What Marion Zimmer Bradley Taught Me (Part 2)

[continued from here. Please note that while the entire first half of this post was written while flying across the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the night, much of this half was written AFTER being back a couple days]

Hmm….okay, what else have I learned from MZB and the Darkover novels? I mean, in addition to the fact that Carcosa was the name of a Darkover domain long before it was used for what’s his name’s supplement? And that cultural differences based on gender can make for interesting campaign settings by themselves?

Well, let’s see: fantasy and science fiction (i.e. “futuristic fantasy”) can work just fine, in tandem, when done in the right scale…that’s something I think MZB got right (though, again, I really want to check out Sharra’s Exile and The World Wreckers to get the full scoop on the Terran-Darkovan relations).

Not to dwell too much on this particular issue, but from MZB’s own notes I gather she felt this was part of what made the Darkover setting fresh or different from other fantasy worlds: the juxtaposition of two disparate cultures (one high-tech/space-spanning and one “barbarian”/sword-wielding). While I’ve yet to read the earliest books/stories in the series, the subject matter appears to be similar to the “stranger in a strange land” fantasy recently discussed over at Grognardia…not surprising when you consider works like Star of Danger were being written in the early 1960s.

What else…well, I’ve also learned that the right cultural bias for a game/campaign can be used to justify a lot of house rules. For Example: why do Darkovans carry swords instead of firearms? Because of their cultural contract, The Compact, that makes it un-lawful to attack anyone at distance (as any person must face the same threat of dying as the person against whom they seek to do harm). See the Battle Tech Clans as an RPG example using the opposite tact.

I’ve learned new ways to use intrigue and political ramifications (as well as family ties and loyalties) to create discord, drama, and conflict. But that all’s just window dressing (I didn’t LEARN anything, per se, but there are plenty of ideas and plots that are totally ripe for plundering for my own games)…let’s get back to another “ah ha!” moment.

The campaign setting.

I’ve mentioned before that one of my new writing projects is, in fact, a campaign setting or “world setting” for the B/X game, a little thing I’m calling Land of Ash. In fact, it was research for this particular writing project (still in its earliest stages) that led me to the Darkover books in the first place (to get some fresh ideas on the use of psi powers).

Now, I could write a few dozen pages on how reading Darkover actually made me want to chuck the whole Land of Ash “desert setting” in favor of a Darkover knock-off “snow setting” (as with Spain, I find a LOT of campaign inspiration in MZB’s world of Darkover). But those “second-guessing” notions have been put to rest at this point…cool as it would be, I’ve already done a chunk of work on Land of Ash…not to mention I am totally Jonesin’ to see some sepia-toned artwork (*hope*hope*). Also, why flirt with potential lawsuits from the MZB estate (my understanding is they’ve already put the kybosh on Darkover fan fiction)?

No, I’m still talking about learning new stuff…and Bradley’s approach to her own setting material is plenty educational, specifically with regard to the multiple epochs of Darkover.

The Age of Founding
The Age of Chaos
The Age of the Hundred Kingdoms
The Age of the Seven Kingdoms
The Age of Terran Re-Contact

What you have in Dakrover is not one particular campaign setting but FIVE. All are set on the same distinct world, with the same specific geography, inhabitants, and climate (not to mention little things like a LACK OF METAL and PSYCHOTROPIC FLORA)…but each different Age/epoch determines what the base conflict of the time IS as well as the cities/political structure and the technologies (i.e. “equipment list”) available to the characters.

How sweet is that? If I was to set Keep of the Borderlands in a Darkover-like world (not a bad idea when you think of it), it would become centuries old fortress-monastery much like Nevarsin or Castle Alderan and the conflicts and drama would change simply depending on the epoch used.

And every time I succeeded at achieving a TPK with a particular party of adventurers, I could change the setting and give the new PCs legends from the old PCs’ actions/demise.

I dig on this and really find it an exciting possibility for a D&D campaign setting. After all, most “settings” presented by TSR-WotC assumes a kind of everyone’s-all-adventuring-around-the-same-year kind of thang. It’s not much different for other RPGs either…Middle Earth Role-Playing assumes you’re somewhere in the 3rd Age, Stormbringer that you’re adventuring sometime AFTER the decline of Melnibone (but before Elric blows up the world), Pendragon places you square during the reign of Arthur (not in the age of Uther or post-Morte).

I suppose the Star Wars RPG (beginning with WEG’s 2nd edition up through WotC’s Saga edition) provides the closest thing to a Darkover-like campaign setting. There are distinct “eras” one can play in (Knights of the Old Republic, Clone Wars, Empire, or New Republic to name the four main ones), all set in the same universe. However, while the villains may change somewhat from Era to Era, the technology (ships, sabers, blasters) stays pretty much the same.

Contrast that with Darkover: playing during the Age of Founding (shortly after Darkover Landfall) would mean access to nothing but the most primitive gear and the very beginning of psychic technology (pre-Tower). During the Age of Chaos, laran tech is at its height with air cars and super weapons. The Hundred Kingdoms is well-established feudal kingdoms (a la Pendragon with psionics) but very few holdover remains from the Age of Chaos...kind of a post-apocalypse setting, really. And by the time of the Seven Domains and the Compact (but pre-Terran contact) the use of laran at all is extremely limited (and its technological “wonders of the past” are safely locked away).

And when you get to the final Age with the Terran spacemen? All bets are off as high technology meets barbarian feudalism and ancient laran secrets being unearthed to compete with the Terrans on an equal footing!

One small geographic map, limiting the realms of exploration to certain accessible, non-polar ice cap mountains, valleys and cold desert plateaus. A couple-few types of native fauna and flora to lend consistency (not to mention “other-worldliness”). Psychic powers in varying (if limited) degrees of potency. And then a cross-section of choice on antagonists, political spectrums, CUSTOMS/TRADITIONS (an important part of Darkovan life and one that varies from Age to Age), and technology.

That’s a tasty setting. And one that could probably be mocked up in 64 pages or less.
; )

Okay, okay…ENOUGH! I’ve got other things to get to today (including prepping for yet another session at the Baranof after a two week lay-off…and I’ve got two new players showing up!). MZB is a great read, with plenty of food for thought. I’d strongly suggest checking out some of her work (I know she’s not in the Moldvay bibliography, but perhaps she’s in Appendix N?) for ideas and inspiration.
: )

Running Beagle Games Announces: Land of Ash

I don't know why blogging has been so slow this week...is it the quiet before the storm?

Who knows...I'm tired of checking the roles and finding nothing new. And rather than be PART of the problem, I figure I'll throw down a little inspirational (I hope) reading. This excerpt is the Foreword to Land of Ash, a new B/X campaign setting in the works from Running Beagle Games. Enjoy!

FOREWORD

My name is Varleth and I have seen the wonders of the ancient world in the fullness of its splendor. Flowering hills of rich, deep soil, not just dunes of sand and ash. Dark, moist forests teeming with natural life, not unholy monsters. Stretches of grasslands, unlike the blasted and barren plains of our own world. Powerful mountains capped with snow…frozen moisture which the ancients of Adeth possessed in abundance they took for granted.

Yes, water…it was everywhere in the ancient world running in trickling streams and mighty rivers; pooling in deep lakes, and filling salty oceans. And the rain…O, the glorious torrential downpours one could bathe in for days! Ponds and wetlands and cascading run-offs from the peaks...a true paradise the Old Ones took for granted.

What I say may amaze you, but I have oft been called an amazing individual. I am Varleth and I was born a traveler…one who - by dint of happy fortune - can project himself bodily through both space and time. I see you have heard the term…perhaps you have even been acquainted with one like me; we are not all that uncommon. But like other Gifted individuals that wander Adeth, we sometimes find it prudent to hide our abilities. Simple exploitation of the Gifted is one thing… when fear and ignorance band together, death rides not far behind.

Not that Adeth isn’t rife with death…I have traveled enough to see a hundred ways for men to die in this land, and know there are certainly more than I can imagine. Besides simple exposure, hunger, and (of course) thirst, the barrens are filled with more than choking ash and the occasional withered shrub. The monsters that hunt the broken lands live off whatever meat they can find, and wanderers are a good source of nutrition. The nomads that roam the wastes have a tendency to kill first and ask questions later, and their ways of slaying waste little water from their fallen foes. And while there is the occasional patch of nature or tiny oasis to be found, these are universally guarded by the druids, incredibly fierce in their defense against outside intrusion.

Lest you think city life makes one fat and happy, know you that death is nearly as sure within the City-States as it is outside their walls. A knife in the belly from a passing slight happens almost as often as a knife in the back from wandering the wrong, crooked alleyway. Nothing in the cities is free, and starvation and thirst are as rampant among the impoverished as it is in the wastes. Not that there truly is an “underclass” to the cities…most are sold into slavery, or sell themselves, before they perish from want. At least slaves are given to drink…after all, it is difficult to labor when suffering dehydration. But have you ever seen the slave children lap at the ashy ground for a few drops of spilled water? Can humans really treat each other as such? They can…I said 'nothing in the city is free,' but value is in constant flux. And the value of a person’s life is often lower than one would imagine.

Except, of course, the gladiators. Aside from the politicians and the priests, no one commands the respect that these celebrities do. Well, if they fight well and survive, that is. Otherwise they die, just like any other man. The Margul of course are not true men, but their blood is still red (if a bit darker) and it stains the arena sand just as readily. In the city, these ancient people are valued only for their skill at arms. Who knows if this was always the case?

But death in the arena is far from the most dangerous part of the Adeth City-States…even I have survived more than a few bouts (for I, too, was once a slave). Looming over all are the God-Kings, those rulers who have lived centuries and turned our lands into the ashen ruin it is today, using corrupted magic that devastates all it touches, a blasphemy against nature and against the Law of true Theurgy. Removed as they are from the people they hold in thrall, they still exercise their tyranny through the power of their temple knights…wizard-warriors, trained in black sorcery as well as the way of the weapon, they enforce the will of the God-Kings on a cowed populace. If not for the shrines of the Four Elements and their priests, there would be no solace at all for the people of the cities… all would be forced to pay homage and worship to those who have ravaged the land with their cruel armies and mighty magic. But how can one stand up to such creatures?

I know there are still ruins of the ancients left in the wastes. I have seen them: mighty fortresses buried in the ash and sand, entombed in blasted mountains. I have walked the ancient halls of one such stronghold…a fell place, inhabited with monsters and warded with traps against the unwary. It was also filled with treasure…wondrous items from a forgotten age and metals…precious metals of the kind so rare (like true iron!) as to command a fantastic price in the bazaars of the Adeth. Perhaps one of these ancient sites hold the key to throwing down the God-Kings; if not they can surely provide wealth to buy water enough to last us comfortably the rest of our days! I am Varleth and I have seen many wonders. If you would join me, I will show them to you. Adventure awaits!