running "The ancient kingdom of blah, blah, blah"

[redwizard007]

Its a constant in most settings that there are ruins and ancient treasures left from a previous "golden age.". Has anyone seen (or built) a campaign based in such a golden age? I'm kicking around some ideas and would love something to contrast with my own ideas, and possibly mine for some inspiration.

Elven empires before the rise of man, the Illithid empire, even FR material (I'm sure its out there.)


Thanks in advance.

[Xuc Xac]

That was the premise of the Dawnforge setting. The world is new and the players will be the ancient heroes of future legend.

[jqavins]

Well, no. But I'd love to talk out some ideas anyway.

I see three possible scenarios (or is that scenarii?) and I need to know which (or some other that I've missed) you are thinking of.

1. Prequel to an established campaign. This would provide some hints in the form of legends and what's in those treasure dungeons, and you'd be pretty much bound by those, although they needn't bind you very tightly, since they are only hints. And it has to be destined to end, for reasons that may or may not already be known.
2. A "phase one" where some later setting is contemplated, and maybe planned, but not established. That means there has to be a downfall, and the reason may or may not be known, but the rest is more free than in the first case.
3. A completely free-standing campaign, in which case you've just got a high wealth and/or high magic setting with no other constraints.

The third doesn't even seem to me to be what you're talking about, so I guess you're after 1 or 2.

[sktarq]

Myself no-some of the people I have played with have. There was a Dm I never played with who was hung up on the idea. And their experiences were mixed. Some short runs worked well-and things set in the major growth and early collapse eras seemed to work better than at the height of power. How much is that those time perioods lend themselves to drama or that this particular DM was better at that I couldn't say but would lean to the former. Also I'm guessing that the players focus on a non epic sized game may have been key. They were up for saving a city as the empire collapsed more than saving the whole empire and thus totally changing history.

[redwizard007]

I should know better than to post after drinking... Clarification:

The world I'm building is young, or will be in its first incarnation. The spirits and the cosmos were born rather recently. The races are young, and those that have not been favored by the spirits are living as tribal hunter gatherers while the more fortunate have small pockets of remarkably advanced cultures. In this era I want to put together a handful of races that dominate the landscape with lesser races along the periphery. I intend the world to be quite large compared to earth to facilitate the kitchen sink of races with the understanding that most of it will never be particularly fleshed out.

Eventually these empires will fall and provide the powerful magic items, ruins and dungeons for a future campaign set in a dark-ages style where racial roles have shifted. This will in turn give way to a renaissance/age-of-discovery campaign where lost enclaves of former civilizations may play a role. I think three ages should allow enough variation to keep me interested while seeming a natural progression to my players.



The Dawnforge mention is appreciated. it looks like something that could provide some inspiration and I will be giving it a closer look.

[Storm Bringer]

Like sktarq said, my suggestion would be to set the story at the transition from one stage to the next. For example, the players could be the ones to unite the warring races of the Snake Valley to drive back the Great Evil of the East, or the plucky humans who break the back of the Most Serene Elven Empire, paving the way for a thousand years of human rule.

ifs kinda fun if your playing a game set later on to see references to your old PCs adventures, crouched in near mythical terms, (GM: "Upon the altar, you see the legendary Drakeslayer, the sword that slew the First Dragon and ended the Time Of The Lizard Kings!" players: "what, you mean its James' old sword?")

personally, the key Is that the events that your "first age" party partake in need to be the sort of thing that would get remembered hundreds of years later, in a Epic of Gilamesh type way, or the stories of King Arthur, etc.

[Nobot]

I've partially done this once, where the PC's (unknowingly) created the characters that would be deities in the next campaign, set a long time after the first. It was great fun, especially when players hear legends and tales that they actually helped make or made. You could even write a simple epic as a sort of campaign log that you update after each session and send out to the players.

But to completely let go of previous ages and their remnants is difficult, as ancient ruins and legends are so much fun to work with and explore. We've tried it in a sci-fi adventure once, where players were lonesome explorers on a planet that was actually alive. That way, the world provided any challenge it might lack from having no interesting ancient ages and ruins. It was fun for a few sessions.

[AceOfFools]

I have both played and run games set durring various sorts of golden ages.

It's a lot trickier to run "Group of three to six PCs run around having violent adventures" inside a golden age. If technology is good, and the leaders not corupt, the sorts of threats that are solved by elite squads of soldiers types are handled by dedicated law enforcement, or military.

So if you want to take a traditional tabletop party, you either need to make them part of the establishment, fighting against the establishment (possibly indirectly by targeting a real threat the establishment ignores or is unaware if while avoiding going to hail themselves), or on outskirts of the establishment, working where the golden age is less felt (e.g. exploring the unknown).

The other thing you can change (depending on system) is the assumption that battle will be a large part of the game. Political intrigue, heists, mysteries, competions, and mercantile focused economic exploration are all great tabletop game premises that work fine where "call the cops" is a valid, expected response to danger.

[jqavins]

I have both played and run games set durring various sorts of golden ages.

It's a lot trickier to run "Group of three to six PCs run around having violent adventures" inside a golden age. If technology is good, and the leaders not corupt, the sorts of threats that are solved by elite squads of soldiers types are handled by dedicated law enforcement, or military.

So if you want to take a traditional tabletop party, you either need to make them part of the establishment, fighting against the establishment (possibly indirectly by targeting a real threat the establishment ignores or is unaware if while avoiding going to hail themselves), or on outskirts of the establishment, working where the golden age is less felt (e.g. exploring the unknown).

The other thing you can change (depending on system) is the assumption that battle will be a large part of the game. Political intrigue, heists, mysteries, competions, and mercantile focused economic exploration are all great tabletop game premises that work fine where "call the cops" is a valid, expected response to danger.

This depends much on just how golden this golden age is. You did start with "If technology is good..." but it might not be. Technology could be somewhat higher than it is in the later dark age campaign without being advanced even into the early industrial age. The government can be politically advanced and non-corrupt but still rely on "contractors" for certain types of jobs, or not be able to respond instantly when the big scary monster appears, and isn't it a good thing the PCs were around? And so forth.

[AceOfFools]

This depends much on just how golden this golden age is. You did start with "If technology is good..." but it might not be. Technology could be somewhat higher than it is in the later dark age campaign without being advanced even into the early industrial age. The government can be politically advanced and non-corrupt but still rely on "contractors" for certain types of jobs, or not be able to respond instantly when the big scary monster appears, and isn't it a good thing the PCs were around? And so forth.

Yes, in which case the PCs are (a somewhat autonomous) part of the establishment.

It has worked really well for me on multiple occasions to do exactly that. :-)

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Golden Ages are, by their nature, boring. I should know, I made one myself!

The most interesting parts of any Golden Age are when it rises, when it is in peril, and when it falls.

[Tzi]

Its a constant in most settings that there are ruins and ancient treasures left from a previous "golden age.". Has anyone seen (or built) a campaign based in such a golden age? I'm kicking around some ideas and would love something to contrast with my own ideas, and possibly mine for some inspiration.

Elven empires before the rise of man, the Illithid empire, even FR material (I'm sure its out there.)


Thanks in advance.

I think it would be somewhat like running a modern campaign since by an large modern people don't go exploring old ruins because their culture is way more advanced.

[Bruno Carvalho]

Nostalgia is not anymore as good as it used to be.

Remember the "golden age" is a term coined by people who hadn't LIVED in the golden age. The golden age surely wasn't as great as the legends says: We tend to look to the past, remember the good parts and forget the bad ones.

[jqavins]

Nostalgia is not anymore as good as it used to be.

Remember the "golden age" is a term coined by people who hadn't LIVED in the golden age. The golden age surely wasn't as great as the legends says: We tend to look to the past, remember the good parts and forget the bad ones.

That's true in reality. In reality, there never were any dragons, magic spells, orcs, etc. The fundamental basis of FRP gaming is "what if the legends were true?" So there's no fundamental reason that this can't include the legend of a golden age. There may or may not be practical reasons that it's not a good idea.