Steve Long Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Heya, folx! I'm starting another book, and that means it's time for another WDYWTS thread. Up in the batter's box this time is Urban Fantasy Hero, our sub-genre book that takes an in-depth look at the "magic in the modern day" sub-genre of Fantasy. As you think about what'll be in UFH, the best model to keep in mind is Post-Apocalyptic Hero, since the two will be organized along similar lines: genre material; character creation; GMing; sample settings and sourcebook content. Here's a quick rundown of what I already plan to include in the book. As always, no need to waste time or electrons suggesting something that's already going to be in the book. Chapter One: The Urban Fantasy Genre: what is Urban Fantasy?; genre themes, elements, tropes, and "bits"; subgenres/campaign types (e.g., Hidden History, Monster Hunting, Monster Warfare, Vampire Romance); mixing UF with other genres and meta-genres. Chapter Two: Character Creation: Package Deals for common character types; a review of standard game elements as they apply in this genre. Chapter Three: GMing: Running UF stories, campaigning considerations, prominent types of villains, all that sort of thing. Chapter Four: Sample Settings: This will be the biggest chapter in the book. Some settings will be fleshed out in detail, with their own magic systems and major NPCs; others will basically be a single long scenario or described in relatively little detail. Several of them will probably use modified forms of Hudson City or Vibora Bay as the backdrop, to save time and effort. I haven't yet locked down the list of sample settings I want to do, but they will almost certainly include: a vampires vs. werewolves "war in the shadows" sort of thing; Lycanthrope House (a comedic setting where the PCs are students at a college for wizards); a setting with open magic and anarchy in the streets (sort of like Shadowrun, if you will, but without cyberware and the like); a Tim Powers-style setting with an evil mystical conspiracy/plot the heroes must stop; and a Hudson City-based game where the PCs are members of a small and secretive community of people who know that magic exists (and can wield it) and must stop evildoers from using sorcery for wicked ends. No doubt I'll think of some others I want to do along the way. So, with all that in mind... what would you like to see in UFH? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archermoo Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? I'd like to see a Newford-esque setting as well. Whether placed in an existing CU city or in an entirely new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Serpent Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? Definitely a discussion in the 'campaign considerations' about how the magical world interacts with the 'mundane' one. In most urban fantasy settings normal people resist believing, and often the practitioners actively seek to maintain the secrecy. Some discussion on the challenges, benefits and dangers of various approaches would be good. Questions GM may want to consider for various groups (Catholic Church, US govt, etc.)- Who knows? How much do they know? What do they do about it? How might that impact the campaign? "Urban Fantasy with other genres" - notes on flavoring Pulp, Dark Champions, Star Hero etc. campaigns to mix with Urban Fantasy. Though likely some of the example settings will cover this. In character creation - notes on making 'mundane' characters useful in an urban fantasy setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirgos Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? How about Urban Fantasy in Fantasy Hero, where a secret cabal of scientists & technologists keep their secrets from the magic using majority Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarragon Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? I'd like to see a Newford-esque setting as well. Whether placed in an existing CU city or in an entirely new one. I agree, Charles de Lint's Newford needs to be covered in some fashion. My absolute favorite UF book is Robin McKinley's Sunshine. I'd love to see a setting based on that world. It's not exactly open warfare but it's certainly not in the shadows either. It's regular people knowing about and living with the mystical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinanju Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? I'd like to see a setting in which the existence of the supernatural is well known, or at least becoming well known. Several urban fantasy series these days are using that background. Carrie Vaughn's "Kitty" series has the existence of vampires and weres just becoming public knowledge, to some extent as the result of her heroine Kitty's actions. Charlaine Harris's "Southern Vampire" series is set in a world where vampires came out after a Japanese corporation created a synthetic blood (originally intended for universal transfusions) they can drink--and hence they no longer need to prey on humans. Werewolves and other supernatural creatures also exist but as yet remain unknown. Patricia Briggs' "Mercy Thompson" series is set in a world where vampires have only just become known. The werewolves are debating revealing themselves as well--since they don't think they can remain hidden much longer. Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake novels suck like a hoover these days, but the first few were good--and that world too has only recently openly recognized the existence of the supernatural. All of it. I think a setting based on this increasingly-popular background would be a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted August 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? I'd like to see a Newford-esque setting as well. Whether placed in an existing CU city or in an entirely new one. I am definitely not creating Yet Another Fictional City. However, as I mentioned in my intro post, several of the settings will likely take place in Hudson City or Vibora Bay with all the superhero-y and imappropriately fantastical elements stripped out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? try a hero games version of mick st james [moonlight] or a certain talking great dane and his master [any cartoon buff KNOWS who i mean] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoneDaddy Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? Side Effects. The Side Effects limitation as described in the Hero 5th Edition rulebook may be too limited for the modern urban fantasy adventure, where side effects of magical dabbling can be far reaching and difficult to stat out. I think this is more of a GM-ing issue than a character creation issue, but there may be a need to address this at either point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh bunneh Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? I'd love to see something along the lines of Neil Gaimen's American Gods, where the gods and monsters of old live among us -- some run-down and decaying from lack of worship, others who've found new wellsprings of magical "belief" power. Maybe some package deals on how to create and play the old/new gods -- where to find power, what divine niches must be filled, fending off the modern usurpers (or the old decrepit ones)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midas Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? Heya, folx! I'm starting another book, and that means it's time for another WDYWTS thread. Chapter One: The Urban Fantasy Genre: what is Urban Fantasy?; genre themes, elements, tropes, and "bits"; subgenres/campaign types (e.g., Hidden History, Monster Hunting, Monster Warfare, Vampire Romance); mixing UF with other genres and meta-genres. Two subtypes: Secret and Alternate. Secret is the more well known type where magic is kept from (or denied by) the populace: Serreated Edge, some of Freisner's work, Highlander, etc. Alternate Worlds is like Anita Blake or Merry Gentry, The "Dead Witch" series, or the games from Castle Falkenstein to Shadowrun. In alternate there is no question of whether this is happening In the Real World. Midas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? Something on Fairies, and how to incorporate them Campaign, a monster hunting campaign makes sense to me it might be beyond the scope of this book but I think it is the only likely place to get it as well: A setting combining Sci-Fi with magic I would also like, and this might strike some people odd, but a section similar to the genre about combining Urban Fantasy with established settings, a couple paragraphs after each genre might work for this as well so after saying how to combine it with a star hero campaign you would say a bit on the Alien Wars setting and the Terrian Empire setting...just an idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? In re: combining Sci-fi and Fantasy, Poul Anderson's short stories Interloper and Superstition are excellent examples, if you can track them down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teflon Billy Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? All I ask is that there is some rules discussion about and a sample campaign in a world with pervasive and accessible magic. Maybe not as silly as the wizarding world in HP, but at that power level, but with no secrecy. I really find the whole secret from the mundane world trope to be waaaay too over played. TB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? I am definitely not creating Yet Another Fictional City. However' date=' as I mentioned in my intro post, several of the settings will likely take place in Hudson City or Vibora Bay with all the superhero-y and imappropriately fantastical elements stripped out.[/quote'] This is my request - some info on how to turn Hudson City into a Newford-esque setting. We already have the city, I just want to see some advice on things you can add to make Hudson an Urban Fantasy Setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archermoo Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? This is my request - some info on how to turn Hudson City into a Newford-esque setting. We already have the city' date=' I just want to see some advice on things you can add to make Hudson an Urban Fantasy Setting.[/quote'] Very muchly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? Chapter Four: Sample Settings: This will be the biggest chapter in the book. Some settings will be fleshed out in detail' date=' with their own magic systems and major NPCs; others will basically be a single long scenario or described in relatively little detail. Several of them will probably use modified forms of Hudson City or Vibora Bay as the backdrop, to save time and effort.[/quote'] I confess I'd love to see my campaign idea of "The 13th District" used as a HCPD-based campaign suggestion in the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkeown Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? What about information on "advancing" a Fantasy HERO campaign into its equivalent of the Modern World? I'd also like to see an art list, but I have to get my portfolio in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? I'd like a little discussion of comedic urban fantasy, up to and including Ghost Busters-style over-the-top antics. For sample settings, I'd be interested in a "Faerie through the closet" environment, in which the creatures of legend have hidden themselves beneath or alongside modern man; their world enterable by unwary mortals via that perpetually locked door in the basement, or the old hollow tree in the park, or by putting on the odd spectacles that let them see the normally-invisible fey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? I am definitely not creating Yet Another Fictional City. However' date=' as I mentioned in my intro post, several of the settings will likely take place in Hudson City or Vibora Bay with all the superhero-y and imappropriately fantastical elements stripped out.[/quote'] Personally, I would find it cool if you were able to include at least suggestions for incorporating appropriate material from official Hero Universe sources into the settings. There's tons of stuff already detailed that would work well with the various subgenres: the Circle Of The Scarlet Moon, the Trismegistus Council, the Elder Worms, the various Draconic and Edomite cultists, worshippers of mythic gods such as Tezcatlipoca, godly avatars in the modern world like "Dion Bach," occult dynasties including the Vandaleurs and Silvestris, and power sites such as the Roche Building (The Mystic World). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowsoul Posted August 22, 2008 Report Share Posted August 22, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? Personally what I would like from Urban Fantasy Hero is flexibility. A series of different options for doing the general occult nasties such as faeries and vampires in different ways and various different handles on magic. That sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Worldmaker Posted August 22, 2008 Report Share Posted August 22, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? Very wide subject. You'd have to cover the genre from Highlander's very specific "No one has ever known we walk among you, until now" back-street war, Fable's "the fairy tales were real, and now Snow White and the Big Bad Wolf stalk the streets of New York in secret", the "there's another world next to the mundane one, and the mundane one simply can't see it" setting of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, the "just a guy trying to make a wage" feel of The Dresden Files, the "we have a separate society entirely and we like it that way" of Harry Potter, and the "magic is everywhere, everyone knows it, and that's okay" of the Incarnations of Immortality. And you might as well go ahead and touch on the "Spells and Cyberware" subgenre too. It is a popular one, after all. Which means I can't wait for this book, personally, but that's another subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted August 22, 2008 Report Share Posted August 22, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? Something echoing Buffy the Vampire Slayer would be cool (as, of course, would something echoing The Highlander -- and in both cases I'm referring to the TV series more than the movies). Also I echo an "Urban Fantasy in a Sci-Fi Setting" request. Perhaps one of the sample campaigns can be set in the Terran Empire era, where the Star*Guard operate in secret against the Thane, the Church of the Everlasting Dark, and other servants of the Elder Worm and Kings of Edom. It could have a feel somewhere between The X-Files and Special Unit 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowcat1313 Posted August 22, 2008 Report Share Posted August 22, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? one of my favorite sets of urban fantasy are the "Bedlam Bards" and Chrome Circle books from Mercedes Lackey, along with the Poul Anderson classic Operation Chaos, and harry turtledoves case of the toxic spell dump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted August 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2008 Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? OK, folx, let me offer a couple additional guidelines for posting. 1. I don't need to be told how broad the genre is, or how much there is to cover in this book. Trust me, I know. 2. I don't need recommendations for books to read or movies to see, which ones you particularly like, or what have you. I've been reading for a year now and don't really have the time to add anything more to the list at this late date. After the book is published, that sort of discussion would no doubt be very helpful for lots of gamers, though, so save it 'til then. Suggestions for things you want to see in the book -- those I need. Keep 'em comin'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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