Somewhat coincedently, this is also American Mcgee's idea. It is a fantastic one indeed, but should not we at least try to creat an original Jabberhorror ourselves? You know, as a challange?

Uhhh... What would YOU think the Jabberwock should be like?

No idea. But I think we need to enhance the madness aspect of the Jabberwock(Maybe of all Wonderland creatures). He is like a living hole in lawful reality from which weird Wonderlandish things emerge. And if you hear his voice, you are cursed with Jabbertongue: You can only speak in riddles or made up words.

What about the rest of Wonderland?

Slithie toves? Jubub birds? Snarks? Bandersnatches?

No idea. Tell me.

Actually, I was thinking more on the lines of folks like the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, the Walrus, and the Carpenter...

The Alchemist said:

Well, Let's see... Slithy Toves might be able to squeeze into small openings, sort of like the Crooked Man. Jubjub Birds might be able to create confusion, Snarks (which I think look like hammerhead sharks with wings) might make you turn invisible if they look at you. And Bandersnatches look sort of like Triceratopses. Now, how about the more well-known members of Wonderland: Alice, the White Rabbit, Mr. Mouse, Admiral Dodo, the Lory, the Eaglet, the Duck, Bill McGill the Lizard, Major Caterpillar, The Duchess of Knots, the Cook, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Dormouse, the Queen of Hearts, the Knave of Hearts, the King of Hearts, the Gryphon, the Mock Turtle, the Red Queen, the White Queen, teh Red King, the White Knight, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Sheep, Eggbert Dumpty (a cousing of Humpty Dumpty's), the Lion, the Unicorn, and the Snark Hunters (the last one can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunting_of_the_Snark ).

What would their traits be? What would Wonderland be like?

Wonderland is a chessboard kingdom(Ruled by the bloody queen of hearts, of course). The fabric of reality is extremely thin there, so things are very weird very often(Even by Grimmlands standards). The Queen of Hearts is a mortal enemy of The Rotten King, and the two nations will undoubtly go into open war soon.

Who's the maddest monarch in the Grimmlands?!

I've read this thread with interest. Though I don't yet have the game so I don't know exactly how things work I have the feeling that a character like 'Long John' Silver out of treasure island could fit in perfectly. As an evil character that pretend the children that he know this or that and set them down the path toward Babylon to further his own ends. (Pirate setting of course)

I would also avoid using any Arthurian settings since it is a bit too high and shining though I do not see any problems in mixing in certain aspects of that hodgepodge of ballands.

I also think that you should be able to mix in characters from say Kipling's Jungle Book, Moby **** (face it, a white sperm whale have to be magic in some way) and quite a few other books written in the mid to late 19th century. They contain enough tall tales to be useful.

And, folklore could fit in rather well. How to avoid the barghest and the bloody moore before the wild hunt catch up.

I here make the the assumption that the Rotten King could be assumed to 'absorb litterature' and weld it to his own kingdom as soon as a child read it and dream about participating in the adventures presented.... and the he naturally twist it in his own way.

The Rotten King is not the god of the Grimmlands or something like that, if that was what you were thinking. He is a powerful ruler of a powerful kingdom, but that's it.

Well.... that show the shortcoming of not owning the game (yet).

villaineuva said:

Has anyone thought about this?

The Alchemist said:

And, by the way, it's called a "Checkerboard Kingdom," although in this case "Chessboard" might be more appropriate (Chessmen and all that). I wonder if any of the other Checkerboard Kingdoms might get involved?

Look, I'll start:

The Cheshire Cat exists in a state that Nerds call Heisenburg Uncertainty... That is, existing everywhere, and yet nowhere at all. As such, he phases in and out of different places. He can even choose to only phase in a specific part of his body.

The Walrus and The Carpenter don't really care much anymore about what or who they eat. Kids have very sweet, soft flesh, thaugh. And sometines they can be almost as guillable as oysters...

thanks dear

mayes

RPG

The Mad Hatter and the March Hair are...well...mad. But in the crazy, topsy turvy world of Grimm, they have actually become some of the most sane NPCs you'll run across. They spend their days drinking tea and will tell you anything you want to know if you are able to make them the perfect cup of tea(Home-Ec test of 6). But, even then, their answers are usually riddles.

One of the wisest beings in the Grimm Lands, is, quite honestly, Major Caterpillar. He knows just about everything, and what he doesn't know, his network of contacts, snitches, stoolies, and informants will relay to him lickety-split! Of course, his vast knowledge has made him a little rude. He'll most likely heckle you and make you do his his dirty work. However, after the kids adventure for a while in the Grimm Lands, his base suffers an attack from the Rotten King, which sobers him up a lot. He charges a lot less for his services, and nervously smokes his hookah while he talks, which leads the kids to leave after speaking with him, hacking and coughing uncontrollably for several minutes (-1 for Hide and Cool checks, most likely)

Wonderland is ruled over by three rulers: The homicidal Queen of Hearts (who rules from the City of Hope), the less homicidal Red Queen (who rules from the City of Faith), and the mostly-sane White King (who rules from the City of Charity). Wonderland is split in half by the Mountains of Gloom, which, while not as great as the Worlds' End Mountains, still make it quite hard to access both kingdoms. Fortunately, the Beanstalk also passes through the Mountains of Gloom, creating one of two ways through the Mountains. the other is the Guarded Way, a pass which both the Monarchy of Hearts and the Looking Glass Lands have created.

Awesome stuff. What if (And this is just a suggestion) the Beanstalk DOES NOT go through Wonderland? To go around quickly in this mad realm, one needs to brave the Mirrorways that exist behind all reflective sufaces. Watch out, thaugh: The Mirrorways are dangerous and deceptive, full of strange monsters, and while you are there your reflection is out in the other place causing troubles. It looks just like you, so you may get into serious problems when you go back.

Very interesting idea with the Mirrorways, Alchemist. There should also be a rabbit hole you can climb into to get to Wonderland. Granted, not as interesting as the Mirrorways, but it would hold true to the first book of Alice in Wonderland.

Of course ther is a rabbit hole. Wonderland won't be the same without it. Guess we need to integrate it somehow.

I would think that if a character goes down the rabbit hole, they will eventually come acrossed that talking door(don't know if he has a name). They would have to shrink themselves with the 'Drink Me' bottle and then find the key to unlock the door(Seek test of level 5 or so). There could be other tests that they have to face before and after that door. That is just one example.

The tests are all tests of childishness, to make sure that only the mad or the young enter Wonderland. Alice's test was meant to check if she is controlled by logic or curiosity. There are many more.

I see. To be honest, I never read Alice's Adventure in Wonderland. I've only seen the movies.

So since it wouldn't be Wonderland without her, do you think Alice should be an NPC? She's trapped in Wonderland just like the children are trapped in Grimm. She would, of course, be an ally. But, since the Grimm Lands are dark and chaotic, she would be more like American Mcgee's version of Alice.