A Look At What I've Got In Mind For The Campaign

General Description This will start out as a relatively standard fantasy game. The players begin as a group of low-power adventurers, hirelings and/or mercenaries. The initial adventures will center around the city of Northpoint, with plotlines expanding in scale as the characters grow.
Goals There will be no obvious, overriding theme that all the players are tied into, at least at first. Everyone will have their own goals and players help themselves by helping each other. I will not encourage inter-party conflict but I won't put a stop to it, either. Before you bring in a character you need to have a good idea of what your character's goals and desires are, what he plans on doing, and how far he's willing to go to get what he wants.
Importance Characters will start as low-level unknowns who have just receintly entered the adventuring business. Plotlines will start small and local, and grow as the campaign develops. I don't plan to have world-shaking heroes for quite a while.
Campaign Tone Morality (3): There will be some crossover between good and bad, and you should prepare to see shades of gray in the campaign. On the one hand, the player characters are expected to be heroes. This does not mean that they have to be Lawful Good defenders of truth and justice. It does mean that they should be people who are trying to work toward a better world and are willing to take risks in the process. Of course your character’s reasons for doing this and his/her idea of what makes a better world might be far different than the next...

Likewise, your adversaries are not always going to be villains as such. Most of your important foes will have realistic motivations for doing what they do. Very few people that do bad things will be doing them just because they are "bad people." They have their reasons. Sometimes those reasons might put them on your side, if only for a little while. Likewise, any NPCs who are normally on your side are there because they have their reasons, and they aren’t always going to be there either.

Realism (2): Romantic. I acknowledge that this is a heroic fantasy game, and will not strictly enforce realism. If a PC comes up with something creatively dramatic and risky I’ll probably allow the attempt. Grandstanding and heroics will not necessarily get you killed and I will generally support the story as opposed to strictly enforcing the rules. Keep in mind though, that consistant risk-taking will get you killed - as I will not go out of my way to save the life of a PC who puts himself in harm's way and blows his rolls.

Outlook (2): Optimistic. The PCs will have a good chance to solve their immediate difficulties. Long-term problems will be harder to deal with, but an eventual solution will usually be available, if not always easy or enjoyable.

Seriousness (3): Balanced. The game is basically serious, but there should be a fair amount of comic relief.

Continuity (4): Mostly serial. Campaign continuity will be enforced. An apparent discrepancy probably indicates that there’s something going on that you don’t know about, although it could just mean that I screwed up. Point it out and I'll either fix things or just smile knowingly.

Literature Equivalent Classic Arthurian myth & legend mixed with high fantasy from J.R.R. Tolkien. Add elements from Jack L. Chalker (Well World), Simon Hawke (Wizard of 4th Street), Madeleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle In Time), Terry Pratchett (Diskworld), J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter), Christopher Stasheff (The Warlock In Spite Of Himself), and also take a look at Neil Gaiman's Sandman and The Books of Magic graphic novels.
Setting The world is Lithgar, an Earth-like planet with a high magical background. It's got the standard fantasy population with dwarves, elves, goblins, humans, dragons, demons and more, but there are a few differences. See the pages on the world, elves, natives and humans for an idea of what it's like.
Character Creation This is a low-powered heroic-level game. Overly dark and gritty or "Bozo the Clown" types are not recommended, and I will not allow psychpaths or sociopaths. Characters should be able to get along with each other on a personal level at least well enough that they’re willing to stay together in the same group.
Changes to the Rules I've gone through the rulebook and made a few changes and advance rulings on how I'm going to run the game. If you've got questions on what I've done or how I'll rule something, please ask before a game starts or after we're done. The less rules-lawyering we have during the game, the better.
Dictionary Here's a list of names / things inthe campaign, and a few new definitions to words you think you know.
Feedback I'd like to know what you think of all this. If you think my rules are arbitrary, restrictive or irritating, say so! I'd much rather hear your ideas and opinions than have the illusion that everything's fine while you seethe.