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. 

OSR Thoughts On Rpg Pundit's Sword & Caravan From Mad Scribe Games For The Lion & Dragon rpg

" Sword & Caravan is an OSR setting book for playing a historically accurate fantasy campaign set in the East along the region known as "the Silk Road" at the turn of the 12th/13th Centuries. This historic campaign's timeline is set amid the turbulent era between the Third Crusade and the Mongol Invasions. This marked Europe's earliest period of post-classical interaction with the East."

 

 

"As Players, you may decide to take on the roles of crusaders, merchants, or explorers traveling to ancient and mysterious lands. Alternatively, you may choose from any number of unique character concepts native to those lands."

 "With a detailed gazetteer of every region along the Silk Road from the Crusader States and the Muslim world to China, Sword & Caravan gives you everything you need to explore the history and varied cultures of a region filled with war, intrigue, commerce, and conquests."

Rpg Pundit's Sword & Caravan supplement is a huge expansion for the Lion & Dragon rpg moving the game into the era of the Silk Road. Sword & Caravan clocks in at around almost two hundred pages of history, new classes, & much more for the  Lion & Dragon rpg.  And while it's meant for the Lion & Dragon rpg Sword & Caravan could be used with DOM Publishing's Fantastic Heroes & Witchery as well. This could be a sorta of backdoor way of going especially with those already using  Dark Albion as thier primary campaign setting. This of course would be an alternative history way of handling adventure elements. 
Sword & Caravan's 12/13th centuries are an extremely  dangerous time in Europe & Asia with entire cities being wiped off of the European map. DOM publishing's Fantastic Heroes & Witchery  would be a far more dark fantasy centered Europe with many of the tools of Dark Albion coming into play to leverage play. 

While the history within the  Sword & Caravan supplement is front & center many of these titles are also a type of tool box approach to their contents. The DM can mix & match as the adventure  situation & the player's wishes dictates for their campaigns. The biggest change within  Sword & Caravan  is the role in which social interaction, commerce, and merchants play within an OSR setting. Yes dungeon crawling is a huge part of the equation but the party is far more mobile with the exploration of strange & alien cultures being front & center. There is nothing stopping a DM from using demi human races within a Sword & Caravan campaign. And yes the human centric element is front & center. There are many DM whom I heard from who are taking the traditional approach of using Sword & Caravan with demi human or humanoid elements. Many DM's have cited Michael Moorcock's alternative historical fiction books as being an element of this sorta of a tradition old school campaign. 

The truth is that the Silk Road presents it's own unique challenges for the DM who wants to move to a 12/13th century campaign model. Sword & Caravan certainly has the right tools for the job. My own Italian merchant character who is just starting out from an upper middle class family has his own set of challenges especially navigating both the dynamics of family politics & the Islamic world of this time. 

This is a very interesting mix to say the least & lately given my propensity for getting out from behind the screen. There's going to be more then a bit of hesitation on my part. With that being said, Sword & Caravan has some excellent tools for PC generation & much more. 
With that being said could Sword & Caravan be used with other OSR rpg's or titles?! The first one that springs to mind of course is Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg. And given the period of the Silk Road's occupation?! The short answer of course is yes! 

Sword & Caravan would be a powerful tool for a LoFP campaign given all of the weird elements, dangerous NPC factions, & much more. But there will have be some adjustment when it comes to some minor gaming or rpg mechanics. And some of these same adventure & DMing elements also come into play with Lion & Dragon as the era's completely change & move according historical motives. 

Given the amount of material in both Dark Albion & Lion & Dragon it's easy to see the pivot points for a DM looking to increase their chances of  successful Sword & Caravan campaign with the Rpg Pundit presents supplemental material. While not necessary these periodicals certainly enhance the chances of a successful campaign. The step to run a Sword & Caravan campaign is a big one given the mountain of information that is provided to the DM. This isn't a bad thing at all & the book does give more then it takes from an OSR dungeon master. Sword & Caravan is an excellent addition to the OSR DM's arsenal & an excellent book. 

Rpg Pundit's Sword & Caravan From Mad Scribe Games For The Lion & Dragon rpg Is Available Right Here 

Rose War Conflict & Crusade - Lion & Dragon rpg As Well As Dark Albion rpg Campaign Setting By Rpg Pundit From DOM Publishing

 It's been a while since the spines on Lion & Dragon as well as Dark Albion were cracked. Lion & Dragon rpg is a brilliant piece of kit, an rpg that takes the transformative historical events of the Rose War  & puts it in the hands of the PC's. 

According to the War of the Roses Wiki entry here; "The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century, fought between supporters of two rival cadet branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: Lancaster and York. The wars extinguished the male lines of the two dynasties, leading to the Tudor family inheriting the Lancastrian claim. Following the war, the Houses of Lancaster and York were united, creating a new royal dynasty, thereby resolving the rival claims. The conflict lasted for approximately thirty years, from 1455 to 1487, with various periods of greater and lesser levels of violent conflict during that period, between various rival contenders for the monarchy of England." 
So what does Lion & Dragon rpg bring to the table?! An occult & adventurer background, social stantings, and an actual historical playable campaign setting. And what's actually at stake within Lion & Dragon?! Well besides England & France is the following from Wiki again; "The conflict had its roots in the wake of the Hundred Years' War and its emergent socio-economic troubles, which weakened the prestige of the English monarchy,^[i] unfolding structural problems of bastard feudalism and the powerful duchies created by Edward III,^[8] and the mental infirmity and weak rule of Henry VI, which revived interest in the Yorkist claim to the throne by Richard of York. Historians disagree over which of these factors was the main catalyst for the wars.^[9] It was also used as a proxy War between France and the Burgundian State." The entire mainland of Europe has the potential to overflow from the Rose War. And it's all going to depending upon the actions of your PC's. 

Dark Albion is the campaign setting & it does an excellent job of presenting the campaign setting of the Rose War. There's a complete set of maps, towns, new monsters, PC classes, and much more. All of this is packed within Dark Albion allowing the DM to drop this multi faceted campaign setting into their own games. There's lots & lots of material here in Dark Albion & it leaves little background not available for the DM to add their own spin for a campaign. 

The Rose War is a very intriguing conflict to set up an OSR campaign & Dark Albion fills this niche quite nicely. The writing carries Rpg Pundit usual style & he continues to support both the Lion & Dragon rpg & Dark Albion with the 'Rpg Pundit presents" books available here.