10-09-2019, 06:50 PM
Havard Wrote:Greg Wrote:I think a reimagined Blackmoor where alien artifacts exist, but where they are presented as mysterious and truly alien instead of something borrowed from Star Trek:TOS might make for a very different setting. Modern RPGs like Monte Cook's Numenera might be a good model for such artifacts.
In my case, I like taking some of the ideas about Blackmoor that I don't like and turning them into something that is less science fiction and more real science and fantasy. For example, a "star" indeed fell from the sky into the Valley of the Ancients long ago. It was a large meteorite containing elements of arcane power. Much of the meteorite vaporized on impact, but a large portion became embedded in the valley floor, and countless shards were embedded and scattered for miles around. This meteorite was part of a meteor shower that slammed into the planet and introduced the magical, black bedrock that now exists beneath much of the Blackmoor region. The meteorite's elements replicate the arcane power of sorcery and wizardry, enabling the embedding of spell-like effects into objects. But few have discovered these shards or learned their arcane properties. Unknown to the rest of the world, Robert the Bald was one of them. He used some of these arcane shards to build his tower on Cloudtop and power his magical staff that helps him develop his monstrous creations. And recent rumors say that ash goblins were recently encountered in the Valley of the Ancients with magical weapons encrusted with pieces of strange, black stone. :wink:
Anyway, I don't want to detract from the main topic here, so I'll leave it at that.