An Elastic Setting

 The Heirs of Argax setting was born from the table. It evolved from campaign play using Swords & Wizardry "Plus" (it's still evolving). As I am focused on completing and publishing Heirs of Argax (+ a rules supplement) for use with Swords & Wizardry, it's proving to become an "elastic" setting.

I recently migrated my weekly Castles & Crusades campaign to the world of Argax. It involved some retconning, but not too much since C&C and S&W can easily work together and "communicate" with each other. The adjustments from, essentially, OD&D to C&C are minimal and easily done on the fly.

The reasons for the campaign location shift were many. But it mainly came down to my own cognitive load. I simply don't have the time necessary to deeply develop multiple settings. I'm already working on Falenburg and then added Argax. So instead of burning out on worldbuilding (a favorite pastime of mine), I shifted my C&C campaign over to Argax, which I can spend even more time in. This change then made me step back and look at the world analytically. Given how I am developing the setting, I can easily port over any RPG based upon classic D&D or any classic D&D edition. Running AD&D 1e or 2e, B/X or BECMI, Castles & Crusades or ACKS II is extremely easy with little to no adjustments needed to have the system reflect the themes of the setting. Even OSR systems like Knave, Shadowdark, or Cairn would be a breeze, since they share the "D&D" design intent DNA.

Going beyond these "D&D" themes, I have other game systems that I love and want to run campaigns for. But these systems are not Dungeons & Dragons or a derivative thereof. I am talking about those systems not directly tied to a setting, so no RuneQuest, HarnMaster, or The One Ring. Instead, I am looking at Rolemaster 2e, Dragonbane, Against the Darkmaster, BRP, Mythras, or even the system for Forbidden Lands (minus the setting details of course).

For these systems, I would need to make certain changes to reflect the setting within them, but it's not a stretch to do so. All of these systems are built for emergent, sandbox fantasy campaigns and can easily work within the "medieval sword & sorcery" themes that Argax exudes. It is no accident that I picked these systems for Argax. They work for me and my campaign styles. Of course there are possible settings out there where I can run these systems or create yet another world. But as I explained earlier, I do not have the time or energy to do so. 

Now is where the setting becomes "elastic" for my uses. It allows for adaptations of those rules to fit the world (not the other way around). To make the needed adaptations, it mainly comes down to adjusting the choices of "races" and "classes" (or their equivalents) where necessary (if  even necessary). 

That being said, I do not want to "cross the streams" too much between where the OSR campaigns are taking place and where a Rolemaster or Dragonbane campaign is taking place. To avoid that, I have outlined different regions in this vast world that are linked through the common link of the Argaxian Empire, but distant enough to avoid direct contact. Think in terms of the Roman or Mongol empires. Whilst Britain, northern Africa, Persia, India, China, etc. may have been linked (depending on the empire of course), the contact was relatively minimal. Unlike the aforementioned empires, the Argaxian Empire has shattered. In our own world history, the fall of these mighty empires fractured the world and led to many instances of greater isolation.

Given the personal nature of sword & sorcery adventuring, continent-spanning "save the world" campaigns are not part of my tables. It will therefore be easy for me to run campaigns using Mythras or Forbidden Lands at the same time as the OSR campaigns, but without complications. The two shall never meet, but it is certainly possible that there could be global impacts. 

Even though different systems get different regions (some of these systems can even "talk" to oneanother similar to the various "D&D" systems), this is not a "kitchen sink" world like we see for Pathfinder from Paizo or what the Forgotten Realms evolved into. The themes are consistent across the lands. Monsters might vary based on habitat and local cultures will invariable need some adaptations, but it will still feel like a holistic world (unlike Golarion by Paizo).

I really love my world of the Heirs of Argax and want to return there and explore it as often as possible. By expanding the scope to run systems beyond the OSR tent allows me even greater room for creativity and enjoyment, even if the publishing goals are firmly rooted in Swords & Wizardry.