Where The Treasures Are - Rpg Pundit's Sword & Caravan From Mad Scribe Games For The Lion & Dragon rpg & Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg

This is post is going to pick right up from here on the blog.   Part of the advantage to diving into Sword & Caravan is the fact that there's so much setting information much of it a bit on the daunting side of things. That being said the book is also perfect for Lamentations of the Flame Princess with some gaming adjustments such as level & PC stat adjustments . These are no big deal. The big deal with Sword & Caravan seems to be deciding where to place your party of PC's on the Silk Road! 

Sword & Caravan dives deeply into a world of the past that no longer exists at all. The advantage here is that while history has been written by the victors. The past is a fertile ground to place your party of adventurers. And while yesterday I spoke of using demi humans with Sword & Caravan don't over do it as my adopted uncle used to say. Basically we've gone with the Lamentations of the Flame Princess axiom that the demi humans are fading from the Earth. That doesn't mean that their going quietly or nicely about it either. 

The Silk Road could offer hope & opportunity at least that's what the players might think! The truth is that the march & boots of history is going to pave over many cities, races, and culture. There's one name that echoes through the ages for a reason & that's the Great Khane. Merchants may be the spreaders of culture but the Khanes forces are the great equalizer along the silk road. Everything from the Caspin sea to the shores of China feel his forces presence. 

Wizards, mages, and even many of the treasures of mankind are going to find their way into the Khan's vaults, & coffers. So many of the treasures of myth & legend are going to fold themselves through adventures into the Khan's hands. According to a quick History Channel snap shot here, "Genghis Khan conquered more than twice as much land as any other person in history, bringing Eastern and Western civilizations into contact in the process. His descendants, including Ogodei and Khubilai, were also prolific conquerors, taking control of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the rest of China, among other places. The Mongols even invaded Japan and Java before their empire broke apart in the 14th century. Genghis Khan’s last ruling descendant was finally deposed in 1920."

So history basically gives the DM a wide latitude when it comes to legendary objects & treasures found along the Silk Road. 

The fact is that Sword & Caravan gives a pretty solid table of random treasures & loot major as well as minor to use within your games. The question is how many of these disappeared into the Khan's vaults never to be seen again?! 

A Sword & Caravan rpg campaign would have to be the right mix of styles & setting details with the PC's being a mix of treasure seekers & merchants. And there are several adventures that could be woven into a very dangerous mix for said adventurers especially if one was using LoFP. Zzarchov Kowolski's Pale Lady having just the right mix of Eastern as well as Western influences. And yes I know all about about Kowolski's other adventures & efforts. The Pale Lady stands out with it's other wordly & fairy tale on acid atmosphere. Why?! Because of the fact that I'm trying to stick with a bit of an LoFP theme here. 

The Pale Lady fits the Slavic & Silk Road weirdness factor in spades. The rabbit men, the Pale Lady, etc. doesn't need an explaination only to be placed & run on the Silk Road as a part of the mythic Indo European landscape. How & why?! Well get into that next time.