I have read, and continue to read, a lot of published setting material, both old and new. I seldom use a published setting as is, but I frequently draw on them when adding to my own settings often adapting it to white box. Tales From the Fallen Empire (TFFE) is one such fantasy setting I recently acquired. It follows many of the standard tropes of classic Sword & Sorcery (S&S), but I feel it is worth mentioning for a number of unique reasons.
TFFE is a S&S setting for Joseph Goodman's Dungeon Crawl Classics Role-Playing Game (DCCRPG). The DCCRPG itself deserves more than a passing mention. It is written with a goal in mind to create rules that can be used for Appendix N gaming. In this way, it actually "predates" white box by focusing on the root stories of fantasy that existed before the white box started to change things. Many titles in Appendix N are of the S&S sub-genre so TFFE seems to be a good fit. The DCCRPG is not really an OGL game, nor really is it an OSR game, though it has elements of both. It attempts to recapture the style of OSR play while borrowing mechanics from the OGL rules. The new parts of DCCRPG include use of additional dice called "Zocchie dice" that have 5, 7, 14, 16, 24 and 30 sides, the "Character Creation Funnel" where 0-level characters turn into PCs by surviving, the "Mighty Deed of Arms" allowing signature moves in combat, "spellburn" where-by magic users burn up their attributes to increase spell power, and "magic corruption" which can occur when magic fails to act as expected. The book is beautifully illustrated throughout with "old style" b&w art and is a pleasure to read (Mr. Goodman uses much the same vocabulary as Mr. Gygax). I like what I read in DCCRPG, but as of yet have not had the pleasure of playing it, having failed my roll to find fellow hobbyists willing to risk catastrophic spell corruption while casting "magic missile", etc.
TFFE has a nice, though somewhat typical S&S background story and setting with lizardmen, creepy alien tree folk and ape-men replacing the standard High Fantasy trope of elves, dwarves and orcs. Consistent with most S&S stories, the PCs are human - well mostly human. Many come from off-world through various "gates" often brought by fallen powers of old to fight their wars. Some of them such as the tall, blonde Aesir will appear familiar, others are more original. TFFE adds some new classes to the DCCRPG that seem consistent with the S&S feel. One of the notable features of TFFE is the short, but useful Judges' Advice section. The essay is well written and contains a discussion of episodic and serial campaign strategies and a concise characterization of S&S gaming which is grim and deadly, with magic that is uncommon and dangerous, an uncertain morality, a place full of fallen kingdoms, desert, jungle and seas where adventure is always waiting, cults and religions which center on uncaring gods and a political climate ripe with intrigue, all where a bold adventurer can win fame, fortune and glory, or a quick death. A world where, "Life is brutal, gods don't answer prayer and the weak will be trod upon by the bold and powerful."
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