| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Galadhion
Acolyte
USA
24 Posts |
 Posted - 18 Nov 2015 : 16:57:51
|
I recently started a new campaign set in the Realms. It's turning out to be very good and I'm very excited for it.
For this campaign, I have 6 players who have never played in the Forgotten Realms before. I opted for 5e because I really like the rule set and it is so compatible with all my 2e adventures.
For the plot, I'm doing a mash up of the Age of Worms adventure path (using Eric Boyd conversion to the Realms notes) with the Under Illefarn adventure (as updated by Eric Boyd). The year is 1357, the Year of the Prince (and the date for the Under Illefarn setting).
This central plot line follows the efforts of Bane, Myrkul, and Bhaal to steal the Tablets of Fate. They are doing this at the unwitting command of Jergal who is attempting to rewrite the Tablets of Fate and become the overgod of the Realms and bring about the End of Everything. I'm drawing this idea from Boyd's Age of Worms conversion notes. So the players will have a direct hand in causing the Time of Troubles. That's actually winning. Losing is Jergal's victory and the End of Everything.
It's been a lot of fun to go back in time and play at the date of the old Gray Box. If you all want to hear more about the campaign, I'll happily post updates about it. The players are a howl and have lots of great out-of-context quotes I can share.
|
Eric Menge
Game Designer / Writer
www.mythmakers.com |
|
|
Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3811 Posts |
Posted - 18 Nov 2015 : 17:06:35
|
| Sure, go ahead. As I said in another thread, I almost never comment on this kind of threads, but I really like to read what other people create for their own FR. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
Edited by - Irennan on 18 Nov 2015 17:06:59 |
 |
|
|
Delwa
Master of Realmslore
USA
1272 Posts |
Posted - 18 Nov 2015 : 17:44:16
|
quote:
Originally posted by Irennan
Sure, go ahead. As I said in another thread, I almost never comment on this kind of threads, but I really like to read what other people create for their own FR.
Seconded. |
- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!
"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus |
|
|
|
xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 18 Nov 2015 : 20:27:13
|
Thirded! 
|
|
|
|
Galadhion
Acolyte
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - 20 Nov 2015 : 20:01:25
|
All right then. I'll post the most interesting nuggets. Our group has six players, which is the top number of players I like at the table. I get diminishing returns on quality after that. I normally prefer 5, but these players are worth it.
The campaign begins with "Mustering Day!" in the small town of Daggerford, as described in Eric Boyd's updates to Under Illefarn. It's mostly the same as the N5 adventure, but Eric added A LOT more detail. Our intrepid heroes begin as recent recruits to the Daggerford Militia. They get a set of leather armor, a spear, and a tabard emblazoned with the dripping dagger device of Daggerford and its words "Never Asunder!" (The party will learn that those words are older than Daggerford.)
Grimnir Anvilfist, a dwarven veteran of the Dragonspear War. He is a cleric of Tempest, which causes a deep divide between him and the Ironaxe Clan who are much more traditional. Grimnir is searching for the scattered remnants of his clan.
Lorelei, a half elven bard with the Faction Agent background. She is the grand-daughter of Elorfindar Floshin and a young woman of the Delimbiyr family. Her father Filvendor disappeared several months before Lorelei was born. Her mother died of heartbreak. Lorelei has hopes of becoming a Harper.
Owain, a tiefling cleric of Lathander who was taken in by Liam Sunmist at the Morningglow Tower in Daggerford. Because of the recent Dragonspear War fought against devils, there is a lot of HATE toward tieflings in town at the moment. The player revels in the adversity.
Myrawlh, a half-orc fighter with the Outlander background. She is a bit nervous about coming to the big town of Daggerford. The people on Daggerford are too busy disliking the tiefling to have much anger left over for a half-orc.
Sarona, a halfling rogue with the fey ancestry background. Her family is the Yevelshoulders and run the Jester's Pride in Julkoun. Her mother is hip deep in fey nonsense from the Laughing Hollow, something that Sarona wishes to avoid.
Kava, a human sorcerer with the draconic bloodline. Her background is homebrewed, being based off the sage. She is the great, great, great, great, great granddaughter of Teskrulladar the Manytaloned, an ancient silver dragon. He has recruited her to be one of his many agents in the Realms.
|
Eric Menge
Game Designer / Writer
www.mythmakers.com |
|
|
|
The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 21 Nov 2015 : 03:23:21
|
| Creative. |
|
|
|
Galadhion
Acolyte
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - 21 Nov 2015 : 17:27:19
|
Since this is the first campaign I've run in 5e, I decided to use the Lost Mine of Phandelver from the D&D Intro box as the basis of the first adventure. It's pretty well written. Parts of it are better than others so I decided to pick and choose what I ran from it.
As per Under Illefarn, the PCs were put through a couple days of basic training as militia members in Daggerford. They met a lot of the main characters in town -- Duke Pwyll, Lady Bronwyn, Sherlen Spearslayer, Delfen Yellowknife, Kelson Darkstreader, and Baergon Bluesword. I used this as an opportunity to teach the characters the basics of 5e combat.
For the first adventure, Sherlen Spearslayer tasked the party to patrol the road from Daggerford to Julkoun. It was supposed to be an easy walk. Their path took them through the ruins of Delimbiyrian. While camping outside the town, the party was attacked by giant rats. One of them critted on Grimnir the dwarven cleric of Tempest, almost dropping him. Since the rat was having to jump up to attack him, I ruled it got him right in the groin. Grimnir retaliated with Wrath of the Storm power, which killed the giant rat. Sarona laughed at him and called him Sergeant
Thunderballs.
The name has stuck, much to Grimnir's disgust, and the group named themselves "Rolling Thunder." Again, much to Grimnir's disgust. The girls in the group even made up their own cheer. Kava's player drew what it looks like.
Rolling Thunder Part 1
Rolling Thunder Part 2 |
Eric Menge
Game Designer / Writer
www.mythmakers.com |
Edited by - Galadhion on 21 Nov 2015 20:06:26 |
|
|
|
Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3811 Posts |
Posted - 21 Nov 2015 : 20:11:36
|
quote:
Originally posted by Galadhion
Since this is the first campaign I've run in 5e, I decided to use the Lost Mine of Phandelver from the D&D Intro box as the basis of the first adventure. It's pretty well written. Parts of it are better than others so I decided to pick and choose what I ran from it.
As per Under Illefarn, the PCs were put through a couple days of basic training as militia members in Daggerford. They met a lot of the main characters in town -- Duke Pwyll, Lady Bronwyn, Sherlen Spearslayer, Delfen Yellowknife, Kelson Darkstreader, and Baergon Bluesword. I used this as an opportunity to teach the characters the basics of 5e combat.
For the first adventure, Sherlen Spearslayer tasked the party to patrol the road from Daggerford to Julkoun. It was supposed to be an easy walk. Their path took them through the ruins of Delimbiyrian. While camping outside the town, the party was attacked by giant rats. One of them critted on Grimnir the dwarven cleric of Tempest, almost dropping him. Since the rat was having to jump up to attack him, I ruled it got him right in the groin. Grimnir retaliated with Wrath of the Storm power, which killed the giant rat. Sarona laughed at him and called him Sergeant
Thunderballs.
The name has stuck, much to Grimnir's disgust, and the group named themselves "Rolling Thunder." Again, much to Grimnir's disgust. The girls in the group even made up their own cheer. Kava's player drew what it looks like.
Rolling Thunder Part 1
Rolling Thunder Part 2
Lol, it's awesome to see such enthusiasm coming from the players. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
|
|
|
Galadhion
Acolyte
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - 27 Dec 2015 : 20:53:57
|
After the fight with the rats, the PCs traveled east from Delimbiyrian into the Forlorn Hills. Along the way, the ran into the goblin ambush as detailed in the Lost Mines of Phandelver. I won't go into all the details of that adventure as I'm sure it's been discussed elsewhere, but I do want to mention a couple things I learned from this encounter. SPOILERS BELOW.
This is my first campaign using the 5e rules. I'm an old hand at 2e and 3e (I avoided 4e as much as possible.) Since I didn't have any experience running 5e, I was relying on the Starter Set a lot. While the Starter set has a lot going for it, the first encounters are really harsh for new players.
The goblin ambush can get nasty in a hurry. The goblins are in the trees and rocks and can use their bonus action to rehide. It makes them hard to hit and gives them advantage on their attacks. The ambush used up all the 1st level character's resources and they had no spells or hit points to track the goblins back to their cave. So I let them rest the night without incident.
The goblin caves have a lot of goblins for 1st level characters. That in itself isn't bad, but it is a challenge. The PCs had to take a short rest halfway through, which allowed the bugbear to come into play. Bugbears do a lot of damage when they get the jump . Enough to kill a 1st level character in one blow. The bugbear nearly TPKed the entire party. Not a good experience for new players. In hindsight, I should have pulled the bugbear and replaced it with a goblin boss. That would have been a more even fight for my new players
The party freed Silas Hallwinter who asked them to find his friend Gundren Rockseeker who had been taken to Cragmaw Castle. The problem was -- no one knew where that was. Investigation would be in order. |
Eric Menge
Game Designer / Writer
www.mythmakers.com |
|
|
|
Owesstaer
Acolyte
Luxembourg
30 Posts |
Posted - 28 Dec 2015 : 07:55:15
|
Well met Galadhion
I also started the Under Illefarn Campaigne (although with experienced AD&Dlers and in 2E) a couple of months ago. Unfortunately our party caricaturist had to quit because of professional reasons :(
My campaign is set in 1353 DR however(at the end of the last session duke Pryden, has just been informed about his oldest son's death), as I intend to run the Dragonspear war, and time of troubles will be up ahead afterwards. So I will be strongly interested in how your plot will continue and possibly steal one bit or another, although at first I intended to keep my players out of the main tablets-of-fate-thing, and have them run in some other less involved avatar(s).
I have one question however: you mentioned an updated version of Under Illefarn: Has there been an official re-release of it with all new notes contained? All I have based myself on thus far were the notes of Mr Boyd in this forum.
|
|
|
|
Galadhion
Acolyte
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - 29 Dec 2015 : 22:02:11
|
quote:
Originally posted by Owesstaer
I have one question however: you mentioned an updated version of Under Illefarn: Has there been an official re-release of it with all new notes contained? All I have based myself on thus far were the notes of Mr Boyd in this forum.
I'm running the updated version with Eric Boyd's notes. I'm also adapting and meshing it with the 5e Starter Set, the Age of Worms campaign from Dungeon Magazine, as well as several other 2e adventures, such as A Wizard's Fate by Chris Perkins in Dungeon #28 and even some 1e adventure like Beyond the Crystal Cave.
Good luck on your run of Under Illefarn. The Dragonspear war would make a great backdrop for a campaign. |
Eric Menge
Game Designer / Writer
www.mythmakers.com |
|
|
|
Galadhion
Acolyte
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - 29 Dec 2015 : 22:16:39
|
When the Party reached the town of Julkoun, I had to make up a lot of things. I read over the description of Julkoun described in Scourge of the Sword Coast, but I wasn't moved by it. Instead, I drew from Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast (I love all the guides, btw. So rich with detail.) and from the town of Phandalin in the Starter Set. The Jester's Pride grew into a three story hobbit-hole tavern from the similar vein as the Green Dragon in Tolkien.
The PCs met a lot of people in the village which I lifted from Phandalin. Silas Hallwinter stayed with the local reeve. The cloth miller in Julkoun became Helia Thornton who remained an agent of the Zhentarim. The shrine to Chauntae was Gaerele, a moon elf. Instead of being an agent of the Harpers (because I had them elsewhere), she was an envoy of the fey from the nearby Laughing Hollow. She was a bit too fey touched and came across as spacey and super weird to the party. She was a lot of fun.
The party met Sarona's (the party's thief) family who ran the Jester's Pride and her 14 brothers and sisters. Big family, and there's a reason for it, as the PCs would soon find out. They also met the "Elsharee" who were half-a-dozen beautifyl half elven maidens that worked at the Jester's Pride, as described in Volo's guide. The party investigated and found out that Sarona's mother was the daughter of a nymph from the Laughing Hollow. The Elsharee were flowering dryads that Sarona's mom brought to the inn to ... be pollinated by "interesting people." The Elsharee determined who was interesting and their criteria was eccentric to say the least. Afterward, the elsharee would become a full fledged dryad, growing a tree nearby in Julkoun.
Why the Elsharee and Sarona's mom wanted this to happen is still a mystery to the party. But currently, there are three such trees in Julkoun.
The PCs were also assailed by a number of quests in Julkoun. Ultimately, they decided to head back west to deal with the bandits on the road and try to find Silas' companion Gundren Rockseeker. |
Eric Menge
Game Designer / Writer
www.mythmakers.com |
|
|
|
Galadhion
Acolyte
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2016 : 14:05:54
|
While in Julkoun, I decided that I wanted halflings to get some time to shine. Julkoun and Secomber both have sizable halfling populations and their influence would be felt on the entire town. I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan so I went with the hobbits for inspiration. The players really responded to that. Probably because they also have read/seen LotR and we have shared experiences there.
Now the halflings of the Delimibiyr Vale live in a dangerous place and don't have Rangers of the North to protect them. So these halflings are much more competent and resourceful than those in the Shire. Delimbiyr halfling are much more Brandybucks or Bullroarer Took. They are scrappy, fiercely optimistic, quick with the one-liners, and feisty. I borrowed from Rich Burlew that the hin have a great sense of smell. They do love their creature comfort. Their food is fantastic. They make fantastic salads. They tend to have huge breakfasts, moderately-sized noon meals, and small evefests that's mostly leftovers, cheese, cold cuts, and bread.
Some quotes:
"Dwarves are good at hiding things. Orcs are terrible at finding things. That's why you need a hin with you. We're great at finding all the things the dwarves hid." - a halfling thief in Secomber
Question: "You know what they call a halfling who doesn't keep his word?"
Answer: "A gnome!"
|
Eric Menge
Game Designer / Writer
www.mythmakers.com |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
There Will Come a Time of Troubles
