Modern-day fantasy

[Michael Hopcroft]

I've been speculating that fi i run a HERo campaign again I might want to a modern-day fantasy campaign, where there are spells and monsters but most of them are disguised as mundane things so people don;t know about them.

I'm wondering if the ethos would be different for such a campaign than in a standard fantasy campaign. IN a standard medival fantasy campaign, when you find the monsters you are expected to kill them. But what if the law considers that murder? what if putting a stake through the heart of a vampire can get you strapped to the injection table? What if orcs are consiered a minority group with the same civil rights as everypone else? the general ethos of the modern day is against killing people (and there;s no reason not to think of any intelligent being as a person) just because you think they're evil. Which means player-characters will have to find really creative ways to solve conflicts.... :sneaky:

[Rapier]

I've been speculating that fi i run a HERo campaign again I might want to a modern-day fantasy campaign, where there are spells and monsters but most of them are disguised as mundane things so people don;t know about them.

I'm wondering if the ethos would be different for such a campaign than in a standard fantasy campaign. IN a standard medival fantasy campaign, when you find the monsters you are expected to kill them. But what if the law considers that murder? what if putting a stake through the heart of a vampire can get you strapped to the injection table? What if orcs are consiered a minority group with the same civil rights as everypone else? the general ethos of the modern day is against killing people (and there;s no reason not to think of any intelligent being as a person) just because you think they're evil. Which means player-characters will have to find really creative ways to solve conflicts.... :sneaky:
Ever played some Shadowrun? I could wax on (and wax off!!) about the reasons why the Shadowrun setting is so popular...but I will spare you. :)

It depends on what kind of "citizens" the monsters are. In Shadowrun, Orcs Trolls, Wendigos etc were normal people who were mutated by a virus/genetic abberation. They are still citizens...just really ugly ones. Killing an orc can get you the chair, just as if you killed an old lady.

My current main campaign, is exactly what you are describing. Modern Fantasy. However, orcs goblins trolls etc, are not citizens. They are monsters, invaders, killers and ghoulies. They are also not so prevalent (sp?) that the average citizen is forced to accept their existance. They are a fringe group that is not often in the public eye...and even when they are...and I can't seem to remember who said this but "humans have the most remarkable ability to disbelieve anything that doesn't fit into their tidy little worldview."

However, there are a few monsters that are, for one reason or another, able to exist in society and actually have "citizenship." Yes, the guy who lives in the big house on the corner is a demon who feeds on the nightmares of children. Yes, he isn't even remotely human. However, if you go blazing away and kill him you are going to have some pretty tough questions to answer. ESPECIALLY, if the body never turns up (say, he wasn't killed but banished back to his plane).

Some of our best games have centered around how to get rid of a villain without getting arrested for aggravated assault.

I have to say, we are having the more fun in this campaign, than we have had in a LONG time. It is very refreshing and different. For the first time, contacts are a major focus of the campaign (especially law enforcement, as you can imagine). It also allows for EXTENSIVE RP, as the heroes try and convince Senator Sam that his new aide is, in fact, a metamorph demon who is eating his constituents.

I strongly urge you to jump into this kind of campaign with both feet. You will find it extremely rewarding, full of fun and joy and it is quite refreshing from those days of yore when the heroes would sigh "Oh, gee, we've got to save the world again...Toast anyone?"