RQ6 in Dorastor

[Colin Deans]

Hey Folks!

First time posting on the forums and I’ve been wracking my brain as to what to start a useful topic on (useful for me anyways ;).

I’ve finally settled on Dorastor in RQ6 and what people’s thoughts on adapting the setting and existing material might be. I’m gathering what bits and pieces I can from the original LoD texts, the material on Simon Phipp’s site and the history we built/used in our RQ3 adaptation (the attempted settling of the Frog River Valley).

I’m looking to springboard a new campaign for Orlanthi settlers/fugitives, seeking a ‘fresh’ start from the cultural persecution of Lunar expansionism into everyone’s favourite land of doom. 😎

Thoughts/comments/suggestions?

[Peter Metcalfe]

Avoid statting the Big Monsters. If the PCs are stupid unfortunate enough to fight them, just describe their gruesome deaths if they don’t make the decision to break and run at the first opportunity.

There is plenty of scope for big combats. Having to fight your way through a band of scorpionfolk in order to avoid meeting the Mad Sultan would be one way. Even more horrifically, having to fight through your own doomed shieldwall because they can’t get out of the way quickly enough (which has happened a few times in history). As a general rule, where other places have skirmishes against stragglers, Dorastor has Big Combats.

Dorastor outside the fight should be calm and peaceful, unnaturally so. Every now and then throw in a chaotic event (a rain of colourless slime, a horror flying overhead, the nearby vegetation suddenly dissolves into goo from which erupt new plants). Most events should be harmless but if the PCs get too complacent, through in a hazardous encounter (ie a rain of acid).

When the Big Bad makes his moves, the PCs should be seen to be spared as if by blind chance (We were late entering Kendhall Fort because the earth started oozing clear gorp but when we got there, we found it had just been destroyed…).

Keep the number of longterm NPCs at a minimum. Most Riskland settlers will be new immigrants from the current unrest in the Empire and will soon be killed. The Risklands are in no danger of being depopulated because the unrest in the Empire is growing and more and more people are being sent to Dorastor. That way you can have frequent devastating attacks with the PCs trying to figure out what’s causing it and how to stop them.

When the PCs have achieved some stability in the Risklands (ie we lost only 50 people to the raiders from Hellwood with pumpkins on their belts), have them start finding artifacts from the Feldichi or the World Council. These artifacts will make their lives easier, allowing them a chance in taking down a big monster and also point the way to further forgotten wisdom. But these artifacts should ultimately be a trap to corrupt the PCs into Chaos just as the World Council and the Feldichi were.

In short, the big secret behind the campaign should be that Ralzakark (or whoever the Big Bad is) has chosen the PCs as his Other and is seeking to corrupt them to the path of Chaos.

[Simon Phipp]

My long-term Dorastor campaign had several key points:
1. The Lunars were as afraid of Dorastor as everyone else
2. Some Lunars thought they could tap into the powers of Dorastor
3. Ralzakark is as bad as they say he is
4. Unicorn-Ralzakark was keeping the chaos in check, to a certain extent
5. Other Ralzakarks were trying to build up the chaos
6. The major players in Dorastor have their own agendas and these may or may not intersect at various points
7. Everyone in Dorastor wants to screw everyone else over
8. The PCs are pawns in everyone’s games

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