Post by hengest on Apr 13, 2021 17:59:18 GMT -5
(Inspired by the song "Dire Wolf" by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia)
You can hear the song here and read the lyrics here (Dire Wolf).
This song seems to have roots as deep as anything. But they're not the roots of European fantasy, they're American roots. And it occurs to me that I don't know of a fRPG setting in America. I don't mean specifically the United States of America as a modern world power. I mean America: the land, the stories, the people, the gold.
(And I don't count Western games or modern "urban fantasy" games such as White Wolf put out in the 90s. That's all well, but what I mean is a fictional, fantastical past.)
A whole setting, or even the core of a setting, could use a pretty deep look at the dirty, strong, and mythical America that is hardly represented in popular culture today.
It would need its own magic system. Perhaps competing types:
It would need its own core classes, if it's to have classes at all. Perhaps classes are connected not to abilities but to motivations.
I don't want to have a pantheon of gods. Maybe a cluster of living legendary figures, rarely seen, who inspire through tales of their deeds. Big Paul, John the Hammer...but not just the "big men." There should be variety. Maybe the land and its character is in the process of being defined. There are super-figures at work in it right now, in the same bodies that men and women have. This shouldn't be over-defined. A few suggestive characters of varied backgrounds.
"Fennario" would be the name of the setting (if ever published) and simply a small area of the land itself.
(Note, I see there's an Enworld thread about this, sort of, here. But it mostly talks about Baum's Ozian fantasy. While I like Baum and I think the whimsical turn-of-the-century Ozian material could have a seat at the table, it isn't my focus here.)
You can hear the song here and read the lyrics here (Dire Wolf).
This song seems to have roots as deep as anything. But they're not the roots of European fantasy, they're American roots. And it occurs to me that I don't know of a fRPG setting in America. I don't mean specifically the United States of America as a modern world power. I mean America: the land, the stories, the people, the gold.
(And I don't count Western games or modern "urban fantasy" games such as White Wolf put out in the 90s. That's all well, but what I mean is a fictional, fantastical past.)
A whole setting, or even the core of a setting, could use a pretty deep look at the dirty, strong, and mythical America that is hardly represented in popular culture today.
It would need its own magic system. Perhaps competing types:
- based on one's connection to the land (magic affects substance, reality)
- based on one's distance from others, one's slipperiness and trickiness (magic affects appearances)
It would need its own core classes, if it's to have classes at all. Perhaps classes are connected not to abilities but to motivations.
I don't want to have a pantheon of gods. Maybe a cluster of living legendary figures, rarely seen, who inspire through tales of their deeds. Big Paul, John the Hammer...but not just the "big men." There should be variety. Maybe the land and its character is in the process of being defined. There are super-figures at work in it right now, in the same bodies that men and women have. This shouldn't be over-defined. A few suggestive characters of varied backgrounds.
"Fennario" would be the name of the setting (if ever published) and simply a small area of the land itself.
(Note, I see there's an Enworld thread about this, sort of, here. But it mostly talks about Baum's Ozian fantasy. While I like Baum and I think the whimsical turn-of-the-century Ozian material could have a seat at the table, it isn't my focus here.)
