[Fantasy Craft] Gearing Up for Darker Days

Remember when I was talking about Darker Days as a Fantasy Craft Setting? Well, I figure it’s about time I run it.

There’s been a bit of a shake-up when it comes to player attendance in my games as of late, with real life concerns as a priority. Paulo and Mappy, two of the players that had been with us since the L5R Never a Dull Blade campaign will not be able to join the weekend games anytime soon. I’ll have to recalibrate my nMage Japan game for three characters moving forward (and tie off any hanging plot threads that remain relating to Mikaboshi and Melon Pan.)

In any case, I figure it might be a good idea to set up a pick up game that I can run when the main game doesn’t push through. And since Fantasy Craft has been something I’ve been itching to try for a while now, it was the first thing on my list.

—

I’ve gone over the Darker Days setting in some detail last time in the previous post, but I wanted to spend a little more effort showing off the inspirations for what I’m gunning for.

First of, let’s take a look at Castlevania, specifically Lords of Shadow:

Then there’s Diablo 3:

Brotherhood of the Wolf (warning: NSFW)

As you can tell we’re gunning for a dark fantasy setting with lots of action. I’m going for Gothic Swords and Sorcery here. The protagonists in the Darker Days campaign are empowered individuals, going up against monsters that threaten humanity. I’ll keep the tone in the action-adventure territory, as there’s no need to go and get too depressing in this setting. It’s all about fighting the darkness after all, not the loss of hope.

—

I’ll admit that the Darker Days setting isn’t exactly unique. There are plenty of games that scratch the same itch, but since I’m not running them, I might as well mine them for material. Among those that fit this particular niche are:

• All For One: Regime Diabolique
• Ravenloft
• Dark Harvest: Legacy of Frankenstein
• The Savage World of Solomon Kane

It’s a rich sort of aesthetic too that has fired the imaginations of many a gamer.  I’m hoping to be able to come up with a series of locales and flavors similar to that of Magic: the Gathering’s Innstrad setting, which has a lot of good visuals to keep me inspired.

About these ads