Its been awhile

Almost forgot about this. Haven't done anymore work on this for a while, but just starting to think about it again. Must work on the fundementals of this setting - the magic on the wane and the rise of technology (fantastic technology, but technology all the same). Time to revise the d20 magic system to fit my vision.

New Website

Just began setting up my website for my house rules - please visit http://sites.google.com/site/shackledcitycampaign/Home a work in progress but put it in your bookmarks.

Magic in Dungeons & Dragons

I'm not one of those who thinks that D&D wizards are overpowered and so they are reined in for the Gangs of New Larn setting. More the restriction is to emphasize the rarity of magic - its altogether possible that during the course of adventuring in New Larn a PC wizard might get quite powerful. He just better not get caught using his powerful magic. The purpose of the restrictions is to get the magic in context - my specific house rules will be posted on my web page when I get round to setting it up.

Magic in New Larn

As noted in the introduction magic is severely limited. Though it could be classified as a low magic world, this isn’t quite the case. The last academies were burnt down a century and a half ago, wizards were hounded out of the Empire by the Praetors and sorcery was outlawed, as it gained its power from other powers and not the emperor, followed eventually by the priests of the Arinian Pantheon, as the Emperor took over as the Emperor of the Gods as well as of Arninia. The Praetors turned their attention to the ‘infidels’ and unbelievers, until all worshipped the Emperor, though to this day no one has claimed that the Emperor has granted them a spell, though of course the Emperor himself does perform miracles.

A start to my magic 'system' in the campaign one of the defining 'themes' of this sorcery & steam setting.

Devin the Fixer

Devin opened one eye. Morning. At least he could see a smudge of lighter grey in the sheet of slate grey cloud that could be the sun. A sailor had once told him that in the Savage Lands the sun was a golden globe hanging in a blue sky and it hardly ever rained. He also said he was a Prince and that he would return with gifts of rare spices and gems. But Devin was still here plying his trade on the wet streets of New Larn, so much for sailors’ tall tales.

Devin sat up and slipped his feet into his rubber clogs, a luxury for sure, but one worth paying for. He unhooked his sword belt from the bedpost, grabbed his starwheel from the bedstand and got ready for another day in New Larn’s docks.

And what was it that Devin did all day, Devin always with coin without apparently working. Devin fixed things – not with a tool kit – what he did was get things for people, put one person in touch with another to perform some service or make an exchange. Want a rowboat for a night no questions asked and no need for a permit – ask Devin. Want a gate pass to the Senate Quarter – ask Devin. Devin knew people and people knew Devin. Even the Praetors knew Devin, but he fixed things for them too – a new gear for the clockworks of their steam jack before the Tribune found out it was missing in the first place – Devin could get it, wanted company for the night – Devin was your man. So did the ever popular Devin have enemies then? Oh, you bet he did. Other fixers were jealous of his success. The losing side in a ‘transaction’ arranged by Devin – and Devin was rarely on the losing side himself, Devin chose who to assist well.

However, those enemies soon found that Devin’s contacts had contacts of their own, contacts with blades loose in their scabbards and charged pistols. Oh, Devin was a busy man, a very busy man!

Devin is going to be a major NPC - the character that gets the players together and sends them on the road to infamy.

The Gangs of New Larn

This blog is a work in progress as I try to develop a homebrew 3.5 setting for the Dungeons and Dragons game. What follows is the introduction to the campaign.

The Gangs of New Larn is a grim and gritty setting using D&D rules but bringing some new aspects into the mix. The world is low magic, except when it comes to technology. This world uses sorcerous steam-powered devices, though not all people have access to it. New Larn was built centuries ago to be the administrative centre of the Empire of Arinia, a fine capital city to replace the old capital, Larn. The Empire was a shining beacon of goodness, bringing light to the dark, retribution upon the wicked and soon all peoples were subject to its will. Without an enemy to fight the Empire turned in on itself and the Emperor’s surrounded themselves with courtiers to act on their behalf. Soon the bureaucracy surrounding the Emperor took over the running of the Empire so that the increasingly decadent rulers of Arinia could spend more time playing the role of mighty Emperor, indulging their pastimes, foibles, and interests without regard to the running of the Empire. The Emperor became less of a ruler and more of a figurehead as the centuries marched on, the once glorious empire became a stultifying edifice that oppressed its peoples, controlled their lives (and deaths) and allowed the artificers' free reign to indulge in their sorcerous technology. The thought of magic that anyone could use without much training appealed to the faceless bureaucrats of the Empire, and slowly funding was withdrawn from the academies of magic, a tax was placed on those who used their own skill to cast magic, and the talent of wizardry withered and died, at the end more due to a lack of interest than a great pogrom. Similarly, the users of divine magic were taxed and regulated almost out of existence, the final straw being the declaration of Emperor Derin XII as god-emperor, just before he retreated into the Summer Palace of Larn, where the Emperors remain to this day. In New Larn the administrators of a world-spanning empire line their pockets, getting rich off the backs of the common people, whilst various ‘special interests’ jostle for influence on the dirty fog-bound streets of New Larn. And into this dark place come the rebels, the dealers, the criminals, the vigilantes, the seekers of magic and of the divine – all looking to survive on the streets of New Larn.