Most off-world action took place in strange and distant lands, ofter in other universes. My players went to the Carabas to fight the Dirdir now and then, to Barsoom, etc. but I didn't send them into elemental planes or the nether realms to adventure, as none were sufficiently powerful to survive such journeys. #5449
Members of my regular group could discover the entrances to the various non-dungeon-area places such as Dungeonland and the Isle of the Ape on one or another level of the castle dungeons. They ventured into such places of their own accord, and the resulting play was part of the ongoing campaign. Because of group separation, most of the player group had two or more PCs. [35]
["A museum from "another age," a bowling alley for 20’ tall giants, the Machine Level, the Bottle City, plus the gates to the EX modules and Isle of the Ape. I've also read about the running man somewhere and the big stone head"] The machine Level was in Rob's dungeons, not mine or the one we co-designed. I am not sure of the bottle level, but i know it isn't mine. the rest of the things mentioned are indeed features from my original castle. #4516
As for centering a campaign on a particular historical culture, I certainly prefer a pseudo Western European one of late medieval-early Renaissance sort because I know it quite well, as do most persons that play in it. For away-from-base forays, though, any period and culture that I can research and get reasonable details om which to base the adventures is fair game. #7097
An other-world locale could be devised for a dungeon transporter, although they are usual for cursed scrolls only. Perhaps a strange red-soiled planet with about half the gravity of the normal world for PCs. There miight indeed be six-limded humanoids and beasts roaming about there... but then again, the GM can always create such places for his own campaign, just as my lads used to get sent off to a place a lot like the Carabas of the planet Tchai where aliens hunted humans therein who in turn were seeking valuable sequin-like deposits contained in rock geodes. #3107
I never attempted to give my campaign any airs, just provided as much entertainment as possible for those playing in it. Thus anything was fair game, from Gothis horror to SF, along with everything in between. One of the favorite places my better players liked to be transported to for an adventure was the "Carabas," where the Dirdir hunted sequin takers...and they as did Adam Reith, hunted the Dirdir as in Jack Vance's novel The Dirdir from the "PLanet of Adventure" quatrology. That set of stories being amongst my very favorites.
The players wisely declined to venture into NYC during the famous blackout. After wholloping some street punks they went back down the subway tunnel to where the inter-unicerse game was still operational. #8261
I haven't the memory for that as most of such play was winged by me--such as Robilar's adventures in the City of Brass. We did WWII, modern city, and a bit of wild west as you note. SF action was common, and my players loved to go to the Carabas of the "Planet of Adventure," Tchai IIRR, to fight with the Dirdir. About one session in every 12 would involve somethingfrom outside the fantasy genre. that was enough to keep things from getting too staid. #2689
I wanted to be able to mix genres--not use the A/D&D rules to play other genres, but means of mixing genres. Thus we had fantasy forces comprised of orcs led by an Evil cleric meeting and fighting with a Nazi anti-partizan company, and fought the battle out on a table top. I had PCs sent to the Starship Warden to tangle with Metamorphosis Alpha characters. No need to go on, you get the idea. #2747
No, I didn't have working gunpowder nor did I contemplate having gunpowder weapons in the campaign. #1698
I do not allow firearms to work in any of the campaigns I run, but I have had my players travel to other worlds, parallel ones, where firearms worked. There is no problem handling the damage caused by such weapons, but in my view such technological weapons are counter to the spirit of the fantasy game, and all things considered, quite unnecessary. #114
Intense adventuring in the quasi-medieval fantasy milieu becomes staid without some variety. some campaigns manage this by bringing integue and politics into the mix. My group was too large and action-oriented to enjoy much of that...
Science Fiction is really no more than future fantasy, so that was a logical choice, and one that was popular with most players. The more daring (Rob, Ernie, Terry, etc.) loved to send their PCs into the "future" alternate world area based on Vance's "Planet of Adventure." This was the "Carabas" where the Dirdir hunted humans out seeking nodes bearing sequins.
Unlike gunpowder weapons, SF ones are "magical" in that their operational power is unknown and irreproducable by PC. PCs gaining laser-like arms in a SF setting had nothing more than a "wand" with limited charges, a weapon that was useless after those charges were expended. (I allowed 20 charges, less those expended by the former possessor, with usual damage based on 5d4 for pistols, 5d6 for rifles.)
When I devised a scenario in which the PC party were gated into out own world, entering NYC's subway system during the blackout there, the players caught wise and after wiping out a street gang and getting shot a few times thus, turned tail and hastened back to their own world rather than face police with more firearms;)
The "curses" sent parties to places such as "Barsoom" and to (my favorite) the "Starship Warden" of Metamorphosis Alpha.
So I retained the fantasy base but offered opportunities to experience other milieux. Overall, the group appreciated that greatly. The main complaint came from Jim Ward who was much aggrieved when his elf fighter-mage ended up in his own RPG's setting. The "Vigilists" there welcomed the "mutant" warmly, though, and his wanf of fireballs became the most potent weapon in that group's arsenal! #1227
Barsoom
[ Not a question as such, but I thought you'd like checking out my OD&D versions of ERB's Barsoom Critters: What d'ya think? ] Looks fine to me. There are, of course, heroic members of the various humanoid races with levels, right? Too bad I have long lost the OD&D ststs I used for Erac's adventures on Barsoom. As near as I can recall they are about what I used when I sent PCs to Barsoom. [35]
I note that no one, Brian Blume and I inluded, has treated the cannibals of U-gor. That is where Ernie Gygax's PC Erac gained his ability as a Fighter Class, his magic not working on the Red Planet. [35]
Planet of Adventure
Everyone enjoyed gathering nodes of sequins in the Carabas of Jack Vance's The Dirdir novel--potting off dirdir too :lol: They kept the Dirdir laser pistols as low-charge wands usable by any class and exchanged the sequins for jewelry that could be sold off on their own world. Too bad i can't include that sort of thing in a commercial product... #3251
New York City
Starship Warden
Conan S&S World
Not reported to have happened, but Gary had this to say on it:
I do not think a magic-rich setting precludes swords & sorcery, although the pure "Conanesque" sort is pretty well out in such an environment. that doesn't trouble me, as the only real roles in such a setting are permutations of the warrior and thief archetypes. [35]
Sorcerers practice sorcery, that is the summoning of demons or devils. They have no magical power, inate or learned. Sorcerers summon demonic entities and command them to perform. [35]
As for adapting the magic in AD&D to the world setting of REH, I believe that a few M-U spells of the type sorcerers would be able to employ and a few Cleric spells for priests should be it. The DM managing the campaign must go through the lists and personally decide which few remain usable in the milieu. [35]
Demonworld
A map in ERK drawn on a huge hex map 25.5" x 33" consisting of 9 sheets of Games Workshop hex paper taped together. This was the plane where Fraaz Urb'Lu made his home and were Erac's Cousin and Ayrelach were taken to from the Old Castle, so strictly speaking, this also was part of the Old Castle. Rob talked to Gary about giving the player's a chance to get out of their predicament. Rob had been detailing a planar setting he called Demonworld and he thought it would be perfect for Mark and Ernie. After some cajoling Gary agreed but was adamant that the blades not return to the campaign! ... The place is reputed to be so anti-magical that items brought to it will lose their magic powers permanently
Teeth of Barkash Naur
This is a side level reached from level 13 via a great gate of horn.
A small dimension. Within lie weird environments including a savannah of mobile plants that attack interlopers, a great "Egyptian" tomb, a desert of golden dust where north equals south and south north, a frozen wasteland and a huge lake where a large Slimey Horror possessing huge claws and the ability to reduce the unlucky to yellowish clay if the thing's mucous is breathed on them when they are in the water. It is also the demesne of a mighty storm giant. Fabulous treasures can be won in each of these lands, but the mightiest of them are the fabled Teeth of the Barkash Nour. Those passing through the Gate of Horn at the very roots of the dungeon of Castle Greyhawk have but twenty four passing hours to locate the teeth and retrieve them all, else be expelled from the weird plane, never permitted to enter again...
I also need to get material to Frank Mentzer so he can do the development of my old c. 1974 or 1975 tournament module that I designed for the Detroit Metro Gamers convention back then. It has never been played, let alone published, since that time. Troll lords will publish it as a C&C advcenture when Frank has fleshed out the encounter notes. It's original name is The Quest for the Teeth of Barkash-Nour.[35]
The Teeth of Barkash Nour. I designed it for a Detroit Metro Gamers convention way back when. It has indeed been used as a transportation-destination adventure in my old campaign. [35]
[References: see Greyhawk References]
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