Re: Argraths

From: TTrotsky_at_...
Date: Sat, 5 May 2001 04:54:54 EDT


Jeff:

<< gamartin_at_... wrote:
>
> Uurgh, I hate that. the real world has that problem in spades; in
> RPG I;d much rather just get the straight dirt and know that I am
> making informed decisions, instead of trying to piece together which
> bits are/may or are not/may not be "true". I have no interest in
> excavating another writers arcane easter egg hunt. I don't mind the
> game world having multiple and contradictory information, but it
> annoys me when a bunch of contradictory stories become your ONLY
> information.

         The problem with KoS, IMO, was that it was too vague to be good as a story, but to precise to be useful as a game. (There were, of course, many good things about KoS, too).  

<< You're probably not going to be terribly happy with the Hero Wars in Sartar then. There's a LOT of Argraths and they are all valid rulers. Of course, its a multiple choice quiz. Just pick the Argrath that SUITS your campaign style. And if one gets killed off as a part of plot, there are other Warlords in the wings.>>

      I don't know about Gareth, but personally I like to have a detailed backstory on the one hand and a wide-open set of gaming possibilities for the stuff that 'hasn't happened yet' on the other. I need a solid foundation on which to build my campaign, and vague backstories can damage that.

      Having said which, in the case of Arkat, since he died 1000 years or so ago, a 'solid foundation' there consists of knowing what people today *think* he did, not necessarily what actually happened, since that no longer has any relevance one way or the other. If I were running a campaign in 5th/6th century Ralios, then I would need to know the real events, of course...  

<< Do you want political machinations and Realpolitik? Go with Argrath Maniskison
 Do you want funky draconic magics? Go with Argrath Dragontooth  Do you want some high-end Orlanth magic? Go with (name blank drawn)  Do you want adventure and questing? Go with Garreth Swordsharp.  Do you want a barbarian sitting on the bloodstained throne a-la Conan?  Go with Argrath Whitebull  

 Your Argraths may vary! Mine do.>>

     Yes, indeed, and this sort of stuff allows variety to the game and gives you tools to build with. I haven't seen Sartar Rising, but I expect it provides that solid foundation, and then allows for various options to build on it. Will the Argrath in your campaign be the tyrannical despot of KoS, Whitebull-the-Conan or somebody genuinely heroic (in the narrow sense)? Or a PC? Given the responses to the Campaign Characters thread, the latter possibility opens up a whole new sack of ferrets - Argrath might well turn out to be a Vingan or Issarion, just for starters! And not just that, but I'd also like to see a possibility where Starbrow keeps Argrath off the throne, and one where the Lunars ultimately win (the clan generator allows for the possibility of Lunar Symps as player heroes, so there need to be ways for such characters/players to perform heroic deeds, gain enjoyment from the game and eventually triumph against adversity, IMO).

     Dunno how much of the above I'll get, but that's what I'd hope for from Sartar Rising and its sequel. But I also want (and am fairly confident I'll get, actually) unambiguous information on the back story so that I can build the above for my campaign without too much effort.  

<< I want _tools_ not _strictures_ or _scriptures_...>>

     One needs a solid foundation to build on with said tools, mind. Personally, I see no reason to suppose we won't get one...

Trotsky

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