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<blockquote data-quote="Trickstergod" data-source="post: 1057719" data-attributes="member: 10825"><p>It doesn't take more than a cursory glance to realize that Arcana Unearthed is unconventional in the extreme; it has high magic, extremely out there, written all over it. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see much of Medieval Europe or traditional mythology in it (be it Tolkienesque, Greek, or whatever). I'd heartily recommend not bothering with it if you're looking for something more traditional.</p><p></p><p>As for Midnight? It's currently at the top of my "things to get" list, but have the misfortune of generally being broke. However, I think I might suck it up and pick up the setting book. With that said, it does seem to have a very traditional element to it, if twisted. It comes across as a traditional fantasy world, but in this case, the good guys lost when the Big Bad World Encompassing Evil came around. I can't give it the best review or recommendation, but it seems to have enough fantasy elements to make it worthwhile for someone looking for something not overly unconventional, yet still be interesting and unique in its own way.</p><p></p><p>In regards to the Scarred Lands...I think the setting could be best summed up as the most unconventional setting for mainstream, traditional settings. That come across right? If it were to be categorized, it would fit better with Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms, and Dragonlance, more than it would, say, Planescape. It lacks the generic element of Greyhawk, the uber-twinked out, anything goes, high fantasy, hodge podge that is the Forgotten Realms, and doesn't have the problem Dragonlance does with feeling like the novels essentially wrote the setting into the dust. </p><p></p><p>While you can play up its unconventional aspect, it also has a large number of traditional fantasy (and Western European) elements that a DM looking for a more traditional game can make use of. Whether you want to play a nitty, gritty low fantasy game involving self-sufficient Vigilants trekking through lands harsh and wild, a more magically oriented campaign dealing with the magocracies of Glivid Autel and Hollowfaust, or, and this is what makes the setting in my opinion, the faith and devotion of the humble and high alike, the Scarred Lands has a lot to offer, and, for the most part, it all blends nearly seamlessly together, as if created with a world in mind, as opposed to a bunch of neat ideas (which I think the Forgotten Realms suffers from). </p><p></p><p>Elves? Has them, and while they can be played up to being freaky, out there, alien beings of immortality, they can just as easily be portrayed as the elves of Tolkien and still be done justice (though I'd avoid forsaken elves, if you wanted more Tolkien elements). Dwarves? Yeah, they're there, and while magic is a strong part of them, it deals with the more traditionally dwarf-ascribed assocation with runes, and the strong, warrior-heritage, and under-the-mountains living is still there. The gods themselves? All fill a certain archetype ("Avenger", "Redeemer", "Huntress", "Lawgiver", "Trickster", etc, etc), which one could easily connect with. Orcs? Yep. More or less as you might expect them to be, too. It even has a decent explanation for scantily clad sorceress women. </p><p></p><p>Does it have unconventional aspects to it? Yeah, of course. Then again, so does the Forgotten Realms, which is the most absolute mainstream setting out there (one might argue, "Well, then isn't it a bit inappropriate to say the Forgotten Realms could have anything unconvetional?" To which I would reply, no, because the Forgotten Realms has just about everything under the sun dwelling within the setting, in one place or another). But one could just as easily enjoy kicking back in a tavern with your axe-wielding dwarf buddy, your elven archer lover, the paladin in gleaming plate, and so on, while reminiscing on your last battle with a bunch of orcs and how the local baron gave you a nod in thanks for ridding his lands of the foul menace. </p><p></p><p>If folks opinions have in anyway swayed you towards nabbing anything Scarred Lands, my recommendations would be as follows:</p><p></p><p>The Ghelspad Campaign Setting, or at least the Gazetteer: These two products describe the primary continent of the world, and offer a bit of info on a few organizations that are out there to make use of. </p><p></p><p>Divine and the Defeated: The setting, at its heart, is about the Gods and the Titans who waged war on the land all of 150 years ago. This is their book. It does stat out the gods, sure, but most of all, it describes their faiths, and their personalities (which gives a glimpse of what sort of tenets their faiths have), and the organizations of their faiths, to a degree, in addition to offering up a few, cool as heck stories and myths revolving around the deities.</p><p></p><p>Burok Torn: The most simplistic explanation would be, "The dwarf city book,". It also deals with a small chunk of Scarn's (the world the Scarred Lands is set in) history. The dwarves do cast spells, but over all, they're still distinctly, recognizably dwarves, axes, forges, and all. The book also goes into detail about the Dark Elves of the Scarred Lands, who have more style in their left pinky than Lolth and her little toadies do in their whole, god-forsaken Underdark. The Dark Elves may be a bit unconventional in certain ways (a city that moves underground, with the help of a veritable golem army), but the part on the dwarves has a good amount of traditional "meat" to those interested in the book. As someone who has never found dwarves to be particularly exciting, I enjoyed Burok Torn.</p><p></p><p>Relics and Rituals I: The spell descriptions offer a glimpse into the setting, as do a few prestige Classes (Vigilant in particular).</p><p></p><p>Calastia, Throne of the Black Dragon: Of particular note because it goes on about how a Lawful Evil nation can be beloved by its people, and not just seen as some tyranny of an evil empire (even when it is).</p><p></p><p>Books I wouldn't recommend (not necessarily due to their quality, as being unconventional, in my viewpoint)</p><p></p><p>Hollowfaust: A city run, essentially, by Lawful Neutral necromancers. Undead seen as an everyday part of life. Still decent, but not necessarily conventional.</p><p></p><p>Hornsaw, Forest of Blood: Two-bladed scythes. Mutant unicorns. While maybe some folks bag, it doesn't strike me as being particularly traditional fantasy fare.</p><p></p><p>There's a few more, I'm sure, but, I feel I've waxed on poetically enough. These are just my feelings, mind you, and definitely biased ones at that. I certainly wouldn't want you to buy something you wouldn't like; I just feel that, at the heart of it all, the Scarred Lands is fairly traditional, in some aspects, enough that you might enjoy it. If it helps put it in any context, I wouldn't have recommended Planescape to you (which I like), and the Forgotten Realms makes me twitch uncomfortably.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, peace out. Peace between dwarves and elves.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Trickstergod, post: 1057719, member: 10825"] It doesn't take more than a cursory glance to realize that Arcana Unearthed is unconventional in the extreme; it has high magic, extremely out there, written all over it. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see much of Medieval Europe or traditional mythology in it (be it Tolkienesque, Greek, or whatever). I'd heartily recommend not bothering with it if you're looking for something more traditional. As for Midnight? It's currently at the top of my "things to get" list, but have the misfortune of generally being broke. However, I think I might suck it up and pick up the setting book. With that said, it does seem to have a very traditional element to it, if twisted. It comes across as a traditional fantasy world, but in this case, the good guys lost when the Big Bad World Encompassing Evil came around. I can't give it the best review or recommendation, but it seems to have enough fantasy elements to make it worthwhile for someone looking for something not overly unconventional, yet still be interesting and unique in its own way. In regards to the Scarred Lands...I think the setting could be best summed up as the most unconventional setting for mainstream, traditional settings. That come across right? If it were to be categorized, it would fit better with Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms, and Dragonlance, more than it would, say, Planescape. It lacks the generic element of Greyhawk, the uber-twinked out, anything goes, high fantasy, hodge podge that is the Forgotten Realms, and doesn't have the problem Dragonlance does with feeling like the novels essentially wrote the setting into the dust. While you can play up its unconventional aspect, it also has a large number of traditional fantasy (and Western European) elements that a DM looking for a more traditional game can make use of. Whether you want to play a nitty, gritty low fantasy game involving self-sufficient Vigilants trekking through lands harsh and wild, a more magically oriented campaign dealing with the magocracies of Glivid Autel and Hollowfaust, or, and this is what makes the setting in my opinion, the faith and devotion of the humble and high alike, the Scarred Lands has a lot to offer, and, for the most part, it all blends nearly seamlessly together, as if created with a world in mind, as opposed to a bunch of neat ideas (which I think the Forgotten Realms suffers from). Elves? Has them, and while they can be played up to being freaky, out there, alien beings of immortality, they can just as easily be portrayed as the elves of Tolkien and still be done justice (though I'd avoid forsaken elves, if you wanted more Tolkien elements). Dwarves? Yeah, they're there, and while magic is a strong part of them, it deals with the more traditionally dwarf-ascribed assocation with runes, and the strong, warrior-heritage, and under-the-mountains living is still there. The gods themselves? All fill a certain archetype ("Avenger", "Redeemer", "Huntress", "Lawgiver", "Trickster", etc, etc), which one could easily connect with. Orcs? Yep. More or less as you might expect them to be, too. It even has a decent explanation for scantily clad sorceress women. Does it have unconventional aspects to it? Yeah, of course. Then again, so does the Forgotten Realms, which is the most absolute mainstream setting out there (one might argue, "Well, then isn't it a bit inappropriate to say the Forgotten Realms could have anything unconvetional?" To which I would reply, no, because the Forgotten Realms has just about everything under the sun dwelling within the setting, in one place or another). But one could just as easily enjoy kicking back in a tavern with your axe-wielding dwarf buddy, your elven archer lover, the paladin in gleaming plate, and so on, while reminiscing on your last battle with a bunch of orcs and how the local baron gave you a nod in thanks for ridding his lands of the foul menace. If folks opinions have in anyway swayed you towards nabbing anything Scarred Lands, my recommendations would be as follows: The Ghelspad Campaign Setting, or at least the Gazetteer: These two products describe the primary continent of the world, and offer a bit of info on a few organizations that are out there to make use of. Divine and the Defeated: The setting, at its heart, is about the Gods and the Titans who waged war on the land all of 150 years ago. This is their book. It does stat out the gods, sure, but most of all, it describes their faiths, and their personalities (which gives a glimpse of what sort of tenets their faiths have), and the organizations of their faiths, to a degree, in addition to offering up a few, cool as heck stories and myths revolving around the deities. Burok Torn: The most simplistic explanation would be, "The dwarf city book,". It also deals with a small chunk of Scarn's (the world the Scarred Lands is set in) history. The dwarves do cast spells, but over all, they're still distinctly, recognizably dwarves, axes, forges, and all. The book also goes into detail about the Dark Elves of the Scarred Lands, who have more style in their left pinky than Lolth and her little toadies do in their whole, god-forsaken Underdark. The Dark Elves may be a bit unconventional in certain ways (a city that moves underground, with the help of a veritable golem army), but the part on the dwarves has a good amount of traditional "meat" to those interested in the book. As someone who has never found dwarves to be particularly exciting, I enjoyed Burok Torn. Relics and Rituals I: The spell descriptions offer a glimpse into the setting, as do a few prestige Classes (Vigilant in particular). Calastia, Throne of the Black Dragon: Of particular note because it goes on about how a Lawful Evil nation can be beloved by its people, and not just seen as some tyranny of an evil empire (even when it is). Books I wouldn't recommend (not necessarily due to their quality, as being unconventional, in my viewpoint) Hollowfaust: A city run, essentially, by Lawful Neutral necromancers. Undead seen as an everyday part of life. Still decent, but not necessarily conventional. Hornsaw, Forest of Blood: Two-bladed scythes. Mutant unicorns. While maybe some folks bag, it doesn't strike me as being particularly traditional fantasy fare. There's a few more, I'm sure, but, I feel I've waxed on poetically enough. These are just my feelings, mind you, and definitely biased ones at that. I certainly wouldn't want you to buy something you wouldn't like; I just feel that, at the heart of it all, the Scarred Lands is fairly traditional, in some aspects, enough that you might enjoy it. If it helps put it in any context, I wouldn't have recommended Planescape to you (which I like), and the Forgotten Realms makes me twitch uncomfortably. Anyway, peace out. Peace between dwarves and elves. [/QUOTE]
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