I have just finished Wheel of Time and this setting is just so very gamable....
Dispite having recently found the time to re-run my Secret of Zir'an tribute to reseviour dogs as a one off I despair of ever finding the time to run a campaign but leaving that aside I really want to run a game in the Wheel of Time universe.
I've just finished a A Memory of Light so there will be spoilers but the world is so left in such a gamable state it's hard to resist.
The whole east is in upheaval due to the death of Dragon so there will be politicking among the factions there. Lots of court intrigue and webs of alliances for who is going to replace the High Lords of Tear or serve the new King of Illain. No outright wars of course because of the Dragon's peace. In the West there are lands that were basically in civil war and now the Aes Sadei will be setting up a new puppet king. In the North the Borderlands need to be completely rebuilt and will expand following the destruction of the blight.
However I think the most interesting developments will be with the Seanchan in the South. They have a large, well trained army that was largely untouched in the Last Battle and their support for slavery, particularly of chanellers puts them completely at odds with most of the other Westlanders. Formally they are part of the dragons peace but the Empress reserves the right to break any treaty so there is a state of cold ideological war between them and the White tower, Sea Folk and potentially Andor as well.
The other thing is the Empress has a conversation with Auther Hawkwing about something before the end of the series which can provide quite a lot of juicy plot possibilities.
My two ideas at the moment:
The empress sends Mat and Galagan to retake Seanchan from the rebel factions by landing and occupying the towers of midnight. Mat of course insists on bringing The Band of the Red Hand along, ranks swelled by various Andorian mercenaries and She sends some Westlander auxiliaries. The PCs are westlanders with various different agendas in this army.
Downside of this idea:
-The PCs cannot play female channelers because of how good the Seanchan are at catching them. Possibly an exception could be made for a full Aes Sedai who had been granted some sort of immunity to being enslaved. Male channelers would also be quite hard but perhaps not impossible.
-Though the is information about Seanchan available in books outside the series the bulk of the action takes place in the Westlands so the PCs would not be able to go to many known locations (except perhaps rarely by gateway). This is of course a good and bad thing.
The Kin, Wise Ones, Windfinders and Aes Sedai want have a common interest in rescuing their own channelers from the Seanchan and in helping others escape. They cannot act openly because of the Dragon's peace (though it perhaps doesn't bind the Sea Folk). The PCs are sent Scarlet Pimpernel style into Seanchan territory to help channelers escape but they have to do it without starting a war.
Downsides:
-PCs have to show some actual discretion and subtlety or the Seanchan will break their heads (as owners of the most competent military, police and spies in the world). Failure by the PCs on this score potentially results in world war.
-PCs will have difficulty playing channelers but it wouldn't be impossible. Just highly risky and frustrating. On the plus side an Aiel dreamwalker would be incredibly handy and probably not detectable.
I've just finished a A Memory of Light so there will be spoilers but the world is so left in such a gamable state it's hard to resist.
The whole east is in upheaval due to the death of Dragon so there will be politicking among the factions there. Lots of court intrigue and webs of alliances for who is going to replace the High Lords of Tear or serve the new King of Illain. No outright wars of course because of the Dragon's peace. In the West there are lands that were basically in civil war and now the Aes Sadei will be setting up a new puppet king. In the North the Borderlands need to be completely rebuilt and will expand following the destruction of the blight.
However I think the most interesting developments will be with the Seanchan in the South. They have a large, well trained army that was largely untouched in the Last Battle and their support for slavery, particularly of chanellers puts them completely at odds with most of the other Westlanders. Formally they are part of the dragons peace but the Empress reserves the right to break any treaty so there is a state of cold ideological war between them and the White tower, Sea Folk and potentially Andor as well.
The other thing is the Empress has a conversation with Auther Hawkwing about something before the end of the series which can provide quite a lot of juicy plot possibilities.
My two ideas at the moment:
The empress sends Mat and Galagan to retake Seanchan from the rebel factions by landing and occupying the towers of midnight. Mat of course insists on bringing The Band of the Red Hand along, ranks swelled by various Andorian mercenaries and She sends some Westlander auxiliaries. The PCs are westlanders with various different agendas in this army.
Downside of this idea:
-The PCs cannot play female channelers because of how good the Seanchan are at catching them. Possibly an exception could be made for a full Aes Sedai who had been granted some sort of immunity to being enslaved. Male channelers would also be quite hard but perhaps not impossible.
-Though the is information about Seanchan available in books outside the series the bulk of the action takes place in the Westlands so the PCs would not be able to go to many known locations (except perhaps rarely by gateway). This is of course a good and bad thing.
The Kin, Wise Ones, Windfinders and Aes Sedai want have a common interest in rescuing their own channelers from the Seanchan and in helping others escape. They cannot act openly because of the Dragon's peace (though it perhaps doesn't bind the Sea Folk). The PCs are sent Scarlet Pimpernel style into Seanchan territory to help channelers escape but they have to do it without starting a war.
Downsides:
-PCs have to show some actual discretion and subtlety or the Seanchan will break their heads (as owners of the most competent military, police and spies in the world). Failure by the PCs on this score potentially results in world war.
-PCs will have difficulty playing channelers but it wouldn't be impossible. Just highly risky and frustrating. On the plus side an Aiel dreamwalker would be incredibly handy and probably not detectable.