Parallel Lines: My Old School Campaign Project Update

Work continues on the Project that Shall Not Be Named (actually, I can't be bothered to give the campaign world a name yet). I'm still working on the Basalt Keep Maps. I've tweaked them a bit from my last posting. As I've mentioned, mapping really is something that I've struggled with but I think I'm begining to come around. As for the map of the campaign world, I'm still working it but I need to decide on the scope that I wish to encompass. I'll get back to that at some point, I just want to go with the Basalt Keep and flesh that out.

At any rate, I was lurking around the message boards as I am wont to do and was reading up on some projects that are very much of interest to me. Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea (here's a link to the product and one for the thread at Dragonsfoot here) by North Wind Adventures and Swords and Cthulhu: the World of Zultoom (link). These two projects are very similar in flavor to what my campaign will be (gritty swords and sorcery withweird fantasy elements). Mine will differ only slightly in that I really want to add some dark fairy tale/legends/mythological elements (ala Brothers Grimm, Russian folk tales, northern European mythologies, Celtic myths/legend, etc). It's funny how these things evolve in parallel (I don't frequent the message boards often and it has only been very recently that I've started visiting the simulacrum page at Dragonsfoot). This really ties into some thoughts I've been having on the early days of the hobby and my early days in the hobby that I'll get back to in a bit.

Oh yeah, by all means check out the links! I think those two projects are going to be spectacular and I can't wait to get my hands on them.

Comments

  1. TreyDecember 17, 2010 at 3:50 AM

    Interesting. I'll check those links out. It does seem, though, that after a rpg fantasy being dominated by waterdowned Tolkein rip-offs for years, we've over-corrected and are now headed for a deluge of Weird Tales Triumvirate/Sword and Sorcery inspired works. Not that I'm against any of these--but there's always a danger things just getting lost in the crowd.

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  2. XyanthonDecember 17, 2010 at 4:01 AM

    @Trey I suppose there is that. However, I'm really enjoying some of the incredibly creative stuff being put out. Not to mention your City setting. Now that is something I'd love to have a glossy 500+ pg coffee table sized book that cost $150. I think that we are seeing some great stuff. Maybe we'll see some other creative takes. I've got the d100/basic fantasy based Mythic Russia in my sites.

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