
I'm the same way. I've played within the Realms in several countries and have yet to run into a group or DM that wanted to include guns and gunpowder. Even when I slid the D20 city Freeport into my Realms campaign I kept this aspect out. |
| Reefy |
Posted - 07 Apr 2005 : 00:00:55
quote:
Originally posted by Mareka
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
No, no regrets. Lantan's always seemed to be the place that sends out all of the setting-breaking inventions in my mind (guns and gunpowder, for example). Though I didn't plan it, Lantan's destruction gave me a perfect reason for blocking anything I thought was too technological.
A lot of people don't like guns and gunpowder in the Realms. Even though we play on the Sword Coast quiet a bit, we have never used them. Nobody has ever wanted one, no one has ever given an NPC one; it's just not come up. It doesn't bother me that they exist, though. They're rare.
What is it about guns that others have found not to work well in the Realms? Is it just that they seem to advanced technologically, or is it a game balance issue?
I don't like the idea of them in a fantasy/swords and sorcery world. As I've never used them, I can't comment on from a game balance point of view. |
| Mareka |
Posted - 06 Apr 2005 : 21:57:17
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
No, no regrets. Lantan's always seemed to be the place that sends out all of the setting-breaking inventions in my mind (guns and gunpowder, for example). Though I didn't plan it, Lantan's destruction gave me a perfect reason for blocking anything I thought was too technological.
A lot of people don't like guns and gunpowder in the Realms. Even though we play on the Sword Coast quiet a bit, we have never used them. Nobody has ever wanted one, no one has ever given an NPC one; it's just not come up. It doesn't bother me that they exist, though. They're rare.
What is it about guns that others have found not to work well in the Realms? Is it just that they seem to advanced technologically, or is it a game balance issue? |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 06 Apr 2005 : 18:38:04
Hey don't look at me, it's the players that like to blow things up! 
That's the largest thing that's happened, though my players are very good at killing recurring villians before they have a chance to become recurring. We ran Hellgate Keep, for instance, and they managed to killed two of the Dlardrageths in an all-out slugfest. And then they managed to keep both Vhok and Aliisza from escaping (and a little later killed them).
It's made recent fiction (War of the Spider Queen and Forsaken House, specifically) rather more interesting to adapt to the world...
Oh, and my other group's completely wiped out fiend teleporational capabilities forever via the Hellbound adventure. "Uhh, guys? Why do we need to bother teleporting this behemoth when we can just kill it and get it over with?"
I love my groups. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 06 Apr 2005 : 08:49:08
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
So yeah, Lantan's gone in my world.
I love destructive gamers. 
Indeed.
Hoondatha, have you made any other destructive changes to your FR?
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| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 06 Apr 2005 : 03:11:51
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
So yeah, Lantan's gone in my world.
I love destructive gamers. |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 06 Apr 2005 : 01:46:07
No, no regrets. Lantan's always seemed to be the place that sends out all of the setting-breaking inventions in my mind (guns and gunpowder, for example). Though I didn't plan it, Lantan's destruction gave me a perfect reason for blocking anything I thought was too technological.
Plus, it was fun to show my players what can happen when a bunch of archmages pull out all the stops, and why they don't do it very often. |
| Mareka |
Posted - 05 Apr 2005 : 22:07:01
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
I've, uhh, blown it up. My high level group (this was a little before the whole "let's go imprison Shar thing started) manipulated a bunch of highly magical groups into a conflict on Lantan. Included were members of the Twisted Rune, Red Wizards, a Manshoon clone or three, a couple of liches, half a dozen drow, plus more. It was really a "let's see, who do we really want to destroy each other?" sort of thing. Took them months to set it up. Then, of course, they also dove into the action.
So much high level magic was flying around (coupled with a few stupid uses of the earthquake spell) that I rulled that they woke up the volcano, big time. Blew the entire island to smithereens, along with most of the combatants. My players were only saved because of some cleverly worded contingency magic.
So yeah, Lantan's gone in my world.
Are you glad it's gone? Any regrets? |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 05 Apr 2005 : 21:50:32
I've, uhh, blown it up. My high level group (this was a little before the whole "let's go imprison Shar" thing started) manipulated a bunch of highly magical groups into a conflict on Lantan. Included were members of the Twisted Rune, Red Wizards, a Manshoon clone or three, a couple of liches, half a dozen drow, plus more. It was really a "let's see, who do we really want to destroy each other?" sort of thing. Took them months to set it up. Then, of course, they also dove into the action.
So much high level magic was flying around (coupled with a few stupid uses of the earthquake spell) that I rulled that they woke up the volcano, big time. Blew the entire island to smithereens, along with most of the combatants. My players were only saved because of some cleverly worded contingency magic.
So yeah, Lantan's gone in my world. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 05 Apr 2005 : 17:46:26
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Gellion
So, it seems this island is a bit ignored a lot of the times. My qeustion is, how have you included it in your game? What plots have you set in Lantan? What other than raw materials and those things mentioned in the FRCS do the sell to mainland Faerun?
Funny you should ask  .
Keep an eye or three out for the third issue of the Candlekeep Compendium. Both myself and the Lady K (time permitting of course  ) have been planning something special for a few weeks now. All I can tell you at this point is that it'll focus specifically on the islands of Lantan.
Ooh... I'm intrigued.  |
| The Sage |
Posted - 05 Apr 2005 : 14:17:02
quote:
Originally posted by Gellion
So, it seems this island is a bit ignored a lot of the times. My qeustion is, how have you included it in your game? What plots have you set in Lantan? What other than raw materials and those things mentioned in the FRCS do the sell to mainland Faerun?
Funny you should ask .
Keep an eye or three out for the third issue of the Candlekeep Compendium. Both myself and the Lady K (time permitting of course ) have been planning something special for a few weeks now. All I can tell you at this point is that it'll focus specifically on the islands of Lantan.
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| Mareka |
Posted - 04 Apr 2005 : 21:35:02
I've never had any party actually travel to Lantan. It's been left as a bit of a legendary place in my campaigns thus far. I have used it as the origin of strange inventions that sometimes make their way to the mainland, and as the seat of Gond's power in the Realms--a holy place in that respect. |
