How do you know where you are if you don’t where you’ve been?
For the last 20 years I’ve found my campaign hovering around the last few decades of the 3rd Era. The great story arcs are still in progress and the conflicts arising from those story lines are intersected by the PC’s again and again without them being the main characters. Strangely, I’ve never run a group completely through one of Terry’s campaigns.
Shadow World now feels like a game of the greatest hits, or similar to Star Wars RPG where the players run their adventures during the lead up to the original trilogy. Great moments, world shattering events and completions of story arcs are there but not for the party to enjoy directly. I’ve talked with quite a few Shadow World GM’s over the years and most run games with characters between 1st and 10th lvl and then reset. Some of Terry’s storylines are going to need very high level characters and based on feedback from my “Legends of Shadow World” their also seems to be little appetite for high level adventures as well. Not everyone can be a lowly Hobbit and save the world!
So, to circle around, before I can build the 4th Era I need to finish the last few pages and chapter of the 3rd Era. Each of Terry’s new books slightly advanced the timeline, but I think it was his fiction, “Loremaster Legacy” where he hoped to finish his opus rather than through incremental SW supplements. While there are many story arcs in Shadow World, the higher level narratives need to be resolved to determine and inform what happens next. For all my ideas about the 4th Era, any changes need to have a logical justification and not just the simple hand-waves that annoy me!
So what are these large story arcs?
- The Northern Eye. The loss of the Northern Eye plunged the hemisphere into erratic Essaence activity and Terry hinted at more several issues. Clearly, the return and placement of the Eye is a key event in the 3rd Era.
- The Shadowstone Chronicles encompasses the “World Crisis” story arc that has driven the setting from it’s earliest form. Several items play here: the Shadowstone, the Soulsword, the Ark of Worlds and the Heart of Agoth are key elements. There is a lot of Middle Earth DNA here and some elements of the Court of Ardor that is leading to a grand confrontation between the good guys and the bad guy(s).
- The Nameless One. Something is happening here. A mysterious figure that shows up before a major disaster needs a conclusion.
- The Gods. Since the Wars of Dominion, the friction between the Orhan and Charon pantheons has reached a boiling point.
- Lorgalis. For many settings, Lorgalis alone might be the main antagonist. While not world spanning, his influence and plans regarding Jaiman are significant.
- The Gold Dragon. He hasn’t played much of a role in the 3rd Era, but setting him up for the 4th seems appropriate.
- Andraax. Should the story of Andraax be put to rest, finally? Perhaps a deep sleep for now?
- Legends of Shadow World. I consider this critical narrative and set’s the stage for several SW elements: the Lense of Strok, the rise of Andaras, the disposition of Nynaku and the Demons of the Pale.
I’m not sure any definitive ending to these stories will satisfy everyone; but these stories need an end. My goal is to write the ending first and then see where it leads us, rather than write the ending that meets my needs and plans for the 4th Era. That’s going to be difficult since I’m not sure what’s working subconsciously in my creative process!
I’m curious if anyone has run to the end, have any ideas on an ending, or feel like there are other major plot points that I didn’t discuss that need commenting!