Introduction

Welcome to the Online Campaign Sourcebook for the Known Lands campaign setting. The Known Lands is a setting of High Fantasy, and campaigns run in this setting tend to be episodic and player-oriented.

What is High Fantasy?

People often wonder what exactly is meant by High Fantasy. Within the Known Lands campaign setting, the following formal definition is used.

High Fantasy frequently...

• have an overall high level of "magic" and/or the supernatural;
• encompass complex and occasionally symbolic meanings, motivations, and outcomes;
• are presented in a series or in a serial fashion, with continuity and persisted events;
• involve a struggle between good and evil and/or order and chaos;
• have involved cosmologies, often populated by powerful entities;
• are populated with diverse and often powerful sentient races;
• explore cosmic and/or unearthly questions and values;
• include one or more journeys, quests, or other notable and heroic undertakings;
• have a high degree of focus on the actions of the protagonists;
• have malefic and/or consciously misanthropic antagonists;
• and are generally serious in mood.

High Fantasy can also be called "Heroic Fantasy" or "Quest Fantasy", although within the context of the Known Lands, quests are not often encountered, at least formally. (Journeys and notable or heroic undertakings of the players' choosing remain a focal point for Known Lands campaigns, however.)

Adventure Module Design Commitments

Adventures within the Known Lands Campaign Setting will be modular and relatively self-enclosed by design. While events within modules may be built on the past to encourage a sense of continuity, the need for closure and a sense of accomplishment requires a more modular approach. Each module will be designed to run two to four sessions apiece.

Within each group of five modules, the following different adventure types will be followed, to insure diversity and to address differing character concepts and differing character emphasis on roleplay versus combat:

• One module in five will be a small dungeon crawl.
• One module in five will be a political/urban scenario.
• One module in five will be a wilderness/rural scenario.
• The remain two modules will not be restricted to a particular adventuring style, but will fill whatever roles are required for pursuing plotlines, developing character backstory and achieving character goals.

In addition to the above, each adventure will integrate elements of at least one character's backstory or desired goals, with the aim to include two or more characters' goals or backstory whenever possible.

Each module will be designed with more than one roleplay encounter in it, as well as more than one action encounter in it. The exact nature of each module's encounters will be based on the content of that particular adventure, but will meet the roleplay and action requirements to address the needs of the various character concepts within the group.

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