(no subject)
Nov. 8th, 2003 11:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thebitterguyOnce again: Written in March. Published never.
Did you ever stop and think about what kind of world you would need to live in for Dungeons and Dragons to make sense?
The game has certain quirks that require Dungeon Masters & Players to accept or ignore them in game. The presence of two and a half classes of arcane spellcasters, Charlemagnic paladins, templaresque clerics, pagan druids and Kung Fu-esque monks seem to be strangely incongruous, and indicate that a DM must be willing to trim what is not appropriate to his own game world.
The Scarred Lands, however, is a different story. "One of the biggest draws for the Scarred Lands is the fact that the traits that make D&D unique are given a reason, in-setting, for being there," explains Scarred Lands co-developer Joseph Carriker. "There is a reason clerics are different from druids. There is a reason why arcane spellcasters and armor don't get along. A lot of the assumptions about D&D that sometimes feel clunky in other settings fit quite nicely."
Scarn, the world that is host to the Scarred Lands setting, is a world where the eight gods (each of whom represents a point of the D&D alignment wheel) have overthrown their tyrannical titan parents. The Titanswar has had long lasting physical effects on Scarn, and the resultant hordes of Titanspawn also provide a rationale for the throngs of evil creatures that heroes are called upon to defeat.
He also feels the setting is designed to reward the player characters with more than just gold pieces and shiny new swords. "In the Scarred Lands, the PCs make a difference.
Many of the heroes of the setting become (heroes) because there is no one else to do it. If they don't take up sword and spell to keep their families and loved ones from being eaten by titanspawn, no one else will."
"Adventuring in the Scarred Lands is generally less about going out for fame and fortune and more about ensuring the survival of your people. The fame and fortune," he says with a smile," are just rewards."
"People like that when playing in the Scarred Lands. They like having their characters walk into town, with Titanspawn heads on the pommels of their saddles and people breathe a sigh of relief, rather than sneer at them as "those dirty adventurers" as is all too common in many other settings."
The Scarred Lands is one of the most strongly supported settings in print for Dungeons & Dragons. There have been two books of monsters (The Creature Collections), two books of spells and magic (Relics & Rituals and Relics & Rituals II), a book on the gods of the setting (The Divine & the Defeated), a soft cover Gazetteer and full hardcover sourcebook on the continent of Ghelspad, and adventure trilogy, as well as half a dozen books on various nations and cities across Ghelspad.
Sourcebooks will continue to be produced for the Scarred Lands setting. A revised version of the first Creature Collection will be released over the summer to coincide with the release of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, and a third Creature Collection, titled Savage Beastiary, is due for late 2003 with new monsters, including some from the third continent of Scarn, Asheraki.
"We want to continue giving everyone something they can use, such as the Creature Collection and Relics & Rituals books in the past and future."
"But, we also have a great fanbase that loves the setting itself, so we plan on giving them lots more of what they love about the setting."
Carriker is also developing a series of Player's Guides. The Players Guide series "is about giving players the tools to make their characters a more integral part of a setting."
"Though it is slanted towards the Scarred Lands (because you can't effectively describe such a thing without tangible and extensive examples), it is intended to be a toolkit for any D20 fantasy game."
The Player's Guides will allow players to get a strong sense of how their character fits into the game setting. "Helping players to explore the ways in which one aspect of their character (that is, the character class) is a part of the legacy and history of the setting, we might give them a better sense of "ownership" over that setting," he explains.
The Player's Guides will each cover multiple character types. "The first book is The Player's Guide to Wizards, Bards and Sorcerers, where we explore the legacies and traditions that have sprung up around the use of arcane magic in a setting."
Following that will be Player's Guides to Fighters & Barbarians, Clerics and Druids, Rangers and Rogues, and finally Monks and Paladins. Carriker explains the final pairing as "because both of those professions have two things in common - a very lawful outlook on life, and an absolute dedication to a higher ideal (that of "Truth and Justice" for the paladin, and the perfection of the mind, body and spirit for the monk)."
Each of the Player's Guides will be 160 pages and retail for $23.95.
Future supplements will continue to explore the fertile Scarred Lands setting. A full campaign setting detailing the continent of Termana will compliment the recently released Gazetteer, while sourcebooks will cover the Blood Bayou and Shelzar.
The tragic Forsaken Elves and the sinister Charduni Dwarves will be covered in more detail in The Faithful and Forsaken.
By combining an engaging setting with products that are very strong in their portability between settings, the Scarred Lands have proven to be the strongest third party setting for D&D, and should remain a popular setting for some time to come.
Did you ever stop and think about what kind of world you would need to live in for Dungeons and Dragons to make sense?
The game has certain quirks that require Dungeon Masters & Players to accept or ignore them in game. The presence of two and a half classes of arcane spellcasters, Charlemagnic paladins, templaresque clerics, pagan druids and Kung Fu-esque monks seem to be strangely incongruous, and indicate that a DM must be willing to trim what is not appropriate to his own game world.
The Scarred Lands, however, is a different story. "One of the biggest draws for the Scarred Lands is the fact that the traits that make D&D unique are given a reason, in-setting, for being there," explains Scarred Lands co-developer Joseph Carriker. "There is a reason clerics are different from druids. There is a reason why arcane spellcasters and armor don't get along. A lot of the assumptions about D&D that sometimes feel clunky in other settings fit quite nicely."
Scarn, the world that is host to the Scarred Lands setting, is a world where the eight gods (each of whom represents a point of the D&D alignment wheel) have overthrown their tyrannical titan parents. The Titanswar has had long lasting physical effects on Scarn, and the resultant hordes of Titanspawn also provide a rationale for the throngs of evil creatures that heroes are called upon to defeat.
He also feels the setting is designed to reward the player characters with more than just gold pieces and shiny new swords. "In the Scarred Lands, the PCs make a difference.
Many of the heroes of the setting become (heroes) because there is no one else to do it. If they don't take up sword and spell to keep their families and loved ones from being eaten by titanspawn, no one else will."
"Adventuring in the Scarred Lands is generally less about going out for fame and fortune and more about ensuring the survival of your people. The fame and fortune," he says with a smile," are just rewards."
"People like that when playing in the Scarred Lands. They like having their characters walk into town, with Titanspawn heads on the pommels of their saddles and people breathe a sigh of relief, rather than sneer at them as "those dirty adventurers" as is all too common in many other settings."
The Scarred Lands is one of the most strongly supported settings in print for Dungeons & Dragons. There have been two books of monsters (The Creature Collections), two books of spells and magic (Relics & Rituals and Relics & Rituals II), a book on the gods of the setting (The Divine & the Defeated), a soft cover Gazetteer and full hardcover sourcebook on the continent of Ghelspad, and adventure trilogy, as well as half a dozen books on various nations and cities across Ghelspad.
Sourcebooks will continue to be produced for the Scarred Lands setting. A revised version of the first Creature Collection will be released over the summer to coincide with the release of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, and a third Creature Collection, titled Savage Beastiary, is due for late 2003 with new monsters, including some from the third continent of Scarn, Asheraki.
"We want to continue giving everyone something they can use, such as the Creature Collection and Relics & Rituals books in the past and future."
"But, we also have a great fanbase that loves the setting itself, so we plan on giving them lots more of what they love about the setting."
Carriker is also developing a series of Player's Guides. The Players Guide series "is about giving players the tools to make their characters a more integral part of a setting."
"Though it is slanted towards the Scarred Lands (because you can't effectively describe such a thing without tangible and extensive examples), it is intended to be a toolkit for any D20 fantasy game."
The Player's Guides will allow players to get a strong sense of how their character fits into the game setting. "Helping players to explore the ways in which one aspect of their character (that is, the character class) is a part of the legacy and history of the setting, we might give them a better sense of "ownership" over that setting," he explains.
The Player's Guides will each cover multiple character types. "The first book is The Player's Guide to Wizards, Bards and Sorcerers, where we explore the legacies and traditions that have sprung up around the use of arcane magic in a setting."
Following that will be Player's Guides to Fighters & Barbarians, Clerics and Druids, Rangers and Rogues, and finally Monks and Paladins. Carriker explains the final pairing as "because both of those professions have two things in common - a very lawful outlook on life, and an absolute dedication to a higher ideal (that of "Truth and Justice" for the paladin, and the perfection of the mind, body and spirit for the monk)."
Each of the Player's Guides will be 160 pages and retail for $23.95.
Future supplements will continue to explore the fertile Scarred Lands setting. A full campaign setting detailing the continent of Termana will compliment the recently released Gazetteer, while sourcebooks will cover the Blood Bayou and Shelzar.
The tragic Forsaken Elves and the sinister Charduni Dwarves will be covered in more detail in The Faithful and Forsaken.
By combining an engaging setting with products that are very strong in their portability between settings, the Scarred Lands have proven to be the strongest third party setting for D&D, and should remain a popular setting for some time to come.
