fiendspawn (Mignola-inspired setting)

[Matt Larkin (author)]

I took your advice and checked out the Hellboy movie (I saw it cheap at Target).  My impressions: Lovecraft meets Dogma.

But after seeing it, I agree that having the players play something along the lines of the BPRD could make for an interesting campaign.

However, I would say you also have the workings of some interesting political stuff going on, and it seems like you might also have the group instead be focused on "national security."  If you still wanted them to be like the BPRD, you could have them be spies, rather than a research and defense unit against the paranormal.

[Raelifin]

Yikes! I wanted to review this setting, but the presentation is really hard to read. I'll go through it instead and give some pointers.

Fiendspawn is a setting somehwat inspired by the works of Mike Mignola. of course, that means we have to start the setting with the proper imagry:

essence[/i] of what I am inspired by and try to duplicate it. I might like the political and technological climate of Europe, so I try to work that in. Xenomorphs are a part of the setting because they are monsters and I like the way they move. So I create raptor-like beasts that lurk in the woods and attack at night. I wrap this up and I find that Iâ,¬,,¢m more interested in the concepts of Monsters and Men, thus becoming focal points for the setting. If Iâ,¬,,¢m able to portray this with a Hellsing-ish feel, Iâ,¬,,¢ve done my job, and perhaps my readers will see a sandwich instead of a liver. ;)

post-war. the barbaric drunkards that followed the Vampiric Order of Superiority (known as VOS) of the west have recently been defeated. their plans of global cleansing have been effectively disabled by the wholesome, upstanding republic of Alradura, then destroyed by the evil, sorcerous men of Rosvar.

i have more ideas, but they're all running through my head at such a fast, disorderly pace, im just going to list some highlights[/quote] humor isn't exactly a priority of this setting[/quote]â,¬Â¦ Pit Fiend that cherishes life, kittens, and homemade apple pie.[/quote]
CONFLICT! If you donâ,¬,,¢t want a humorous setting, donâ,¬,,¢t make funny quips in major elements.

Lastly, that map isâ,¬Â¦ uhâ,¬Â¦ yeah.

A couple of tips for maps:
 - Make SURE the text is readable. This means contrast (black on white, silver on black, etc.) and clear fonts.
 - Donâ,¬,,¢t map more than you need to. If a world section isnâ,¬,,¢t important enough to detail, itâ,¬,,¢s not important enough to map.
 - Map what you need to! If a nation is a focal point of the setting, cover all its borders!
 - Spend some time touching up icky spots. Make sure you donâ,¬,,¢t get grainy edges or unexpected blobs of color.


Good luck with the setting! Tell me if you need any additional help. :)

[SDragon]

the map... honestly, i have no idea what went wrong with it. it looks good on my computer, but apparently something happened.

as for the rest... for now, it's mostly just brainstorming, until i can get a few more details. that said, i'll be sure to keep those comments in mind when i clean this up a bit.

and the humor thing? i don't see a conflict.... i said it's not a priority, i didn't say it's not an element.

[Raelifin]

Ah, I see your point on the humor.

If you need help with the map, I'd be happy to lend a hand once I get back home (I'm in Ohio, atm).

[SDragon]

Assuming you're back home (it has been over a month), I  appreciate the offer of help with the map.

And lately, I've been contemplating having an emphasis on constructs here. One big problem is that I don't want them so emphasised that they come off as fantasy-styled robots. Also, while this is intended to be pretty much all-inclusive (is that Divset or Ethocentric? I never can get the two straight...), MM2 is very close in the tone that I'm looking for, where creatures are concerned. Now if only i could extract that tone...

[Raelifin]

Okay. Send me what you have as an email (raelifin@gmail) and try to outline everything you want from the map. This includes tone, countries, whatever. :)

[SDragon]

Cool. I'll try to get you that info sometime tomorrow :)

[SDragon]

OK, so by "tomorrow", I apparently didn't mean "the day after I make this post", but at least I sent the info. I posted a little more history regarding Rakmarmund today, too.

Also, how does Tormar sound for the name of the western land?

[SDragon]

Thought: Despite the increasingly skeptical views on the practice, advanced phrenologists that the racial stereotypes (or, at least, the ones used in this setting) are actually more or less "hardwired" into the races at an almost biological level. These, of course, can be overriden through things like subjective personal experience, or ancestral lineage, but at that point, you need to call in the psychics...

[SDragon]

those of you who visit chat might already know what's going on for Fiendspawn, but for the rest of you, yes, I do have some ideas brewing in my head. One word teaser: myconids.

[SDragon]

Thread necromancy, anyone?

those of you who visit chat might already know what's going on for Fiendspawn, but for the rest of you, yes, I do have some ideas brewing in my head. One word teaser: myconids.

Okay, it's obviously been awhile since I've done any work on Fiendspawn, but the idea here was to have myconids as the nomadic natives of a north-eastern region of Rosvar, roughly equivalent to Mongolia/Siberia. The main reason I haven't done anything with the setting is because I keep getting stuck on this one idea.

[SDragon]

I know i haven't been around in awhile, but I'm still alive, I think.

ANYWAY...

I'm thinking of adapting Fiendspawn, as well as a few other new ideas, for the Mini Six system. If i do, I might even try self-printing my own games, for very small-scale sale.