The first session felt a little rough to me. I was very rusty at game mastering, and despite the significant amount of work I put into it I was still under prepared. We had nine players that first night, which was the largest group I had ever tried to run, and it was a bit daunting, especially having half of them be brand new to the game, and the rest unfamiliar with 3.5 edition rules.
I'd rolled up eleven 3rd level characters, one for each of the basic class types, so that everyone could choose a character of their liking. A few people already knew what they wanted to play, the rest had to sift through the leftovers. The ranger and druid options were left behind, ripe for reuse as NPCs as needed down the road.
In retrospect I was overly ambitious when writing the backstory for this campaign. The whole campaign started with a request from Kat to play D&D on her birthday, and I said that I could put together something small that would probably just be a one or two session game. Of course, once I got the GM juices flowing I couldn't be satisfied with just a simple dungeon crawl.
I threw together some ideas from various Dungeon Magazine articles, d20 Open Gaming License content online, and some themes from my favorite novels. In particular I drew heavily from the George R.R. Martin Song of Ice and Fire series, with it's deep political intrigue and war-torn landscapes. Fans of Martin's work will recognize the intelligent ravens baring messages, Sir Grim as a sort of mix between the Clegane brothers, and his reavers as an homage to the Bloody Mummers. Countess Vandra started off as a nod to the Red Witch. Also I drew on my love of the Cadfael mysteries for the character of Annocs. I like really that mystery solving veteran warrior turned herbalist monk. At one point I considered basing the entire campaign on the Runebound boardgame. I'm still considering doing something like that, but maybe I'll make a Neverwinter Nights module instead.
Do you like how I created a bunch of characters in the backstory and then immediately killed them all off? Ragvar, Aeron I II and III, Merinda, Garrund, Benron, and Trogdor all make brief appearances in the backstory and then die or disappear. That must have been very confusing for people trying to follow along.
I have trouble with picking unfortunate names for my NPCs and locations. Prince Hadron quickly became known as "Prince Hard-on", and Vandra became "Princess Vagasil". Much later an NPC named Randyl was mercilessly teased as having a nerdy name. Luptonia and Jaredise are obvious lampoons of Chris and Jared respectively. Trogdor I just had to include for Kat's sake. It was either that or Malevolax, which I still may use one of these days. I've since learned to just let my players name the characters in the world. The biggest hits so far have been "Eeyore", "Kang", and "Bon Jovi".
I started the first session off by reading the backstory to everyone and then setting them loose on the world. The players were left to their own devises as to pursue their fortunes, which in hindsight was probably not the best approach. Having an open-ended campaign might work well with a close-knit and experienced group, but not when you're just starting off. The group spent a ton of time that first night just trying to get oriented and decide on a direction. It was interesting to see who tried to take the reins of command.
It became painfully obvious to me that I'd constructed the game backwards, I'd spent all my time planning the climactic end battle and equipping the nemesis characters but had hardly spent any time at all on the stuff that would happen leading up to it. I had a rough sketch of the surrounding areas and cities, and some ideas for various encounters but it was all very loose. When asked about the name of a town I basically pulled it out of my ass, that's where Halfwayton, Castleton, Norwood, Portyngton, and Khirbat came into being. The only places I'd decided on having specific scenes in were Blackpool and Higate.
I attempted to have a rules-light game, since many people were unfamiliar with the rules, and planned on running most of the numbers crunching through PCGen, a new tool I'd found online for generating characters, purchasing equipment, running combat, taking notes, random name generation, and granting experience. I also used the Pen Paper & Pixel site for generating monster lists, and encounter xp. For quick rules lookup and spell descriptions I used the online d20 resources. I even found some tools online for randomly generating treasure and town descriptions. I leaned heavily on the random name, town, encounter, and treasure generation tools during the first couple sessions.
Most everything worked, although I ended up abandoning the PCGen tools for running combat which quickly became crunchy and unwieldy. Eventually I converted combat stats into a custom spreadsheet, which had certain advantages over PCGen, but still suffered from slow setup time. I've since switched to a combination of dry-erase board for managing initiative, wound counters, and status updates and quick reference flashcards for NPC stats. It seems to be the best low-tech approach to combat.
I think what I was surprised the most about was that all but one player wanted to keep going after that first game. I truly expected it to be a one time thing or that we'd trim down to maybe three or four people who wanted to keep playing. Instead we still have seven of the original nine coming back for more and I suspect the game will wrap itself up in just a couple more sessions.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Session 1: Let the adventure begin...
The heroes of our campaign include the following: Beornweynne "the Borg" a human female barbarian of Kord, Hildagarde "the hott" a halfling female rogue of Olidammara, Dignar a dwarven male fighter of Moradin, Gignus a dwarven female cleric of Moradin, Elrothien an elven male wizard of Boccob, Alessandra de Agustino a human female sorceress of Wee Jas, Sir Andros a human male paladin of Heironeous, Lukana a human female monk of St. Cuthbert, and Durin a gnomish male bard of Garl Glittergold.
Our newly formed party gathered under the pretense of seeking fame and fortune defending the Barony of Leventhorpe from the threat of Sir Mortimer Grim and his reavers. They met with the Baron's chancellor, Clive, who promised rewards to any and all who participated in the removal of this latest threat.
As tradition dictates, the party retired to the closest tavern to "discuss their options". The thief, in a very "The Gamers" like moment, pick-pocketed the first likely mark in the room and bought everyone a round, while the rest of the party attempted to gather information from the locals. A bar-brawl nearly erupted when a townie took exception to having to share the bar with a couple of smelly dwarves. Beornweynne stepped up and quickly put diplomatic end to the encounter by breaking the man's nose.
The party determined they would need horses for riding and for pulling a baggage cart, to carry additional gear and potential loot. After purchases were made the party mounted up and headed south along the Baron's road out of Castleton and towards Halfwayton.
They reached Halfwayton late that evening and immediately sought out the nearest tavern, one by the name of the Inn at the Broken Wheel. There they grabbed some pints and listened to the local news. Norwood, a town far to the south, had been raided by Grim's reavers, and refugees fleeing Northward had fallen afoul of a band of goblinoid highwaymen between Halfwayton and the next town south, Portyngton. A wealthy merchant of some note lost a large shipment of goods to these bandits. Some of the survivors declared seeing a demonic half-wolf half-goblin looking creature leading some of the bandits. This rumor caused a mumbling of "were-wolf" amongst the adventurers.
Once the party had thoroughly milked the tavern for info, Lukana, Hildagarde, Elrothien, and Alessandra decided to pay a visit to the Pelor abbey that they saw on their way into town, to see what they knew about all these rumors. After convincing the porter to let them in at the late hour of their call, Alessandra and Elrothien paid for a half-candle's length of time to browse the library for maps of the area. Lukana asked for an audience with the abbot, Oswald. Hildagarde snuck in and went in search of valuables.
Elrothien and Alessandra spent their limited time in the library wisely and located a map of the Barony pointing out the major roads and cities and a few ruins from the time of the Orc wars. Of particular interest was Higate fortress in the mountains to the Northwest, and a smudge in the Southeast marked simply Khirbat. They also located a few arcane and divine scrolls that could prove useful in the adventures ahead, so they "borrowed" them along with the map.
Lukana was introduced to abbot Oswald in the infirmary where he was treating some of the wounded refugees. They discussed the recent news and Oswald mentioned that he'd sent two brothers of his order, their herbalist, Annocs, and his young apprentice, Gregor, South along the Baron's road earlier in the day to seek out anyone else in need of aid. Gregor was particularly anxious to do what he could to help.
Hildagarde snuck her way into the chapel and stole a long silver candle snuffer, then broke into the herbalist's hut and stole a mysterious potion, which later she gave to Dignar to taste, and turned out to be a cure light wounds potion. She rejoined the rest of her friends leaving the abbey and walked boldly out the front door, confusing the porter greatly.
Most of the next day was spent smelting the stolen silver into an alchemical substance to coat weapons in preparation for dealing with Lycanthropes. After that was dealt with the party set out Southward towards Portyngton.
On the trip the party spotted a pair of graves on the side of the road, and later a ruined caravan with partially devoured horse carcasses. Hours later they came upon a pair of men digging graves on the side of the road. The party hailed them cautiously then approached. The pair turned out the be the monks of Pelor, Annocs and Gregor, and they had been busy the last couple days burying the dead they came across on the road. The group decided to escort the monks who were friendly enough and were heading the same direction, on their way to Portyngton. Along the way Annocs told tales of his time as a warrior in old King Aeron's army and battles with the Orcs. Gregor was impressed by Sir Andros's warhorse, Justice.
Near midnight they all drew near Portyngton and could smell and see smoke in the air over the town. In all appearances Portyngton had been struck by Grim during the day. Suddenly the howling of approaching wolves alerted the adventurers to the imminent attack from the bandits. The party prepared themselves as goblins mounted on worgs crested the hills and began launching a volley of barbed arrows at the party. Soon the party was surrounded as bugbear rogues sprang from the bushes and an ogre warrior unsuccessfully tried to sneak up on the party from behind.
The nine companions made short work of the bandit ambush. Only a single worg escaped. The worst damage the party endured was when the sorceress attempted to charge the ogre and was almost struck off of her horse.
Once the bodies were looted the party continued on to Portyngton and found it in bad shape, having been recently raided and many buildings put to the torch. The survivors had barred themselves into the inn at the crossroads, Aeron's Rest. The party finally convinced the simple folks on the other side of the door that they were not reavers and to let them in. The evening came to a close as the party was allowed to enter the inn and stay for the night.
Our newly formed party gathered under the pretense of seeking fame and fortune defending the Barony of Leventhorpe from the threat of Sir Mortimer Grim and his reavers. They met with the Baron's chancellor, Clive, who promised rewards to any and all who participated in the removal of this latest threat.
As tradition dictates, the party retired to the closest tavern to "discuss their options". The thief, in a very "The Gamers" like moment, pick-pocketed the first likely mark in the room and bought everyone a round, while the rest of the party attempted to gather information from the locals. A bar-brawl nearly erupted when a townie took exception to having to share the bar with a couple of smelly dwarves. Beornweynne stepped up and quickly put diplomatic end to the encounter by breaking the man's nose.
The party determined they would need horses for riding and for pulling a baggage cart, to carry additional gear and potential loot. After purchases were made the party mounted up and headed south along the Baron's road out of Castleton and towards Halfwayton.
They reached Halfwayton late that evening and immediately sought out the nearest tavern, one by the name of the Inn at the Broken Wheel. There they grabbed some pints and listened to the local news. Norwood, a town far to the south, had been raided by Grim's reavers, and refugees fleeing Northward had fallen afoul of a band of goblinoid highwaymen between Halfwayton and the next town south, Portyngton. A wealthy merchant of some note lost a large shipment of goods to these bandits. Some of the survivors declared seeing a demonic half-wolf half-goblin looking creature leading some of the bandits. This rumor caused a mumbling of "were-wolf" amongst the adventurers.
Once the party had thoroughly milked the tavern for info, Lukana, Hildagarde, Elrothien, and Alessandra decided to pay a visit to the Pelor abbey that they saw on their way into town, to see what they knew about all these rumors. After convincing the porter to let them in at the late hour of their call, Alessandra and Elrothien paid for a half-candle's length of time to browse the library for maps of the area. Lukana asked for an audience with the abbot, Oswald. Hildagarde snuck in and went in search of valuables.
Elrothien and Alessandra spent their limited time in the library wisely and located a map of the Barony pointing out the major roads and cities and a few ruins from the time of the Orc wars. Of particular interest was Higate fortress in the mountains to the Northwest, and a smudge in the Southeast marked simply Khirbat. They also located a few arcane and divine scrolls that could prove useful in the adventures ahead, so they "borrowed" them along with the map.
Lukana was introduced to abbot Oswald in the infirmary where he was treating some of the wounded refugees. They discussed the recent news and Oswald mentioned that he'd sent two brothers of his order, their herbalist, Annocs, and his young apprentice, Gregor, South along the Baron's road earlier in the day to seek out anyone else in need of aid. Gregor was particularly anxious to do what he could to help.
Hildagarde snuck her way into the chapel and stole a long silver candle snuffer, then broke into the herbalist's hut and stole a mysterious potion, which later she gave to Dignar to taste, and turned out to be a cure light wounds potion. She rejoined the rest of her friends leaving the abbey and walked boldly out the front door, confusing the porter greatly.
Most of the next day was spent smelting the stolen silver into an alchemical substance to coat weapons in preparation for dealing with Lycanthropes. After that was dealt with the party set out Southward towards Portyngton.
On the trip the party spotted a pair of graves on the side of the road, and later a ruined caravan with partially devoured horse carcasses. Hours later they came upon a pair of men digging graves on the side of the road. The party hailed them cautiously then approached. The pair turned out the be the monks of Pelor, Annocs and Gregor, and they had been busy the last couple days burying the dead they came across on the road. The group decided to escort the monks who were friendly enough and were heading the same direction, on their way to Portyngton. Along the way Annocs told tales of his time as a warrior in old King Aeron's army and battles with the Orcs. Gregor was impressed by Sir Andros's warhorse, Justice.
Near midnight they all drew near Portyngton and could smell and see smoke in the air over the town. In all appearances Portyngton had been struck by Grim during the day. Suddenly the howling of approaching wolves alerted the adventurers to the imminent attack from the bandits. The party prepared themselves as goblins mounted on worgs crested the hills and began launching a volley of barbed arrows at the party. Soon the party was surrounded as bugbear rogues sprang from the bushes and an ogre warrior unsuccessfully tried to sneak up on the party from behind.
The nine companions made short work of the bandit ambush. Only a single worg escaped. The worst damage the party endured was when the sorceress attempted to charge the ogre and was almost struck off of her horse.
Once the bodies were looted the party continued on to Portyngton and found it in bad shape, having been recently raided and many buildings put to the torch. The survivors had barred themselves into the inn at the crossroads, Aeron's Rest. The party finally convinced the simple folks on the other side of the door that they were not reavers and to let them in. The evening came to a close as the party was allowed to enter the inn and stay for the night.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Holy Epic Backstory, Batman!
Backstory
100 years ago the known world lived in fear of the First Great Orcish Empire, with it's monstrous hordes under the rule of Emperor Ragvar VI, and his powerful and evil dragon ally, Trogdor the Burninator. In an act of singular solidarity, ancient enemies since beyond memory, the kingdom of Luptonia and the United Counties of Jaredise, forged peace in order to join forces and push back the onslaught of the Orcish Empire. After many years of bloody conflict the Orcish Empire was pushed back by their combined forces and many lands were liberated from it's brutish rule. Trogdor was eventually flushed out and destroyed, but not before much of the countryside, peasants, and thatched-roofed cottages were burninated. In his final death throes Trogdor placed a horrible curse upon his vanquishers and vowed to extract his revenge on them from beyond the grave. The Orc Wars raged on for many years after Trogdor's death, but the decimated Orcish empire was never the threat it once was. Eventually the remnants of Ragvar's forces were completely routed and monstrous hordes returned to the inhospitable lands of their origins.
The kingdom of Luptonia is now in the middle of a civil war. The two factions are the recently crowned prince Hadron and his older half-sister Countess Vandra who claims that the throne is rightfully hers. Their father, King Aeron the Mighty, has died. The noble houses are divided with a majority of the noble houses supporting the crown prince, yet some of the most powerful houses choose to back the Countess's claim. There are a few holdout provinces as well that have not declared for either faction and yet remain neutral or potentially hostile to both.
Lady Vandra is King Aeron II's illegitimate daughter, begot when Aeron was young and himself was the heir apparent to the throne. The then Crown Prince Aeron kept her by his side until his ascent to the throne when his newly wedded and bedded queen, Merinda, convinced him to banish Vandra from the kingdom, fearing for their coming first-born's safety. Vandra was shipped off, against her will to marry a troublesome Count, Count Garrund the Cruel, in the neighboring United Counties of Jaredise to help solidify peace. Queen Merinda gave Aeron three sons, yet the eldest two, Aeron III and Benron, died under mysterious circumstances. The queen accused Countess Vandra of having them assassinated but was never able to prove it. In an act of parental paranoia the youngest prince Hadron was taken away to a secret foster home. In the following years both Queen Merinda's and Count Garrund's health began to fail and eventually they both succumbed to illness. That left Countess Vandra to rule Garrund county on her own, since she had given Garrund no children.
Recently, King Aeron the Mighty has also succumbed to illness. Almost immediately a young man of the appropriate age, 15, was brought forth claiming to be the long lost prince Hadron. Many of the most loyal noble houses pledged fealty to the new prince, yet some of the most powerful noble houses refused to believe the grand claims of this until recently nameless youth. Countess Vandra, taking advantage of their recalcitrance, promised an alliance with these powerful houses if they backed her claim to the throne. Orchestrating her rebellion from behind the safety of her foreign borders, her allied nobles wage war within the kingdom of Luptonia.
As the bulk of the Crown Prince's armies have been mustered and marched off to the border of Garrund County in anticipation of a full scale invasion, many of the minor nobles have been left short-handed to defend their own lands. The rebel conflict however has spread throughout the kingdom as some interior provinces have declared for the Countess and launch attacks on their enemies. One such rebel is Sir Mortimer Grim who lords over the nearby Grim province. He is also known as Sir Grimace, due to frightening scar he received during the Orc Wars after he was slashed across the face by the ax of an Orcish Warlord.
We start our adventure in the minor province of Leventhorpe governed by Baron Renford Leventhorpe, who has pledged fealty to the Crown Prince. If tales are to be believed, Sir Grimace has been leading raiding sorties into the Barony of Leventhorpe, burning and pillaging small hamlets and villages and torturing their inhabitants. Trade routes have been severely interrupted due to the increase in banditry, rebel led and otherwise. To make matters worse, there have been an increased number of monster sightings in the area, something that hasn't happened since the end of the Orc Wars. Baron Leventhorpe has put out a plea to any war veterans, mercenaries, heroes, heroines, or able bodied adventurers to help bring peace back to his troubled land. Your band has formed up with the common goal of discovering the truth behind these portends of doom and putting an end to them if possible. Will you fight in the name of the young man who claims to be the Crown Prince Hadron or join the rebels throwing your lot in with the mysterious Countess Vandra? Will you become outlaws or seek to carve out a new nation from the pandemonium that surrounds you? Maybe you'll forgo all these options and instead pursue your fortunes in one of the many ruins, crypts, and abandoned lairs filled with secret caches of treasure and wondrous arms from the time of the Orc Wars said to be hidden in these parts. Only time, and destiny, will tell...
100 years ago the known world lived in fear of the First Great Orcish Empire, with it's monstrous hordes under the rule of Emperor Ragvar VI, and his powerful and evil dragon ally, Trogdor the Burninator. In an act of singular solidarity, ancient enemies since beyond memory, the kingdom of Luptonia and the United Counties of Jaredise, forged peace in order to join forces and push back the onslaught of the Orcish Empire. After many years of bloody conflict the Orcish Empire was pushed back by their combined forces and many lands were liberated from it's brutish rule. Trogdor was eventually flushed out and destroyed, but not before much of the countryside, peasants, and thatched-roofed cottages were burninated. In his final death throes Trogdor placed a horrible curse upon his vanquishers and vowed to extract his revenge on them from beyond the grave. The Orc Wars raged on for many years after Trogdor's death, but the decimated Orcish empire was never the threat it once was. Eventually the remnants of Ragvar's forces were completely routed and monstrous hordes returned to the inhospitable lands of their origins.
The kingdom of Luptonia is now in the middle of a civil war. The two factions are the recently crowned prince Hadron and his older half-sister Countess Vandra who claims that the throne is rightfully hers. Their father, King Aeron the Mighty, has died. The noble houses are divided with a majority of the noble houses supporting the crown prince, yet some of the most powerful houses choose to back the Countess's claim. There are a few holdout provinces as well that have not declared for either faction and yet remain neutral or potentially hostile to both.
Lady Vandra is King Aeron II's illegitimate daughter, begot when Aeron was young and himself was the heir apparent to the throne. The then Crown Prince Aeron kept her by his side until his ascent to the throne when his newly wedded and bedded queen, Merinda, convinced him to banish Vandra from the kingdom, fearing for their coming first-born's safety. Vandra was shipped off, against her will to marry a troublesome Count, Count Garrund the Cruel, in the neighboring United Counties of Jaredise to help solidify peace. Queen Merinda gave Aeron three sons, yet the eldest two, Aeron III and Benron, died under mysterious circumstances. The queen accused Countess Vandra of having them assassinated but was never able to prove it. In an act of parental paranoia the youngest prince Hadron was taken away to a secret foster home. In the following years both Queen Merinda's and Count Garrund's health began to fail and eventually they both succumbed to illness. That left Countess Vandra to rule Garrund county on her own, since she had given Garrund no children.
Recently, King Aeron the Mighty has also succumbed to illness. Almost immediately a young man of the appropriate age, 15, was brought forth claiming to be the long lost prince Hadron. Many of the most loyal noble houses pledged fealty to the new prince, yet some of the most powerful noble houses refused to believe the grand claims of this until recently nameless youth. Countess Vandra, taking advantage of their recalcitrance, promised an alliance with these powerful houses if they backed her claim to the throne. Orchestrating her rebellion from behind the safety of her foreign borders, her allied nobles wage war within the kingdom of Luptonia.
As the bulk of the Crown Prince's armies have been mustered and marched off to the border of Garrund County in anticipation of a full scale invasion, many of the minor nobles have been left short-handed to defend their own lands. The rebel conflict however has spread throughout the kingdom as some interior provinces have declared for the Countess and launch attacks on their enemies. One such rebel is Sir Mortimer Grim who lords over the nearby Grim province. He is also known as Sir Grimace, due to frightening scar he received during the Orc Wars after he was slashed across the face by the ax of an Orcish Warlord.
We start our adventure in the minor province of Leventhorpe governed by Baron Renford Leventhorpe, who has pledged fealty to the Crown Prince. If tales are to be believed, Sir Grimace has been leading raiding sorties into the Barony of Leventhorpe, burning and pillaging small hamlets and villages and torturing their inhabitants. Trade routes have been severely interrupted due to the increase in banditry, rebel led and otherwise. To make matters worse, there have been an increased number of monster sightings in the area, something that hasn't happened since the end of the Orc Wars. Baron Leventhorpe has put out a plea to any war veterans, mercenaries, heroes, heroines, or able bodied adventurers to help bring peace back to his troubled land. Your band has formed up with the common goal of discovering the truth behind these portends of doom and putting an end to them if possible. Will you fight in the name of the young man who claims to be the Crown Prince Hadron or join the rebels throwing your lot in with the mysterious Countess Vandra? Will you become outlaws or seek to carve out a new nation from the pandemonium that surrounds you? Maybe you'll forgo all these options and instead pursue your fortunes in one of the many ruins, crypts, and abandoned lairs filled with secret caches of treasure and wondrous arms from the time of the Orc Wars said to be hidden in these parts. Only time, and destiny, will tell...
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