Goodman Games

I'm new to the Known World. I was wondering how you would go about incorporating the new classes from Player's Handbook II and the Complete series ( like Complete Adventurer, Complete Warrior, etc.) and some of the new races like the cat-folk from Races of the Wild into the Known World? Also, how do psionics and psionic races fit in?

In DCC #29 The Adventure Begins, "The Crystal Shrine" by Jeff LaSala for levels 1-2 is a psionic themed adventure.

It is about 9 pages.

It contains phrenic dire rats, a derro psion, and a crysmal.

The Known Realms are pretty generic in this regard, so it should be fairly easy to find a place for these various races and classes. If you can list off some of the races/classes you're specifically trying to figure out, I'm sure me, Mike, and Harley could make some suggestions...

Psionics definitely has a place! (I'm a big fan of it. ) Read the entry for Elraydia in the Northlands chapter. That's probably the most organized locale for psionics.

Jeff LaSala wrote:Elraydia

Elraydia. L-ray-dia. Is "L-ray" an anagram for something? Hmmm.

Actually, nope. It's just what it is. And yeah, that's how I pronounce it.

Kinda sounds Spanish too, doesn't it? El Radia?

Ogrepuppy wrote:

Jeff LaSala wrote:Elraydia

Elraydia. L-ray-dia. Is "L-ray" an anagram for something? Hmmm.

Alright, clue in us who aren't too hot with English tricks.

Jeff LaSala wrote:Actually, nope. It's just what it is.

Curses.

I keep striving for a Goodman Games No-Prize. I thought maybe it was your significant other's initials or somethin'.

Jeff LaSala wrote:The Known Realms are pretty generic in this regard, so it should be fairly easy to find a place for these various races and classes. If you can list off some of the races/classes you're specifically trying to figure out, I'm sure me, Mike, and Harley could make some suggestions...

Here's a list:

Races
Cat Folk
Changelings
Fey'ri
Shifters

Classes
Dragon Shaman
Duskblade
Favored Soul
Healer
Ninja
Spellthief
Swashbuckler
Sword Sage
Warblade
Warlock
War Mage

Well, in my campaign there's a ninja from the mysterious lands in the West (Xanth?) and a dread necromancer from that goth/necro city in Koranth...
Swashbuckler make a great fit for the Southern Province, The Barrier Isles, Freeport, or the Criestine Colonies.
Dragonic cults exist, so the Dragon Shaman should also be no problem.

Here are some of my suggestions, then, based on regions that I know most about:

Cat Folk - If you put a panther or leopard spin on cat folk, they're ideal for the Xulmec peninsula! Particularly, they would likely be allies (or in some cases, enemies) of the Maras city-state. I might even venture to make the current ruler of Maras, King Zacatal, a cat folk.

Changelings - Assuming you mean Eberron changelings, just give them a good original "homeland" (i.e. wherever you think doppelgangers are based) and let them be everywhere. They're most effective in civilized societies, though, so I wouldn't see them living in most wilderness regions. Changelings probably infiltrate (or even serve) the courts of Crieste.

Shifters - Eberron shifters? Since they're descended from lycanthropes, they should be from various regions of the world. Some would definitely come from the Southlands: Xulmec and Dujamar, the tropical-dwelling varieties. All the rest could come from the Northlands, though you could easily create some subraces of shifters from the Lost Lands.

With the other core classes, that's really a mixed bag. They can fit in all sorts of ways. Duskblades could be Xulmec royal guards or special agents of Crieste. Ninjas would fit very nicely in Ssorlang, and swashbucklers fit the bill for any number of Criestine nobles or sea-faring pirates (Barrier Isles) or pirate-hunters (such as the Sirens of Pelagia). Warmages would only come from militant kingdoms or kingdoms who are under siege quite a lot (so any kingdom affected by the Scourge would do).

Just some suggestions.

Cardinal wrote:Well, in my campaign there's a ninja from the mysterious lands in the West (Xanth?)

Xanth? Don't confuse the Shadowed West with the crazy writings of Piers Anthony, please!

I think you mean Xanthous, though, which is the Northland name for the people from the Shadowed West.

Some thoughts:

Dragon Shaman, Warblade: I wouldn't be surprised to find some in Cinai (there's even an Order of the Raven for warblades practicing the White Raven style) or perhaps among the raiders in Cragskeep in the Freeholds.

Duskblade, Warmage: Arcane knowledge is valued just as highly as military prowess in many parts of the Criestine Empire, so I'm sure some students of the arcane have followed alternate paths. Some may even be members of the secret order, the Ordo Arcana. In my own campaign, I placed a warmage in the background history of Gurnard's Head outside of the town of Carnelloe, which seemed appropriate considering its military and arcane features (see DCC #5).

Spellthief, Swashbuckler: Freeport, baby!

Warlock: Perhaps fey from the Crystalmeet Wood have contacted mortals in hopes of ultimately driving the evil out of the former fey sanctuary. Or perhaps powerful devils with the dimensional prison of Castle Whiterock's Demonhold have reached into the dreams of foolish men and promised them great power if they will mount a "rescue mission" to Whiterock and destroy the barrier. (Hmmm, that's not a bad idea...!)

Ogrepuppy wrote:

Jeff LaSala wrote:Elraydia

Elraydia. L-ray-dia. Is "L-ray" an anagram for something? Hmmm.

you're on to something. don't believe mr. LaSala. "Elraydia" can be rearranged to spell

ideal ray (elraydia is a conspiracy devoted to psionic perfection!)

ay derail (elraydia is a conspiracy to undo the rest of the north!)

airy lead (elraydia is a conspiracy to get ahead via forced evolution!)

aid early (elraydia is a conspiracy to get to the psions before the inquisition does!)

a laid rye (elraydia is a conspiracy to destroy our agriculture!)

a ear idly (noting sleeper cells of spies!)

lead ray, I (elraydia is a conspiracy to rule all psions!)

Liar? Ay, Ed. (a secret message from LaSala to Ed Greenwood.)

and of course:
dairy ale (elraydia is a conspiracy to ruin our ale with milk!)

Warduke wrote:

Ogrepuppy wrote: Elraydia. L-ray-dia. Is "L-ray" an anagram for something? Hmmm.

you're on to something. don't believe mr. LaSala. "Elraydia" can be rearranged to spell ... and of course:
dairy ale (elraydia is a conspiracy to ruin our ale with milk!)

I see I'm not the only one to stumble onto the Internet Anagram Server.

...or did you do that 'by hand'?

...What have I created?!?

[/derail]

Liar? Ay, Ed. (a secret message from LaSala to Ed Greenwood.)

It WAS a secret! And I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't that meddling Warduke.

I love anagram finders.

My full first name and last name reveals some interesting anagrams:

Elf Raja Safely
Flyleaf Sea Jar
A Feral Jays Elf

GnomeBoy wrote: I see I'm not the only one to stumble onto the Internet Anagram Server.

...or did you do that 'by hand'?

nope. you're right, i cheated with the server.

davidfryer73 wrote:Also, how do psionics and psionic races fit in?

I'm looking at Dungeon Crawl Classics #44 – Dreaming Caverns of the Duergar and I can't imagine why this module does not have psionics in it. It is for 1st to 3rd level and could nice introduction to a psionic campaign. I wonder what it would take to convert this sucker.

Monsters that could be changed to be psionic: duergar sentries, derro (always seemed psionic anyway), fiendish dire rats (to phrenic), duergar miners, Zaghal Turuk (to psychic warrior perhaps), Itharnos Cyvorak (to half-crystal dragon).