LANKHMAR CONVERSION COMING

[parejf63]

I am hoping to do a short conversion of Lankhmar to OpenQuest.

I feel the setting fits the game, perfectly. 

What will be done:

1) Black Magic and White Magic.    Divine Spell casters will use white magic, Sorcerers will use Black magic

2) races available

3) New Creatures

4) Corruption and Black Magic

5) Cult Write Ups

 

If you have any ideas, please let me know on here..  THANKS

 

 

 

 

 

[Raleel]

I am very interested in it. You might pull some ideas from Monster Island - it has sorcery with corruption and consequences.

what races are there in Lankhmar outside of human?

I think the cult write ups would go a long long ways.

[Questbird]

It's more of a sword and sorcery setting, with different human races, rather than non-humans.

Off the top of my head:

• Lankhmarts/Eight Cities folk, most common humans
• Mingols, wild horse (or sea!) raiders
• Northern barbarians, tough viking like warriors
• Easterners, Arabian/Asian cultured empires
• Quarmallians, tunnel-dwelling sorcerous race, former overlords
• Ghouls, transparent-skinned desert warriors

You could add Simorgyans -- ancient watery nemesis race (Atlanteans/Deep Ones)

To the distaste of some purists, I have elves in my campaign, a remnant of its D&D origins. However I treat them as an ancient, xenophobic semi-human race like the Quarmallians, with whom they are engaged in eternal cold war. They don't associate with humans and are unknown in Lankhmar or the northern lands.

[Raleel]

Right, the first four there seem much more like cultures rather than races. The last two, though, probably qualify in my mind. 

Not trying to be pedantic, but when we are talking in rpg terms, race generally equals species. Just wanted to be clear

[Mugen]

Why do you want to use Divine Magic for White Magic ?

Do the fact Divine Magic users learn spells with limited uses fits Nehwon White Magic better than "at-will" Sorcery spells ?

This is how it worked in old AD&D Lankhmar supplements, but this was justified by the fact cleric magic was oriented towards "good" magic (healing, blessing, etc.) and magic-user's magic was... everything else.

In OQ, you have all kind of spells in both Divine and Sorcery. Treat Wounds, or Regeneration, sound like White Magic to me.

Edited October 24, 2017 by Mugen

[Questbird]

22 hours ago, Raleel said:

Right, the first four there seem much more like cultures rather than races. The last two, though, probably qualify in my mind. 

Not trying to be pedantic, but when we are talking in rpg terms, race generally equals species. Just wanted to be clear

Correct, race generally equals species in many RPGs, but in the Sword and Sorcery genre (term coined by Leiber I believe) eg. Lankhmar, Conan or Elric, race often means different human cultures because humans dominate, and those cultures are given very stereotypical features which can translate to RPG mechanical differences. For example the Stygians in Conan are an old decadent sorcerous 'race'; the Pan Tangians are crazy Chaos worshippers (very boorish and crude ones according to the Melniboneans whose culture they try to imitate). RPG examples are Xoth from The Spider God's Bride and OpenQuest's The Savage North (these two are modelled on Conan). Some of the 'race'=culture stuff comes from the time these works were written, when skin colour and culture was regarded as unbridgeable differences between humans, the ultimate 'other'.

In Nehwon, non-humans are very rare. Even the Quarmallians and Ghouls are described as very weird and isolated but mostly human societies. Fafhrd had a Ghoul girlfriend for a short while (Kreeshkra). Remember there's also the decadent Eastern empire of Eevanmarensee, where even the cats and dogs are hairless; the people of that kingdom are human but still weird and different from other Nehwonians. The Simorgyans may look human (?) but they are true aliens, and inimical to humankind.

The flip side of all this is that there aren't any 'baddie' races like Orcs, the point being that in a dark and gritty world humans are bad enough. 

[Raleel]

@parejf63 do you have access to the Mongoose Lankhmar supplement? Might give you some easy conversion guidance. 

@Questbird right, I’m familiar with the genre. I ran Spider God’s Bride using Mythras last year and have much of the Lankhmar literature in my hands right now  I was more asking because I didn’t think there were non-humans at all. In this context, I tend to think of culture, rather than race, and wanted to make sure I was understanding correctly 

[Questbird]

38 minutes ago, Raleel said:

@parejf63 do you have access to the Mongoose Lankhmar supplement? Might give you some easy conversion guidance. 

@Questbird right, I’m familiar with the genre. I ran Spider God’s Bride using Mythras last year and have much of the Lankhmar literature in my hands right now  I was more asking because I didn’t think there were non-humans at all. In this context, I tend to think of culture, rather than race, and wanted to make sure I was understanding correctly 

 I had no intention of being patronising. I've used chunks of Spider God's Bride in Nehwon (using Elric! rules) already (most recently 'Eidolon of the Ape' in Lankhmar city). It doesn't all translate but it's pretty good.

I think the non-human races in Nehwon aren't really playable as characters.

Having said that, I have had PCs in my campaign playing an elf, a centaur and a Quarmallian over the years. No Simorgyans though.

[Questbird]

18 hours ago, Mugen said:

Why do you want to use Divine Magic for White Magic ?

Do the fact Divine Magic users learn spells with limited uses fits Nehwon White Magic better than "at-will" Sorcery spells ?

This is how it worked in old AD&D Lankhmar supplements, but this was justified by the fact cleric magic was oriented towards "good" magic (healing, blessing, etc.) and magic-user's magic was... everything else.

In OQ, you have all kind of spells in both Divine and Sorcery. Treat Wounds, or Regeneration, sound like White Magic to me.

White magic is basically magic which avoids the hateful energies which make black magic more powerful and effective.

In my campaign, different regions are more or less 'magical'. Divine magic (black or white) works better as you go further south. 

[jux]

Will this be a professionally done supplement (print book) or a fan project?

[parejf63]

Professional, NO!  I am not a professional writer, just a fan supplement.

Mongoose, though I like what they did, I want to do this with OpenQuest rules.  

White Magic is non-corruptive magic, some of the gods will have access to Sorcery, which will still be Black Magic.

Cults will be written out, as per OpenQuest 2 cults.  

Corruption will be used for Black Magic

Although not really a part of Lankhmar, and I am debating if Shaman's will be included.   I could easily incorporate them.  

Battle magic will not be available to everyone, just Priests and Sorcerers, and Shamans if they are included.

To cast magic, wether Divine or Sorcery, a POW of 16 of greater will be needed.

All I can say at this point..

This is something I have wanted to do for a while, a low but powerful magic setting for OpenQuest (Runequest)

As stated above (Races) 

• Lankhmarts/Eight Cities folk, most common humans
• Mingols, wild horse (or sea!) raiders
• Northern barbarians, tough viking like warriors
• Easterners, Arabian/Asian cultured empires
• Quarmallians, tunnel-dwelling sorcerous race, former overlords
• Ghouls, transparent-skinned desert warriors

Very few references were made as to Ghouls being Translucent.   I believe this was done by TSR first.   A few passages said they were cannibals, and their lips, genitals, and Nipples on the breast of females vaguely "pinkish in color (almost translucent)".   Mongoose confirms this.   Yet, I like TSR's interpretation of them being translucent, so I will use that version of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2017 by parejf63

[Questbird]

There's also the Ice Gnomes, the Invisibles of Stardock, and of course the Rats of Lankhmar below.

Quote

One might be tempted to include the Ghouls from The Swords of Lankhmar among the monsters. However, one might see the Ghouls as more of a different race of humanoids rather than your traditional monsters. Despite their outward appearance of invisible flesh and visible bones, they are very human. I think the same goes for the inhabitants of Simorgya, the Invisibles of Stardock, and the tribes of Ice Gnomes. It is very tempting to say the same of even the Rats of Lankhmar Below.

-- Thanks to http://www.scrollsoflankhmar.com/rpgguide:nehwonmonsters 

[Prime Evil]

Is this conversion still being worked on? If so, how are things going?

[parejf63]

Yes, but some things have slowed it down.   Alot of projects going on right now.  Hopefully by May