Ragnarok

Re: Ships of the Dark Ages and Medieval Period Bump for future reference. Good stuff here.

Re: No Horses For You

Re: Real Locations that should be fantasy I don't think anyone's mentioned the Catacombs of Paris yet. Strange. Anyhoo, here they are. http://www.catacombes-de-paris.fr/english.htm And here. http://www.triggur.org/cata/ And plans and such here. http://www.catacombs.explographies.com/

Re: D&D Magic Items 3.5 to HERO Once again, thanks for the neat stuff!

Re: Classic Fantasy When you start cutting, they start fighting back. Or, in other words... In Soviet Russia, you don't clear the forest. The forest clears you.

Re: We Loves Us Some Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs Yes, they do have that option but none of them have chosen it. I didn't mean to imply fading meant harmless. I was speaking mostly in a global context, where fading means a lessening influence. I've always been frustrated in many RPGs or fantasy literature where the elves or dwarves (or basically anything other than humans) were things of the past and were fading away. Not so in my game. In my game, the elves are generally more frail in comparison to humans and dwarves, so this military nation has tried to overcome that by using more organized tactics and spears. Think elven phalanx, with archers in the middle and spearmen front.

Re: Fantasy Hero Resources page Thanks for all the neat, shiny stuff! Very helpful to a first-time GM such as myself. Repped.

Re: We Loves Us Some Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs In my campaign, there is a nation of elves to the south, inhabiting a kind of cape region, controlling a powerful navy and much of the maritime trading. Due to several events in Midgard, this nation has become very militaristic and expansionist, much like the Roman Empire. The chaos of the surrounding region has driven the younger, more war-thirsty leaders to justify the expansion as a stabilizing move, but really is just intended to expand their power. I feel this is a far enough departure from the stereotypical elves; depicted as defensive, fading in influence, something of the past. Whereas in my game, the elves are anything but fading. What do you guys think?

Re: Classic Fantasy Monsters: -Vulnerable to a certain weapon enchantment (elf-bane swords and the like) -Created for a finite purpose (Orcs are bred as soldiers and cannon fodder. Once the wars are over, they cease to have a purpose. Short, bloody life spans.) -Unable to enter a geographical area or warded area (holy ground, running water, enchanted forest) -Inability to work together/sacrifice for the common good (or common evil, I suppose.) -Vulnerability to a specific type of energy (i.e., trolls don't do so well with fire and acid) Scenery: -magical forests (shifting trees, strange noises) -foggy barrow downs, filled with the tombs of ancient warriors -abandoned mines Magic: -Inheritable or lycanthropic magical traits (fast healing, glowing eyes, luck, small woodland creatures attracted to you, etc...) Hope this helps.

Re: No Horses For You One my friends ran a very interesting campaign. I never had the chance to partake in it, but it was basically a civil war between the forces of Hell, after they had conquered the earth. The devils were trying to establish themselves as the world order, and the demons...well...were still spreading chaos. Anyhoo, the PCs (who were devils) rode around on fel steeds: monstrous, jet black horned horses with flaming eyes and hooves. Just throwing that out there...

Re: No Horses For You I've seen some interesting deviations from the standard horse. Nothing too outlandish like dinosaurs, though, they're more of the typical Tolkien-style variations. For example, some of the cave dwelling goblins in a previous campaign used spiders as a sort of all-terrain cavalry. Some of the more savage, barbaric humans in the Northern reaches used Dire wolves. The casualty rate for taming one was horrendous, though. With that said, there are few steeds as trustworthy and timeless as a huge horse, like the Clydesdale's. If you're tired of your run-of-the-mill horse, just use something like this guy: http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=x9jDXwEJpyE. 23 hands, 2800 pounds, and only 4 years old. Badass.

Re: Alternate Mass Combat System (Rough) Intriguing. Thanks!

Hey everyone. I wanted to get your advice on how to deal with large-scale fights such as pitched battles and sieges. How do you deal with the flow of combat in a relatively simple and efficient way, and how do you keep track of damage on a high number of NPCs? I want to eventually be able to conduct large-scale conflicts smoothly, so if any of you have a system that works, please let me know. Thanks! Ragnarok

Re: Norse Hero PC builds- feedback welcome Hello all. I'm just checking in with a bit of news. The guy who intended to play the half-elf PC, Rhys, will not be joining us anymore. I would still like to use the character concept, however, and fully intend to use it as an NPC at some point. With that in mind, I'd like to throw in my $.02 US. About the deal with the strength and the bow - I support the STR for Bows Only option. This is for two reasons. The first is that it is, in my mind, quite possible to pull back the draw weight of a bowstring with less effort than to dead-lift it from the ground. As an archer, Rhys would have developed muscle groups specifically to aid him in shooting said bow, but that doesn't mean he would be as good in other strength-related areas. The second reason I support this option is that if we were to say that elven bows are specifically designed to have equal power but requiring less strength, we would probably have to make that a magical item. Normally that wouldn't bother me, but what would happen then is he would lose a LOT of his combat efficiency were he ever to be deprived of that specific bow. After all, how many magical elven bows are floating around far from elven territory? In regards to the issue of the runes, I tend to agree with Chris. If it's a situation where he says, "Hey, I need to make a sword, but this sword needs to be a flaming sword for just a few hours" then some sort of spell-forging would be in order. If it's a situation where he says "Hey, I intend for this suit of armor to heal me for as long as the equipment lasts" then that's where the XP costs come in. Sound reasonable?

Re: Norse Warrior Thank you all for your help. I look forward to employing these warriors both on the battlefield and in the mead halls.

Re: D&D Magic Items 3.5 to HERO Thanks man! These will come in handy. Repped.

So, I'm starting a Norse-themed campaign in the Spring, and I want to create a typical Norse warrior that could give each PC a run for his money in single combat. The PC point limit I had envisioned was 115-125. What I envisioned was a rank and file, sword-swinging Norse warrior that isn't basic cannon fodder. What I need help with is suggestions on allocating points for STR, DEX, CON, BODY, and maybe some appropriate combat talents and powers. Any advice? Thanks!

Re: We Loves Us Some Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs I go back and forth and this issue. I think that the stock elf/dwarf/etc. is pretty much a basic inclusion for most fantasy games. However, I think it is also just as feasible to tweak the basic understanding of elf/dwarf/etc. to your standards, to give each race a uniqueness you won't necessarily find in other gameworlds. At the same time, I think it's perfectly possible to forgo elves and dwarves and the like, and substitute them with more creative creatures. I do have a problem with overly-creative creatures that are just plain unbelievable - kind of like the abstract art of creature creation. With that said, I am running a Norse campaign which does have elves and dwarves and giants and all those kinds of things (mostly just because they play a big part in Norse/Germanic mythology and culture,) but I also try to depart from the stereotypical elf/dwarf profile, and I try to feature monsters and creatures that depart from the cookie-cutter elf/dwarf/orc campaign. So basically, elf/dwarf/orc is often a staple of fantasy games, but we should be creative in our approach to them and try to stay away from the stereotypes.