Depths of Terra is a hack of Blades that I want to be about explorers of an ailing world I created. It’s still in progress in other words, and I will be writing it for you. It’s also a planetary romance riddled with misunderstood, ancient technology that is protected by a deadly weather phenomena in the lower elevations (the “graveyard” of the Old World) and outlawed by superstition and religious dogma. It is also about being a group of free agents building a legacy despite a corrupt system (or by participating in it). Inspired by works such as Nausicaa, Empire of the Petal Throne, and Skyheart.
First off: Does this sound exciting? boring? something else?
I have a couple scenarios in mind for introducing this world, but they each seem speak to very different games. One is set in a low-lying area among the poor people, and I pit two settlement leaders against one another to offer a campaign what its like to be part of a rebellion (or quelling one). This, to set up alliances for later stories of adventure. Another is about a reality-shredding superstorm looming on the horizon, and conflicting plans to understand/prevent it, and another to “batten down the hatches”; campaign would mostly be about visiting locations of interest and uncovering clues and tools to help with either plan.
If you want, also give me some input: Discuss the merits of each to help me decide which one will offer a good balance of possibilities to thematic focus.
They sound like different crew options to me:-
The first is an inward focused team seeking to make changes to their community (whether its to impose the law of the land or to force change). This falls closer to tradition BitD game play, and will take better advantage of the Factions game.
The second is much more outwards focussed taking the team out of the community, exploring and expanding the communities influence. This falls much closer to the traditional quest style gaming common in RPGs.
The first appeals to me, but I suspect the second would be an easier sell for Con one-shots, because it would be more familiar.
I think that is where I struggle with it, the dichotomy of it. Both have resulted in fun stories, but they aim at different areas of the setting (and crew types, if a crew is even fitting)
You had me at “planetary fantasy”, good sir.
Henry de Veuve excellent – in playtest I’ve experienced a struggle with how best to label this thing – so I just hope I’ve used the term correctly. Most of the examples I find of planetary romance are also science fiction – whereas I hope to write a work of contemporary fantasy, with plenty of room for stories which focus on how the player characters affect their world. Their impact and their legacy on an ailing civilization.