I’m a fan of table top rpgs. During college that was still considered a weird thing to most people so my group pretty much kept it a secret. We had code words and everything.
Nowadays it seems that almost everyone knows someone who openly plays and no one really cares. Just another way the geek culture is becoming more of the norm.
But during this renaissance I have been living in Japan where finding a group of people who are both interested, available and live close enough to make a regular game possible is quite tough. In the past three years I’ve only had the chance to play once. And I miss it. I miss being a character and I miss running games.
Fortunately a friend has sent up a flag and enough of us responded on Facebook so that it looks like I might get to be part of a regular game. This is exciting stuff. Two of us have some experience running games but we both want to play, so we agreed to take turns and alternate as GMs.
We have already gotten together and decided on some ideas for the world as well as a few house rules (confirming criticals slows things down). Recently I shared the the world details with our players. The trick about writing this was to give everyone a sense of the world but still vague enough so that all players have a chance to add their own flavor. Of course the other goal is to get them excited to play and thinking about their own characters.
I thought I’d share what I wrote. The language is all me, but the concepts were a joint effort with the co-GM.
The years of war are at an end. A peace, something not even elven grandfathers can remember, is settling over the land. For all the evil that it produced, the war brought unity to disparate races. Some have been allies before, dwarf, human, halfling. Others are new to the treaties and conventions of civilization.
Then wilder races, including the scattered tribes of minotaur and orc played their part in overthrowing the great evil that almost brought down all that was Good and Order. But what part shall they play now that peace is struggling to last?
In times past, after the ancient Great Wars, it was the leadership of the High Elves that guided the world back to peace. But as their great culture was the first casualty of this most recent evil and their wilder cousins, the Wood Elves, being less inclined towards leadership the Allies are having to try something more novel.
A Confederation has been born to hold the peace. And while no consensus has yet been brought to fruit on on the who and how of this new government, all have agreed the former Throne of Evil at the center of the lands must be guarded and put to good use.
Although that most dreaded of strongholds is now in tatters, it shall be the location of a new mission. Guardians, representatives of the Allied Races, shall be sent to maintain this site. They shall maintain vigilance should this once accursed spot show signs of new shadow. Further, they shall attempt to broker and maintain peace at was once the heart of chaos.
They shall be the lone beacon in a savage land filled with clashing tribes, and splintered villages made up of the refugees as war. Whether these Guardians succeed will depend on their actions. Will they prosper or through their follow, will they plunge the tribes into a new wave of war that shall once again sweep the lands.
This was followed by some of of game clarification and a few more guidelines. I would post that, but doubt it would be much interest. Still, maybe there are some interested rpgers who want to see how other games are organized. Let me know if you are out there and I will gladly go into more detail.
Deadly Troubadour 