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Incline Damsels, Adventurers, and Dragons Myths of Malignost Long Term Campaign

JamesDixon

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Are you tired of playing mass marketed schlock made for the lowest common denominator?

Are you tired of every setting being a bland and generic experience?

Are you tired of Woke SJW bullshit?

Are you tired of your characters not making an impact in the world?

JarlFrank and I are writing an DAD setting book titled Myths of Malignost. Malignost is unique in that it's designed around every table being different. The world that they play in is unique to that table. To accomplish this, we decided to have the party start at the end of creation. Their characters wake up and are instructed by the god that created them. At the beginning the players vote for the race they want to play and are limited to that race until the other races are discovered. There are 11 different races with quite few having a unique take on them. They are separated by thousands of miles to give them a chance to build a civilization unique to them.

The races are the following:

Èlaz: A race of miners that are similar to the Elves everyone is familiar with.
Annunaki: A race of angelic beings that were thrown out by their respective good deities for fighting a war against the Gallu.
Gallu: Are a race of demonic beings that fought to control the good gods at the behest of the evil gods. They were also thrown out and placed on Malignost as punishment.
Sisulu: Quadrupedal humanoids that resemble Centaurs.
Dumillu: A race short beings that have the natural inclination to being sailors, water based merchants, and pirates. They are akin to Dwarves in other settings.
Awilu: They are the humans of the world. They are the high god Malignost's prized creation. They are the first born.
Gudu: They are a race of bipedal bull-men and cow-women. Think of them as the early version of Minotaurs.
Kitharians: They are a bipedal feline race where women are the dominant sex in their society.
Alipharians: They are bipedal canines.
Sur-Èlaz: In Malignost, Èlaz can breed with any other race. Sur-Èlaz's are the offspring of these pairings. They are not able to chosen at the start of the game due to none of the races having met yet.
Sur-Dumillu: Like the Sur-Èlaz, Dumillu's can breed with any other race to create half breeds. Like the other half breed they can't be selected at the start of the game.

Malignost does have sexual dimorphism. Women of the race are weaker physically, but they get a bonus in other stats. The only exception to this are the Kitharians. There the men are the physically weaker of the two.

A big part of this world is the generational play. The players will have a pool of 3-5 characters of all different classes to have in case their main character dies. Their characters will get married, grow old, and develop their civilization. These characters are responsible for the creation of cities, castles, temples, and wizard academies. They are also responsible for creating dungeons and the like. When the character reaches 9th to 11th level they are expected to retire and the player selects from their children to play. In order to facilitate this changing of characters, the training rules are used where in order to advance to the next level it requires someone of a higher level. In the first generation, they will be taught by their creator deity.

At the start of the game, every class has an associated kit that is titled Savage (Class). This class represents the uncivilized beginning.

Deities are very involved in the world. They will look at the first generation and ensure their survival. As the races live through the generations, the deities may be more hands off or keep the same level of interaction. It's up to the GM and the players to decide.

Thus, in the beginning the entirety of the world is a blank slate for the GM and their players to build upon. As play proceeds, the tech levels will change from the Stone Age all the way up to Tech Level 5 which is the Age of Sail. A core component of this setting is one of the players being the leader of the tribe. As the ruler, the get to decide how their county is built with the addition of settlements that can be run by the other players. Technology and the character's class determines what they build. The overall goal of this part of the game is to build an empire. The settlement is the smallest title that can be held. The highest title is empire. A county has a max of 9 settlements. A duchy will have 4 or more counties. A kingdom is 3 or more duchies. Finally, the empire has a minimum of two kingdom titles.


We are looking for 4 players to help playtest the rules. I may open the fifth slot if my best friend declines to participate.

The game will happen on Saturdays every other weekend.

The time for the game will be at 1230 PM EST[UTC-5] which is 630 PM [UTC+1].

We will be using Discord for voice chat and Tabletop Simulator for the actual game. I have all the AD&D 2E books put into TTS and there is a mod that has the character sheets. There are mods that have all the miniatures etc...


For helping with the playtest and having fun your name will be in the credits as playtesters.

Finally, any spells etc... that your characters create will be immortalized in future supplements for the world. You will get credit for them as well.
 
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JarlFrank

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We need some playtesters my dudes. Gotta see how the system we came up with runs in practice.

Think of it as D&D meets Civilization. It's gonna be fun.
 

mastroego

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Damn.
It might actually be a logistical possibility for me (if a tad uncomfortable, having to miss regular dinner and such).
How many applicants already?
How much time do we get to decide?
I will read through the pitch tomorrow...
 

JamesDixon

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Damn.
It might actually be a logistical possibility for me (if a tad uncomfortable, having to miss regular dinner and such).
How many applicants already?
How much time do we get to decide?
I will read through the pitch tomorrow...

So far just JarlFrank and there's plenty of time to decide.

I'd love for ya to play because you're a good dude.
 

mastroego

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Same for me, pal.
I thought the same before reading through the description.

Now, if you bear with me, I will list some pros and cons to help me decide.
Mind you, this is for you guys too, since I wouldn't want to raise "expectations" that later crash with reality.
Also I may be a bit anal about things.
Anyway:

Pros:
  • Distinguished bros of proven stature to play with, obviously
  • I had JUST decided that I wanted to play D&D again, making time for it somehow, and to go look for virtual tabletops groups online. I currently have a live PnP group, which is good and all, but I don't really *love* the game, which is not D&D. The group I'm playing with had played D&D for decades and felt the need to move on, but I had stopped for decades...
  • AD&D is the edition I grew up with. Most of my nostalgia is tied to that.
Cons:
  • You might be surprised to hear this (I know your opinions about it), but I was really tempted to try 5e. I'm reading through the player's manual and I'm liking the rules. To be completely honest, while the iconic things and the soul of the game come from the old editions (the settings, the lore, the art, everything), even as a teenager I felt that the rules could use some revisions. Using those rules again exactly as they were might be a bit of a let down today, since I *know* they can be improved.
  • I would miss the familiar settings. I was hoping to find a group to play in FR again. The nostalgia thing, obviously, but I can't deny its pull.
  • The grand scope of the campaign is great, but I'm less attracted by the forced retirement thing. Sure, characters can die and all, but I'd prefer to play knowing that reaching the higher levels is possible.
  • The game time is not entirely comfortable for me, but I could accommodate for that, especially since it's 2 Saturdays per month. Occasionally issues might arise though.
  • The language. I like to think that I'm decently proficient with written English, but the spoken language is another beast. People would have to patient here. In the rare occasions I got to converse with foreigners, I got mixed results. Sometimes I'd go more or less fluently, sometimes I'd stutter even for simple statements. The language is "there" somewhere, in my mind, but I'm not used to "summon" it on the fly. I do think that with regular sessions, after a while, most of my latent knowledge would become "unblocked".
  • The accent: I can improve on fluency, in theory, but my accent will stay no matter what.
  • I might also be the one NOT to understand you guys, depending on what kind of English you speak.
  • If the goal is to test rather than play, I might not be the right man for the job: I've picked up again PnP only recently and I wouldn't presume to be able to evaluate on the merits of balance and such (though I could talk about the fun aspect)

Sorry it's a lot of cons, but they don't weigh as much as the pros, individually.
I prefer to lay everything on the table, and go from there.

Obviously if you'll have more fitting applicants I'll understand, don't waste time with me in that case.
Otherwise we could talk about seeing to "work around" or re-evaluate those cons, perhaps.
For instance, do you have (commissioned?) art for the setting? That helps a lot in winning people over. At least it would in my case :)
What about the language? Do you think you could be patient for a while? I'm sure I could get there but not immediately.
 

JamesDixon

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A quick reply here.

If there are rules that you would like to be adjusted I'm all ears. We're going to include a lot of NWP from all of the rulebooks plus the addition of Appearance as a characteristic. I feel the Charisma should be for personality and have Appearance for looks.

This will be a long term campaign that will also be a playtest.

Higher levels is possible, but for now the entire you need a trainer that is one level higher than you to level optional rule is in effect. This is accommodate the generation style of play.

Well Frank is in UTC+1 and it's 1230 PM EST which is UTC-5. It's the best compromise I can come up with for playing with Europeans.

I'm pretty good at understanding people with an accent. If I can't understand you I'll just ask you to repeat it. I don't have a problem with accents in the slightest.

There isn't any art yet. We're still writing up the rules. Art is always the last thing to be done in an RPG book. ;)

I'm a fairly patient person. Ask JarlFrank about that. :lol:
 

mastroego

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If there are rules that you would like to be adjusted I'm all ears. We're going to include a lot of NWP from all of the rulebooks plus the addition of Appearance as a characteristic. I feel the Charisma should be for personality and have Appearance for looks.
Well I wouldn't presume to dictate adjustments here.
Also I've been out of the D&D loop that I'd be hard-pressed to name a precise thing. It's a general sentiment.
I'm reading through the 5e book and I'm finding myself nodding quite often ("yes this makes sense"). Conversely some rules were, well, weird, in AD&D 2nd.
As much as I loved it, it's true.
Also I like how they're giving EACH class several things to do and something to gain at every level.
Oh, and I think the advantage/disadvantage mechanic should be good for the actual play. It's neat idea and somewhat elegant.
It's an edition that makes me want to play, in short.

What's NWP? Additional rules I suppose?

This will be a long term campaign that will also be a playtest.

Higher levels is possible, but for now the entire you need a trainer that is one level higher than you to level optional rule is in effect. This is accommodate the generation style of play.

Well Frank is in UTC+1 and it's 1230 PM EST which is UTC-5. It's the best compromise I can come up with for playing with Europeans.

I'm pretty good at understanding people with an accent. If I can't understand you I'll just ask you to repeat it. I don't have a problem with accents in the slightest.

There isn't any art yet. We're still writing up the rules. Art is always the last thing to be done in an RPG book. ;)

I'm a fairly patient person. Ask JarlFrank about that. :lol:
Ok, these at least should be all minor issues, after all :)
 

JamesDixon

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Also I like how they're giving EACH class several things to do and something to gain at every level.
AD&D 2E, like its predecessors, is a You Can Try System. You think of something to do and you try it. As the DM, I adjudicate using the rules as is. It's actually better since it doesn't put you in a straight jacket of If You Don't X You Can't Do Y. That's all modern editions of DANDINO do.

For example, I had an Elven Swashbuckler Bard that was 1st level with the max of 6 hit points. This is the first session so the entire party is in the tavern. My character is on the second floor looking to see a prostitute. Down below in the main drinking room, a fight breaks out between a group of rowdy drunks and the party. My character decides to climb on the railing to leap onto the chandelier. He was going to cut the rope after swinging the chandelier back and forth to get momentum then use the chandelier as a ride to land on top of a few guys threatening the party mage. DM tells me to roll under my Dexterity of 19 because there wasn't an Acrobatics skill. I got a 20...

Critical failure.... My character plummeted one story to suffer 1d6 worth of damage.....

The DM rolled a 6. My character hits the floor face first and starts to bleed out.

We weren't using the You Are Dead At 0 rule, but the Death Occurs At -10 Hit Points rule.

Due to the fighting, nobody could get to my character and he bled out into the saw dust covering the floor.

For my actions, my replacement character started with some experience for the creativity of playing the bard.

As such, if you can think to do something and want to try it you can. It's not my place to sit there and say you can't do it because you don't have x. Thus, mechanics are not necessary in a properly run game.

Oh, and I think the advantage/disadvantage mechanic should be good for the actual play. It's neat idea and somewhat elegant.
Why do you need a mechanic when you can put that into your character's background and personality? See it makes sense with Hero System and GURPS because there is a mechanical benefit to do so. In AD&D there is no such benefit other than role playing.

I had a 3rd level Blade Bard that had just started in the new Dark Sun campaign. All characters start at 3rd level in there. In the first tavern we were in my character decides to have the party mage, a female, be my assistant as I put on a show. The very first dagger he threw hit next to her head as intended. The next two daggers missed their targets around her body and struck her in the chest and right arm. She nearly died. The crowd was outraged and chased my character out in the desert. He was forever banned from that town due to an honest mistake. That doesn't need a mechanical benefit.

What's NWP? Additional rules I suppose?
NWP are AD&D skills and stand for Nonweapon Proficiencies as you have Weapon Proficiencies. They were first introduced in AD&D 1E and weren't well done. In AD&D 2E, they are a lot better in how they're done. Every class gets a base amount of skills that is modified by their Intelligence. The higher your Intelligence the more skills your character has.
 
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JamesDixon

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Malignost2.jpg


Malignost's map that is in progress.

Nothing is named and pretty much the entire world is covered in all types of forests. This is to give the DM and the players the ability to name parts of the world to fit their table. As I said, the entire world is set up to be unique for every table.
 

JamesDixon

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Malignost Working_1920.jpg


I adjusted the rivers to be very fine so they have a smaller and more normal shape. There are also more of them. Overall this is an improvement over the last one.
 

NecroLord

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I wish you all the best for this project:salute:
Also wanted to ask if there will be racial modifiers,I guess some races will be more inclined toward physical combat while others will be more cerebral?
 

JamesDixon

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I wish you all the best for this project:salute:
Also wanted to ask if there will be racial modifiers,I guess some races will be more inclined toward physical combat while others will be more cerebral?

You can join the game and experience it for yourself, but thank you. ;)

Yes, we have racial modifiers. Here's the Attribute table.

Attribute
Èlaz
Aliphian
Annunaki
Sisulu
Gallu
Dumillu
Sur-Èlaz
Sur-Dumillu
Awilu
Kitharian
Gudu
Strength (M)​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
4/19​
Strength (F)​
3/16​
3/16​
3/18​
3/17​
3/18​
3/16​
3/16​
3/16​
3/16​
3/16**​
4/17​
Strength (M)*​
3/18 (00)​
3/18 (00)​
3/18 (00)​
3/18 (00)​
3/18 (00)​
3/18 (00)​
3/18 (00)​
3/18 (00)​
3/18 (00)​
3/18 (50)​
4/19​
Strength (F)*​
3/18 (50)​
3/18 (50)​
3/18 (50)​
3/18 (75)​
3/18 (50)​
3/18 (50)​
3/18 (50)​
3/18 (50)​
3/18 (50)​
3/18 (00)​
4/17​
Dexterity (M)​
4/19​
1/16​
3/18​
1/16​
3/18​
2/17​
4/19​
2/17​
3/18​
5/19​
3/18​
Dexterity (F)​
5/20​
2/17​
4/19​
2/17​
4/19​
3/18​
5/20​
3/18​
3/18​
4/18​
4/19​
Constitution​
4/19​
3/18​
3/18​
4/19​
3/18​
4/19​
5/20​
4/19​
3/18​
3/18​
4/19​
Intelligence​
2/17​
3/18​
4/19​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
4/19​
3/18​
Wisdom​
3/18​
4/19​
3/18​
4/19​
3/18​
4/19​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
2/17​
2/17​
Charisma​
2/17​
4/19​
3/18​
3/18​
4/19​
2/17​
2/17​
3/18​
3/18​
2/17​
2/17​
Appearance​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​
3/18​

*Warrior Exceptional Strength

**Kitharian Male non-warriors have their Strength capped at 16.

Some of them can fly, others have infravision, etc...
 
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NecroLord

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How will alignments be handled? Will you entirely discard them in favor of a different system? What about the more troublesome ones like the chaotic evil murderhobo and chaotic neutral kleptomaniac?
 

JamesDixon

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How will alignments be handled? Will you entirely discard them in favor of a different system? What about the more troublesome ones like the chaotic evil murderhobo and chaotic neutral kleptomaniac?

Alignments are per the PHB and DMG.

As the DM I can quite plainly say that those will not be playable alignments for this campaign. Also, CE murder hobos and CN kleptos usually end up getting killed by the LE law "bringers" in my games. There are consequences for such things even in an evil society.
 

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