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Home , John and Laura Lakey, Ken Frank, Spelljammer

Advanced Dung ™ Rules Guide Supplement

Creative Campaigning

Sample file Table of Contents

Table of Contents Chapter 5: Handling Players 92 Convention Gaming 97 Summary 99 Chapter 1: Alternate Campaigns 3 The Joys of Research 4 Campaigns in Historical Time Periods 4 Single Class Campaigns 11 Chapter 6: The Grand Tour 101 Single Race Campaigns 15 The ® Setting 101 Alternate Lands and People 17 The ® Setting 106 Lost Worlds 26 The ® Setting 107 Creating Another World 29 The ® Setting 108 The Lost World of Chanak 32 The ™ Setting 110 Miscellaneous Campaigns 38 The ® Setting Ill

Chapter 2: Alternate Adventures 41 Chapter 7: The Medieval Mindset 112 The Master Outline 41 Adventure Possibilities 118 Strange Renaissance 43 Carnival of the Bizarre 51 Grave Plots 59 Random Encounter Generator 66 Credits Designed by Tony Pryor (chapter 1), Sample Tonfiley Herring (chapter 2), Chapter 3: What's Old is New 70 (chapters 3, 4, and 5), and Ability vs. Ability 73 Norm Ritchie (chapters 6 and 7). New Ways to Use Proficiencies 74 B&W Illustrations by . New Ways to Use Old Monsters 11 Color Illustrations by , Larry New Ways to Use an Old Power 79 Elmore, , New Uses for Old Treasures 81 Typography by Angelika Lokotz. Who Owns It? 83

This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States or" America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of TSR, Inc. Chapter 4: Freestyle Campaigning 85 Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribution rights in the book trade for English language products of TSR, Inc. Distributed to the book and Setting Up for Freestyle Gaming 85 hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby The Character Group 86 trade by regional distributors. ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, Playing Freestyle 87 HOLLOW WORLD, RPGA, WORLD OF GREYHAWK, DRAGONLANCE, What the Players Do Offstage 89 GKLYHAWK, RAVENLOFT, SPELLJAMMER, and FORGOTTEN REALMS are reg- istered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. DUNGEON MASTER, DM, DARK SUN, and Freestyle Adventures 91 the TSR logo are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. All TSR characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trade- marks owned by TSR, Inc. © 1*33 TSR, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. ISBN 0-88038-561-52133

2 • Table of Contents CHAPTER

Alternate Campaigns

The kingdom of Ulova is a land of pastoral fiction. Most are not true medieval beauty and shocking savagery. King Thuon rules states, but a historical hodge podge incorpo- from his castle in the bustling city of Stoneburg. rating elements of the ancient, Renaissance, His knights defend the land against raids by the colonial, and even industrial ages in a free- goblins of the Treacherous Hills, while the Tangle- wheeling mish-mash of ideas intended for branch Forest harbors enclaves of wood elves and entertainment more than accuracy. their deadly enemies, the gnolls. The Granite Since fantasy is the operative word here, Mountains are home to the ancient kingdom of the nothing is inherently wrong with a campaign dwarves, while far in the north, the Evil Dark Lord like this. If the idea didn't work, there Sytthas threatens to bring all free peoples under wouldn't be so many campaigns of this type. his terrible yoke, with his hordes of undead - Medieval or even pseudo-medieval cam- riors, ores, goblins, evil sorcerers, and . . . paigns can be rich and rewarding, and pro- vide players with endless adventure. Sound familiar? With minor variations, the But occasionally, a DM or player wants passage above could apply to thousands of something different. Why limit campaigns to different AD&D® campaigns. Set in a kind of the ordinary when there are so many possibil- medieval Europe writ large, it includes the ities? The ancient world did not consist solely typical castles, knights, sorcerers, elves, magi- of Europe; fantasy fiction is not limited to cal swords, ores, dwarves, and generic evil endless repetitions of simplistic good guy vs. dark lords that have become the staples of bad guy cliches.

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Alternate Campaigns • 3 Many other game settings exist, a few of which are detailed in AD&D® products, such Campaigns in Historical Time as far east adventuring in Kara Tur, nomadic Periods cultures of the asian steppes in set- Giuseppi knew something was wrong the ting, and the exotic cultures of Central Amer- moment he entered the alley. The cloaked figures ica in Maztica. In the DUNGEONS & appeared, silhouetted in the gaslight. Giuseppi DRAGONS® game, the Gazetteer series pro- redoubled his steps, only to find the other end of vides guidelines for developing many non- the alley blocked by two more figures—these with European lands. drawn rapiers. Giuseppi's heart raced as he real- More territory awaits gamers in the settings ized he was trapped. Desperately, he turned back, of the polar regions, the Trojan War, the Amer- only to find his other pursuers close behind. ican Revolution, ancient Egypt, the stone age, "Giuseppi Cardillo!" said low, grim voice. One and the African jungles. Player characters of the figures threw back his hood. "You have might be hired to assist the building of the stolen something from the guild of magicians. pyramids, to deliver a message to Napolean Return it, and your death will be swift." before he reaches Waterloo, or to accompany "I don't know what you're talking about," the Lewis and Clark expedition. Giuseppi stammered. His enemy knew he was There is even more to fantasy than histori- lying, but Giuseppi hoped he could buy some time. cal Earth. The worlds of fantasy fiction are He fumbled beneath his cloak until his hand felt exotic and unique, and all can provide ideas the reassuring sensation of metal and polished to the ambitious DM who wishes to expand wood. his or her campaign beyond the realms of the "Fool!" spat the enemy wizard, raising his ordinary. hands to cast a spell. "Prepare to die!" This section of Creative Campaigning is "No!" Giuseppi shouted, pulling twin pistols intended to assist DMs in creating new and from his belt, cloak whirling. Without hesitation original campaign settings. SeveraSamplel major hefile fired, the flintlocks flashing with a roar like types of campaigns will be discussed, along thunder in the cramped space of the alleyway. with specific examples which may be used as The wizard tumbled backwards, astonishment described or as a guide for the DM to develop. on his face, and Giuseppi rushed away from his shocked pursuers, out of the alley, and into the The Joys of Research busy street beyond. The suggestions in this section can only Wait a minute. Pistols? Gaslight? What scratch the surface of the myriad alternative kind of AD&D® campaign is this? The answer, campaign styles. The information provided of course, is that it is a campaign set in an here should serve as a springboard for further alternate time period from the typical middle investigation and research. Aspiring DMs are or dark ages. encouraged to investigate their local libraries While some guidelines for setting your and bookstores for more information on the AD&D campaign in other time periods are historical eras, cultures, and peoples dis- given in the core rules books, most of the cussed below. rules are geared toward the medieval period. This portion of Creative Campaigning is intended to expand upon the Dark Ages through Renaissance periods listed in chapter six of the DUNGEON MASTER™ Guide.

4 • Chapter One For each period discussed below, the fol- lowing considerations are addressed: Overview—a general description of the heroes, when 300 brave warriors could hold period and pertinent philosophy. off the gathered forces of an entire empire (as Basic rules modifications—adjustments to did King Leonidas and his Spartans at the character classes; equipment based on tech- pass of Thermopylae), or a lone band of nology; money; magic; and monsters appro- adventurers could topple kingdoms and priate to the setting. change the course of history, as did Perseus, Odysseus, and Jason. It is an era, therefore, Note that the campaign restrictions listed well suited to AD&D® game adventures. below are only suggestions. If they do not Class restrictions: The following classes are conform to your own view of the period restricted: Fighter: Rangers do not exist. described, change them to suit your needs. Wizard: Magic is a young science. Spellcast- Remember that the brief overviews given ing is slower; all time units are increased by can provide only the barest glimpses of these one unit (i.e., a spell that takes one segment to rich historical periods. As stated earlier, cast now takes one round, a spell requiring much more wonder and color can be created one round now takes a turn, and so on). Illu- by researching these periods at your local sionists and diviners are the only specialist library. mages allowed. Spells of levels seven, eight, and nine do not exist. The Bronze Age Clerics: Priests and druids are allowed, and can be very powerful. However, they derive Overview: The age of ancient Babylon, Per- their spells from gods who are notoriously sia, and Greece is a period of legendary hero- fickle. Each time a clerical spell is cast, there is ism, deadly monsters, and powerful godsSample. a percentag file e chance equal to the spell level The world is divided into small kingdoms that it will not work because the god is other- or city-states. Many early social systems such wise occupied, upset, asleep, etc. This per- as monarchy, democracy, and oligarchy are centage is cumulative each day; if a cleric has developing. The people are often suspicious cast three first level spells (1% each=3%), two of strangers, and warfare between the infant fourth (4% each=8%), and a sixth (6%), then kingdoms is frequent. attempts to cast a fifth level spell (5%), there is Not only do the gods truly exist as living a 22% chance that the spell will fail. This accu- entities in the minds of the people, but they mulation never exceeds 95%. walk the land, often in the company of mon- If the result of a roll is 01 (except on a 1st sters or legendary heroes. In this era, heroes level spell), then the cleric has offended the could outwit or outfight the gods and win. god in some fashion and suffers a catastro- Gods take sides in human conflict, sending phe, resulting in the spell backfiring, or hav- good fortune to their chosen champions and ing an alternate or opposite effect. Once a catastrophe to those who are out of favor. cleric's spell has failed, he or she may not cast Omens and prophecies carry particular any more spells for the rest of the day. potency in bronze age life. Soothsayers and Rogues: Locks, as we know them, do not oracles are highly respected, and even the exist in the classical world. The lockpicking most obscure prediction is seen as a message ability is therefore eliminated. from the gods and treated with deadly seri- Otherwise, thieves and bards function nor- ousness. mally. Bards take on an important role in clas- The bronze age is, above all else, an age of sical society, telling tales of ancient bravery

Alternate Campaigns • 5 and inspiring the general populace, as Homer Spells: Wizard spells of seventh level and did in The Iliad and The Odyssey. higher are not available, except under Weapons and Equipment: Table 23: Equip- unusual circumstances (such as a boon from ment by Time Period in chapter six of the a god or extensive research). Such spells are DUNGEON MASTER™ Guide references normally reserved for the gods. If the DM weapons and armor available for specific time uses the spell component rules, he may wish periods. Use the "Ancient" column to deter- to evaluate the availability of components mine an item's availability in the Bronze Age. based on technology. Refer to the entry Equipment by Time Period Monsters: While most AD&D® game mon- (The Ancient World) for more details on bronze sters exist in the bronze age, the familiar crea- equipment and other combat modifications. tures of ancient legend are particularly At the DM's option, mythical or legendary suitable. Those associated with sylvan set- items such as the bow of Odysseus, the shield tings are especially appropriate, as are other of Perseus, or Cupid's arrows may be allowed. creatures of mythic origins as follows: dragon, Monetary System: Barter is the rule over cyclops, gorgon, hippocampus, hippogriff, most of the world, but many sophisticated hydra, lammasu, medusa, merman, naga, cities have invented currency. This takes a nereid, nixie, nymph, rakshasa, sea lion, variety of forms, from the familiar gold coins sphinx, titan, wyvern. to bars, rods, ingots and other, more unwieldy Humanoids and demihumans exist in the shapes. bronze age, but often in the form of legends,

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6 • Chapter One