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I was wondering how people who are planning to get Island of the Unknown were going to run it. Are you going to put in some rumors and non-magical NPCs and plots or are you just going to let the PCs wander around and see what happens?
I had the sense it was an island
Edit (board ate the post) - I had the sense it was a lost island, "out of time" - island in a bottle, lost world type of place, with some archaic cultures. If that's still true, I like the idea of using it as a place where "modern" folks get blown off course and shipwrecked (by modern, that could be Renaissance or early modern).
Last edited by Beedo (2011-12-04 04:24:53)
There's not actually any description of the island's culture. It says Geoffrey ran it as 1311 France with Roman ruins. The entries are mostly descriptions of sorcerers in vague enough terms that you could use them for either a French game or a Tekumel game or what have you and then a bunch of weird monsters. Nothing mundane is described at all.
It really is designed to be plopped down in pretty much any campaign, so details of the civilization there are rather sparse to prevent as much conflict with your campaign as possible.
I'd plop it down in an ocean or a sea somewhere, and give some plot hooks leading there that have nothing to do with anything described in the book. Put in your own adventure, plop another module on the island.
Then when the players arrive there's all this stuff! for them to see and do in addition to what there are there for.
@Evan - I definitely must have seen that post at one time, the idea of an island with Roman ruins discovered during a Medieval period was kind of knocking around in the cranium. Either way, I'm looking forward to this one quite a bit.
@Beedo, You aren't crazy, there was talk about the place having an ancient roman/greek feel to it. It all came from the art that James let out early on. Someone had commented on the fact that the images all had a classical look to them which is very different from we usually see for LotFP. James said he did that on purpose and you, like many of us, started to think of the place as an island left behind by time.
The thing is, even if there is no text to support that idea there's no reason not to use it that way.
The thing is, even if there is no text to support that idea there's no reason not to use it that way.
That's absolutely correct.
Now, I never thought it was going to be an island out of time because Geoffrey had said he more or less set it in medieval France on his blog at some point -- I believe it was before James said he was going to publish it.
If there is one thing I don't like about the LotFP aesthetic, it's the Early Modern Europe stuff. I don't even like the "late medieval" assumption of D&D. I prefer my settings to be Early or High medieval instead (nothing past about 1250) so I was excited to see what Geoffrey would do with medieval France.
I understand why the setting stuff was removed, but I'm still a tiny bit sad about it.
There are several pretty clear references to Hospitallers in the text, and their colors are right for A. D. 1311. The Isle of the Unknown serves as my version of Corsica on "Fantasy Earth". Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne stories being set in France is an inspirational bonus.
If anyone wishes to use the Isle of the Unknown as I have, simply fill 'er up with French medieval stuff: castles, peasants, knights, Catholicism, princesses, pilgrimages, and all the rest.
Of the dozens of unique spell-casters on the isle, 13 of them are not part of the surrounding culture. I asked the artist to make them look like they belonged in Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts film. Of course, nothing precludes a Referee from giving the entire isle an ancient Greco-Roman flavor. The Isle of the Unknown can be plopped into any ocean, sea, or large-enough lake in any campaign world.
Last edited by Geoffrey (2011-12-07 18:31:57)
There are several pretty clear references to Hospitallers in the text, and their colors are right for A. D. 1311. The Isle of the Unknown serves as my version of Corsica on "Fantasy Earth". Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne stories being set in France is an inspirational bonus.
If anyone wishes to use the Isle of the Unknown as I have, simply fill 'er up with French medieval stuff: castles, peasants, knights, Catholicism, princesses, pilgrimages, and all the rest.
Of the dozens of unique spell-casters on the isle, 13 of them are not part of the surrounding culture. I asked the artist to make them look like they belonged in Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts film. Of course, nothing precludes a Referee from giving the entire isle an ancient Greco-Roman flavor. The Isle of the Unknown can be plopped into any ocean, sea, or large-enough lake in any campaign world.
Thanks for weighing in, Geoffrey. I was hoping you would.
Is there any reason you picked 1311? Seems like an oddly specific date.
Thanks for weighing in, Geoffrey. I was hoping you would.
Is there any reason you picked 1311? Seems like an oddly specific date.
The campaign from which the Isle of the Unknown originated is set in the early 14th century. Why 1311 in particular? Because that is exactly 700 years ago. 
Last edited by Geoffrey (2011-12-08 09:07:41)
Because that is exactly 700 years ago.
Now I just feel stupid.
I made a randomisation chart for Isle of the Unknown to help people select a random hex while sitting at the table.
http://falsemachine.blogspot.com/2012/0 … tiles.html
Let me know if anyone finds it useful.
I was thinking that if you follow the southwest point of Cornwall past the Isles of Scilly, you might eventually reach the Isle of the Unknown.
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