More fantasy options

My last discussion on tabletop gaming focused on many of the D&D campaigns I've been fiddling around with over the years.

It wasn't entirely exhaustive, though, as there are still a few fantasy-themed campaigns I didn't go into there from some of the more popular D&D knock-offs.

I might have hinted at it before, but I suspect I'm pretty terrible at writing adventures from scratch. Although like any reasonable DM, I'm pretty able to adapt to the actions of my players, the actual foundations, maths, and design of an entertaining adventure are beyond what I trust myself to do. When it comes to gaming, I really rely on pre-published adventures, and the volume of those adventures is what can sell me on or off a game system.

Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG
The library of published adventures is probably the only reason I still entertain the idea of playing DCCRPG. As much as I appreciate its gonzo tone and declaration that randomness is key, it doesn't appear to hold up to any kind of long term campaign options. The built-in degrading of spellcasters, fer instance, or the way it caps out at 10th level just gives the feel that it's intended to be enjoyed in brief spurts without much investment.  There are some 3rd party efforts to create a cohesive gaming world, but I haven't seen much from that end yet, and a DCCRPG campaign doesn't go much farther than stringing together the growing number of really bizarre adventures.

And by bizarre I mean f-ing awesome.  No other publisher consistently provides such out there, up to 11, heavy metal, gonzo fantasy adventures. I've loved every one I've read and would run a DCCRPG campaign specifically to enjoy those moments when the players are faced with yet another thing that should not be. 

This is a level 1 adventure for DCC

Perhaps the best use of these modules is to convert them to a system with more gaming longevity built into it...

Adventurer Conqueror King System

The exact opposite side of the coin, ACKS provides a lot of well thought out and well integrated rules to take campaigns in many different directions, from wilderness exploration to dungeon delving to clashes of armies to kingdom building or even trade empires. It's built off the old Basic D&D rules, so it already starts with a heap of built in love from me, and expands those rules brilliantly in almost every way.

If there's a downside (and there is), it's that it provides a lot of play options but very few specific adventures for module-craving DMs like me.  Aside from the recently-released Dwimmermount, there aren't any modules published for these rules, leaving me to search abroad to fill that niche. To this end, I've been digging through all my old TSR Gazetteers of the Known World for truly brilliant campaign settings, with my personal favorite still being the Principalities of Glantri.

Ruled by a council of wizard princes, the lands of Glantri have been pretty much neglected outside of the areas surrounding each prince's tower.  It's a ripe location for adventure, and the political squablings of the nobility sets up some fine diplomacy when the PCs start trying to set up their own lands. It comes complete with a barbarian horde across the border, and is built right on top of an ancient artifact from a more technological civilization. I can't think of any place better to start dropping in those gonzo adventures I mentioned from DCCRPG.

While my previous post on gaming outline campaigns I would play in different editions, ACKS is intended for a more sandbox approach, and that's a trait I look forward to fulfilling. I don't have a lot of experience with sandboxing, but I think ACKS, Glantri, and adventures like Dwimmermount and DCCRPG mods will give me all the tools I need to manage one. Sure hope I get a chance to try it some day.

Warhammer FRPG
Every so often, I get the urge to play in a gritty fantasy campaign, where a single sword blow can spell the end of the bravest knight, and monsters like chimeras and hydras are meant to be feared, not hunted. In those dark moments, I look to Warhammer.

While the 2nd edition is held to be a cleaner version of the game, my first love is for the 1st edition which somehow managed to still find the fun in their crapsack world. Characters had some say in their character, but were as likely to start off as a rat catcher as they were a wizard's apprentice. From such zero-to-hero basics was this game founded. (There's also a 3rd edition, but it looks like it fell very far from the tree and never felt like dropping the insane amount of cash it costs to even try it.)

No attempt at a WHFRPG campaign would even be attempted in my house, though, unless it were the epic Enemy Within campaign. From humble beginnings as wannabe-adventurers, the PCs soon find themselves travelling across the length of the Reikland, encountering things that were probably best left alone, and possibly never really understanding everything that was going on around them. Unlike most campaigns I'm talking about here, I have some play experience with Enemy Within, and can vouch for its awesomeness.

Pathfinder RPG

Last I heard, the single most popular RPG in America (thanks to WotC shutting down a bit in preparation of the release of 5th edition, I suspect), Pathfinder is one of those games which I continue to follow more out of appreciation for the publishers than for the game itself. Even as their 3rd Edition spinoff rules have grown into an unwieldy, rules-bloated juggernaut, the Paizo crew remains some of the most engaging and professional customer service beasts in the industry.

Pathfinder is one of those systems, like DCC, which benefits from a huge library of published adventures, both stand-alone and "adventure path" campaigns, as well as being based on a rules system I'm very familiar with. Can't say I'm a super fan of their default campaign setting, but looked at in narrow view I appreciate a lot of their smaller locations. 

Varisia, fer instance, was the first region presented for their campaign world, even as they were still publishing material for 3.5e, and it's done nothing but grow since then. In fact, it has the advantage of hosting enough adventure paths for multiple campaigns as well as enough material to sandbox there in between. But if I had to pick just one campaign (which I won't) I'd start with their first outing, the Rise of the Runelords. What I won't be doing, though, is finishing that AP, because as much as I really enjoy the first two volumes, it quickly peters off beyond that.

You know what doesn't peter off? The group's second AP, Curse of the Crimson Throne based just up the coast from where Runelords starts. It'd be super-easy to start off with the awesome early adventures of Runelords and then transition over to pick up the back 2/3rds of Crimson Throne. I call it "Rise of the Crimson Throne."

There's even a handy subplot tie-in between the two paths that make a very timely and convenient crossing over point. Add in some of the extra materials since added to the Varisia setting and it'll be a very rich story.


Now if only there was something to be done about the unwieldy bulk of Pathfinder rules...

Well done, Paizo.  The Pathfinder Beginner Box is a brilliant boiling down of the PFRPG rules to its basic core. From there, it's an easy matter to add in those more advanced elements missing from the Beginner Box (like attacks of opportunity or halflings) from the main rules on a case-by-case basis.




While this doesn't exhaust all the fantasy rpg options out there (I'll give honorable mention to Beyond the Wall for it's beautiful character creation aspect), this is the cap on the systems I'm interested in running as a campaign.