I've read that in general, Kulthea is high fantasy and that it can be quite dangerous for low level characters (i.e. powerful magics, powerful npcs, etc).
So, what is Jaiman's theme? It's in the north so is it, barbarians, like Scandinavia, 13th century Britain, sword and sorcery, gothic horror? I'm hoping it's a little friendlier to new characters.
I'm not sure I can give it a single theme. The Rhakhaan Empire has a late Roman Empire/Medieval England feel to me.Interesting - from reading Haalkitaine, I had a feeling of post-Renaissance England (I'd say XVIIth century or something). The only roman influence I could see was in the use of the "legion" name to qualify some of the imperial troops. But everything else from political structures to fashion struck me as post-medieval.
I think low-level characters can thrive anywhere as long as you keep them in fairly civilised areas - no adventuring in deep wilderness to explore forgotten tombs for them at start.Do you mean this in relation to published adventures? Or is there something in the canon that prevents me from creating a low-level adventure/campaign that involves deep wilderness and exploring old tombs?
I'm not sure I can give it a single theme. The Rhakhaan Empire has a late Roman Empire/Medieval England feel to me.Interesting - from reading Haalkitaine, I had a feeling of post-Renaissance England (I'd say XVIIth century or something). The only roman influence I could see was in the use of the "legion" name to qualify some of the imperial troops. But everything else from political structures to fashion struck me as post-medieval.
The tech is late medieval though (apart from the magic), rather than Renaissance (much less post-Renaissance), and that's usually most important to me. The troops are equipped with medieval weapons like quilted armor, chain shirts, and crossbows rather than muskets and pikes. The sergeants in the Phoenix Guard are literally called 'Centurions'.Tech is definitely not late medieval - in Master Atlas, Rhakhaan is listed as TL6 (not even TL5-6, but firmly 6). This is listed as "late renaissance/pre-industrial". There are even printers in Haalkitaine, which is a definite staple of renaissance-level technology.
Political organization is medieval as well. There's a chapter titled, 'The Peerage and the Parliament of Lords', which date effectively from the 14th century in England.Of course, but it lasted far longer than the medieval period, and the Rhakhaan Parliament of Lords has been there for quite a time as well. I mean, if we assume that all countries that have a "parliament of lords" are medieval in standing, then the United Kingdom must be, and I wouldn't go that far... :)
I think the issue here is that I go more by a historian's reckoning of tech than the RPGs. The definitions in the Master Atlas are often vague or questionable. For Tech Level 5, for example, the 'Early Renaissance' age, the defining characteristics are 'more sophisticated' regional governments and 'Art is a powerful force'. What the latter in particular has to do with technology, even apart from the question of when art was not a powerful force, I have no idea. It sounds like whoever came up with that definition knew the Italian Renaissance was noted for its increasing realism and perspective in painting. But of course, the Greeks and Romans had that too, a thousand (or two) years earlier.You are right, of course, but I still stick to my guns (so to speak) :) The description in Haalkitaine is not consistent anyways. But I find it easier to picture Rhakhaan as an early 17th century continental european power and have civilian tech matching that and soldiers using renaissance weaponry (except firearms *grumble*) and support magic (and magic-powered artillery). I leave the late medieval/early renaissance feel to U-Lyshak, and the dark ages feel to Saralis :)
I think low-level characters can thrive anywhere as long as you keep them in fairly civilised areas - no adventuring in deep wilderness to explore forgotten tombs for them at start.Do you mean this in relation to published adventures? Or is there something in the canon that will make it difficult for me to create low-level adventures that involve deep wilderness and exploring old tombs?
I think low-level characters can thrive anywhere as long as you keep them in fairly civilised areas - no adventuring in deep wilderness to explore forgotten tombs for them at start.Do you mean this in relation to published adventures? Or is there something in the canon that will make it difficult for me to create low-level adventures that involve deep wilderness and exploring old tombs?
Both sounds very interesting, to the point that now I definitely can't choose ;D