(Posted this over at Unseen Servant, but wondering if it would get some traction here. I'm sure this group is more familiar with Vornheim/Grotesque & Dungeonesque than some circles, so some of this info might redundant, but still--good to get the word out there!
Sometime shortly after the start of the New Year, I feel like running something gothic and playfully macabre with Labyrinth Lord. The setting would be a union of:
Vornheim - A sprawling megalopolis in the barren north, an urban labyrinth of towers, bridges, and serpentine catacombs. Setting features include class division, esoteric laws and customs, court intrigue, and unconventional (though frequently terrifying) monsters. From Zak S's "I Hit it With My Axe" web series, and the "D&D with Pornstars" blog.
The World Between - Jack Shear's gothic-weird setting from his "Tales of the Grotesque & Dungeonesque" blog, which has been collected in a free PDF here (http://talesofthegrotesqueanddungeonesque.blogspot.com/). As per the author's suggestion, I'd place Vornheim in the corrupt and decadent nation of Caligari, with the option for the players to eventually visit surrounding lands, like Nordic Frostreave or disputed vampire warzone Harrowfaust.
I'm leaning strongly towards using the Advanced Edition Companion, because I like the additional classes therein and like the race/class separation. As noted in the "Dungeonesque" primer, I'd remove race/class restrictions. Demihumans would be welcome, however they would be a bit socially stigmatized (a disadvantage to some, or an advantage if one prefers to draw certain kinds of attention!) I can be persuaded to go LL Basic, however, if there's enough interest.
Vornheim is a city of thousands of guilds, the push and pull of which drive everything--politics, economy, fashion, religion. The players would start as very recent initiates of the Delvers Guild, a company of vagabonds who take on odd jobs that would lead them all over Vornheim, from its highest towers to its cavernous foundations, and even outside its massive gated walls.
Important things I guess:
Number of players: I haven't run a lot of big-party games, so let's say 5 max. (We can add more later once we're more in the groove, and in the meantime there will be plenty of hirelings/followers/fanatics/helpful stalkers if the party needs padding)
Posting rate: I'd say at least once a day is ideal (Edit: more likely at least once every other day), but I don't demand more than that. I'm also pretty flexible.
Tone reference (in brief): Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake (court schemes, gothic architecture), Alice and Wonderland (strange customs, nobles with grudges, strange animals), Wuthering Heights by Emiy Bronte (corruption, ghosts, regrets), Beetlejuice (dark humor, bizarre otherworldly landscapes, trickster spirits), Poe, The Shelleys, Lord Byron, Lovecraft, Hitchcock.
Interest? Ideas and suggestions are also welcome! Also, the aforementioned "Tales" PDF has a good discussion of the definition of "gothic" if anyone needs clarificaton, and the musical tracks listed under each region entry make the perfect soundtrack for what I'm looking for.
Glad you're getting use out of my stuff!
Yes yes, oh so much--Thanks! :D
I'm all over this - I'm a huge fan of both blogs and their respective settings!
Something like a Least (as in basically human) Tiefling/Caliban street rat, perhaps...
I don't have LL, is it free anywhere??
Quote from: RookieRPG;816077I don't have LL, is it free anywhere??
Here you go: http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.html
Scroll down to the free no-art versions
Thank you, Thank you!
Did this ever get started?
I'd be curious to read how it went/is going.
We have indeed just begun, over at The Unseen Servant:
http://www.unseenservant.us/forum/viewforum.php?f=195
It's great fun so far :D
Here is the map of the city I made in MangaStudio, my personal version of Vornheim, capital of Caligari. It's not as complex as the book's Vornheim map, but each ward is like a town unto itself, and there's also the Under City to consider.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v410/OhSiris/VornheimMap.png)
And here is the current delve site, "The Old Nineteenth"--Ward 19A on the above map.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v410/OhSiris/Old%20Nineteenth%20map.png)