I will be starting up a new campaign in a couple of months, finally running the Gargoyles game that I promised Jen two years ago. Because I like steampunk, I have moved the game to Blythe, England - circa 1850 CE. I have plans involving the Big Stink in a few years.

In preparation I finally watched the Gargoyles DVDs for the first season and a half of Disney's Gargoyles....

Holy crap, that was a much better show than I expected, especially from Disney! The villain had character growth! Jen says that later in the series he even admits that he not only read the Evil Overlord's List, but that he wrote part of it. Very genre savvy. I swear, half the cast of Star Trek: the Next Generation had guest appearances, some recurring. Xanatos learns from experience, and tries not to make the same mistake twice. (Heck, he even listened when his Personal Lieutenant pointed out a flaw in his plan.) I may need to borrow Jen's VHS tapes of the second and third seasons - I suspect that he may be a redeemable villain.

Fey are scary, Macbeth was maligned*, and the cop is on the ball. (She actually pays some attention to chain of evidence, regulations, and gun safety - with one painful exception.) Previously, I had only seen an episode or two, and often just parts of an episode at that. I am kind of sorry about that now. I have seen adult shows that had less care in their execution. I should have listened to Jen back then.

So, since, aside from the opening Cathedral scenario, a sealed ossuary, Hellmouths, the closing Cathedral scenario, goblins in London Below, and the Big Stink, I have no ideas I am going to punt, look at ideas, then warp those ideas to my own personal Hell vision.

Terrain wise - Streets, Canals, and Sewers will all see use, as will Cathedrae Noctis. I am hoping, but not expecting, that the TLX version of Cathedrae may be in time for at least part of the game.

I am going with an episodic nature, two major story arcs (involving Gates - the Opening and Closing thereof, rats, goblins, London Below, and The Big Stink), with many episodes unrelated to the major arcs. Any idea for minor arcs and episodes?

I am going to post this elsewhere as well, I don't like starting a campaign without more fleshed out than this. (My personal weakness - I like to plan things out well in advance, and am not very fond of improvisation. I don't steal ideas from my players, I avoid making things up on the spur of a moment, and I don't change things once a scenario is begun. A bad guy can change his plans, but he doesn't suddenly have his gear/henchmen and minions/stats change.)

The Auld Grump

*When my school had us do Macbeth the teacher prefaced the show with 'Written by an English playwright, to please an English Crown, the story we tell is a lie.' We didn't have the bad luck that others have complained of when doing the Scottish Play. (He was a MacBeth on his mother's side.)

*EDIT* I am also going over some of the web presence of Gargoyles**, avoiding fanfic. Goodness, Weisman is busy on the internet. He has a lot to say about his old show, and is still posting, all these years later. Makes me sorry that the series was canceled.

** Including TV Tropes - which has a huge section dedicated to the villain from the show. Xanatos is much more popular than I imagined. Undecided I think I will add one of his ancestors to the game, just to make Jen yell 'hey!'

*EDIT* The site had hiccups, and this thread ended up posting multiple times. Only two folks seem to have been caught in the time loop, and I was one of them.

Problem seems to be corrected now. I vaguely remember the Gargoyles show and it wasn't bad. I love the gothic aspects that can be accomplished with the upcoming sets. Good luck.

The sad thing is that I actually built the Cathedral for this campaign at one point - I shilly shallied, and the build ended up being used to death in Mordheim. Mind you, it lasted over a year, and was also played with by young children with Mage Knight figures, so I do not mourn its passing, it had a full, if short, life.

The Auld Grump

I have now watched the whole thing - third season was a trifle 'meh' - everything else was very, very good indeed.

Still nailig down the particulars on my version of the Gargoyles - I am playing with the players either having two characters (one for day, one for night) or the Gargoyles being basically a 'Dream Warriors' form that the PCs take on while their human bodies sleep.

I may make Dream Warrior a species feat, and keep my original idea of the Gargoyles being spirits of the dead animating stone statues.

Other critters and groups for the campaign -
Goblins - the primary Gate for the goblins is under London, the Gate below Blythe is controlled by a renegade Hag Queen.

Wererats - all sorts, good were rats, evil wererats, and a vast majority of just plain folks wererats. The leader in the city is the mysterious Mistress of the Rats -

(Reaper Miniatures - Vermina.)

Ghouls - again, most just want to be left to go about their business. Of course their business is stealing and eating corpses, but....

Demons/Devils, Zombies and Skeletons - servants of the big bad guy group, for the most part. The opening involves Ghouls vs. Zombies.

Sentient Vermin - the first time I used the setting, I created it for use with the old Vermin D20 game. Rats, roaches, mice....

A mix of wizards and witches, both sanctioned and unsanctioned, licensed and unlicensed. (I blame Patricia C. Wrede for the wizards in this setting, I lifted a great deal from Marelon the Magician. )

Fog Wraiths - sentient banks of smog, possessed by the ghosts of those who have died of the smog.

Two of the scenarios -

- has ties with the Mistress of the Rats.

.

The Auld Grump