Artefact Session: The Session Pitch for my Novel

I just found a crazy document in the archive of my computer. This is the campaign pitch for the D&D game that eventually become my books: The Last Errant and the WIP Last Mystic. 

The Barren would have probably been a weird game, but it sure as hell sounds fun: 

The Wasteland 

Influenced by elements of the Dark Tower’s Mid-World, the frontier spirit of the Wild West and the post apocalyptic vibe of Fallout, the Wastelands is a Dark Fantasy setting where adventurers head into the wild unknown of the Western Expanse, away from Hubris, a once-great city which is all that’s left of the Old Ways.

“I am the punishment of God... If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.” - Genghis Khan

“Once again there was the desert, and that only.” - Stephen King, The Gunslinger

Hubris is a rotten city.

A city of corruption, blasphemy and the remnants of a dying way. Beneath its ruined spires, thousands starve to death every winter, while the powerful sit in palaces that stretch for miles, living in unimaginable luxury. Cultist scream the names of long dead gods in overcrowded streets and others worship darker creatures that lurk in the depths of the shadows: fiendish Blackbeasts, the eldritch Gibbering Ones and the emotive Fae. For the common man, the city of Hubris is a deathtrap. Many folk chose to leave the depravities of the city behind and seek out a simpler life in the Western Expanse.

Legends tell of a LAND BEYOND 

Stories say that the Expanse that makes up the Old West is nearly thousand miles tall and wide, , but past that lies the LAND BEYOND: the great city of Reverie, the realm of Dumah, ruled by the God-King of Numin, the glory of the Dawn Ocean. Some believe the LAND BEYOND exists, but many call them fools living on false hope. 

There is no law in the Expanse. It is the Wasteland, the Lost Wild, the Barren. Chaos rules.

The same legends tell that Lost Wild between Hubris and Reverie is a savage land. League after league of hungry desert, savage grasslands and haunted forest. Mile of mile of rugged terrain filled to the brim with madmen, beasts, ruined cities, demons and things a thousand times worse. A nightmare land that will never end. Even in near side of the Wasteland villages of Barrenfolk can only etch out a primitive existence, all while harassed by drifters, beasts and shifters. 

Heroes travel the Wasteland

The remainders of the Last Knights of Errant wander the Wasteland. These warriors, explorers and adventurers journey through the perils of the Barren. Some seek fortune hidden in ruined cities, others are running from something behind, but most simply desire to reach the LAND BEYOND whatever the cost. There heroes travel through the Wilds, fighting evil and aiding the Barrenfolk wherever they can. 

The Wasteland runs with a Low Fantasy version of the 5e ruleset, where magic exists but is rarely wielded by men. All players are human, using the variant human rules from 5e and may take two Virtues from the Adventures in Middle Earth instead of one feat from the Player Handbook. Choose a Background from either the PHB or AiME. There are eight classes:

• The Godsman, a friar who wanders the world spreading the words of Gods That Were. 
• The Scholar, a learned man who is uncovers the secrets of the past and is wise in lore
• The Slayer, a savage and dauntless killer who fights alone and with bestial fury 
• The Treasure Hunter, a scavenger who delves in the depths and recovers the remains of the world before
• The Wanderer, a traveller who is at home in the wilds of the Wasteland, bringing news as they go
• The Warden, a fellow brave of heart who kindles the spirits of allies and guards the hearth-fire
• The Warlock, a sorcerer of forbidden and evil magics, who has sold his soul to some strange entity 
• The Warrior, a stalwart and discipline fighter who rallies his allies in combat 

Godsman 

https://koboldpress.com/rare-magic-the-friar-a-fifth-edition-variant-cleric/

http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/78/grand-experiments-west-marches/