When we left off last week, the party was getting ready to visit Warehouse 11 in order to discover why Hyza had been kidnapped. The party initially attempted some recon around the outside of the warehouse, which included Garron's feeble attempt at using NPC Dirk as a battering ram on the front door. Lacking a rogue, the party strategy quickly disintegrated into a "break down the door and see what happens" style of play, as they broke into the back door. The party ensured that Dirk entered first, and as they walked in (failing all spot checks), Dirk was instantly strung up into a net trap on the ceiling. Garron, luckily, dodged this trap, only to find that the party was surrounded by five Red-Fist thugs. Hyza ran out the back door, with the Red Fist thugs in hot pursuit.
This is where we wrapped last week, and this week, the adventurers were faced with some moral dilemmas. Unfortunately, Rhianna, our friend who plays Hyza, has decided that DND is not for her, and will not be attending any more game sessions. She will be treated as a NPC for the rest of the game (if she appears at all). This week, as Hyza rounded a corner to run away, two more of the Red Fist thugs restrained her, and she was dragged back to the warehouse.
The Red Fist thug leader, accompanied by a male halfling, two female twin warriors, and a woman wearing ornate robes, introduced himself as Rocco Furioso (yep, that is his name), and thanked them for delivering the merchandise. Hyza was handed off to the woman, and the party received 500 gold for her. The party agreed to meet Rocco the next day to possibly take work from him. After being dismissed, they hung around the warehouse for a little while, trying to see what would become of Hyza. Unfortunately, Val and Dirk were spotted as Rocco lead his captive out of the warehouse, though he paid no real notice to them. Edison watched from afar as Rocco, the mystery woman, and Hyza boarded a ferry that crossed the bay and disappeared from sight.
Tired, the adventurers headed back to the Blue Oyster, where they met a water-drinking dwarven monk named Jasper Firmknuckle, who LOVES to grapple. This monk is our new Player Character, created and played by Mat (who played the late Vicks Underfoot). The monk decided he had nothing better to do than to join the adventurers on their quest to meet Rocco the next day.
They met with Rocco in a clean but semi-shabby house in the Fishing District. He gave them some breakfast, and told them that the Red Fist needed some help. A man named Gart Flin owes one of their clients one thousand gold. The crew also has to bring back a letter signed by Gart, swearing that he will give up any rights he has to his child, born of a woman named Lacia Mordreth. The crew took the letter and agreed to do the job, and Jasper challenged Rocco to a grappling match. Rocco laughed, and his crew thought it was all good fun, especially when Rocco easily defeated Jasper with a quick take-down. They dawdled around town for a little while, looking into some merchant stalls. While doing so, they got a magical ring and a magical mace identified. The Mace is a small light mace of the heavens, which increases damage and attack power against all undead creatures, while the red necklace (originally taken from Isabella, the pirate captain) is a rare amulet of dwarven make. The amulet provides various bonuses to discovering and dismantling traps in underground places. It might fetch a good price with the right person, though the shop owner did not express interest. After discovering the magical items, the team was off to the work-camp to find Gart, get his signature, and take his money.
The city of Illares is surrounded by vineyards and farms of citrus and olives. Many of these farms are worked by slaves, though there are also workers who stay in camps outside of the city and contract to various farms. Gart's camp is about a day and a half's travel to the southwest, so the adventurers set forth on foot, staying on the main road. After about a day's travel, they decided to stay in a nearby farmhouse. They knocked on the door, and an old man answered and reluctantly allowed the men to stay in a shed near the house. He brought them a small dinner, and made them promise not to tell his wife that they were staying. They agreed, and after searching the shed thoroughly for traps and testing the uncontaminated food for poison, the adventurers concluded that the old man, Grindald, and his younger wife, Drucilla, were vampires. Edison took first watch, and though he did hear something stirring in the bushes overnight, he was unable to discover the source of the noise, or find anything peculiar.
The men continued on the next day, and arrived at the work camp in the early evening. After some asking around, they located Gart Flin. The crew didn't seem to agree on how to approach him. Edison sought to trick Gart into revealing information and signing the contract, while Valamonde and Garron took a more straight-forward approach. Jasper stayed neutral, and instead challenged various men at the work camps to grappling contests. Eventually, the crew ended up ushering Gart into a small building, and intimidated him into signing the contract. A discussion with Gart revealed that he feared for the life of his newborn son, because the Red Fist often sells children into slavery. Gart appeared to be in love with Lacia, a prostitute at a brothel in the Fisher District. The adventurers felt pretty "icky" about infant-slaves, and told Gart that they would help him rescue his son, but they need to play along with the Red Fist's plan. Gart trusted them, and lead them to his money stash the next morning.
After retrieving the gold, (about one thousand, just as Rocco said he would have) the adventurers left Gart to work, and they headed back to town. They stayed at the same farmhouse where they did last time, and are still convinced that someone in that house is a vampire. After arriving in Illares, the adventurers wanted to meet Lacia and find out more information, as they were not keen as helping an infant be sold to slavers. D&D adventures are not complete without several trips to whorehouses.
The Pearl Necklace is a saloon style building in the Fisher District. The crew went in, and met the proprietress, an older woman named Skilma Silverbush. Garron immediately asked for Lacia and her son, souring Skilma's opinion of him. However, the other adventurers wandered around the whorehouse, looking for clues. Valamonde struck up a conversation with an elven woman named Sylva who played the harp quite well. He took her upstairs, while Jaspar decided to incite a grappling/wrestling contest. Whoever won the contest would be his "prize." The prostitutes loved this idea, and Skilma ordered the floor to be cleared for a wrestling bout. Th contestants were: a pretty elf named Landra, a human named Smiles, a halfling called Rosa, a half-orc named Ogda, and a twink named Derek. There were several bouts, bets placed, and adorable prostitute tickle fights, but in the end, Ogda the half-orc was victorious. Edison won some money, and also got to take Ogda upstairs for the evening. Garron attempted to break into Skilma Silverbush's office, though he did not find any information. All attempts to discover information about Lacia were rebuffed, though Valamonde told Sylva where he was staying, and pleaded her to give him some information. The men headed back to the Blue Oyster, and we wrapped for the night.
Although the blog post might not show it, this was a pretty funny evening. I swear the players stayed in Grindald's shack for almost a majority of the night, suspicious of the farmer who let them stay on his land. I think the best part was the wrestling at the Pearl Necklace, an event that I did not foresee. I was also not sure what the party would do with the issue of Lacia and her baby (though the end result has yet to be seen.) I'll give more of my thoughts on that as decisions are made final, and the players carry out their will.
Lessons Learned:
The players write the story. The DM provides the framework, but the results are anything but predictable. For instance, I did not foresee a prostitute-wrestling match, though it ended up being the highlight of the evening.
Morality is fluid. The Players had no issue with kidnapping and selling Hyza, a former player-character. Hyza had originally given me an easy back-story to work with, so I was using her character as a hook to unite the party and provide a story-line for the game. All of that has been thrown out the window! (or has it???)
Showing posts with label Dungeons and Dragons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dungeons and Dragons. Show all posts
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Day 2 - How many player characters can you smuggle in a cargo hold? or It's never to early for betrayal and death!
Before we get started, allow me to introduce two new members to our adventuring crew!
Player Name: Will
Character Name: Garron Rhys
Race: Human
Class: Fighter
History: used to be a part of the castle guard in Stonesong. His job was to guard the noble family, including their beautiful daughter. Naturally, he fell in love, and the two were caught canoodling! He was disgraced and dishonorably dismissed, and began to drink his life away. In a drunken stupor, he dreamed of someplace warm, and smuggled himself onto The Olestra; a ship set sail for Illares.
Player Name: Fran
Character Name: Edison
Race: Gnome
Class: Cleric
History: The un-gnomishly-named Edison has a gnomishly prankster spirit. Little is known about this wandering little guy, but he is sure to bring trickery, luck, and mirth wherever his travels take him. Edison was traveling with some friends on a ship, when, as fate would have it, the ship split apart! Edison is not sure what happened, whether it was a random whirlpool or a mysterious sea monster. His friends and most of the ship were swept away, and he landed on a simple raft with no harm done.
Over the past week, I recruited two players! Fran is a veteran Dungeons and Dragons player, and Will has never played before! (except maybe once, when he was in elementary school.) Without further ado, let's see what they got into this week.
We started this adventure shortly after we left off. Valamonde had just convinced Kynan to tug the ship behind them, when, suddenly, a tall human wielding a great-sword stumbled upon the deck from below. Garron Rhys, another smuggled passenger, heard the ruckus of battle and tried to be of service, however, his hangover prevented him from reacting in time. Once he realized that the battle was over, he sheathed his great sword and began greeting the crew. After a charismatic introduction to the Captain, he began meeting the crew and the adventurers. Vicks Underfoot was scrounging around the ship, noticing even the smallest bits of dust and crumbs of food, but not the new passenger. Hyza continued to tend Dirk, and as the afternoon progressed, the crew in the crow's nest spotted a small figure floating in the water some ways off. The captain shrugged, as if to say, "This is the weirdest voyage ever, Let's go check out the floating figure."
Edison, a fragile but friendly gnome had been floating on his makeshift raft for two days when he spotted the Olestra. He cast a spell that set off some fireworks above him to attract attention, and the ship came to pick him up. He was pulled onto the boat by Dirk and Starla, the half-elf crew member. During this distraction, Vicks decided to sneak into the captain's cabin, barricade himself in, leave the captain a love note, and rearrange his furniture. Meanwhile, on deck, Edison greeted his rescuers heartily, and thanked Kynan for rescuing him, and his ship. Kynan was not sure what the gnome was talking about, and went along his way, ordering crew members around, and promising to drop all stragglers and travelers off at the next port.
Garron was content to explore the nearly empty pirate ship, while Valamonde and Edison sang and made merry on deck. Hyza stayed below, talking to Dirk, and over the next few days, he told her his life story. He also told her that the Slyhorns had arranged to deliver her to a Warehouse #11, and his instructions were to go at night. However, he had lost the note that he was given by his boss. Dirk then proceeded to cry a lot, and was generally in bad spirits. Hyza was very kind to him, and he promised her that he would stay with her and defend her for his penance, but he did not want to get involved in gang activities again. In an interesting move to possibly sew distrust, Vicks hands Hyza the note he stole from Dirk, and tells her, "Do not trust anyone."
After a few days, the ship arrives to the port city Illares. The view from the ship was very spectacular. On the northern end of the bay, warships sat in the water, and beyond them, on the shore, were large stone buildings. On the south side there were a number of cargo-style ships docked, and as if in response to the grandiose buildings to the north, number of wooden buildings and smaller earthen buildings dotted the landscape. Edison had a good Knowledge History roll, and was able to tell his new friends some information about Illares and Saiha. It is a very multi-cultural city in the Sienen Bay at the end of the Sienen River - a major river in Saiha. The ships fly a Blue flags with a white crab sigil, and underneath, another flag; gold with a green fighting dog. The flag represents the city of Illares, and the Green Fighting Dog is the sigil of the Constaça family, the current ruling nobility. He also knew that Saiha is a rather lawless land, controlled by guilds and gangs in conjunction with various noble families. It is also rumored to be a cutthroat and dangerous place, with individuals and groups constantly jockeying for power and wealth that the trade of wine and highly-valuable exotic foods can bring.
The group decided that they wanted to find Warehouse 11, and they pumped Dirk for more information. Valamonde attempted to sing songs in a small courtyard in the Fishing District, but maybe his heart wasn't into it (he rolled poorly), and while some people seemed to enjoy it, no one stuck around for very long. During the confusion of exploring a new place, Vicks decided to sneak away from his group (successfully) and go exploring on his own. He silently followed the group (unbeknownst to them) as they headed into The Blue Oyster, a small and dingy inn with a kind Proprietess, Ginger Butters. Money talks, and Edison pays Ginger for rooms, beverages, and information. Garron and Hyza gladly takes to drinking, while Valamonde goes and chats up a rough and handsome gentleman seated at a table. His wooing pays off, and the gentleman invites him to pay a visit to his room at the Inn later, saying he will leave a token on the doorknob as a trail. Meanwhile, Ginger lets Edison in on a rumor: The elderly noble matriarch, Aufen Constaça, has fallen seriously ill, and it is said that her heirs are traveling to Illares. Edison also asks her about the Warehouse district, and she informs him that there is always gang warfare in that area, and she would never travel there alone at night.
While the majority drinks at the Blue Oyster, Vicks attempts to have his light (and possibly magical) mace identified. He finds a pawn shop, but the keeper wants to charge him 500 gold. He refuses, and leaves. He then heads over to the warehouse district, and sneaks into a smaller building that houses Warehouse information. He steals a map and heads to Warehouse 11. On the way, he is ambushed by a thug, who tried to sneak up on him. Luckily, he he made an excellent listen check, and an even more excellent tumble to do a front handspring and land facing the bandit, dagger drawn. It seemed as if luck was on Vicks' side, as the thug rushed toward him, battle-ax drawn in a charging attack. She gave a swing and Vicks nimbly ducked to the side! Vicks prepared himself to strike his foe with a dagger, but had somehow underestimated his own body weight when dodging her blow, and he fell to the ground his dagger slipping from his fingers. At this point, the rest of the adventurers were wandering the warehouse district, searching for number 11, when Valamonde heard the sounds of a scuffle! However, they were too late to save their friend. Vicks Underfoot died with a slice to the belly, and a decapitation. They arrived on the scene to find a woman stealing from the corpse of someone very small. Edison cast a "Command" spell on her, ordering her to drop everything. The spell succeeded, and she stood there dumbfounded while Valamonde, Garron, and Edison filled her with arrows and crossbow bolts. Alas, they were too late to save their friend, but they did protect his property from going into the hands of a common thug!
Lessons Learnt:
Clues are important. If you are a level 1 character, do not venture off on your own after hearing several warnings about danger. Poor Vicks. He was just trying to develop his character and (possibly, as he admitted to the crew later), achieve personal gain by selling Hyza. Unfortunately, it did not sound as if he heeded the warnings of Edison, who knew that this town was very cut-throat, or Ginger Butters, who said that there was gang activity and she would never venture alone into the Warehouse district. If your DM is telling you that a certain area is dangerous, you might want to at least make an attempt to hide and sneak down that creepy alley. I sometimes feel badly when characters die, though I have to admit, Vicks had it coming with this reckless behavior. AT LEVEL ONE. Though, he might have survived if he hadn't rolled a 1 at the worst possible moment.
Never underestimate the power of money. Often times, characters try to intimidate or charm their way through situations. However, Edison got Ginger Butters to give him her complete and undivided attention with some gold coin.
Next up, all characters left standing go to Warehouse 11! What is in store? Will Garrun try to use Dirk as a battering ram to open the door? Will Valamonde betray Hyza? All (or none) will be revealed with the next adventure in Illares! On that note, I leave you with an image of Valamonde, courtesy of Mat (formerly known as Vicks Underwood).
Player Name: Will
Character Name: Garron Rhys
Race: Human
Class: Fighter
History: used to be a part of the castle guard in Stonesong. His job was to guard the noble family, including their beautiful daughter. Naturally, he fell in love, and the two were caught canoodling! He was disgraced and dishonorably dismissed, and began to drink his life away. In a drunken stupor, he dreamed of someplace warm, and smuggled himself onto The Olestra; a ship set sail for Illares.
Player Name: Fran
Character Name: Edison
Race: Gnome
Class: Cleric
History: The un-gnomishly-named Edison has a gnomishly prankster spirit. Little is known about this wandering little guy, but he is sure to bring trickery, luck, and mirth wherever his travels take him. Edison was traveling with some friends on a ship, when, as fate would have it, the ship split apart! Edison is not sure what happened, whether it was a random whirlpool or a mysterious sea monster. His friends and most of the ship were swept away, and he landed on a simple raft with no harm done.
Over the past week, I recruited two players! Fran is a veteran Dungeons and Dragons player, and Will has never played before! (except maybe once, when he was in elementary school.) Without further ado, let's see what they got into this week.
We started this adventure shortly after we left off. Valamonde had just convinced Kynan to tug the ship behind them, when, suddenly, a tall human wielding a great-sword stumbled upon the deck from below. Garron Rhys, another smuggled passenger, heard the ruckus of battle and tried to be of service, however, his hangover prevented him from reacting in time. Once he realized that the battle was over, he sheathed his great sword and began greeting the crew. After a charismatic introduction to the Captain, he began meeting the crew and the adventurers. Vicks Underfoot was scrounging around the ship, noticing even the smallest bits of dust and crumbs of food, but not the new passenger. Hyza continued to tend Dirk, and as the afternoon progressed, the crew in the crow's nest spotted a small figure floating in the water some ways off. The captain shrugged, as if to say, "This is the weirdest voyage ever, Let's go check out the floating figure."
Edison, a fragile but friendly gnome had been floating on his makeshift raft for two days when he spotted the Olestra. He cast a spell that set off some fireworks above him to attract attention, and the ship came to pick him up. He was pulled onto the boat by Dirk and Starla, the half-elf crew member. During this distraction, Vicks decided to sneak into the captain's cabin, barricade himself in, leave the captain a love note, and rearrange his furniture. Meanwhile, on deck, Edison greeted his rescuers heartily, and thanked Kynan for rescuing him, and his ship. Kynan was not sure what the gnome was talking about, and went along his way, ordering crew members around, and promising to drop all stragglers and travelers off at the next port.
Garron was content to explore the nearly empty pirate ship, while Valamonde and Edison sang and made merry on deck. Hyza stayed below, talking to Dirk, and over the next few days, he told her his life story. He also told her that the Slyhorns had arranged to deliver her to a Warehouse #11, and his instructions were to go at night. However, he had lost the note that he was given by his boss. Dirk then proceeded to cry a lot, and was generally in bad spirits. Hyza was very kind to him, and he promised her that he would stay with her and defend her for his penance, but he did not want to get involved in gang activities again. In an interesting move to possibly sew distrust, Vicks hands Hyza the note he stole from Dirk, and tells her, "Do not trust anyone."
 |
| I picture Illares to be similarly styled to Ceuta, a Spanish City on the northern coast of Morocco. http://www.spain.info/en/ven/otros-destinos/ceuta.html |
The group decided that they wanted to find Warehouse 11, and they pumped Dirk for more information. Valamonde attempted to sing songs in a small courtyard in the Fishing District, but maybe his heart wasn't into it (he rolled poorly), and while some people seemed to enjoy it, no one stuck around for very long. During the confusion of exploring a new place, Vicks decided to sneak away from his group (successfully) and go exploring on his own. He silently followed the group (unbeknownst to them) as they headed into The Blue Oyster, a small and dingy inn with a kind Proprietess, Ginger Butters. Money talks, and Edison pays Ginger for rooms, beverages, and information. Garron and Hyza gladly takes to drinking, while Valamonde goes and chats up a rough and handsome gentleman seated at a table. His wooing pays off, and the gentleman invites him to pay a visit to his room at the Inn later, saying he will leave a token on the doorknob as a trail. Meanwhile, Ginger lets Edison in on a rumor: The elderly noble matriarch, Aufen Constaça, has fallen seriously ill, and it is said that her heirs are traveling to Illares. Edison also asks her about the Warehouse district, and she informs him that there is always gang warfare in that area, and she would never travel there alone at night.
While the majority drinks at the Blue Oyster, Vicks attempts to have his light (and possibly magical) mace identified. He finds a pawn shop, but the keeper wants to charge him 500 gold. He refuses, and leaves. He then heads over to the warehouse district, and sneaks into a smaller building that houses Warehouse information. He steals a map and heads to Warehouse 11. On the way, he is ambushed by a thug, who tried to sneak up on him. Luckily, he he made an excellent listen check, and an even more excellent tumble to do a front handspring and land facing the bandit, dagger drawn. It seemed as if luck was on Vicks' side, as the thug rushed toward him, battle-ax drawn in a charging attack. She gave a swing and Vicks nimbly ducked to the side! Vicks prepared himself to strike his foe with a dagger, but had somehow underestimated his own body weight when dodging her blow, and he fell to the ground his dagger slipping from his fingers. At this point, the rest of the adventurers were wandering the warehouse district, searching for number 11, when Valamonde heard the sounds of a scuffle! However, they were too late to save their friend. Vicks Underfoot died with a slice to the belly, and a decapitation. They arrived on the scene to find a woman stealing from the corpse of someone very small. Edison cast a "Command" spell on her, ordering her to drop everything. The spell succeeded, and she stood there dumbfounded while Valamonde, Garron, and Edison filled her with arrows and crossbow bolts. Alas, they were too late to save their friend, but they did protect his property from going into the hands of a common thug!
Lessons Learnt:
Clues are important. If you are a level 1 character, do not venture off on your own after hearing several warnings about danger. Poor Vicks. He was just trying to develop his character and (possibly, as he admitted to the crew later), achieve personal gain by selling Hyza. Unfortunately, it did not sound as if he heeded the warnings of Edison, who knew that this town was very cut-throat, or Ginger Butters, who said that there was gang activity and she would never venture alone into the Warehouse district. If your DM is telling you that a certain area is dangerous, you might want to at least make an attempt to hide and sneak down that creepy alley. I sometimes feel badly when characters die, though I have to admit, Vicks had it coming with this reckless behavior. AT LEVEL ONE. Though, he might have survived if he hadn't rolled a 1 at the worst possible moment.
Never underestimate the power of money. Often times, characters try to intimidate or charm their way through situations. However, Edison got Ginger Butters to give him her complete and undivided attention with some gold coin.Next up, all characters left standing go to Warehouse 11! What is in store? Will Garrun try to use Dirk as a battering ram to open the door? Will Valamonde betray Hyza? All (or none) will be revealed with the next adventure in Illares! On that note, I leave you with an image of Valamonde, courtesy of Mat (formerly known as Vicks Underwood).
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Day 1 - Somewhere Beyond the Sea
 |
| An excerpt from the diary of Vicks Underfoot |
The Captain and the irritated crewman, a fighter elf named Legli Dorn, went down into the crew deck and proceeded to have a heated discussion with one man guarding the cargo below. This six foot thug with black hair and a jumpy disposition stood all day in the same spot, and he introduced himself to Vicks as Dirk Fillibuster. Vicks, in an attempt to befriend Dirk, pickpockets him first, and tries to start a conversation. Dirk acts a little nervous, and doesn't reveal much. Valamonde, curious as to what is going on below the deck, attempts to move unnoticed toward the stairs. Unfortunately, he rolls a 1 (I relish every critical failure), and he face-plants onto the deck right at the top of the stairs. Luckily, he used some quick thinking, and pretended to be seriously injured; causing a distraction amongst the crew and the captain. This allowed Vicks Underfoot to sneak by, steal a bottle of bourbon from the captain's quarters, and share it with Dirk. It was then revealed that Dirk was guarding human cargo!
 |
| Vicks's diary, continued |
Hyza Woodheart had chartered a ship to take her to a distant village in her search to find her father. However, she was kidnapped from her lodgings and held in the cargo hold of the Olestra. Dirk confessed that he and his gang, the Slyhorns, were being paid to kidnap and deliver her somewhere. However, Dirk doesn't want to be in a gang anymore. He was using this trip as an escape; a way to get away from the Slyhorns, by traveling to a foreign land and disappearing. He apologizes to Hyza, and gets exceedingly drunk. The night falls and the crew and our adventurers go to sleep after a tiresome day.
The next day, the captain sees a ship in the distance, flying a white flag and limping along. Since he is a noble fellow, he orders the crew to investigate. Valamonde, suspecting something fishy, heads up to the crow's nest to get a better look, while Hyza and Vicks stay below deck. As the Olestra nears the other ship, a woman can be seen on board, waving a large white flag back and forth. She asks for aid, saying that her captain is sick and medical supplies are needed. Kynan orders some medical supplies to be brought aboard. Then, much to his surprise, members of her crew jump out and reveal themselves as pirates. A red flag with a black octopus zips up the mast of the pirate ship, and several pirates attack the crew of the Olestra. A battle ensues! Valamonde encourages the crew with a brave song about defeating pirates, though he takes a serious injury by sword, Vicks slays the leader, Isabella, and Hyza joins the battle at the tail end to daze their foes. The adventurers and their allies were victorious, though Dirk Fillibuster was nearly slain. Hyza saves Dirk's life with her healing kit, while Valamonde and Vicks investigated the pirate ship. Loot was shared amongst the adventurers, though Vicks did steal a large amulet with a red stone from Isabella's quarters unnoticed. This is where we wrapped for the night.
I felt guilty starting this campaign with one character bound and gagged while the others were allowed to move freely. I think it was a risky decision, though it did end up turning out alright. I thought it might be helpful to Rhianna to see how the game was played, since it was her first time playing. As a DM, getting characters together can be an annoying task, and often does not work out as expected. The combat this week was not as difficult as I initially thought it would be, due to the fact that my characters, including the swashbuckler, Isabella, were rolling extremely poorly. Isabella dropped her rapier on the deck (I rolled a 1), and was easily finished off by Vicks.
Lessons Learnt:
Level 1 characters can be ridiculously weak. Valamonde took a really hard hit toward the beginning of the battle, and was knocked down to 2 hit points. Combat can be very dangerous for new characters, and strategies in this game are very important, especially at the lower levels. Hyza, the character with the lowest hit points, made a great decision to stay below decks for most of the combat in order to avoid a possible death.
Knowledge skills are helpful. Having a bard, or other class with knowledge skills, can be really useful and/or help add some flavor to the story. Valamonde rolled extremely well and was able to identify the name of the semi-notorious pirate Isabella and her ship, The Octopussy.
Making friends can go a long way. Vicks immediately began to buddy up with the strong fighter, Dirk Fillibuster. His peace offering of bourbon helped reveal the mysterious cargo, and possibly made him a future ally.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
New Campaign - Meet the Adventurers!
We met this past weekend to roll and create characters! Here are our new players:
Player: Mat
Character Name: Vicks Underfoot
Race: Halfling
Class: Rogue
Alignment: Chaotic Good
History: "Traveled around a lot with his Father. Settled down in the town of Wolfwood when he became tired of the traveling, and living in his fathers shadow. He got caught up with a band of thieves and ended up leaving town to escape the law. He has been wondering around since just looking for his place in the world and seeking out fortune and what not."
Vicks also will be keeping a campaign journal, so that will be cool to see! I hope to include some of this in future posts.
Player: Rhianna
Character Name: Hyza Woodheart
Race: Human
Class: Sorcerer
Alignment: (undisclosed)
History: "Hyza's mother had sorcery powers and passed them down to her. She died when Hyza was born. Her father left when she was a young girl. She is adventuring to learn more about her past and to possibly find her father.
She grew up in an orphanage in a town called Syntheria, where she discovered she had strange powers. She enjoys hiking and being outside in nature. She has a familiar, a bat, who she named Synthy after the town she grew up in. She met him when he fell out of a tree she was reading a book under.
She is ethically neutral, she is generally a good person and wants to be helpful, but can be a little hot-headed and careless sometimes."
Rhianna has never played before, but she is getting the hang of it really quickly!
All images on this page are courtesy of Mat, Vicks Underfoot. He drew them!
Next week: On to the adventure!
Player: MatCharacter Name: Vicks Underfoot
Race: Halfling
Class: Rogue
Alignment: Chaotic Good
History: "Traveled around a lot with his Father. Settled down in the town of Wolfwood when he became tired of the traveling, and living in his fathers shadow. He got caught up with a band of thieves and ended up leaving town to escape the law. He has been wondering around since just looking for his place in the world and seeking out fortune and what not."
Vicks also will be keeping a campaign journal, so that will be cool to see! I hope to include some of this in future posts.
Player: RhiannaCharacter Name: Hyza Woodheart
Race: Human
Class: Sorcerer
Alignment: (undisclosed)
History: "Hyza's mother had sorcery powers and passed them down to her. She died when Hyza was born. Her father left when she was a young girl. She is adventuring to learn more about her past and to possibly find her father.
She grew up in an orphanage in a town called Syntheria, where she discovered she had strange powers. She enjoys hiking and being outside in nature. She has a familiar, a bat, who she named Synthy after the town she grew up in. She met him when he fell out of a tree she was reading a book under.
She is ethically neutral, she is generally a good person and wants to be helpful, but can be a little hot-headed and careless sometimes."
Rhianna has never played before, but she is getting the hang of it really quickly!
Player: David
Character Name:Valamonde Brightsong
Race: Elf
Class: Bard/Swashbuckler
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
History: Undisclosed. Little is publicly known about this elven swashbuckling bard. He is a singer, and will steal the hearts of all maidens in the land.
David is playing a multi-classed character to begin with. This, in my opinion, makes more sense than starting off as a bard or swashbuckler, and then gaining a level in a new class without any serious story input for his training. (i.e., he could be a pirate who had to meet a bard and learn from her before leveling up). Information on creating a level 1 multi-class character can be found here: LINK.
Race: Elf
Class: Bard/Swashbuckler
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
History: Undisclosed. Little is publicly known about this elven swashbuckling bard. He is a singer, and will steal the hearts of all maidens in the land.
David is playing a multi-classed character to begin with. This, in my opinion, makes more sense than starting off as a bard or swashbuckler, and then gaining a level in a new class without any serious story input for his training. (i.e., he could be a pirate who had to meet a bard and learn from her before leveling up). Information on creating a level 1 multi-class character can be found here: LINK.
All images on this page are courtesy of Mat, Vicks Underfoot. He drew them!
Next week: On to the adventure!
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Blogging again! The adventure must go on...
It has been a few years since I touched this blog! Shortly after my last blog post, nearly three years ago, I moved back to Philadelphia to get a new job, drink some beers, and catch up with old friends. I was able to reconnect with my old gaming crew and have some adventures! I also thought about blogging my new/reborn life in Philadelphia, but decided that blogging about fantasy is so much more fun. For many reasons, (good reasons, I promise) our gaming crew failed its last saving throw, and moved on to different worlds, leaving a hole in my fantasy heart! I still get to play board games or a quick pickup-short campaign here and there, but things aren't the same.
Last Tuesday night, I was waiting for the Orange Line at City Hall, and I felt a pang of nostalgic longing. Every Tuesday, for over a year, I used to go over to a friends house to play Dungeons and Dragons. We had a great spread! We would eat fantastic food prepared with care by an awesome lady, and delve into journeys carefully constructed by our Dungeon Master. (His blog is here.) As I stood among the throng of Philadelphians waiting on the platform, I realized with sadness that I would not be playing D&D with my friends that night. An era has truly come to an end. "What do I do now?" I thought hopelessly.
The answer has been here all along. I've recruited some new friends to go on an adventure! One, at least, has never played a tabletop RPG before in her life! I hope there will be many more posts to come, as new characters get a chance to kill bad guys (or maybe good guys) and get some epic (or maybe crappy) loot.
Last Tuesday night, I was waiting for the Orange Line at City Hall, and I felt a pang of nostalgic longing. Every Tuesday, for over a year, I used to go over to a friends house to play Dungeons and Dragons. We had a great spread! We would eat fantastic food prepared with care by an awesome lady, and delve into journeys carefully constructed by our Dungeon Master. (His blog is here.) As I stood among the throng of Philadelphians waiting on the platform, I realized with sadness that I would not be playing D&D with my friends that night. An era has truly come to an end. "What do I do now?" I thought hopelessly.
The answer has been here all along. I've recruited some new friends to go on an adventure! One, at least, has never played a tabletop RPG before in her life! I hope there will be many more posts to come, as new characters get a chance to kill bad guys (or maybe good guys) and get some epic (or maybe crappy) loot.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Chapter 3: The perils of adventuring solo and a variation of the infamous ten foot pit
We started week three with a bang. Abelard was back, though unfortunately Ranger Rick has had to bow out and is not going to be able to continue playing with us. (hmm, I wonder if the PCs will ever meet Rick again.. muah hah hah)
While Alric and Biff were venturing out in the forest, Abelard stayed behind to speak with the full-figured and hairy Salty Sneed. He hung with her for a little while, enjoying the free ale and sharing stories. After a few hours, he began to sense that Salty had an ulterior motive of the intimate kind, and he decided to set out. Abelard knew that his friends were heading north in the forest, and so he decided to head north too. Alone. After about an hour of adventuring, the day began to turn to night. And while Alric and Biff were fighting goblins, Abelard continued through the forest, failing a vital listen check. Without warning, a small metal disk with jagged edges whizzed out from between the trees, pegging Abelard right in the shoulder. He tried to dive for cover, and while in mid-air, his vision blackened around him, and he fell unconscious.
Meanwhile, Biff lay, stable but unconscious, and Alric, exhausted from cleaving kobold after kobold, fell into a deep sleep. Biff's raven was set for the watch, but he didn't do a great job. Neither dwarf nor human heard their predators approach and knock them unconscious.
What followed next practically took all night. My virgin characters met a variation of the infamous ten foot pit. Alric and Biff woke to find themselves together in some kind of pit-style jail cell. They were naked, and without any of their equipment. Abelard found himself alone in an adjacent cell, nude and hurdy-gurdyless. The cells were about 5 feet total in diameter, with ten foot high walls. Each cell had a iron/wooden slatted door on the ceiling. Most the walls were entirely smooth, and there were rocks all over the floor. The adventurers soon found out that they were not alone. A goblin passed them, walking along above them. Then he crouched above Alric and Biff's cell, and defecated. After the feces hit the floor, it turned very very hard. Gross! Also, their original quarry, Ivella Smythlei and her Handmaid (later to be identified as a half-elf named Yenna), were in the cells next door. Alric and Biff were able to speak to them through a small chink in the wall. The adventurers also heard the strange sound of snoring, which eventually stopped as Alric began to yell, revealing that there was, in fact, yet another captive. A somewhat-stoned-sounding elf, who identified himself as Caleforn Goldenstave. (Who does, in fact, have a golden stave...)
The PCs went through a number of ideas to try and get out. Alric found that yelling really only attracted the attention of their captors, but didn't get any results. Alric and Biff found that there was one wall they could climb up, though only Alric was strong enough to do so on his own. Abelard gave up, and began drawing prison cell graffiti on the walls. He also chatted with Caleforn, who was lamenting the loss of the twins he had been seducing in the forest before they had all been captured. Ivella and Yenna, were occasionally speaking with Biff and Abelard, trying to collaborate on how to escape. Alric climbed up the wall and yelled, and the orc jailer just stepped on his fingers. Alric tried building a castle out of goblin poo and rocks, but only got himself about 3 feet off the ground. Biff shot a magic missile at the door, which appeared to singe it a bit but didn't open it. You can imagine how much fun I was having behind my DM screen.
After about an hour of failed planning, Alric decided to climb the wall and punch the door. Voila! He was strong enough to bust through. However, he didn't quite have a plan on what to do after he got out. Instead of helping his friend Biff escape, Alric noisily climbed out himself, only to be confronted by the orc jailer (Who by the way, is a level 2 fighter with a bastard sword). Alric did manage to overrun the jailer and tear down a cave-corridor to find a room that had all of their equipment. Meanwhile, Biff tried in vain to climb out of the jail cell. Although Biff has decent strength for a sorcerer, (I think his strength is 10), it was not enough to pull himself up the vertical wall on his own. Alric managed to grab his battle axe before the jailer beat him to a pulp. Alric fell unconscious, and the captives waited in anguish for news of their friend. They heard little. Suddenly, Alric was dropped back into the cell, unconscious, but his wounds had been patched up. Biff saw the hatch close above him, and a large rock was rolled onto the door. The PCs were back where they started, only now Alric was unconscious and there was a rock above the door of Biff and Alric's cell.
Luckily for our adventurers, the women next door were a little more adept at team work. The PCs heard a very strange noise, almost like the sound of moaning or crying coming from far away. They heard the footsteps of the jailer retreat, and suddenly Ivella and Yenna jerked into action, punching their hatch with rocks and helping eachother climb out. They snuck down the hall to find their stuff, and began making mincemeat of the single orc jailer. Yenna stayed in swordplay with him while Ivella stayed back, rolling the rock off of Biff's cell and slinging bullets at the orc. The orc was suddenly dead, and of course, was carrying keys. Everyone was released. And as it turns out, Caleforn Goldenstave, not only having talents for seducing women, also has healing powers from his goddess, Ehlonna. Biff decided that he hates Caleforn, though with a fantastic bluff skill, has convinced Caleforn that he likes him and is his "bro." Caleforn went down into Alric's cell and healed him. And that was the end of the adventure for that night.
I had a really fun time with this. I didn't know that it was going to take the players almost two hours to get out of this pit and be healed and ready to go. I also really enjoyed the planning, frustration, the roleplaying (especially between Abelard and Caleforn), and it's really fun to watch the different ways that people's brains work. Like, for me, it was very obvious to try and climb up and hit the door. However, hitting the door didn't seem to be an option that crossed anyone's mind. I also think that being thrown into a situation where you have this character, and you have all their items picked out, and you're getting used to the way your character functions, and then to have those items taken away from you, very much throws you off guard. I borrowed this idea from a previous campaign that I had been in, where I was the PC who had all of her stuff taken away and was thrown into a pit with all of the other PCs (who had also had their stuff taken.) It's a cool idea, and like any cool idea needs to be used sparingly. I really enjoyed doing this to the guys, because I remember what it was like when my character got thrown into a pit and didn't have any of her stuff.
While on one hand I wanted to make this difficult for them, I also wanted to give them a little bit of character interaction to help them find a "way out" if things didn't go the way they had planned. (or, in this case, not planned at all.) Instead of making Ivella and Yenna non-combat NPCs, I decided that they should definitely have classes and combat ability. I threw Caleforn in for comic relief, plot (he's an elf, and his knowledge is useful), and also a temporary cleric. I knew I was going to be throwing these guys into a complex cave/tunnel system, where it would be unclear if they could escape for some time. And therefore, I thought that making their party a little more diverse would be fun. Especially for first-timers. They are still wandering around this dungeon. Next installment will detail Ivella, Yenna, and Caleforn a little bit.
While Alric and Biff were venturing out in the forest, Abelard stayed behind to speak with the full-figured and hairy Salty Sneed. He hung with her for a little while, enjoying the free ale and sharing stories. After a few hours, he began to sense that Salty had an ulterior motive of the intimate kind, and he decided to set out. Abelard knew that his friends were heading north in the forest, and so he decided to head north too. Alone. After about an hour of adventuring, the day began to turn to night. And while Alric and Biff were fighting goblins, Abelard continued through the forest, failing a vital listen check. Without warning, a small metal disk with jagged edges whizzed out from between the trees, pegging Abelard right in the shoulder. He tried to dive for cover, and while in mid-air, his vision blackened around him, and he fell unconscious.
Meanwhile, Biff lay, stable but unconscious, and Alric, exhausted from cleaving kobold after kobold, fell into a deep sleep. Biff's raven was set for the watch, but he didn't do a great job. Neither dwarf nor human heard their predators approach and knock them unconscious.
What followed next practically took all night. My virgin characters met a variation of the infamous ten foot pit. Alric and Biff woke to find themselves together in some kind of pit-style jail cell. They were naked, and without any of their equipment. Abelard found himself alone in an adjacent cell, nude and hurdy-gurdyless. The cells were about 5 feet total in diameter, with ten foot high walls. Each cell had a iron/wooden slatted door on the ceiling. Most the walls were entirely smooth, and there were rocks all over the floor. The adventurers soon found out that they were not alone. A goblin passed them, walking along above them. Then he crouched above Alric and Biff's cell, and defecated. After the feces hit the floor, it turned very very hard. Gross! Also, their original quarry, Ivella Smythlei and her Handmaid (later to be identified as a half-elf named Yenna), were in the cells next door. Alric and Biff were able to speak to them through a small chink in the wall. The adventurers also heard the strange sound of snoring, which eventually stopped as Alric began to yell, revealing that there was, in fact, yet another captive. A somewhat-stoned-sounding elf, who identified himself as Caleforn Goldenstave. (Who does, in fact, have a golden stave...)
The PCs went through a number of ideas to try and get out. Alric found that yelling really only attracted the attention of their captors, but didn't get any results. Alric and Biff found that there was one wall they could climb up, though only Alric was strong enough to do so on his own. Abelard gave up, and began drawing prison cell graffiti on the walls. He also chatted with Caleforn, who was lamenting the loss of the twins he had been seducing in the forest before they had all been captured. Ivella and Yenna, were occasionally speaking with Biff and Abelard, trying to collaborate on how to escape. Alric climbed up the wall and yelled, and the orc jailer just stepped on his fingers. Alric tried building a castle out of goblin poo and rocks, but only got himself about 3 feet off the ground. Biff shot a magic missile at the door, which appeared to singe it a bit but didn't open it. You can imagine how much fun I was having behind my DM screen.
After about an hour of failed planning, Alric decided to climb the wall and punch the door. Voila! He was strong enough to bust through. However, he didn't quite have a plan on what to do after he got out. Instead of helping his friend Biff escape, Alric noisily climbed out himself, only to be confronted by the orc jailer (Who by the way, is a level 2 fighter with a bastard sword). Alric did manage to overrun the jailer and tear down a cave-corridor to find a room that had all of their equipment. Meanwhile, Biff tried in vain to climb out of the jail cell. Although Biff has decent strength for a sorcerer, (I think his strength is 10), it was not enough to pull himself up the vertical wall on his own. Alric managed to grab his battle axe before the jailer beat him to a pulp. Alric fell unconscious, and the captives waited in anguish for news of their friend. They heard little. Suddenly, Alric was dropped back into the cell, unconscious, but his wounds had been patched up. Biff saw the hatch close above him, and a large rock was rolled onto the door. The PCs were back where they started, only now Alric was unconscious and there was a rock above the door of Biff and Alric's cell.
Luckily for our adventurers, the women next door were a little more adept at team work. The PCs heard a very strange noise, almost like the sound of moaning or crying coming from far away. They heard the footsteps of the jailer retreat, and suddenly Ivella and Yenna jerked into action, punching their hatch with rocks and helping eachother climb out. They snuck down the hall to find their stuff, and began making mincemeat of the single orc jailer. Yenna stayed in swordplay with him while Ivella stayed back, rolling the rock off of Biff's cell and slinging bullets at the orc. The orc was suddenly dead, and of course, was carrying keys. Everyone was released. And as it turns out, Caleforn Goldenstave, not only having talents for seducing women, also has healing powers from his goddess, Ehlonna. Biff decided that he hates Caleforn, though with a fantastic bluff skill, has convinced Caleforn that he likes him and is his "bro." Caleforn went down into Alric's cell and healed him. And that was the end of the adventure for that night.
I had a really fun time with this. I didn't know that it was going to take the players almost two hours to get out of this pit and be healed and ready to go. I also really enjoyed the planning, frustration, the roleplaying (especially between Abelard and Caleforn), and it's really fun to watch the different ways that people's brains work. Like, for me, it was very obvious to try and climb up and hit the door. However, hitting the door didn't seem to be an option that crossed anyone's mind. I also think that being thrown into a situation where you have this character, and you have all their items picked out, and you're getting used to the way your character functions, and then to have those items taken away from you, very much throws you off guard. I borrowed this idea from a previous campaign that I had been in, where I was the PC who had all of her stuff taken away and was thrown into a pit with all of the other PCs (who had also had their stuff taken.) It's a cool idea, and like any cool idea needs to be used sparingly. I really enjoyed doing this to the guys, because I remember what it was like when my character got thrown into a pit and didn't have any of her stuff.
While on one hand I wanted to make this difficult for them, I also wanted to give them a little bit of character interaction to help them find a "way out" if things didn't go the way they had planned. (or, in this case, not planned at all.) Instead of making Ivella and Yenna non-combat NPCs, I decided that they should definitely have classes and combat ability. I threw Caleforn in for comic relief, plot (he's an elf, and his knowledge is useful), and also a temporary cleric. I knew I was going to be throwing these guys into a complex cave/tunnel system, where it would be unclear if they could escape for some time. And therefore, I thought that making their party a little more diverse would be fun. Especially for first-timers. They are still wandering around this dungeon. Next installment will detail Ivella, Yenna, and Caleforn a little bit.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Chapters 2: Angry elves, tricky goblins, and ... lizards?
So, we've had an exciting past few weeks here in Elgria. Our somewhat rugged adventurers are cutting their teeth on taverns, goblins, and, later, the dreaded ten foot pit.
Week number two was a little tough because we were missing half of the party. Yet, our hardy boys pressed on. The party decided to head back to the Soggy Bottle to wait for the return of Ranger Rick, to no avail. Luckily, Salty Sneed was feeling a little generous with the ale, and while she continued to pour it down Abelard's throat, Alric and Biff decided to get some info about their mission and the surrounding area. Biff managed to impress some of the locals with his wit and charm, and he ran into a mysterious gentleman with an eyepatch who was ready to volunteer some information. He hadn't seen the woman that Biff was looking for, but was very knowledgeable about the forest. He told Biff and Alric a whole bunch of stuff, including that the Sugar Forest to the north and northwest was the home to the elven population on the Cape. Apparently the elves seemed a bit ticked lately, and it was rumored that there was a group on the fringe that was becoming a little hostile to the local humans.
Biff and Alric didn't want to wait any longer for Rick, so they told Abelard they were going to head out and look for Ivella. Abelard told them to go ahead; he seemed very interested in staying to speak with Sneed for a little longer. So, the sorcerer and the barbarian headed out north, along the rocky cliff coast of the Cape of Sirens and into the Sugar Forest. They had no evidence of the missing bride-to-be, or her lady in waiting, but still they pressed on. After a few hours in the forest, the men heard a rustling in the trees, only to discover that they were surrounded by a band of elves.
One of the elves hopped down from a nearby tree, and demanded to know why the men "were walking armed through the Mallendor." She was tall, for an elf, with dark, green-streaked hair. Biff tried to reason with them, only to fail with a horrible diplomacy check. Alric took a try at speaking, with the intention to provoke, not soothe. The men could see at least six elves with their arrows trained on them, and Biff tried to smooth things over again. Their lives were spared, but they learned very little from Al'londia and her band of elves. They seemed disinterested, if not hostile, to the activities of men. She let them know that she did, in fact, see two women walking in the forest, and she and her scouts overhead them speaking. They were talking about a boat, and the Caves of Sorrow. She grumbled a little about men, and also about goblins. Al'londia gave them passage through the forest, noting that they were "not bannermen." Biff breathed a sigh of relief, though Alric seemed a little disappointed that his axe was not going to bathe in elven blood.
The two pressed on, knowing little about the Caves of Sorrow, and less about the forest. At nightfall, they came upon a clearing. It looked as if there were something, a child, maybe, laying on the ground. They looked around, but didn't see anything else unusual. Alric went ahead to check it out, while Biff waited near the trees as a lookout. As Alric approached the body, it stood up and giggled as a spear came flying out of the trees to his right and pierced Alric in the shoulder. As Al'londia had alluded, elves weren't the only creatures in the forest. The hideous creatures, afterwards identified as goblins, traded blows with our heroes. Overall, I was impressed with the strategy of this fight. They are both new to the game, but employed pretty good tactics despite the fact that the goblins got the jump on them. Biff hid behind a rock to cast spells, while Alric cleaved heads with his great axe. They dispatched the goblins rather quickly, and this time, remembered to loot. They discovered three unusual things: a large pouch of gemstones, a note that said, "Yoo doo gud wif dem elfees. Yoo brin men now. All men. Even onnez wif buubs. Moon is hav! Need bye fulll! Muss hurree!" Complete with backwards letters and written in purple ink. It was signed, but the name is illegible. They also discovered an incredibly ornate dagger. It's encrusted with red jewels, though it is obviously not for display. The dagger appears to be made with very high quality steel. Molded into the end of the hilt, is the head of a leopard.
Alric and Biff quickly deduced that this dagger must belong to Ivella Smythlei, seeing that the leopard is on their coat of arms. Biff hung onto it, and he was surprised to find that it made him feel pretty good. Just north of the clearing, the two saw what looked like the remains of a struggle. Small trees had been flattened and the ground was pretty tore up. Unfortunately, neither of them have any woodland survival skills, so they couldn't really make out what happened. They could just tell that something was amiss. Darkness had fallen, the half-moon shone down upon them, and they pressed on.
After an hour or so, they were ambushed by four small lizard-like creatures. The fight was not going well for the adventurers. Alric was already beat up from earlier, and Biff was low on spells. Ambushes on parties of two can be pretty rough. Two lizard-creatures surrounded Biff, while the other two engaged Alric. Biff got hit pretty badly, but decided he wasn't going out without taking at least one with him. He decided to give his new dagger a try. Surprisingly (or maybe not) the dagger increased Biff's melee skills, and he managed to stab one of the lizard creatures right in the heart. However, the severeness of the wounds set in for Biff, and he fell alongside his enemy. Alric, seeing his friend fall, roared with fury, and unleashed a rage upon the remaining creatures. He managed to take them all out, and still have two hit points to spare. He somehow managed to stabilize Biff, and that is where they rested for the night.
This is where we wrapped for our second week. I had more things planned, but with party members absent it didn't make much sense to continue. Luckily, the break enabled Biff and Alric to level up. This week was pretty fun. Biff and Alric do pretty well on their own, despite the fact that their character classes have no healing powers, nor do they have much in the way of tracking or wilderness survival. They both are quickly learning the mechanics of their classes. Alric with his axe, and Biff with his charm and spell-casting. Though I feel kind of bad for Evan(Biff) because he has a lot of ranks in Bluff and Diplomacy, yet his rolls have been astoundingly horrible. The only time he really succeeded was in the tavern with the eye-patch man. I had a feeling tonight might get one of them killed, because Rick was unexpectedly absent. Before the game started, I did have to do a bit of revising, but on the whole I was pretty impressed.
Week number two was a little tough because we were missing half of the party. Yet, our hardy boys pressed on. The party decided to head back to the Soggy Bottle to wait for the return of Ranger Rick, to no avail. Luckily, Salty Sneed was feeling a little generous with the ale, and while she continued to pour it down Abelard's throat, Alric and Biff decided to get some info about their mission and the surrounding area. Biff managed to impress some of the locals with his wit and charm, and he ran into a mysterious gentleman with an eyepatch who was ready to volunteer some information. He hadn't seen the woman that Biff was looking for, but was very knowledgeable about the forest. He told Biff and Alric a whole bunch of stuff, including that the Sugar Forest to the north and northwest was the home to the elven population on the Cape. Apparently the elves seemed a bit ticked lately, and it was rumored that there was a group on the fringe that was becoming a little hostile to the local humans.
Biff and Alric didn't want to wait any longer for Rick, so they told Abelard they were going to head out and look for Ivella. Abelard told them to go ahead; he seemed very interested in staying to speak with Sneed for a little longer. So, the sorcerer and the barbarian headed out north, along the rocky cliff coast of the Cape of Sirens and into the Sugar Forest. They had no evidence of the missing bride-to-be, or her lady in waiting, but still they pressed on. After a few hours in the forest, the men heard a rustling in the trees, only to discover that they were surrounded by a band of elves.
One of the elves hopped down from a nearby tree, and demanded to know why the men "were walking armed through the Mallendor." She was tall, for an elf, with dark, green-streaked hair. Biff tried to reason with them, only to fail with a horrible diplomacy check. Alric took a try at speaking, with the intention to provoke, not soothe. The men could see at least six elves with their arrows trained on them, and Biff tried to smooth things over again. Their lives were spared, but they learned very little from Al'londia and her band of elves. They seemed disinterested, if not hostile, to the activities of men. She let them know that she did, in fact, see two women walking in the forest, and she and her scouts overhead them speaking. They were talking about a boat, and the Caves of Sorrow. She grumbled a little about men, and also about goblins. Al'londia gave them passage through the forest, noting that they were "not bannermen." Biff breathed a sigh of relief, though Alric seemed a little disappointed that his axe was not going to bathe in elven blood.
The two pressed on, knowing little about the Caves of Sorrow, and less about the forest. At nightfall, they came upon a clearing. It looked as if there were something, a child, maybe, laying on the ground. They looked around, but didn't see anything else unusual. Alric went ahead to check it out, while Biff waited near the trees as a lookout. As Alric approached the body, it stood up and giggled as a spear came flying out of the trees to his right and pierced Alric in the shoulder. As Al'londia had alluded, elves weren't the only creatures in the forest. The hideous creatures, afterwards identified as goblins, traded blows with our heroes. Overall, I was impressed with the strategy of this fight. They are both new to the game, but employed pretty good tactics despite the fact that the goblins got the jump on them. Biff hid behind a rock to cast spells, while Alric cleaved heads with his great axe. They dispatched the goblins rather quickly, and this time, remembered to loot. They discovered three unusual things: a large pouch of gemstones, a note that said, "Yoo doo gud wif dem elfees. Yoo brin men now. All men. Even onnez wif buubs. Moon is hav! Need bye fulll! Muss hurree!" Complete with backwards letters and written in purple ink. It was signed, but the name is illegible. They also discovered an incredibly ornate dagger. It's encrusted with red jewels, though it is obviously not for display. The dagger appears to be made with very high quality steel. Molded into the end of the hilt, is the head of a leopard.
Alric and Biff quickly deduced that this dagger must belong to Ivella Smythlei, seeing that the leopard is on their coat of arms. Biff hung onto it, and he was surprised to find that it made him feel pretty good. Just north of the clearing, the two saw what looked like the remains of a struggle. Small trees had been flattened and the ground was pretty tore up. Unfortunately, neither of them have any woodland survival skills, so they couldn't really make out what happened. They could just tell that something was amiss. Darkness had fallen, the half-moon shone down upon them, and they pressed on.
After an hour or so, they were ambushed by four small lizard-like creatures. The fight was not going well for the adventurers. Alric was already beat up from earlier, and Biff was low on spells. Ambushes on parties of two can be pretty rough. Two lizard-creatures surrounded Biff, while the other two engaged Alric. Biff got hit pretty badly, but decided he wasn't going out without taking at least one with him. He decided to give his new dagger a try. Surprisingly (or maybe not) the dagger increased Biff's melee skills, and he managed to stab one of the lizard creatures right in the heart. However, the severeness of the wounds set in for Biff, and he fell alongside his enemy. Alric, seeing his friend fall, roared with fury, and unleashed a rage upon the remaining creatures. He managed to take them all out, and still have two hit points to spare. He somehow managed to stabilize Biff, and that is where they rested for the night.
This is where we wrapped for our second week. I had more things planned, but with party members absent it didn't make much sense to continue. Luckily, the break enabled Biff and Alric to level up. This week was pretty fun. Biff and Alric do pretty well on their own, despite the fact that their character classes have no healing powers, nor do they have much in the way of tracking or wilderness survival. They both are quickly learning the mechanics of their classes. Alric with his axe, and Biff with his charm and spell-casting. Though I feel kind of bad for Evan(Biff) because he has a lot of ranks in Bluff and Diplomacy, yet his rolls have been astoundingly horrible. The only time he really succeeded was in the tavern with the eye-patch man. I had a feeling tonight might get one of them killed, because Rick was unexpectedly absent. Before the game started, I did have to do a bit of revising, but on the whole I was pretty impressed.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Chapter 1: The Soggy Bottle
Well, this past Thursday our virgins had their first forays into the unpredictable and exciting world of Dungeons and Dragons. Andy was sick and the weather was crappy, so Ranger Rick did not make an appearance. However, we decided to press on anyway, because I hate waiting.
So here is what I was thinking: I know that the first few weeks are going to be a little clunky, so for our first meet, I wanted to make sure I gave them enough time to make their decisions and discuss options for combat, but not spend too much time on the nitpicking of rules, making it more of a drag than fun. I think that we managed to balance that out just fine.
Our rugged adventurers: Abélard de la Sonnerie, the curious bard; Alric Anklebiter, the husky barbarian; and Biff Jesus, the nomadic sorcerer; all met at this place called The Soggy Bottle. The Soggy Bottle is the inn closest to the docks in the port town of Stonesong. Stonesong (See, it's that little dot at the tip) is
located in the Cape of Sirens, which is part of the Western Kingdoms of the expansive Elgrian Empire. Every PC came to The Cape of Sirens for a different reason, but there is no doubt that the rumors of mystery, intrigue, and adventure were a big draw.
Alric was stationed at the bar, receiving dirty looks from the Bottle's ample-bodied and amply haired proprietress, Salty Sneed. Abelard was entertaining some sailors while Biff looked on, equipped in his jedi-style robe. Suddenly, a drunken thug approached Biff (whom the PCs later learnt was named Roscoe) and accused him of owing money to somebody named Dom Flario. Of course, a fight broke out, and our guys immediately got their first taste of combat.
Alric didn't even fly into a rage, but started hacking at the thugs like Patrick Bateman through prostitutes. Biff managed to crowd control and also do some damage. Abelard made some attempts for combat, but was incapacitated by a rogueish thug early in the round. He could only lie helpless on a table, and he eventually fell unconscious from blood loss. I was actually rolling quite poorly, except for the time my rogue critted and shanked the crap out of Abelard. Eventually, Alric and Biff were able to take the guys down, with the aid of an angry Salty Sneed.
Lessons Learnt:
1. The power of "Grease." Grease is a level one spell. It can either be targetted or area of effect, and can severely cripple your enemies rendering them pretty useless if they fail a reflex save. Biff incapacitated Roscoe and another thug for a round with this spell, saving his, and possibly Abelard's, lives. The party also discovered that it can render their allies useless. When Alric went over to take a swing at a greased up thug, he ran right into the area of effect, and consequently fell on his dwarven arse for a round.
2. Critical Threats. Alric rolled a natural twenty, which translates into a critical threat. He then confirmed his critical hit with a roll of 17, successfully decapitating his enemy with massive two handed damage. Criticals are powerful things.
3. Loot. Since this was their first game, as a DM I felt compelled to explain the importance of looting. They were about to walk out of that tavern without checking the bodies of their attackers, and doing so, they would have missed a small vial of liquid that one of the sneaky thugs was carrying. I'm pretty sure I won't have to remind them again, and whether I will have to will not be an issue, because I won't.
After this, the town guard showed up, lead by the Headsworn Guard, Frandrew Oakensword. Oakenshield was pleased that they got rid of the thugs, but also let them know that due to the violent nature of incapacitating them, (The thugs were all lying dead in pools of blood) that they would have to do him a favor to have this scuffle swept under the rug. After Abelard was picked up and healed by a cleric in the guard, the crew set out to meet Lord Smythlei, the ruling noble on the Cape of Sirens.
The crew doesn't know much about the Smythlei family, only that they have claims to this territory that trace back hundreds of years. The hardy adventurers were brought to Castle Stonetop and were introduced to Lord Smythlei, a portly man with a comb-over and chubby hands. They discovered that not only was his daughter, Ivella, to be married next week to the son of the Lord of the Fingers, but that she had run off that morning, insistent on stopping her upcoming nuptials. Generous man that Smythlei is, he offered the party fifty gold each to track her down, and bring her alive.
Earlier in the evening, I had to explain the importance of looting. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find them ready and eager to negotiate for more of a reward without prompt. Biff was the first one to open his mouth, asking for more money. I told him to make a diplomacy check, and he did. Unfortunately, he rolled very poorly, and as it turned out, when Biff opened his mouth to speak to Lord Smythlei, he accidentally spit right on his face. Smythlei was visibly grossed out. Smooth talking Abelard attempted to put things right, and used his verbal prowess to try and smooth things out. However, before he could even open his mouth, he tripped over his own two feet and awkwardly stumbled. (He rolled a 1, making his diplomacy very low on a check that was moderately difficult) You can imagine my chuckles, and the laughs of the rest of the party. Alric just gave the guy a thumbs up, Apparently he didn't want to risk anything with his 3 charisma. I do commend them on their effort. They're playing like veterans already! That's where we wrapped for the night.
Lessons Learnt:
1. Rolling a 1. Traditionally, rolling a 1 means a critical failure in combat. However, there are times when rolling a one for a skill check can also have quasi-disastrous results. I don't think all DMs do this, but I do. It doesn't have to be life-threatening, but can provide entertainment and general hilarity. I see rolling a 1 in a non-combat situation is almost like something out of the PCs control happened to make this go so badly. It was very fun to have a crew understand he impact of a low roll early on in the game.
2. Whatever you say, your character is saying. There were a few times when Evan just talked aloud without thinking when it came to character interaction, and it influenced the game as if it were Biff saying it. I think it might take a little bit for him to make this adjustment. Much to my happiness.
I expect to cover more storyline in the future. Combat took a little bit of time because everyone is just starting to get the hang of it. I'm not in a hurry. I know at least one of my PCs had a good time. Evan sent me a text this week saying that he bought his first set of dice, but he couldn't decide, so he bought two. I officially have a convert.
So here is what I was thinking: I know that the first few weeks are going to be a little clunky, so for our first meet, I wanted to make sure I gave them enough time to make their decisions and discuss options for combat, but not spend too much time on the nitpicking of rules, making it more of a drag than fun. I think that we managed to balance that out just fine.
Our rugged adventurers: Abélard de la Sonnerie, the curious bard; Alric Anklebiter, the husky barbarian; and Biff Jesus, the nomadic sorcerer; all met at this place called The Soggy Bottle. The Soggy Bottle is the inn closest to the docks in the port town of Stonesong. Stonesong (See, it's that little dot at the tip) is
located in the Cape of Sirens, which is part of the Western Kingdoms of the expansive Elgrian Empire. Every PC came to The Cape of Sirens for a different reason, but there is no doubt that the rumors of mystery, intrigue, and adventure were a big draw.Alric was stationed at the bar, receiving dirty looks from the Bottle's ample-bodied and amply haired proprietress, Salty Sneed. Abelard was entertaining some sailors while Biff looked on, equipped in his jedi-style robe. Suddenly, a drunken thug approached Biff (whom the PCs later learnt was named Roscoe) and accused him of owing money to somebody named Dom Flario. Of course, a fight broke out, and our guys immediately got their first taste of combat.
Alric didn't even fly into a rage, but started hacking at the thugs like Patrick Bateman through prostitutes. Biff managed to crowd control and also do some damage. Abelard made some attempts for combat, but was incapacitated by a rogueish thug early in the round. He could only lie helpless on a table, and he eventually fell unconscious from blood loss. I was actually rolling quite poorly, except for the time my rogue critted and shanked the crap out of Abelard. Eventually, Alric and Biff were able to take the guys down, with the aid of an angry Salty Sneed.
Lessons Learnt:
1. The power of "Grease." Grease is a level one spell. It can either be targetted or area of effect, and can severely cripple your enemies rendering them pretty useless if they fail a reflex save. Biff incapacitated Roscoe and another thug for a round with this spell, saving his, and possibly Abelard's, lives. The party also discovered that it can render their allies useless. When Alric went over to take a swing at a greased up thug, he ran right into the area of effect, and consequently fell on his dwarven arse for a round.
2. Critical Threats. Alric rolled a natural twenty, which translates into a critical threat. He then confirmed his critical hit with a roll of 17, successfully decapitating his enemy with massive two handed damage. Criticals are powerful things.
3. Loot. Since this was their first game, as a DM I felt compelled to explain the importance of looting. They were about to walk out of that tavern without checking the bodies of their attackers, and doing so, they would have missed a small vial of liquid that one of the sneaky thugs was carrying. I'm pretty sure I won't have to remind them again, and whether I will have to will not be an issue, because I won't.
After this, the town guard showed up, lead by the Headsworn Guard, Frandrew Oakensword. Oakenshield was pleased that they got rid of the thugs, but also let them know that due to the violent nature of incapacitating them, (The thugs were all lying dead in pools of blood) that they would have to do him a favor to have this scuffle swept under the rug. After Abelard was picked up and healed by a cleric in the guard, the crew set out to meet Lord Smythlei, the ruling noble on the Cape of Sirens.
The crew doesn't know much about the Smythlei family, only that they have claims to this territory that trace back hundreds of years. The hardy adventurers were brought to Castle Stonetop and were introduced to Lord Smythlei, a portly man with a comb-over and chubby hands. They discovered that not only was his daughter, Ivella, to be married next week to the son of the Lord of the Fingers, but that she had run off that morning, insistent on stopping her upcoming nuptials. Generous man that Smythlei is, he offered the party fifty gold each to track her down, and bring her alive.
Earlier in the evening, I had to explain the importance of looting. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find them ready and eager to negotiate for more of a reward without prompt. Biff was the first one to open his mouth, asking for more money. I told him to make a diplomacy check, and he did. Unfortunately, he rolled very poorly, and as it turned out, when Biff opened his mouth to speak to Lord Smythlei, he accidentally spit right on his face. Smythlei was visibly grossed out. Smooth talking Abelard attempted to put things right, and used his verbal prowess to try and smooth things out. However, before he could even open his mouth, he tripped over his own two feet and awkwardly stumbled. (He rolled a 1, making his diplomacy very low on a check that was moderately difficult) You can imagine my chuckles, and the laughs of the rest of the party. Alric just gave the guy a thumbs up, Apparently he didn't want to risk anything with his 3 charisma. I do commend them on their effort. They're playing like veterans already! That's where we wrapped for the night.
Lessons Learnt:
1. Rolling a 1. Traditionally, rolling a 1 means a critical failure in combat. However, there are times when rolling a one for a skill check can also have quasi-disastrous results. I don't think all DMs do this, but I do. It doesn't have to be life-threatening, but can provide entertainment and general hilarity. I see rolling a 1 in a non-combat situation is almost like something out of the PCs control happened to make this go so badly. It was very fun to have a crew understand he impact of a low roll early on in the game.
2. Whatever you say, your character is saying. There were a few times when Evan just talked aloud without thinking when it came to character interaction, and it influenced the game as if it were Biff saying it. I think it might take a little bit for him to make this adjustment. Much to my happiness.
I expect to cover more storyline in the future. Combat took a little bit of time because everyone is just starting to get the hang of it. I'm not in a hurry. I know at least one of my PCs had a good time. Evan sent me a text this week saying that he bought his first set of dice, but he couldn't decide, so he bought two. I officially have a convert.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
We got a bard, meet Abélard!
Well, this past week, we got good news and bad. The bad news, Biff, our sorcerer, could not come because he was jet-lagged from his trip to Paris. Yeah. So obviously I wasn't going to start the campaign with someone missing. The good news = We got a new player. Todd's neighbor, Fred, used to play D&D back in the day! So we got him all set up.
As Fred flipped through the PHB, he decided that he wanted to play a class that he had never played before. He initially wanted to be a druid. Now, I think that druids have potential to be really cool characters. They get a bit of pizazz and can be pretty versatile. However, for a first time player (or a returning player from long ago), set in a campaign of complete newbs, it's not ideal. Druids can get complicated: with spell-lists, an animal companion, and wildshape abilities, the character sheet more resembles a character pamphlet.
As a DM, my worst fear is letting my own prejudices influence the decisions of my players, and in turn, their player characters. I don't want my own bias to get in the way of someone playing the kind of character that they want, EVEN if they want to play an extremely annoying, self-righteous paladin. (Yuck.) I explained this to Fred, and added that if he really wanted to play a druid, I would help him get it all figured out. Luckily, for both of us, Fred also has some interest in music, lore, and tale-telling, so he decided to go with bard instead. Hooray! I love bards. I also think that for a first time player, bards make a nice class. They have a broad skillset, and make for fun role-playing opportunities. They also add a little bit of flair and can often set the tone for public relations.
Player: Fred
Character name: Abélard de la Sonnerie
Race: Half-elf
Class: Bard
I think Abélard is going to be a bit of a schmoozer amongst the wealthy, and while he might be good at making gold, his history also includes shopping sprees in seedy bars. Like many bards before him, Abélard is on a search for a great subject that will help him compose his masterpiece. Unlike many bards before him, Abélard plays the hurdy-gurdy.
As Fred flipped through the PHB, he decided that he wanted to play a class that he had never played before. He initially wanted to be a druid. Now, I think that druids have potential to be really cool characters. They get a bit of pizazz and can be pretty versatile. However, for a first time player (or a returning player from long ago), set in a campaign of complete newbs, it's not ideal. Druids can get complicated: with spell-lists, an animal companion, and wildshape abilities, the character sheet more resembles a character pamphlet.
As a DM, my worst fear is letting my own prejudices influence the decisions of my players, and in turn, their player characters. I don't want my own bias to get in the way of someone playing the kind of character that they want, EVEN if they want to play an extremely annoying, self-righteous paladin. (Yuck.) I explained this to Fred, and added that if he really wanted to play a druid, I would help him get it all figured out. Luckily, for both of us, Fred also has some interest in music, lore, and tale-telling, so he decided to go with bard instead. Hooray! I love bards. I also think that for a first time player, bards make a nice class. They have a broad skillset, and make for fun role-playing opportunities. They also add a little bit of flair and can often set the tone for public relations.
Player: Fred
Character name: Abélard de la Sonnerie
Race: Half-elf
Class: Bard
I think Abélard is going to be a bit of a schmoozer amongst the wealthy, and while he might be good at making gold, his history also includes shopping sprees in seedy bars. Like many bards before him, Abélard is on a search for a great subject that will help him compose his masterpiece. Unlike many bards before him, Abélard plays the hurdy-gurdy.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Popping cherries: Breaking in table-top virgins
Let me start off by saying I haven't been playing DND for very long, relatively speaking. In fact, for a majority of my life, I was a closeted roleplayer; making fun of people who played table top games, including public(albeit friendly) verbal tongue lashings of some acquaintances I met along the way. I feel a tad guilty about this, and a few years ago I played DND for the first time. After the first session, I was hooked. This past summer, I tried DMing for the first time. I had a blast, though due to some unfortunate events I had to stop, and eventually move to a place far from my regular gaming crew(s). I remembered the words a friend said to me long ago, "I didn't know anyone who played, so I just got my friends to play." Well, I took his advice, and last week my gaming virgins rolled characters.
Since I am the only one in the entire crew of us who has really played, I've decided to keep things relatively simple and slow. Explaining the rules of that giant bible: AKA the Player's Handbook, can be kind of tough and overwhelming to the fresh bloods. It was not long ago that I was a noob, and I can remember the confusion as if it were yesterday. I have tried to only explain the basics, as to not turn them off from the complexities. (Gaming, like sex, is not good if your prospects are frigid or confused). This was the game-plan for last week, and some rules that I have already set.
First off, we are playing v. 3.5. I never bothered to learn 4e, and from what I have heard/read about it, I'm pretty sure I'm not interested. The bad thing about playing 3.5 is that the books are out of print, and therefore hard to find. I went to Mind Games, the local gaming shop here (I was very psyched to see it was still open, though their website could use a bit of work), and while I couldn't find any PHBs (as you can see, they are selling at Amazon USED for 47 bucks a pop), I did manage to find a 3.5 DMG! Whoohoo! I also went ahead and bought myself a whole bunch of dice. I know that soon enough, my manvirgins will get sets of their own, and there is nothing more inspiring to buy your own than seeing someone else's massive collection! I must be the only lady in the world who uses a makeup pouch to carry her D&D dice... I hope they are going to be able to get their own PHBs, as of right now they are using mine. As for books, I have restricted them to the PHB only, and suggested some good starter classes. I did not restrict alignments, and I have decided that if some of them are fast learners, we can progress into prestige classes. I told them they did not have to tell the other players what their alignment was. However, they decided that it was OK to share.
First off, I had them roll their attributes. Here is how I like to roll them:
You roll four d6. Subtract the smallest roll. Write that number down. Repeat 5 more times. If you like your set, keep it. If you don't like your first set, you discard it, and roll your attributes one more time using the same rules. If you don't like your set after the second roll, you get a third try. However, the third try, you only roll three d6. Whatever the result of that roll is your number. Do that five more times. You do not get to choose between sets of attributes. Once a set is discarded, it is discarded forever. Sometimes this results in low attribute scores. Oh well. Make it work.
So that is what we did. For our first meet, there were four of us total: Andy, Evan, Todd, and me, of course. None of them had exceptionally great rolls. They were mediocre to good. Todd's were average, and he decided to take the gamble and reroll, much to his dismay, and my glee, he ended up with attributes that look like what you see above.
Yes, he rolled a 16, 11, 11, 7, 11, 5. Ho ho ho. All in all, the rolls aren't that bad. 16 is a good score! But might I direct your attention to the Charisma attribute. Yes, that is a negative 4 charisma modifier you see there. See, my friend Todd's character is Alric Anklebiter, the dwarf barbarian. Dwarves get a penalty to their charisma, the sweaty, unattractive mouth-breathers that they are. Needless to say, I am very excited to put this party in fun NPC negotiation situations. So this is what the campaign is going to start with:
Player: Todd
Character name: Alric Anklebiter
Race: Dwarf
Class: Barbarian
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Alric has a troubled past. He and his wife were ambushed by orcs. She was killed, and he fought them all, nearly dying. He was saved by someone, but his face is eternally scarred. He blames Kord for his loss in life, and has decided spend the rest of his life killing, caring not whether he lives or dies.
Player: Evan
Character name: Biff Jesus (pronounced Haysoos)
Race: Human
Class: Sorcerer
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Evan is the least experienced of the crew, and my oldest friend. He at first wanted to be a wizard, but decided on sorcerer because I think it is a great class for a first timer. As long as he gets to carry a fancy sword, dress like a jedi, and kill people, he's gonna have a blast. He's also the only member of the crew to have any charisma abilities, making him he spokesman for the party, and possibly the glue that holds them together.
Player: Andy
Character name: Rick
Race: Human
Class: Ranger
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Lawful Evil Ranger Rick. Andy made an interesting choice right from the beginning, and I think that between Alric and Rick, I'm going to have my hands full with some crazy decision making and interesting party dynamic. Rick also has an unusual backstory going on. He is the surviving man of a conjoined twin. Apparently, they were separated, but part of his twin's brain stayed with Rick. Derg, as his brother is named, often argues with Rick. We're going to have to see where this multiple personality thing is going to go. So much for keeping it simple....
I've been tossing around ideas for a campaign. The first few meets are going to go slowly, and that is to be expected. I read somewhere that I should try a few practice encounters, to show them how combat is going to go. I might do that, but I probably won't. Or, it will be a practice encounter that will count for the overall storyline for the campaign. I'll post more as the campaign progresses. Don't want to give anything away!
Since I am the only one in the entire crew of us who has really played, I've decided to keep things relatively simple and slow. Explaining the rules of that giant bible: AKA the Player's Handbook, can be kind of tough and overwhelming to the fresh bloods. It was not long ago that I was a noob, and I can remember the confusion as if it were yesterday. I have tried to only explain the basics, as to not turn them off from the complexities. (Gaming, like sex, is not good if your prospects are frigid or confused). This was the game-plan for last week, and some rules that I have already set.
First off, we are playing v. 3.5. I never bothered to learn 4e, and from what I have heard/read about it, I'm pretty sure I'm not interested. The bad thing about playing 3.5 is that the books are out of print, and therefore hard to find. I went to Mind Games, the local gaming shop here (I was very psyched to see it was still open, though their website could use a bit of work), and while I couldn't find any PHBs (as you can see, they are selling at Amazon USED for 47 bucks a pop), I did manage to find a 3.5 DMG! Whoohoo! I also went ahead and bought myself a whole bunch of dice. I know that soon enough, my manvirgins will get sets of their own, and there is nothing more inspiring to buy your own than seeing someone else's massive collection! I must be the only lady in the world who uses a makeup pouch to carry her D&D dice... I hope they are going to be able to get their own PHBs, as of right now they are using mine. As for books, I have restricted them to the PHB only, and suggested some good starter classes. I did not restrict alignments, and I have decided that if some of them are fast learners, we can progress into prestige classes. I told them they did not have to tell the other players what their alignment was. However, they decided that it was OK to share.
First off, I had them roll their attributes. Here is how I like to roll them:
You roll four d6. Subtract the smallest roll. Write that number down. Repeat 5 more times. If you like your set, keep it. If you don't like your first set, you discard it, and roll your attributes one more time using the same rules. If you don't like your set after the second roll, you get a third try. However, the third try, you only roll three d6. Whatever the result of that roll is your number. Do that five more times. You do not get to choose between sets of attributes. Once a set is discarded, it is discarded forever. Sometimes this results in low attribute scores. Oh well. Make it work.
So that is what we did. For our first meet, there were four of us total: Andy, Evan, Todd, and me, of course. None of them had exceptionally great rolls. They were mediocre to good. Todd's were average, and he decided to take the gamble and reroll, much to his dismay, and my glee, he ended up with attributes that look like what you see above.
Yes, he rolled a 16, 11, 11, 7, 11, 5. Ho ho ho. All in all, the rolls aren't that bad. 16 is a good score! But might I direct your attention to the Charisma attribute. Yes, that is a negative 4 charisma modifier you see there. See, my friend Todd's character is Alric Anklebiter, the dwarf barbarian. Dwarves get a penalty to their charisma, the sweaty, unattractive mouth-breathers that they are. Needless to say, I am very excited to put this party in fun NPC negotiation situations. So this is what the campaign is going to start with:
Player: Todd
Character name: Alric Anklebiter
Race: Dwarf
Class: Barbarian
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Alric has a troubled past. He and his wife were ambushed by orcs. She was killed, and he fought them all, nearly dying. He was saved by someone, but his face is eternally scarred. He blames Kord for his loss in life, and has decided spend the rest of his life killing, caring not whether he lives or dies.
Player: Evan
Character name: Biff Jesus (pronounced Haysoos)
Race: Human
Class: Sorcerer
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Evan is the least experienced of the crew, and my oldest friend. He at first wanted to be a wizard, but decided on sorcerer because I think it is a great class for a first timer. As long as he gets to carry a fancy sword, dress like a jedi, and kill people, he's gonna have a blast. He's also the only member of the crew to have any charisma abilities, making him he spokesman for the party, and possibly the glue that holds them together.
Player: Andy
Character name: Rick
Race: Human
Class: Ranger
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Lawful Evil Ranger Rick. Andy made an interesting choice right from the beginning, and I think that between Alric and Rick, I'm going to have my hands full with some crazy decision making and interesting party dynamic. Rick also has an unusual backstory going on. He is the surviving man of a conjoined twin. Apparently, they were separated, but part of his twin's brain stayed with Rick. Derg, as his brother is named, often argues with Rick. We're going to have to see where this multiple personality thing is going to go. So much for keeping it simple....
I've been tossing around ideas for a campaign. The first few meets are going to go slowly, and that is to be expected. I read somewhere that I should try a few practice encounters, to show them how combat is going to go. I might do that, but I probably won't. Or, it will be a practice encounter that will count for the overall storyline for the campaign. I'll post more as the campaign progresses. Don't want to give anything away!
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