*** Campaign Introduction - Rules / Campaign Info ***
So, now that the quick background is out of the way, here's the info on the rules. I went back and forth. Originally, my intent was to use the 1st edition Palladium Fantasy rules because on the whole, I like those rules a little better (more streamlined, and I liked to larger variety in hand to hand skills).
However, as I began typing up my quick notes to help the players learn the rules and started working up some of my initial adventure ideas / notes, I quickly came to the conclusion there was just too much I liked about the new material added in the later setting books (not to mention all the material I could use from the other Palladium lines). Also, the PCs have been a bit fragile the last few games and with a slightly smaller group I thought the overall slightly more powerful 2nd edition character rules might be better. So, in the end, I changed my mind and went with the 2nd edition rules.
Unlike my other campaigns, I'm trying not to create my own version of the rules this time. What I have done is come up with a master list of OCCs, skills, magic, psionics, etc. so players knew what supplement material is available when we did character creation. I do have a "player's guide" for the players that walks them through character creation and the basic combat rules, but it is more or less out of the book Palladium (given the differences between Palladium books, there is an old-school D&D-like feel where you are never quite sure you are interpreting the rules correctly so I needed something to make it easier for the players to learn).
For my part, I've started converting my adventure scenario notes over to Palladium rules. The downside of Palladium is that NPCs, monsters, etc. require much longer to write up than my D&D versions and I feel are a bit harder to ensure I have them "correct" (D&D has so many things statted up there is a lot more to compare with).
On the plus side, Palladium (in my opinion) encourages a more character-driven story and less dungeon-crawly approach to gaming, so my plots are shaping up to be more interesting. I also love having the whole Megaverse to draw on (though I am introducing some additional creatures based more on those other games I mentioned as inspiration).
One of my thoughts is how much material from past campaigns may find itself in this new campaign. It's a given I'll want to include some plot and character elements from my (relatively famous) Rifts campaign of a decade ago. I'm also planning to re-use some concepts that got started in the D&D 4e Shadows Over Fallcrest campaign as well as the AD&D Al-Qadim campaign.
I'm still at the early planning stages where I come up with discrete story plot concepts and start fleshing them out. Later on I'll start to weave together the spider web of tangled plots that I've become known for.
One thing I decided early on - the last few campaigns I've purposely tried to limit myself to make the plots less convoluted. This time, I'm not going to do that. I enjoy making Byzantine plots that are far too complicated for the PCs to fully follow, full of conspiracies, counter conspiracies, and dark cults. If the campaign develops towards my more classic style (as in Rifts and D&D 4e), so be it.
Similarly, the players have decided they want to return to full anti-hero mode. After spending the last few campaigns trying (and failing) to be more heroic, they are ready to go back to being selfish and evil bastards.
The campaign itself will begin in the Baalgor Wastelands. In my version, the PCs will be escaped slaves living in a small community of tunnels of the old Dwarven kingdoms of the mountains, underneath the city of giants, Gurthasi Tor. Here is the setting info I provided the players so far:
*** Campaign Setting Info ***
The campaign begins in the eastern mountain region of the Baalgor Wastelands, in the city of the giants known as Gurthasi Tor.
The lowest levels of the city are known as “the mound”, where the slave races live. These areas are primitive rock caves and resemble termite mounds.
Below the mound is a network of old dwarven kingdom tunnels known as the Undermound. Many escaped slaves and would-be adventurers travel here to make their fame and fortune. Rumors of the lost treasures of the dwarven lords still persist and dare anyone to brave the dangers to claim them.
Various smaller settlements exist in the Undermound. The existence of them are not entirely unknown by the giants, who by and large consider them too insignificant of a problem to deal with as long as they do not pose any threat.
High profile escaped slaves are hunted down by the slavers. The Undermound communities largely exist by the grace of the slavers, who demand heavy bribes and cooperation in exchange for letting the communities survive.
A set of laws has been put in place to ensure the communities do not pose a threat.
* No gods but the giants themselves may be worshipped.
* No use of magic is allowed.
* No mutants or those with mental powers are allowed.
* The community must cooperate with the slavers at all times.
* No community may be larger than 500 people.
* Trade of goods between communities is authorized solely to members of the trade guild (known as the guilders).
* An attack on a slaver, guilder, or other authorized servant of the giants is strictly prohibited.
Those settlements who fail to abide by these laws are swiftly destroyed by the orc soldiers of the giants.
The settlement where the campaign begins is known as Beartooth. Around 400 people total live in the town and surrounding underground region.
The unofficial magistrate of Beartooth is a retired human bard named Caleshomo. Caleshomo is said to have come to the town after journeying for some time with a band of warriors known for their heavy metal armament of plate mail armor and two-handed swords, known as the Sons of Disaster. He now owns the Inn of the Red Bull, the only inn in town.
Beartooth is home to many men at arms, typically mercenary fighters and thieves, along with the odd assassin. Law and order is kept under control by a dwarf named Taybury and his small force of town guard.
The local thieves’ guild is controlled by a goblin named Materich. Materich gets a small percentage from most of the businesses in town, including the Inn of the Red Bull. He has a small gang of a dozen or so members made up of goblins, hob-goblins, and orcs.
Magic is strictly outlawed by the giants, and to keep the peace with the slavers, most of the Undermound communities (including Beartooth) outlaw it as well. Men of magic in the Undermound have formed a secret guild known as the Scarlet Alliance.
Like most settlements in the Undermound, open religion is not practiced in Beartooth as the Giants want to be worshipped as gods by the smaller races. There is a hidden shrine to the Gods of Light, notably a local deity named Karreng, a god of gold, smiths, and minstrels. The shrine is maintained by the village priestess, Fleria.
The local trade guild representative is a kobold named Jongores. Jongores is a crafty man known for inspiring competition among the craft guild gangs, whether friendly or otherwise, to get the best production he can from them. Like most guilders, his underground caravan uses a small force of armed guards.
The usual slaver who comes through town is an ogre named Thrinton. The official legal representative of the giants for this area is a troll named Lucina. She rarely ventures into Beartooth unless there is dangerous criminal activity (leaving escaped slaves and minor crimes for Thrinton and Taybury to deal with).
*** Notes on Setting Info ***
Gurthasi Tor comes from the Baalgor Wastelands book by Bill Coffin, but the mound/undermound thing, and the guilders, is more or less taken conceptually from Warhammer 40K's Necromunda and the magic and religion ban (along with the secret magic guild alliance) is more of a Dark Sun inspired concept. I came up with the laws to try and explain how/why the giants would allow such settlements to exist.
The note about mutants is another change I'm making to the setting - in my version of the Baalgor Wastelands, the great cataclysm that turned the area into a desert also caused a lot of magical mutations. I'll be using Necromunda, Dark Sun, and the X-Men comics as inspiration for that, along with some of the rules from Palladium's supers game, Heroes Unlimited.
Beartooth is named after the hard rock band, as are the Sons of Disaster, and the god Karreng is a reference to the heavy metal magazine.