The Centre Cannot Hold » Yrth http://thecentrecannothold.net Wed, 23 May 2012 13:09:41 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 GURPS Banestorm and Lankhmar http://thecentrecannothold.net/blog/gurps-banestom/ http://thecentrecannothold.net/blog/gurps-banestom/#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:25:13 +0000 Loki http://thecentrecannothold.net/?p=2977 Lankhmar, for those of you who are sure you know the name from somewhere, but not quite from where, is the largest city in the world of Nehwon, and the setting for about half of Fritz Leiber’s brilliant Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories. But that’s as much of a clue as you get In [...]]]> Lankhmar, for those of you who are sure you know the name from somewhere, but not quite from where, is the largest city in the world of Nehwon, and the setting for about half of Fritz Leiber’s brilliant Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories. But that’s as much of a clue as you get :)

In one particular story, “The Wrong Branch“, the Mouser and Fafhrd visit what is recognizably a version of historical Earth. This is achieved through the magicks of Ningauble of the Seven Eyes, but here’s thing: old Ning doesn’t seem to have that level of power in any other story of his. So I don’t think he actually used his own power at all, or at least that much. I think he hitched a ride for our heroes on the back of the Banestorm.

Now, it’s obvious that there’s no direct connection between Nehwon and Yrth. It’s highly unlikely that they exist on the same world, for example (indeed, as theorised by the Gray Mouser, Nehwon’s cosmology is damned peculiar). But if travel between the two worlds is possible, than travel will no doubt occur. Indeed, the true forms of Ningauble and his fellow sorcerer Sheelba are never seen – could they be Djinn? It would explain a lot, in addition to giving a plausible way to connect the two worlds.

Now, Nehwon is a world of much more casual magic use than Yrth, but in most other respects the two are fairly similar. There are gods of Lankhmar (and also the Gods in Lankhmar), but these (with the exception of Death) could fairly easily be explained away as demons or liches. Crossing over the two is best done, I think, by letting some of the flavour of Nehwon leak into Yrth. The staid medievalism of Yrth could stand to be weirdened up a bit, with more mystery, more monsters and more magicks. Making it a more lawless and dangerous world only increases the possibilities for adventure.

But leave Tredoy just the way it is – it’s already perfectly Nehwonian in its own wonderfully strange way :)

SOURCES:
GURPS Banestorm Lankhmar


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]]> http://thecentrecannothold.net/blog/gurps-banestom/feed/ 0 Flash Gordon and GURPS Banestorm http://thecentrecannothold.net/blog/flash-gordon-gurps-banestorm/ http://thecentrecannothold.net/blog/flash-gordon-gurps-banestorm/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:20:15 +0000 Loki http://thecentrecannothold.net/?p=2973 So, this time around it’s farewell to the DC Universe – though I’m sure we’ll be back someday – and hello to GURPS Banestorm (previously known as GURPS Yrth and GURPS Fantasy).

And while we’re at it, I want to make a pledge to you regarding this chain of crossovers: I will never cross two [...]]]> So, this time around it’s farewell to the DC Universe – though I’m sure we’ll be back someday – and hello to GURPS Banestorm (previously known as GURPS Yrth and GURPS Fantasy).

And while we’re at it, I want to make a pledge to you regarding this chain of crossovers: I will never cross two GURPS books over with each other. Well, not unless I know for a fact that no one else has already done so :)

On with the show:

So Flash Gordon was ripped from Earth to the far distant world of Mongo. And thousands of people were ripped from Earth (and at least three other worlds) to Yrth. Does anyone else see a pattern here?

After all, we’ve never found out what the other continents of Yrth are like – the two settings could easily fit into the same world. A less easy mix is the differences – Yrth is big on the magical side of things, Mongo is a world of super-science. But a sufficiently pulpy approach to the combined setting should make that less of an issue. And despite the different rationales for their powers, the two worlds are fairly well-balanced.

It’s not like there isn’t room – the maps of Yrth depict only a single continent, Ytarria, and various nearby islands. And the only map of Mongo I’ve seen (here) covers even less territory. These two areas could easily exist on the same planet, without doing too much violence to either concept.

It also opens the door to a new origin for Mongo itself, as the Banestorm becomes the explanation for how so many strange worlds came to co-exist – perhaps Prince Barin’s Arborians are the descendants of Robin Hood’s men, transported to Yrth. Perhaps Vultan’s Hawkmen are from the sylvan world of Loren’dil, and Prince Thun’s Lionmen are from the hot jungles of Gabrook. But where Ming the Merciless came from and what is the source of his powers remains a mystery – unless the rumours about him being the mightiest of the Dark Elves are true, that is.

In any case, it seems to me that the most fun way to introduce this crossover is for the Sky City of King Vultan to come floating over whatever part of Yrth your players are currently marching through…

SOURCES:
Flash Gordon GURPS Banestorm


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