The Achaean Age Campaign - Session 1: A Final Obligation

We open in the great coastal city of Argos. Argos is the main port for travel and trade with the island of the minotaurs and is quite prosperous. It is also the favored city of Posiedon, which doesn't hurt either. Three of our party members are newly arrived from Minos (Crete) and have spent their first day in town looking for equipment for exploration and travel. Talking with a like-minded Artificer they met in the agora, they are approached by a slave from the temple of Hephaestus. Jordon, the Artificer, knows him and welcomes him to the table.

The slave has bad news - the last priest of Hephaestus in the city has died and his final wish is to be buried in the shrine of the smith god outside of town. The slave knows where it is but no one has gone there in decades and the countryside is crawling with bandits and monsters. He knows he would never make it alone and asks Jordon (and his friends) if they would escort him on this journey. After a brief discussion the party agrees and they plan to meet at the main landside gate at dawn the next day.

Meeting up without incident the group sets forth, 4 adventurers and a slave pulling a cart with the body of his former master. The shrine is about a day's travel away and for the first hour things are uneventful as they follow the main road north, which is now in a sad state of disrepair. Then a pair of ragged-looking men step out of the woods on either side of the road and signal them to halt. The bandits then demand payment or they will attack. The party refuses as all good Acheans should and the fight is on.

The two bandits find themselves quickly outmatched when they are rushed by Spartakos the warrior and Jaak the minotaur berserker. Then 5 more bandits step out and hurl javelins and for a moment things appear to be more even. That's when Kettenbar charges them as Jordon unleashes some of his magical concoctions and in a short one-sided fight the bandits are slain to a man.

The heroes take a short break, toss the bodies to the side of the road - scum like these do not deserve burials like honorable men - and continue on their journey. Hours later as the sun sinks low they spot the shrine ahead.

It is a simple stone construction - a raised stone platform with columns surrounding a central altar. It appears it might once have had a roof but it does not any longer. The whole thing is set in a quiet open area though the grass and scrub are brown and withered despite the onset of spring. Approaching cautiously they realize the shrine is not uninhabited.

Atop the platform they spot 1...2...3...4 scorpions! Man-sized scorpions! Briefly discussing a plan the heroes decide to open fire with missiles and let the beasts come to them. Spartakos heaves a Javelin at them, while Jordon pulls a man-like framework off of the cart and sends it marching towards the shrine. Jaak charges, clearly understanding the plan. Shrugging, Kett charges after him.

Jaak reaches the steps of the shrine and is seized by one of the beasts, discovering that besides being man-sized these things' claws generate some kind of lightning effect, blasting him even as he is caught in their grip - Stormclaw Scorpions! Could they be a divine agent of some kind?

The rest of the party charges forward to support the minotaur and a melee fight breaks out along the steps of the shrine wit hall four scorpions engaging all 4 heroes as the slave guards his master's body. Jaak breaks free as hits are given and taken between the two sides. Spartakos comes around one side of the steps and rams his spear up into the softer underside of the one scorpion, slaying it. Jaak and the automaton team up on another one, killing it as well. Jordon blasts one with a cold blast then Jaak goes berserk and kills it and cleaves into another, setting it up perfectly for Kett who plunges his fullblade into the thing's back, ending the fight.

After catching their breath, Jordon mentions that the traditional burial place for priests is somewhere under the shrine. He fiddles with the stone altar and finds a movable block, which allows the altar to slide back smoothly, revealing a stone stairway down into darkness. After discussing options the heroes slide the altar back into place, deciding to rest for a night and venture downward in the morning.

DM Notes: This was fun and the boys really got into it, working together fairly well and not arguing at all. Normally I like to give players multiple choices when it comes to adventuring options but to start this off I wanted to take a firmer hand, thus the slave's request for aid. The artificer's divine connection to Hephaestus played right into this so it was a done deal from the start. It also emphasizes the decline of the gods in the region which will be a theme for the campaign, at least early on. 


The combats were short and clean, lasting 3 rounds and 5 rounds respectively and not a kobold in sight!  We were all pretty happy with the game and are looking forward to the next run sometime after spring break.

The Achaean Age Campaign - Session 0: Set Sails!

Well we managed to get the Greek mythology campaign started over the weekend and it went pretty well. Once again Apprentice Red and Apprentice Blaster stepped up to take the plunge after agreeing to scrap the Impiltur campaign to do it and after almost choosing 1st edition TOEE they decided they wanted to play 4th this weekend, specifically the mythological campaign.

I set some pretty limiting guidelines (only Humans, Minotaurs, Automatons (warforged), and Wilden for races, no Primal classes) and let them make up two characters each. Not monitoring them closely I was a little surprised when Blaster came back with two fighters, one human and one minotaur. Red came in with an artifcier (human) and a wilden avenger, which are fine, but I told Blaster that next session he's not bringing two of the same class.

This also caused me to review the rules on companion characters in the DMG 2. These are the rules for player-controlled NPC's in this edition so they're basically 1E henchmen. The rules look pretty good so this is what I'm going to do next session: allow each player only 1 character, but allow them to also bring 1 companion along as well. I may also let them have some minions too.

The reason I do this is the source material. From the original Odyssey and Iliad to the Argonauts to Clash of the Titans, the heroes of Greek myth tend to be surrounded by nameless spear-carriers who die like Star Trek redshirts to illustrate the danger to the hero. Some games like AD&D, GURPS, and Savage Worlds have mechanics for this when creating a character and even 3rd Edition D&D had the leadership feat. The new edition does not really have mechanics for acquiring sidekicks but it does have mechanics for building simplified NPC-types so I'm going to use them. I think each hero is going to have 1 "sidekick" type companion and a renewable band of expendable minions -if they want them- to accompany them on their journeys. This should add to the flavor and make it feel that little bit more distinctive from standard D&D.

But that's for next time. This session we begin with 4 characters:

Spartakos, Human Guardian Fighter who is strong, tough, and was raised by Minotaurs on the island kingdom of Minos.

Jaak, Minotaur Battlerage Fighter who is even stronger and is very nasty in battle even though he was raised as a farmer.

Jordon, Human Artificer who is very smart and was blessed by Hephaestus - clearly he is destined for great things. He also uses some outlandish weapon he calls a "hand crossbow" that may be unique amongst all Achaea*

Kettenbar, the Wilden Avenger of Pan**, who is wise and skilled in the ways of the natural world.

We decided that Jaak's family had raised Spartakos from childhood and that Kettenbar had been on the island as well, training with minotaur tutors in the ways of the greataxe. They decided to head to the mainland for adventure and to see the rest of the world and encountered Jordon when they were looking into magical weapons before heading out into the countryside, and this is where Session 1 will pick up.


*Yeah I forgot to put "No crossbows" in my instructions to them and he really wanted it so I decided the gadget-builder class  would have one if anyone would. I let him keep it.

** He started off with Ares then I asked him if he really wanted his plant-like character to be tied to the war god. We talked a bit and he decided to go for Pan. I decided that was OK as Pan strikes me as the type of god that would have a lot of descendants, especially Wilden descendants, even among the Olympians. I mean when you eventually get tired of playing your pipes, you look around and see all these wood and water nymphs hanging around, well...

The 4E Greek Mythology Campaign: Classes

First a note on power sources:

• Martial, Divine, and Arcane all fit very well as-is. I see no need for changes.
• Primal is a little problematic with its references to the wolf spirit and the great serpent and the like. I'm really leaning towards just not allowing them for now as it's easier to add them in later than it is to remove them.  
• Psionic is one that I was going to ban altogether but I can see it coming from a scholar/philosopher school of thought brought to a combat-worthy point. It would be centered in the most civilized parts of Achaea and would be relatively new, having been developed since the Trojan War. I can see Athena being associated with it and some of the other gods being jealous of this new power and making moves to squash it, fueling some of that divine competition that is such a part of the myths. 

Classes by Power Source

Martial

• Fighter: The core of any good adventuring party. Sword or Spear and Shield is a popular choice for Achaeans and Achilles would be the best ever. Hercules is the greatest Brawling fighter of all time. Since I'm trimming out the primal classes the Battlerager fighter takes that role for barbaric types. The "Knight" from Essentials becomes the "Hoplite" for Achaeans and instead of sword or hammer it becomes sword or spear for the special power choices. The Essentials Slayer is also there for more barbaric types. This class might represent soldiering time or just training and natural talent, especially for the nobility.
• Ranger: The country cousin of the fighter. Lighter armor, more mobility. Two weapon use is not strictly historical for Greeks but we can roll with it. Bow rangers fit right in. Marauder and Hunter rangers work alright as well. Beastmaster rangers are probably shepherd types from the pastoral areas - yes, in these dark times it takes a ranger to protect the sheep. 
• Rogue: The light-armored, sneaky hard-hitting type. This might be Jason or even Theseus depending on how you interpret the stories. In any case it has a place in the campaign. The Essentials Thief fits in especially nicely here. I would think this would come from natural talent and maybe some criminal backgrounds.
• Warlord: The fighting leader, I might nominate Odysseus as a possible Bow Warlord. Patroclus in the Iliad is the ultimate warlord, sacrificing himself to give Achilles a rage bonus to defeat Hector! All types are welcome here. I see this as mainly nobles and a few military leaders.

Divine

• Cleric: Should play a large role in the game although I see them as mostly human in the campaign world. I would think that Melee clerics would be more common (especially for Athena and Ares) but Laser clerics have a place, especially for Apollo. Aphrodite and Demeter could have mostly Pacifist clerics. Zeus and maybe Posiedon would have a fair number of Storm Warpriests from Essentials while Apollo might also use Sun Priests from this as well. I envision these as being based out of a temple in a particular city but free to wander as needed to spread and reassert the faith, especially of a god commands it.
• Paladin: Less common but I may use this to represent the divine-blooded fighter. While Martial types could be favored by a god, Divine types other than clerics might be directly descended from a god which would explain their unusual power. The Essentials Cavalier Paladin would be there for the Paladin player who does not want to be of divine heritage while the other Paladin types cover the godblooded fighter type.
• Avenger: The divinely birthed stealth fighter or rogue equivalent. They can call upon the power of the gods and hit people with sharp things as well. I can see Hera, Artemis, and Aphrodite all having a fair number of these. 
• Invoker: The godblooded origin for magical types, especially blasty magical types. They still might have gone to a school to train their powers, they just work a little differently. Zeus and Apollo might favor these, and even Hephaestus might get in on the act.
• Runepriests: not allowed. Wait for the Norse Campaign.

Arcane

• Wizard: The learned magical scholar type fits in well in many ways. The Essentials Mage fits in here too. I see these mostly arising from cities where there would be small schools devoted to magical learning rather than solitary master-apprentice pairings.
• Warlock: I almost want to leave these out as some of the pacts really don't fit the flavor of Mythic Greece but if we look at them as deals with minor non-divine powers then I think I can get my head around it. It's "forbidden" magic and as such this is the one that would have a master and apprentice relationship carried out in towers and ruins in the wilderness rather than learned in the cities. The Vestige pact seems especially appropriate for tapping into forgotten powers from before the rise of the Olympians. The Essentials Hexblade seems especially inappropriate for the game but I'm willing to give it a chance for now - maybe they are swordmages who went to the dark side. The Fey pact options for Warlocks might work for Wilden or Satyrs or Centaurs as tapping into the essence of nature, filling in nicely for some of the Primal classes and powers.
• Sorcerer: These are basically another flavor of wizard in this campaign - they still would train at a school but have a slightly different focus than wizards. They represent a split in the philosophy of arcane schooling and train more for combat than the traditional scholarly wizard does. 
•  Swordmage: The Arcane Fighter which I see as mostly a non-human profession. In fact I see it mainly as a Minotaur thing though I will not restrict it to them only. It's a fusion of martial and arcane training that should be fairly rare in the campaign world. 
• Artificer: This one is an arcane leader type from Eberron which I have zero experience with but it really seems to fit. this class is the tinkerer, alchemist, and potion-brewer type of wizard where most of their magic is tied up in "stuff" rather than throwing fireballs. I see this as almost exclusively human, representing the dabbler/inventor/genius type of character who often goes along on heroic expeditions. Hephaestus could be widely revered among these types.
• Bard: Certainly a fit for Heroic Greece this class is made up of wandering storytellers who form their own community within the nation. Reputations spread far and wide among bards and they will often accompany heroes on quests to gather stories for their own epic works. Bards generally do not form schools or training centers, but those who show an aptitude will often be taken under the wing of an older bard and shown the ropes. In these dark times they have learned to use their knowledge to defend themselves and their companions even though battle prowess is not their main focus.

Psionic

• Monk: this one is the most like other classes and can represent the ultimate development of the wrestling (Pankration) that was so common in ancient Greece. Some of the power names aren't really in tune with the flavor of the game so we will change them when they come up. I'm thinking this might be associated with Sparta and largely restricted to schools there. It would also be largely human but other races might have learned the techniques from a human teacher outside of the school.
• Ardent: I envision the whole psionic power source as starting from one school in Athens where discipline and focus lead to a breakthrough and result in the psionic powers present in 4th edition. The teachings of the school slowly spread to other cities as students travel and by the time of the campaign there are schools in several cities but Athens is still the center. Ardents are the leader types who also tend to be the biggest teachers of the Way and the ones doing the most to spread its teachings to others. I see it as mainly a human thing but the school would accept students of all races who show promise so if someone wants to be a Minotaur Psyker they can do it. 
• Battlemind: the fighting psionics, these would have come about the first time the School of the Way was asked to help repel an attack on the city. Students developed new abilities and put them into a separate training program for warriors.
• Psion: the academics of the Way spend a lot of time philosophizing about this new power but rarely go out adventuring. Their powers tend to be less about damage and more about doing things at a distance with the mind. These are the core faculty and often the leaders of discovering new techniques within the school.

 That's where it stands right now. We will likely start with these options for class and the race options from my other post and get the game going, leaving further refinement for after we start things off. I'm going to have a little more input for this game on classes and races to try and come up with a party that makes sense. If we can work it in this weekend I will share the results next week.

The 4E Greek Mythology Campaign: What Makes it Different?

I think it's a valid question no matter what system you are using. Every RPG comes with some implied setting and fantasy RPG's come with more than most. Whether it's D&D, Runequest, or Mazes and Minotaurs most fantasy RPG play involves running around with swords and magic and fighting monsters in moderate to high amounts. What makes a Greek Mythos game different?

1. The look and style of the game: yes in many ways it's the least important thing mechanically but since a lot of these kinds of games take place in the imagination it might be the most important difference of all. Whether it's using greek names for characters, using historical names for cities and towns, using the Olympians for the religious angle, changing up some of the equipment, or making everyone watch Clash of the Titans before the first session, there are ways to promote the different look and feel of the game that makes it feel different from a traditional medieval fantasy RPG.
2. The monsters: Yes, there are hydras and chimeras and harpies and giant bulls and boars and scorpions but there are not huge armies of orcs and goblins, no scheming dark elves plotting in the underdark, and no fire-breathing dragons holding princesses hostage. A greater portion of the monsters running around tend to be regular animals grown to huge size or otherwise made more terrible. Others may have been mortals cursed by the gods. Others make no more sense than a lot of D&D's original creations but they have a history in the real world that runs deeper than the beholder or the flumph. Terrible opponents tend to be single mighty foes rather than hordes of lesser creatures. In old school terms the "No. Appearing" tends to be "1-4" a lot more than "40-400"
3. What is done: There is not a lot of dungeon crawling in Greek Mythology. There is a lot of questing, by land or by sea. So we will be spending less time invading underground complexes (though there will be some of that too) and more time roaming the countryside and deposing tyrants. Jason and the Argonauts is one of the archetypal group quests and it's a major model for the game. If someone gets politically minded then there's an option to try and unify the Achaean city states or maybe just take over one of them and rule it themselves. There are a lot of options in the campaign but it's not a megadungeon game and I'm fine with that as I'm working on that separately anyway.
4. Divine Intervention: Unlike most D&D games and unlike most other fantasy RPG's, the gods in the Greek myths make regular personal appearances to heroes. That will be the case in this game as well. Each character will likely develop a relationship with at least one god (it may be a part of character generation, still working on that angle) as all of the heroes in the myths are either descended from or favored by at least one deity. They also tend to be opposed by at least one deity and that will be fun too. Hera is a common nemesis goddess but I'd like to branch out some. 
5. History: I've thought about setting the game in a made-up not-Greece with made up not-Olympian gods but that kind of defeats the purpose of running it. I'm using real maps of Greece with the real cities and some of the real heroes and history of the region. Now I'm also contemplating Centaurs as a playable race so it's not all about the history here but it's still different than playing in Greyhawk or the Realms or Glorantha. These are and were real places and that puts a different flavor in the game. Being a bit of an armchair historian this scratches an itch for me and sets up a lot of potential games using the same mythic history with Egypt and Rome and others down the road. 

The major concepts of this campaign are:

• The first age of heroes ended shortly after the Trojan War which was about 100 years ago. Since then no new heroes have arisen and Achaea has fallen into a dark age with travel and trade decreasing and national unity a thing of the past. Monsters and marauders roam the countryside, making the situation even worse. This both sets up the "points of light" background for D&D and is pretty much historically accurate as far as is known.
• The Olympians are not the only gods in the world and they did not create the world. The titans were the precursors to them, and there was a set of godlike beings prior to them that the titans fought in ages past. This sets up some mysterious history ad lets me use the titans as sources of information about these older powers so that they are more than just enemies. Some of the pre-Olympian gods historically are earth deities and are referred to as Cthonic gods - I'm thinking of making them literally Cthonic gods which allows me to drop mindflayers and other tentacled things in if I feel inclined to do so. I think "Brain-Eaters" sounds a little more exciting than "Lotus Eaters" for a D&D game. 
• Worship of the gods has decreased as civilization has crumbled. Various lesser powers such as demon princes have started to creep in through the cracks and secret cults have sprung up here and there. The gods are ready to expand their influence again and stamp out these others, and they are ready to choose new heroes to do it. 

The divine element means that there will probably be an extra conversation with each player about what power they would like to be associated with at the start of the campaign. that's OK, that's one of the reasons we're playing this one, to make it a little different from standard D&D.

So how will the campaign start? I will start it off in central Greece near one of the major cities and give the party several rumors to investigate. Among them will be some abandoned shrines, some ruined settlements, and perhaps a frog-demon cult that needs to be dealt with. I plan to use Bullywugs as the opponent in this as they are both nicely diverse in 4E with multiple types and a good low level race I have not already used which is refreshing to both the players and the DM after months of kobolds and goblins. I know frog demons aren't exactly historical Greek but when it comes to low-level monsters I want something that's not one of those common D&D starter horde creatures and these fit the bill pretty well.  I am open to other ideas if anyone wants to chime in.

So it is Greek-flavored and Greek-centric but it is not strictly Greek-only content. I will deliberately keep out certain races and creatures that shift it more towards a medieval flavor (Elves, Dwarves, Crossbows, fire-breathing dragons sitting on gold hoards, Knights, Fey creatures and races) but things that are not tied to a certain historical period might be included. This could be things like Beholders, Undead, traditional D&D style arcane magic, and frog-people.

Anyway that's my rundown of why I would run this game. If it isn't any different then there's really no point to doing it. So hopefully I will do it right enough that the players will have a good time with it. We will see.  

The 4E Greek Mythology Campaign: The Races

As I work through the setup phase of running a Heroic Age Greece campaign my opinions on things change and I thought I would share some of the details here.

For power sources I am rethinking my earlier "unlockable" approach. I am not sure I want to mix in Norse and Egyptian as their own sections within the campaign including deities and the like. For one it dilutes the focus of the game on Greek Mythology and really becomes the "Popular Mythology" campaign instead. Additionally the timelines really do not match up historically  - not a primary consideration but one that nags at me a little bit. Finally the ideal in a long-running campaign is to have the same characters running through it, and if I open up the Primal power source at paragon then some players may want to switch characters in the middle of the game. I think I would rather focus this campaign on Greece then run another one (maybe next year) focusing on the Norse. Ancient Egypt will be present in the Greek game in a limited way but will not be the focus of the campaign over any long stretch.

Races, particularly player character races, are a big factor in the feel of a campaign world so I would like to get this right the first time. Here's where I stand right now:

Pretty solid:

• Achaeans (Humans) - the mechanical flexibility of humans in 4E is a perfect representation of the Hellenes and how they viewed themselves. It also caters to the wide variety of character types in the mythology - the strong hero, the smart hero, the skilled hero  - all of these are do-able within the framework of human. This is the primary race of the campaign.

• Minotaurs - I think they fit in this campaign better than in most standard D&D games. The island of Crete is their kingdom (Kingdom of Minos is the tentative name )and is considered a nation almost as civilized as the Achaeans themselves. They have a small population but they are feared physical combatants and are no slouch when it comes to magic either. The current king helped overthrow an ancient demon-worshipping cult that ruled the island for centuries and one of the themes a minotaur player can tap into is the hunt for the surviving priests and cultists who have now scattered across the world. This also conveniently explains the existence of wild bloodthirsty minotaurs in different parts of the world - they are too much of an iconic monster to lose. It also lets me add in demon worshipping cultists with an interesting twist.

• Automatons (Warforged) - this is a new one for me as we do not use Eberron at all. The more I thought about it though, the more I liked the idea as a nod to everything from Talos to the minoton* to the works of Daedalus, and for giving Hephaestus a more active role in the world. I really like the idea of the man of bronze out adventuring and trying to fit into Achaean society. I might leave it up to each player to come up with an origin story but I may also have one built into the background, something like the Legion of Bronze - 1000 men of bronze created by Hephaestus to fight in some war against an otherworldly threat. Afterwards, he set them free to make their way in the world. It's not totally nailed down yet but it's a start. I would also assume that certain legendary inventors (like Daedalus) would have the ability to craft free-willed automatons but these would be fewer in number.

• Nature Spirits (Wilden) - another race we haven't used but that seem to fit. These beings in default represent awakened nature are are somewhat plant-like. This would take the role of the dryad or nymph-like being that accompanies a party of heroes and eventually becomes one themselves.  

• Thracian (Half-Orc) the Thracians live to the northeast of Greece and are a race of barbaric clans who spend a lot of time fighting amongst themselves and are totally non-Greek. When I first read through their history and customs they made me think of some depictions of orcs. There's some evidence that they are linked to the god Ares (in the Greek minds anyway) which fits right in where I want them to be. I'm thinking that they fulfill the role of barbaric human outsiders and the half-orc mechanical bits fit this to a T, favoring strength, dexterity, endurance, intimidate and a racial power called "Furious Assault".

Still thinking:

• Cyclops (Goliath) -  This is mainly a cosmetic change - you're playing a one-eyed goliath.  I'm thinking they are the "country" cyclops who live up in the mountains of central Greece raising sheep and having occasional clan wars and don't interact much with the Achaeans as a nation or a race. They are known to the locals and mostly get along with them just fine, having no ambitions to conquest or bloodshed. Sometimes though one gets an itch and comes down out of the mountains and ends up in a heroic band going halfway across the world on some quest for the gods.   

• Aegyptian (Deva) - I'm thinking of making them the nobility of Egypt as their theme in regular D&D is continuously reincarnated immortals and their skills and stats and power all back this up. Even if I go this way I'm still not sure I want them available as a starting race since the focus is on Greek Mythology, not Egyptian. I might make it an option if the party ends up in that area and loses a PC. Replacing it with a local would make some sense then.

• Satyr (Gnome) - With all of the big bruiser races I'm looking at it would be nice to have a small race in the mix too. I want a race to represent the more animalistic nature spirit types so reskinning a gnome as a satyr might work, though the size thing doesn't totally fit unless we're basing it off of Phil from Disney's Hercules which is not totally out of the question. In mechanical terms they are good at sneaking and trickery which could fit but I am not totally sure just yet. 

• Centaur (Shifter) - These are an interesting problem. I'm going to keep them to Medium size (Hey if an 8' Goliath or Minotaur can be considered "Medium" then so can these) but there are so many ways one can go to mechanically enhance the idea of  "Centaur" as some were wild barbarians while others were wise teachers and healers. Shifters as a race have two different mechanical options: one favors Strength, Wisdom, Athletics, and Endurance and adds a minor regeneration ability. The other favors Dexterity, Wisdom, Acrobatics**, and Stealth and adds speed and better defenses. I think this works as the first reflects the more brutish style of centaur while the other covers the speedy archer-centaur, and either can be played as wise or just strong-willed and rash. I could go one is male and one is female but I don;t want to limit things in that way for now.

To me these really fit the theme but it's pushing the bar. At some point I could end up with a party effectively consisting of a mutant animal, a robot, a one-eyed mutant, and a pure human and it looks more like a game of Gamma World than a game of Greek Mythology. Hmmm ... you know Greek Mythology looks kind of like a game of Gamma World anyway with all the half-this and multi-headed-that type creatures running around. Maybe I'm on to something here.

The "out" list

• Dragonborn - no. They might turn up as the rulers of Atlantis or South America along with traditional dragons but they are not one of the starting races of the game. 
• Dwarfs - no. Wait for the Norse Mythology campaign and we'll have all kinds of dwarfs there.
• Eladrin - Actually these might be the Atlanteans - they are flavored as the highly magical, extra-skilled race . So they might make an appearance later but they won't be a playable race, they'll be more like Melniboneans than high elves.
• Elf - no. Wait for the Norse campaign
• Halfling - I'm tempted to put them in as natives from one of the islands in the Aegean Sea but I think it helps the flavor of the game if they aren't included and I don't have a good solid place for them.
• Tieflings -the rulers of the Hittite Empire (Turkey) so they will be opponents (potentially) in the campaign. Not a player race for this one.
• Githzerai - no. I don't see a place for them in the campaign. Wait for Plane Trek.
• Shardminds - no. Wait for Plane Trek.
• Drow -no. Wait for the Norse campaign
• Changelings - no. Not in this game.
• Mul - no.
• Thri-Kreen - no. There are enough non-human options already. Wait for Plane Trek.

If we started playing today I would probably stash the Devas away for later and take the rest. That would give me 8 starting races including 2 versions of "human" and that's pretty good. Adding in all of the non-human races does mean that certain compromises have to be made with Greek history and myths and I will talk more about those in my next post.

*Yeah I know that one's from Sinbad but it's another Harryhausen movie and he would have fit into a Greek movie better anyway. I think Eye of the Tiger would be a cool outline for a D&D game.

** Let's think of this as "leaping over stuff gracefully" and not "tumbling with somersaults and cartwheels"