Thanjivar is an ancient city; far older than Hajal (the dominant power in the Kahira region. It was once a mighty port that resisted the loss of the seas as best it could. The docks, and indeed other parts of the city, progress downward for some length as the city was extended over the centuries following the lowering waterline. Thus, the older parts of the city lie on what is now the Kahira Plain, while the newest parts reach nearly to the floor of the Valley of Mariners.

Thanjivar presents a tempting target for treasure-hunters of all kinds. Its the walls of the Old City are of a unique, pink marble that fetch high prices; unfortunately little is left of them after centuries of architectural pillaging. It is well-known (and possibly even true) that the ancient Kings of Thanjivar were ritually preserved after death by gilding; covered in a layer of pure gold that was then worked to resemble them perfectly. The Hall of Golden Kings is virtually a by-word for a fabulous treasure. Although no one has ever found the Hall, many other riches have been removed from the ruined city, whose people clearly enjoyed a high-level of material wealth.

As tempting a locale as Thanjivar is for fortune-hunters, it is no less a tempting site for  spawning Scorpion Men. During the egg-laying season, bands of Akrab from the Lost Sea migrate into the Valley of Mariners and then ascend to the lower levels of the city to brood. During this time, the males will frequently raid out upon the Kahira Plain in search of food. More than one adventurer with dreams of gold has ended up as supper for a nest of young Scorpion broodlings.

There are so many other possibilities. Particularly, if wander a bit and outside of the cartoon-promoted big guys.  Remco’s Pirates of the Galaxseas had little going for it beyond the name, but that name is really cool. For the sweep-spot of utter imaginative craziness and utterly poor toy design, we need look no farther than The Other World, where all the action figures were bendies, but the creatures were all of the “this has to be a D&D monster already” variety. Exhibit A being our friend Froggacuda, here:

I think part of my issue is a strong belief that the PCs should be the protagonists of the story and at the center of the narrative. If I'm GMing, then I'm going to be pushing that... which, to some degree, means that what I'm doing is playing support. Sure, it is necessary support... but I'd rather be in the starring role. I want to be a player in my own games, yet that way lies madness... and, I am certain, a poor experience for everyone involved.

All this comes from my inkling that I should GM a game. Kenneth, who is running the Dresden Files game I've been playing in, has asked me a couple of times if I'd be interested in running Shadowrun.

Now, I like Shadowrun well enough, but I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of the setting and timeline, so I said that if I ran it, it would be in a somewhat variant/abstracted setting. This idea, of course, took root in my brain and sent out tendrils. I now have an idea for a setting that I can best describe as a post-apocalyptic Shadowrun/Unknown Armies hybrid... with high-tech corporate arcologies separated by wastelands infected by wild animistic/memetic magic. I find the setting compelling, but should I run a game based in it?