| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 04 Apr 2011 : 17:07:16
Greetings one and all!
Right, so I haven't been doing much Realms or DnD related stuff for a while, but now I'm back, and back with a crop of completely new players. And when I say new, I mean only vaguely aware of DnD, and completely unaware of what a campaign setting is, let alone the Realms.
I am pleased to report, however, that a couple of sessions in they are all thoroughly enjoying DnD, with each session so far ending in loud demands for more gaming in the nearest possible future (I claim no credit, they're pretty good at making their own adventure).
What I want to do is, once the novelty of setting imaginary taverns on fire begins to cool, start drip feeding them tasty bits of everyones favourite setting. I've already put some basic notes and links up on the games Facebook group, and explained what a campaign setting is, a bit about Faerun, etc, but I was wondering if there are any pearls of wisdom anyone could chuck me re: introducing people to the Realms?The game is set in Cormyr, as it happens.
Cheers in advance, goodly sages! |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 19 Mar 2012 : 01:41:48
ah, 'tis a shame when such things happen.
Also, the party has finally given itself an official title...
the Company of the Celestial Chicken. Why do I get the impression they're not taking this campaign entirely seriously? :) |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 16 Mar 2012 : 02:46:02
-It wasn't so much them acting in violation of their alignments so much as them acting like asses. |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 16 Mar 2012 : 01:12:36
Yeah, absolute moral alignments are sweet for a bit of good old dungeon bashing ('the goblins test positive for evil, burn them all', etc), but if you want more shades of grey then you'll probably be better off bunging the alignment system altogether or coming up with different philosophical/moral briefs for why someone might glow three different colours in the eyes of three different paladins.
I'm sure various options were addressed in one 3e suppliment or other. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 15 Mar 2012 : 22:47:36
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
Teehee! I love DMing for this lot! I get to run all sorts of weird and wacky material and every session is a surprise on both sides of the DM screen. How many other parties would have turned a simple 'find nifty monster, tell tall tale' adventure hook onto an international intrigue within ten minutes of gaming? The poisoning plan is completely insane, but that has never stopped them before. :)
-The one time I tried starting things off with a more 'international intrigue' feel, the players ruined everything within ten minutes. If you're framed for a crime, there's no reason for good/neutral to kill the police chief who takes you in for questioning (and would have offered them a 'plea bargain' for their freedom). Especially a Paladin.  |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 14 Mar 2012 : 21:32:16
*Casts Thread Necromancy*
I'M BAAACK!
And the debauched mockery of a Realms campaign I was running has been dredged from the depths along with me.
The last session never got properly chronicled and the game went on hiatus and was thus only vaguely remembered (the usual combo of real life obligations that fizzle games), but everybody agreed that it ended with an army of crab-monsters invading Mulmaster (where their Waymeet door lead) and the party trying to escape in a stolen hot-air balloon. I had a decent plan for getting the game back on it's feet but when we were gathered around the game table again someone had the idea that everyone write a one line elevator pitch for how the campaign might continue and then one be picked at random from a hat.
The winning proposal was that the party spent two years in a Mulmaster(-ite? -ian? -ish?) prison and upon release retired from adventuring to open a fast-food joint and bed-and-breakfast, respectively named Celestial Fried Chicken (run by the Deva Avenger) and Eternal Slumber (run by the Dwarven Revenant). The other proposals were that they were all still in maximum security prison and or that they has all achieved high office around Faerun and had armies at their disposal (haha, no...)
It didn't take long to get them back into adventure mode. As luck would have it, just as their businesses cash flow was starting to look anaemic the church of Tempus announced it's annual Great Hunt. The Great Hunt being a competition to see who can bring the head of the most fearsome beast to the warrior-priests and regale them with the grandest tale of how the beast was slain. There is also a tenday long feast hosted by the temple of Tempus... for which the PCs talked their way into catering for... Monster slaying be damned, they want to cook! :)
Of course, that's not the whole story. As soon as the catering contract was secured they donned disguises and stole away on a ship to Zhentil Keep to secure enough poison to floor every adventurer, monster hunter, questing knight and warrior-priest attending the feast.
Teehee! I love DMing for this lot! I get to run all sorts of weird and wacky material and every session is a surprise on both sides of the DM screen. How many other parties would have turned a simple 'find nifty monster, tell tall tale' adventure hook onto an international intrigue within ten minutes of gaming? The poisoning plan is completely insane, but that has never stopped them before. :)
|
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 27 Jun 2011 : 10:01:05
Right, so the second guest DM one-off was interesting... The kind of interesting that's driven the poor chap who ran it to swear never to set foot behind a DM screen again. :)
The session itself and the material he prepped and executed was actually really good; a new branch of the inter-dimentional dungeon of have-a-go-DMing revealed a giant steampunk/magitech factory run by a quintessential mad scientist and spewing forth weird litle mechanoids at random intervals (that served tea). The party was met at the door of said factory by said mad scientist and offered the services of said factory; it could take a mortal brain and put it into an immortal (warforged) body, but with a small chance of failure and horrific death (1-3 on a d20). I was a bit dubious of this whole idea, but it wasn't mandatory, was explained in full to the party, and it's the sort of this this group would find amusing, etc... The party's resident psychotic dwarf promptly strapped himself into the machine, after paying the fee and negotiating the addition of a tentacle to his person. He then rolled a d20 to determine the success or failure of the procedure.
He rolled a 1
Chaos ensued, with an attack launched on the mad scientist and a gnome tap-dancing on the factory control pannel. The dancing gnome managed to deactivate the factory's self-awareness inhibitors, and activating the factories giant mechanical arms. The factory grabbed the scientist (who had a shiny key around his neck) and launched it's armies against us. Cue a race against time to grab the scientist from the factory's conveyor belt before it has a chance to turn him into a giant mecha-monster...
Not only do we fail to 'rescue' the scientist but the party's deva (female) avenger winds up falling into the factory and being installed in the tentacled-mechano-dwarf body meant for the now tin-of-spam dead PC...
Yet more hilarity, insanity and incompetence ensues when the gnome, beside himself with grief at the death of his comrade and appearance of his metal doppelganger, variously tries to kill the party and bring the factory down on our heads. Somehow the scientist mecha-monster (a helicopter) is defeated, and the party manages to escape the factory before it collapses completely, thus concluding the session.
After the guest DM collapsed to the floor in mental exhaustion, I took the wheel briefly before long hours of gaming and drinking caught up with us. Riotously fun though the session was, a couple of players weren't all that happy with what had happened to their characters (especially mechano-dwarf) and the party was on the brink of full scale war with itself. The last bin-liner full of goblin muchrooms was consumed in order to gain an audience with Imix and plead for their master to sort this mess out; Imix agreed, sending the dwarf back into his body (now a revenant) and reforging the now mechano-dwarf avenger to more resemble it's original deva body. The price of this boon being their undying servitude and pulling their socks up something sharpish about becoming his mortal ambassadors.
Also, the party has examined the TARDIS/Waymeet door, reviewed their options for where it may go, and have chosen Mulmaster... I think.
I'm reviewing the events and decisions of the latter part of the session on the games FB group, but people seem content to sleep in the bed they've made for themselves... the flaming, dysfunctional wreckage of a bed, plummeting from a great height. :) |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 21 Jun 2011 : 17:27:02
Cheers! I've got that artivel saved somewhere in my titanic heap of random doc files, but that link will save me ages. Seems I've got plenty of time to come up with stuff for my nect session; one of the other players wants to have a go at DMing this week. Might even get a spin-off campaign going at this rate! :) |
| Aldrick |
Posted - 21 Jun 2011 : 00:18:33
If your group decides to venture to Mulmaster and Ironfang Keep, then you might find this link interesting and useful. |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 20 Jun 2011 : 22:45:16
Ah, good call with Mulmaster there. And yes, you're right about the group's behaviour, though they've been very good at skidding past disaster by the seat of their pants so far. :) Worst- case scenario, I suppose, is they have to evacuate their bit of the dungeon very quickly through the blue door and not use it for a while thereafter. |
| Aldrick |
Posted - 20 Jun 2011 : 22:07:39
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
If they go on a pixie-dust fuelled killing spree in the middle of down town Suzail in broad daylight, Imix will be displeased, as will the War Wizards, the Purple Dragons, the Harpers, and every good and neutral aligned religious institution and adventuring party within a tendays ride...
Based on what you've said here about the group, I think this outcome is highly likely.  |
| Aldrick |
Posted - 20 Jun 2011 : 22:03:22
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
- re: Bridge Destinations: Calimshan and Thay are both good ideas, and now on the list. The list currently looks something like Calimshan and/or Thay, Waterdeep/Skullport/Undermountain, Thar, Chult and Anauroch. I might pick Calimshan over Thay, at this point at least; the last thing I need to see on their list of allies are names like 'Szaz Tam' and 'Eltab'... :) Also, I think there's the odd Kossuthite knocking around Calimshan, as well as plenty of Efrit, Fire Genasi and slaves.
Actually, thinking about it, Calimport is a pretty handy way-station to lots of things; you're within easy-ish reach of Chult, Erlkazar, the rest of the Lands of Intrigue, the Border Kingdoms and even such places as Halruaa. Same with Waterdeep (Skullport's more their style, true); all the goodies there, plus you're within easy reach of the Western Heartlands and The North... Could add Thentia and make it a three choice list, as their current location is nearly on the Anauroch border anyway.
I have more to add here! Heh.
After thinking about it...
My suggestions are as follows:
Skullport: Here they can do business, meet some interesting people who'd be inclined to ally with them, and folks who could use the services of such a group. In addition, if they get the itch for a dungeon crawl Undermountain is right there. They could also choose to explore the Underdark or the North.
Calimport: Like Skullport, they can do business here, meet individuals who'd be inclined to ally with them, and find folks who could make use of their services. As well, here, they're most likely to gain recruits to their cult should they desire it. From this location, if they get an itch for a dungeon crawl there are many options, the two primary being the Ruins of Shoonach or Deep Shanatar. Either of these locations, but most definitely Deep Shanatar could also lead them into the Underdark should they desire it. From Calimport they are within easy reach of Chult, Lantan, the Nelanther Isles, the Border Kingdoms, and everything in and around the Lake of Steam as well as the Shining Sea.
Mulmaster: Rather than dropping them right into the city itself - which could pose annoying problems for spellcasters - I'd place them in a medium-sized town under the control of Mulmaster. (They'd pay tribute in exchange for "protection.") The town itself would be largely independent, and located on the coast. If I were to place it on the map, it'd be directly north of Ironfang Keep. From the Town they could venture to Mulmaster, or anywhere they'd like in the Moonsea Region. What should interest them the most, though, would be Ironfang Keep which would be about a days ride away. I open up this as a more strategically advantageous location than Thentia. In addition to having obvious intentions toward Ironfang Keep, the campaign could move toward a more political bend if desired. The cult could infiltrate the town, ruling behind the throne, and perhaps eventually working openly to overthrow / take over Mulmaster - in the process making alliances, allies, and enemies throughout the Moonsea. Ironfang Keep could also house portals to other places in the Realms which could interest the group, if they only wanted to use the town for a pit stop to resupply, rest, and unload loot. |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 20 Jun 2011 : 21:46:11
Hmmm. War Wizards and Purple Dragons... It would be rather hard to besiege the Haunted Halls with an army, even if the PCs didn't have a semi-functional elven TARDIS, so a small strike force of elite knights and magi would be the more likely scenario; i.e. and adventuring party. If the party gets so outrageous in their crimes against Cormyr that the king is left with no option but to hire Larloch to deal with them then they're screwed, but they can certainly expect to be probed by squads of the kings men (oh behave...)
One thing they might want to do is start adding to their list of cult assets the favour of local magistrates and guard captains so that minor incidents can be swept under the rug, possibly even working trusted cultists into positions of power in various organisations. I'll definitely recommend that they keep a low profile for the time being. There's always a bigger fish, etc... One way they could buy themselves some peace is move some especially nasty monsters into the first rooms of the Halls and pay them to stay there and defend the place, not go wandering off to eat people.
Basically, if they want to grow a successful cult, thay'll need to be reasonably smart about it. If they hide in the dungeon and let everyone believe they died in there, then quietly build up resources and collect cult members/allies/sacrifices carefully and quietly, Imix will be pleased. If they go on a pixie-dust fuelled killing spree in the middle of down town Suzail in broad daylight, Imix will be displeased, as will the War Wizards, the Purple Dragons, the Harpers, and every good and neutral aligned religious institution and adventuring party within a tendays ride... |
| Aldrick |
Posted - 20 Jun 2011 : 20:30:14
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
- re: Pixie Dust addiction: Sadly, no imprompitu addiction effects were put forth in the game, though we did have a first-time DM who was understandavly overwhelmed by our antics. This is the second time this party has engaged in rampant drug abuse, the first being the conspicuous consumption of goblin farmed magic-mushrooms. I'll give some though to possible mechanics... short range sneeze enduced teleportation? random visions of the Faerie world? turning into giant cartoon insects or shrinking and growing bug wings at random intervals?
I'm not sure what to really suggest for 4E D&D Rules, as I've only played with the system a couple of times. Though if everyone is going to run around snorting and eating potentially addictive stuff, I'd definitely put some type of addiction mechanic into place.
If I had to make a suggestion, based on my limited knowledge of 4E, I'd use something similar to the disease track.
Not sure what to suggest as results of becoming addicted. I suppose it depends on the flavor you'd want the game to maintain. Of course, if you go with silly / funny issues regarding addiction, you may just encourage them to smoke, snort, lick, and eat everything they come across just to see what it does. Which, in and of itself, could be funny. Conversely, if you pack on the negative aspects of addiction, that will discourage them from doing it. My general feeling is that you're going to want something in between - each drug having positive and negative consequences.
That keeps things somewhat balanced. Also, I'd rule that positive effects wear off once a character goes into withdrawal, and either additional negative effects appear or existing negative effects accumulate.
It also introduces a sort-of minigame (attempting to minmax drug addiction - LOL) and strategic drug use.
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
re: Death Machanics: No deaths, though the Gnome Wizard came within a hair of it (we're using the standard 4e 'three strikes' method). Post game duscussion of how PC death should be dealt with revealed that coming back as a Revenant or having the brain/soul installed in a Warforged body were far more popular options that straight-up resurrection... so popular, in fact, that I fully expect at least one suicide-by-monster in the next couple of sessions...
Another solution to character death that is applicable now that they've decided to start a cult, is to have the players roll up additional PC's who'd be NPC members of the cult. They'd function mostly as background members and alt characters. When a character dies their alt NPC member of the cult can step up to fill their slot in the active group.
It also provides an easy way to deal with missing players at a session: Their characters are with the NPC's getting high / drunk / whatever back at the cult headquarters. If necessary someone could then pop out their alt character and play two PC's if the group needed extra assistance.
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
- re: Bridge Destinations: Calimshan and Thay are both good ideas, and now on the list. The list currently looks something like Calimshan and/or Thay, Waterdeep/Skullport/Undermountain, Thar, Chult and Anauroch. I might pick Calimshan over Thay, at this point at least; the last thing I need to see on their list of allies are names like 'Szaz Tam' and 'Eltab'... :) Also, I think there's the odd Kossuthite knocking around Calimshan, as well as plenty of Efrit, Fire Genasi and slaves.
Actually, thinking about it, Calimport is a pretty handy way-station to lots of things; you're within easy-ish reach of Chult, Erlkazar, the rest of the Lands of Intrigue, the Border Kingdoms and even such places as Halruaa. Same with Waterdeep (Skullport's more their style, true); all the goodies there, plus you're within easy reach of the Western Heartlands and The North... Could add Thentia and make it a three choice list, as their current location is nearly on the Anauroch border anyway.
I definitely agree regarding Calimport / Calimshan. I think it's an ideal place, and those were my thoughts on the Anauroch as well.
I think the group could really make a mark in that region, and would probably enjoy it overall.
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
- re: hostile adventurers, etc, invading the base: We now have more PCs than players, so I suppose by default one PC could be 'standing guard' in the dungeon with a low level sending spell or the like at the ready. Should the 'Good Guys' invade, they can tell the party proper to get back there ASAP using their blue door. There are plenty of beasties in the book that can serve and adventurers of various stripes, and God knows what else try to make a home in their cormer of the dungeon! :) In any event, It'll probably be a rare occurance and in responce to some spectacular scene of destruction created by the party.
My thought was less on hostile adventurers, though they were part of it... it was mostly focused on the reaction of the War Wizards and Purple Dragons. |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 20 Jun 2011 : 18:04:15
@ Aldrick:
- re: Pixie Dust addiction: Sadly, no imprompitu addiction effects were put forth in the game, though we did have a first-time DM who was understandavly overwhelmed by our antics. This is the second time this party has engaged in rampant drug abuse, the first being the conspicuous consumption of goblin farmed magic-mushrooms. I'll give some though to possible mechanics... short range sneeze enduced teleportation? random visions of the Faerie world? turning into giant cartoon insects or shrinking and growing bug wings at random intervals?
- re: Death Machanics: No deaths, though the Gnome Wizard came within a hair of it (we're using the standard 4e 'three strikes' method). Post game duscussion of how PC death should be dealt with revealed that coming back as a Revenant or having the brain/soul installed in a Warforged body were far more popular options that straight-up resurrection... so popular, in fact, that I fully expect at least one suicide-by-monster in the next couple of sessions...
- re: Bridge Destinations: Calimshan and Thay are both good ideas, and now on the list. The list currently looks something like Calimshan and/or Thay, Waterdeep/Skullport/Undermountain, Thar, Chult and Anauroch. I might pick Calimshan over Thay, at this point at least; the last thing I need to see on their list of allies are names like 'Szaz Tam' and 'Eltab'... :) Also, I think there's the odd Kossuthite knocking around Calimshan, as well as plenty of Efrit, Fire Genasi and slaves.
Actually, thinking about it, Calimport is a pretty handy way-station to lots of things; you're within easy-ish reach of Chult, Erlkazar, the rest of the Lands of Intrigue, the Border Kingdoms and even such places as Halruaa. Same with Waterdeep (Skullport's more their style, true); all the goodies there, plus you're within easy reach of the Western Heartlands and The North... Could add Thentia and make it a three choice list, as their current location is nearly on the Anauroch border anyway.
- re: hostile adventurers, etc, invading the base: We now have more PCs than players, so I suppose by default one PC could be 'standing guard' in the dungeon with a low level sending spell or the like at the ready. Should the 'Good Guys' invade, they can tell the party proper to get back there ASAP using their blue door. There are plenty of beasties in the book that can serve and adventurers of various stripes, and God knows what else try to make a home in their cormer of the dungeon! :) In any event, It'll probably be a rare occurance and in responce to some spectacular scene of destruction created by the party.
All thoughts and suggestions are always welcome! |
| Aldrick |
Posted - 20 Jun 2011 : 16:56:17
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
Two main scrapps ensued in the dark maze beyond; firstly with a pair of Faerie Dragons and their swarm of incendiary pixies. This battle came to a grinding halt when the pixies deaths were described as them bursting into a puff of sparkly powder, because we all simultaniously decided it would be only natural to gather it into lines and snort it...
Ha! I knew that was going to happen. Did anything happen as a result? Please tell me that some ad hoc addiction rules were tossed out there, and that at least one person now has a serious addiction to pixie powder.
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
The faeries were right, we saw a huge pile of treasure, threw ourselves at it with gleeful abandon, and were nearly TPK'd by a Green Dragon. The beast was finally slain by the Dwarven Fighter in an epic duel, the rest of us having used all our buff/support abilities on him and then loosing conciousness one by one.
Did anyone die? What type of death rules are you guys using?
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
Now they'll have a permanent bridge between the Haunted Halls and wherever they decide the other end leads to; I'll prepare a few places it could lead to, e.g. Waterdeep if they want some city adventure and/or Undermountain mega-dungeonry, Anauroch if they want to play in the devil's own sandbox, Chult if they want to encounter King Kong and/or T-Rex, etc, etc. but once the choce is made, the bridge is permanent, they can take the door off the wall (or wherever it's mounted) and run around with it in their bag of holding, but it only ever opens onto the Halls-Chult bridge (for example).
This is an awesome idea. Might I suggest Calimshan or Thay also being an option? They could easily find allies and converts in both nations. They can capture or purchase slaves in Cormyr and sell them in either nation (for fun and profit). They can hire mercenaries in either nation, buy and sell goods in either nation, etc.
The group, should they commit vile crimes in Cormyr, and become infamous for it, may find themselves wanted / easily hunted in a place like Waterdeep. Unless, of course, they're chilling out in Skullport. Which is also another suggestion.
Though Thay has the added bonus of having many people worshiping Kossuth. They may be persuaded (falsely) that Imix the Fire Lord is really Kossuth, and therefore they should pay homage to him instead. That sets up an interesting conflict between the cult of Kossuth in Thay vs the burgeoning cult of Imix.
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
Also, the party finally has something resembling a consistent, long term plan. They want to convert the Haunted Halls, at least in part, into a cult of Imix the Fire Lord, launching an attack on Eveningstar to collect cultists and/or sacrifices to their master, and building up a home base in the dungeon that they can defend from other adventurers and stock with monsters, traps, etc (the Waymeet door plays into this plan nicely). I can now gear up loads of mini-adventures and side quests towards currying favour with Imix and his higher minions, as well as gathering assets (members, allies, magic and treasure, etc) for their cult base.
This sounds awesome. How do you intend to handle potential conflicts with the War Wizards, Purple Dragons, and do-gooders who want to spoil the fun?  |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 20 Jun 2011 : 12:32:22
Right! Been a while since my last update...
Took a couple of weeks off as a couple of people were out of town, and for our first session back at the games table my S.O. had a go at DMing for the first time. The theme was faeries and related shenanigans. It went really quite well!
A secret door was conveniently found near their location at the end of the last session, revealed by the sound of my temporary character (Lucan Half-Elven) pathetically banging on the other side and calling for help. After taking the p*ss for an extended period of time, and after Lucan assured them that there was treasure and glory to be found on the other side of the door, they rescued him and went exploring.
Two main scrapps ensued in the dark maze beyond; firstly with a pair of Faerie Dragons and their swarm of incendiary pixies. This battle came to a grinding halt when the pixies deaths were described as them bursting into a puff of sparkly powder, because we all simultaniously decided it would be only natural to gather it into lines and snort it... The survivors of the battle (captured pixies) tried to explain that they were only trying to keep us away from certain death deeper in the dungeon, but we laughed that off as adventurers tend to do.
A few more faries and one poorly navigated maze later, battle #2; The faeries were right, we saw a huge pile of treasure, threw ourselves at it with gleeful abandon, and were nearly TPK'd by a Green Dragon. The beast was finally slain by the Dwarven Fighter in an epic duel, the rest of us having used all our buff/support abilities on him and then loosing conciousness one by one.
The treasure pile, appart from containing lots of shiny coins, gems and art object to play with, contained a magical blue door... Having helped my S.O. to put the session together, I know this is a Dr. Who reference; I was telling her about HandsomeRob's Aryvandaar book, and the ancient elven gateway-network detailed therein (which she understood to essentially be a magical elven TARDIS), and she demanded it become present in the game as soon as reasonably practicable. This blue door is part of the shattered key that opens the way to the networks various functions.
The party, upon finding this thing, had a brain wave and put it up against the wall, believing it would open out to somewhere else (a la The Labyrinth film). That was the end of the session, so I think I'll run with that idea of how it works. The door will open into the Waymeet nexus demi-plane thingy, but only with access to one other door (many other doors are visible floating about in disorder, accessible only when their real-world counterparts are found). Now they'll have a permanent bridge between the Haunted Halls and wherever they decide the other end leads to; I'll prepare a few places it could lead to, e.g. Waterdeep if they want some city adventure and/or Undermountain mega-dungeonry, Anauroch if they want to play in the devil's own sandbox, Chult if they want to encounter King Kong and/or T-Rex, etc, etc. but once the choce is made, the bridge is permanent, they can take the door off the wall (or wherever it's mounted) and run around with it in their bag of holding, but it only ever opens onto the Halls-Chult bridge (for example).
Also, the party finally has something resembling a consistent, long term plan. They want to convert the Haunted Halls, at least in part, into a cult of Imix the Fire Lord, launching an attack on Eveningstar to collect cultists and/or sacrifices to their master, and building up a home base in the dungeon that they can defend from other adventurers and stock with monsters, traps, etc (the Waymeet door plays into this plan nicely). I can now gear up loads of mini-adventures and side quests towards currying favour with Imix and his higher minions, as well as gathering assets (members, allies, magic and treasure, etc) for their cult base.
EDIT: Also, my S.O. had such a good time nearly killing the party, she's already plotting her next go at DMing and finishing the job.  |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 01 Jun 2011 : 22:21:54
Oh yeah, all true enough, Kenital. For clarity, the question of the party's name was posed by-the-by, and wasn't meant for serious consideration at the time (nor was it given it). If they don't picka name for themselves, I'm sure a worthy title will develop before too long. More later... |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 01 Jun 2011 : 21:56:32
It is always up to the party to name themselves, might be something like (leader)adventures. There of course are other options like the gang of five, defenders of the faith or any other title they might choose.
There clearly is no requirement that the band takes a name and it is possible that the locals might confer a name. Such a name provided by others of course depends on level of success. The party could start out as considered killers of Goblins, though clearly as party continue to survive killers of orcs, etc.
The name of the adventure however in the end is what the group decides to call themselves The options are endless as to selecting a name, though no name is required. The NPCs could just call them heroes or villains based on interaction.. |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 01 Jun 2011 : 18:45:45
@ Karsus: heh, sure! You might need to move to Yorkshire to get to and from my game table in reasonable time though :)
@ Gabrielle: I might just have to include said nice, friendly letters, good call. The party is doing a very good job, I dare say. I'd never really pegged most of them as gamers, but they're all loving it and get very creative; their first thought upon meeting Rivior's skeleton/ghost was to appraise which part of his remaining anatomy would be most valuable and work out how to pinch it... in the end they just stuffed the lot in their bag of holding and took out his skull for occasional weird conversations.
As for their name, I actually posed the question last session but no winning proposals came up. The usual suggestions of the A-Team, the Mod Squad, the Village People, etc, were put forward, and at one point I think they nearly dubbed themselves 'Wham!', but we were rather drunk... |
| Gabrielle_H |
Posted - 01 Jun 2011 : 18:08:04
quote:
Originally posted by Cleric Generic
Also, Wikipedia, the Magical Encyclopaedia has a nice ring to it... Mabye the mage symbol on the front of the book could be a bit like this? http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2339/2068301407_3bc3753c11_z.jpg?zz=1
This discussion had me suspecting there'd be a nice, friendly "Don't Panic" on the cover... :}
It sounds like your novices are doing an admirable and enthusiastic job! I would love to be in this game. Has the party named themselves yet?
|
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 01 Jun 2011 : 13:01:35
-Can you be my DM?  |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 01 Jun 2011 : 09:23:48
Cheers!
At this rate, the PCs are going to be significantly outnumbered by their collection of animate/intelligent magic items before they hit level 10. So far they have...
- a bag of holding that has a habit of crawling around like an inchworm, sneaking off and stealing things, chewing things like a bored puppy and loudly vomiting forth it's contents at inoppertune moments.
- a forgetful tome of misc. realmslore that is easily distracted, flustered, lies outright when offended, and speaks in a silly accent.
- the Black Blade of Rivior, which is a bit like the One Ring's bar brawling alcoholic little brother (still fleshing it out).
Any ideas for more weird toys would be much appreciated! |
| _Jarlaxle_ |
Posted - 01 Jun 2011 : 09:12:26
Sounds very cool  |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 01 Jun 2011 : 08:24:36
Right! Another session in the bag and sanity, of a sort, has been restored.
Having pitched camp between sessions, players and characters both realised how pear-shaped their plan was liable to go and elected to explore the Haunted Halls further to see if they could fine some means of salvation. Shortly thereafter, they came across the ghost of Rivior (bandit king that built the Halls) bound to his skeleton and throne.
Rivior, it turned out, was not unfamiliar with the devil they had bargained with, and would be willing to empower the PCs with means to defy and banish the devil if they returned to him his crown and sword. The PCs agreed, unceremoniously stuffed Rivior's bones and ghost in their bag of holding, and marched off to find his treasures.
Several battles with undead, oozes and stirge (ending in a massive methane gas explosion) later, the PCs had in their possession Rivior's Iron Crown (in pieces, they haven't figured out it's magical yet) and his Black Blade.
At this point I decided to 'roll with it' and play along with the party's excitement at finding a big black sword aftger an epic battle by making the sword intelligent and willfull. Whoever held the sword found their mind flooded with scees of bloody conquest and glory, and the whole party quckly developed One Ring Syndrome.
Eventually the sword convinced it's weilder (mad dwarf de facto party leader) that it was sufficiently strong, in his hands, to slay the devil if they could learn a fragment of it's true name. This was soon bullied out of Rivior's ghost, who was terrified of the prospect of the devil getting it's hands on his sword and what the PCs might do without his help.
Epic battle ensues, the devil is slain and banished from the mortal realm for a thousand years, and another epic struggle ensues to get the sword (now drunk on devilish blood) back in it's scabbard and stop it from mind-warping the entire party. Also, they found that talking book Imentioned a post or two back, and are highly amused by it.
Taking a couple of weeks off due to various holidays and other engagements (beer festival! woohoo!), but I think it was a good end to take a break on. |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 23 May 2011 : 15:30:22
haha! excellent stuff.
The most likely course of action is that they'll go through with the plan, so I might use your idea of sending the PCs in to take out the head priest, thus opening up a window for renegotiation, so they can either get out of it that way or by getting profoundly spanked by said head priest.
Freakish muscles rendering the recipient virtually immobile and bursting him out of his armor sounds tempting, as does having the million gold pieces 'conveniently' secured somewhere.
The fiery being from their early mushroom-visions was Imix the Firelord, one of the princes of elemental evil who has (along with the other three princes) become a high-tier pawn in thrall to Tiamat as she enacts a grand scheme to murder her brother (Bahamut). They could try and get Imix to intervene, or at least send a minion to do so... hmmm, actually, I can use that to make what's left of the storyline relevant to the game again... |
| Aldrick |
Posted - 23 May 2011 : 14:28:21
I love it.
Well, since they're new I'd cut them a bit of slack. So here is how I'd roll - I'd proceed exactly as planned, but I'd just give them a couple of exit ramps if they want to take them.
The party and the devil are preparing to exit the halls, when the devil realizes (for the first time) that the place is consecrated. He needs the group to kill the High Priest.
This obviously has the makings of a deal, and gives them the opportunity to renegotiate. Depending upon your level of benevolence you might even point that out.
From there, I'd just roll with what the group wants. Maybe they betray the devil in hopes of cutting a deal with the High Priest instead. Or maybe they attempt to assassinate the High Priest (and succeed), allowing the devil free run of Eveningstar... and receiving their "rewards".
While I'm thinking about it, if I understood correctly when the party ate mushrooms they received a vision from a fiendish being. They've decided to worship the being from their vision. Perhaps they'd receive some special "guidance" from their infernal or abyssal patron, who desires to screw over the devil they're about to help.
When it comes to the wealth, heh heh heh... I'd curse the dwarf or whoever asked for it. They'd be granted a special feat.
quote:
The Curse of Abbathor's Greed
From this moment forth you shall be able to smell wealth up to a mile away. Your nose can lead you to the greatest of treasures and riches, but it is forever deceptive. These riches and treasures you smell will forever be dangerous to obtain, for they are owned and must be stolen.
The greedy voice of Abbathor haunts your mind, always imploring you to take more and more, and to seek out greater and greater wealth. This voice is forever deceptive, encouraging you to engage in dangerous actions to seal your doom.
The feat works as an adventure hook. Whatever is smelled by the character will be actual wealth, and thus the PC's have the potential to become extremely wealthy. However, the wealth that is sensed in this manner is always dangerous to obtain; be it in the bottom of a dungeon or in the King's Palace.
The obvious goal of the devil is to get the character killed so that it can collect his soul as soon as possible. So it is using his greed against him. Small voices can whisper things to the character in his mind, telling him of the riches and wealth that is to be obtained if they simply do X, Y, and Z.
If the player gives into these voices or the greed at any time they'd receive some XP - the amount depends upon the obvious danger that they'd face. Hacking a noblewoman to bits on a remote road while alone would receive a small amount of XP for giving into the greed. Attempting to break into the King's Palace to steal the crown jewels would receive a very large amount.
As for the other character who wants to become the strongest of their kin... Here is their new feat.
quote:
Freakish Muscles
The muscles of your body have become freakishly large, marking you clearly as an unnatural creature. People who look upon you cannot help but feel repulsed as every muscle in your body bulges as you make even the slightest of movements.
You receive a permanent +4 Strength, and a -2 to Dexterity and Charisma. In addition all non-magical armor must be custom made to fit your twisted muscular form.
That's how I'd roll. 
Just make sure they have a couple of outs so they can change their mind, and if they still go through with it... give them what they asked for. |
| Brimstone |
Posted - 23 May 2011 : 10:14:01
Give them what they deserve!
Have them get transported to some smelly nasty swamp with no gear what so ever.
Have it be a test so they can atone... |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 23 May 2011 : 08:19:16
Right! So last session very nearly went to Hell... Literally
A little shorter than the last marathon run, this session the party only explored a couple of dungeon rooms (occupied by necromancers who didn't appreciate the party's company). after that, they found their way down a corridor connecting to a part of the dungeon far too high level for them to handle... This passage, towards it's end, was blocked by a towering devil wreathed in smoke and flame that told them to politely go away. It was at this point that I grossly underestimated the madness of some party members.
Upon learning the nature of the beast before them, two characters immediately launched into the negotiation of a Devil's Bargain, and eventually wound up trading 'all the souls of Eveningstar' (they'd summon the devil just outside the temple of Amounator and help it reap the souls) and in return would recieve 'strenth beyond your kin' and 'one million gold pieces', respectively. I figured they'd realise how insane this plan was and back out at some point, but no; they promptly cut their fingers with proffered infernal quill and signed the devils document... without reading the fine print...
some time later, they THEN decide to have a look at the terms and conditions, and discover that by being within the town of Eveningstar (needed for the devil's summoning), they are included in 'all the sould of Eveningstar' and will get munched along with everyone else immediately after recieving their dubious rewards. the other party members proceed to cackle like hyenas.
Disclaimer: They knew full well that some parts of the Haunted Halls are more dangerous than others, and many parts contain monsters far too powerful for them to defeat at their current level, and that the idea is that the place would become relevant at various parts of the campaign and so would be visited on a number of occasions as different levels. I also made it entiely clear how it is virtually impossible NOT to be gimped when bargaining with the devil, especially when such a p*ss-poor job is done of it as in this instance.
Next session should be interesting... Any suggestions as to how to salvage this mess are very welcome, but at least two characters seem to be totally psychotic and will probably earn the singular attention of every War Wizard, Purple Dragon and adventuring party within Cormyr's borders. If they go through with the plan, I suppose I could just have the head priest of the temple and his leutenants be collectively powerful enough to take down the devil while on holy ground and then magically banish the party to a random point on the map. Otherwise, I'll wait and see what hair-brained plans they come up with to get themselves out of this mess.
This last session was fairly short, so I didn't get a chance to do the burning wheel Beliefs, but I'll try to get it in next long session. |
| Cleric Generic |
Posted - 18 May 2011 : 13:13:07
Yup, I'll definitely get their beliefs written up here. I fully expect to see lots of stuff along the lines of 'get rich and set things on fire' and 'Apotheosis'...
Also, Wikipedia, the Magical Encyclopaedia has a nice ring to it... Mabye the mage symbol on the front of the book could be a bit like this? http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2339/2068301407_3bc3753c11_z.jpg?zz=1
Right! off to plot a bit more for next session... |
| Aldrick |
Posted - 18 May 2011 : 11:15:51
Oh, I forgot to add. If you decide to use beliefs in your game, let us know what the players choose as beliefs for their characters. That could really help us help you with ideas and suggestions. |
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