Previously, the party had escorted the granite dwarfs Frayka and Meerak to the Dawnstone. With an arcane ritual complete, and the granite dwarves gone, what comes next...
June 2 (Sunday), afternoon - With the Granite dwarves having departed, the party debated what to do next. From a prior session, Melior Ardenshade (the druid) had been requested, via a letter in the druidic language, to meet (someone) in the village of Bornil on June 10. Bornil is a few miles south of Linden, or 4-5 days south of the party's current location. With a few days to spare, and Ravar's rough sketch map in hand, Badric, cleric of Raurig (life), convinced the party to spend a day or two heading further north, seeking to confirm the location of the Shadow Wall hills.
A mile north of the Dawnstone, the old remnants of road split, going north and northeast. The party continued northeast across the rolling open ground, interspersed with copses of trees. The old Onorian road was easy to follow. Three miles up the northeast road, the party came upon a scene of battle, with four elves lying dead in the road. Melior, perceiving faint tracks heading southeast from the scene of battle, followed them to the unconscious and near-dead body of another elf.
With healing magic and a good rest, the elf, Arian (a sorcerer), was able to tell the tale of an orc ambush. His party of five, from the Forest of Kyrell (to the west), had been tracking orcs along the road when they were ambushed. His friends were quickly overcome, but he was able to sneak away before passing out from his wounds.
Proceeding east/northeast along the road, orc tracks were easy to find. A mere mile east of the ambush site, the tracks left the road and headed due north, toward the foothills visible in the distance. Fours miles north of the road, the open ground turned to grasslands, and then to scrubby foothills. As the party entered the low scrubby hills, they heard periodic drums to the north.
Continuing north, ~7 miles from the road, the party came upon an orc village, under construction, but with a mostly complete wooden palisade in place. Several orcs were visible, working on various incomplete sections of the palisade. With no discussion of plans or tactics, Niam (the assassin/rogue), commenced the fight with a longbow shot from the top of a nearby hill. The first orc fell, skewered by his longbow shot, and a general melee ensued.
Having not had a plan, the first phase of the battle consisted of ranged missile and spell attacks from the top of a slight rise southeast of the village. Several orcs were killed at range as others swarmed out of the village. The melee characters headed toward the village as the spellcasters maintained the assault from a distance. A timely Sleep spell from Duncan took out three wolves which had been released from a pen in the village.
The fight was tough (and the characters had taken some damage), but the party had the upper hand, and there were only a few orcs remaining (including the "boss", charging Thalmyr) when a huge two-headed figure emerged from a cave mouth in the side of the far hill. As the session ended, the two-headed giant howled in rage and ran toward the party's melee characters...
Next - the conclusion of the fight...
GM Commentary - One of our newer players had been content to spend the last bunch of sessions playing the character of one of the absent players, while his daughter played her own character. Liking the game sessions, we decided it was time for him to stop filling in for others, and to roll up his own character and play "himself". Thus Arian, the high elf sorcerer of draconic bloodlines was born (found near death by the side of the road).
We had 6 characters in this session, including a halfling warlock guest player. As has been the case in prior combats, I continue to underestimate the abilities of the party. Challenge ratings in the rules are consistently underestimated, and I need to ramp things up even more in the future. I should have learned this lesson by now...
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Monday, July 27, 2015
Campaign Journal 14 - Part 1, At The Dawnstone
We left our heroes on the evening of Saturday June 1, having arrived at the Dawnstone with the Granite dwarves Frayka and Meerak.
June 1 (cont) - Around the campfire that night, within sight of the Dawnstone, Frayka told the party the following story. He and Meerak (his kinsman) are from a group of Granite dwarves called the Farandui. The left their homeland in the distant south, beyond Rendalia, in early March. The name of the land translates to "Mountainhome", which the dwarves Thalmyr and Badric recognized as a near-mythical dwarven kingdom. They had traveled ~1200 miles in ~80 days, generally disguised, riding with caravans and merchant trains. As he told this part of the story, Frayka mumbled the words of a spell and transformed himself and Meerak to the appearance of regular dwarves. Frayka said that an artifact crucial to the safety and well being of their kingdom, and to the health of their Great Thane (who was in an un-wakeable slumber), had been lost. This artifact was called the Heartstone. Meerak was on a quest to craft a new Heartstone, and Frayka was his companion on the journey. Meerak believes that there are only a few places in the Realms where this item can be crafted, and that the Dawnstone is one of these few powerful primal places.
All through this storytelling, Meerak sat by himself on the edge of the firelight and read from a brass-bound leather tome. When he was done his reading, he asked to see some of the party's weapons, and spent some time inspecting, studying and mumbling over each of them in turn.
June 2 - After an uneventful night, the party was wakened by Frayka well before dawn. Meerak was dressed in elaborate black robes, which were covered with red and gold embroidered runes and symbols. He was laying out and organizing all sorts of materials on the Dawnstone itself: a large and ornate golden amulet with a hole in the center, a very large red ruby, a number of what appeared to be small rune-covered clay tablets, containers and jars of various powders and liquids, a large vial of a thick red substance, a small golden knife, and a small golden hammer encrusted with gems and inlaid with runes.
Frayka went to several characters and made requests to borrow Thalmyr's axe, Badric's warhammer, and Malachy's sword. He also asked that Thalmyr be ready to cast Protection From Evil and Melior be ready to cast Thunderwave. [It was at this point that one of the players observed "umm, is it just my imagination, or did we just let this guy disarm all of our melee guys?"]
When the first light of the morning hit the Dawnstone, it began to glow red deep within the translucent white stone, just as the legends said. Meerak began a complicated series of spells and rituals, sprinkling the liquids and powders on the clay rune tablets and then shattering them with the jeweled hammer. As the tablets were shattered, swirls of multi-colored magical energy were released, and were bound into the amulet. The dwarves in the group recognized that they were watching a Runesmith at work. [Aside: Dwarven Rune Magic is a rare and powerful kind of magic that most people will never witness - Runesmith magic is the type of Rune Magic related to crafting metal items and weapons]. As the ritual continued, the Dawnstone glowed brightly, and tendrils of magical energy snaked out of some of the surrounding standing stones (which were now also glowing), coalescing around the altar, and creating a web of glowing and pulsing light and energy. As a final step, Meerak set the ruby in the center of the amulet, poured the thick red liquid over it (the blood of the Great Thane) and struck it with the jeweled golden hammer. There was a blinding flash of light, after which the ruby could be seen, embedded and glowing, in the center of the amulet.
As the light within the Dawnstone began to fade, Meerak, looking tired, performed quick rituals on each of the three borrowed weapons. While Meerak cast a spell over Thalmyr's axe, Thalmyr was asked to cast Protection From Evil. It seemed to those watching that Meerak's spell as able to capture the magical energy of Thalmyr's spell and cause it to vanish into the axe. Thunderwave cast on Badric's warhammer had a similar effect. Lastly, Meerak cast a final spell on Malachy's sword, then handed the small golden knife to Malachy and asked him to spill his own blood onto the sword. Mal slashed his palm, and drops of blood splattered onto the sword blade. The drops sizzled and smoked, and then were absorbed into the blade, leaving no trace. Meerak collapsed as the last light faded from the Dawnstone. The whole process took only 15 minutes.
The Heartstone ritual was a success.
After a short rest, Meerak handed Thalmyr's axe back to him, and said "this is a fine dwarven-forged weapon made 35 years ago by Tarrack Swifthand in the dwarven hold of Rockforge. It is a fine weapon that will serve you well." [In game terms it was now a +1 weapon that can invoke the Protection From Evil spell once per day].
Handing back Badric's warhammer, he said "this was made in Iron Gate 72 years ago by Brimdall Silvershard son of Sarndall, Use it well." [In game terms, the weapon can now invoke Thunderwave once per day, and is a "magic weapon", but not a '+' weapon. Brimdall Silvershard is of Badric's clan, and is in fact his great-uncle].
Meerak then told Malachy the following: "Your sword is Dralikin. It was forged in a place called Fellsar in the Elder days, by an elven craftsman named Friliar Stormwarden. It is a remarkable weapon, fit for a great warrior. It has lain dormant for a great many years. It is happy to have been awakened." When asked how he knew all this, he shrugged and responded "I asked it, and it told me."
When asked what enchantment had been placed upon it, Meerak hid the sword and then asked Malachy to concentrate on it, and tell him which stone it was behind. Malachy could sense the sword, and knew where it was. Meerak then asked him to concentrate again and call the sword to him. Mal did so, and the sword appeared in his hand. Meerak said "I have bound the sword to you, and you to it by blood. You can call it you and it will appear to serve you for as long as it wishes. I think it possible that it could choose not to respond to your summons, but I am not sure of that. Treat it well."
With that, Frayka presented the party with a few tokens of Granite dwarf friendship and the golden items they no longer needed (the hammer and knife), thanked them profusely, and teleported the two of them away. [Teleporting works fine for "going home", but is extremely dangerous when going to a place you don't know well. Teleporting to a place you hadn't been to at all, and weren't even sure where it was, would be suicidal.]
Next - North of the Dawnstone.
GM Commentary - The first two-thirds of this session (with the last third to come next), was good for revealing more of the mythology and background of the world, and provided the characters with some tangible benefits in terms of enchantments added to some of their primary melee weapons. There would be some exploring and fighting to come in the session. I like the mix of different aspects to a session. I especially like continuing to build the web of people that the characters have encountered, and what could be considered their circle of acquaintances and friends. This provides a lot of opportunity for going back to those relationships and drawing on those ties in the future.
June 1 (cont) - Around the campfire that night, within sight of the Dawnstone, Frayka told the party the following story. He and Meerak (his kinsman) are from a group of Granite dwarves called the Farandui. The left their homeland in the distant south, beyond Rendalia, in early March. The name of the land translates to "Mountainhome", which the dwarves Thalmyr and Badric recognized as a near-mythical dwarven kingdom. They had traveled ~1200 miles in ~80 days, generally disguised, riding with caravans and merchant trains. As he told this part of the story, Frayka mumbled the words of a spell and transformed himself and Meerak to the appearance of regular dwarves. Frayka said that an artifact crucial to the safety and well being of their kingdom, and to the health of their Great Thane (who was in an un-wakeable slumber), had been lost. This artifact was called the Heartstone. Meerak was on a quest to craft a new Heartstone, and Frayka was his companion on the journey. Meerak believes that there are only a few places in the Realms where this item can be crafted, and that the Dawnstone is one of these few powerful primal places.
All through this storytelling, Meerak sat by himself on the edge of the firelight and read from a brass-bound leather tome. When he was done his reading, he asked to see some of the party's weapons, and spent some time inspecting, studying and mumbling over each of them in turn.
June 2 - After an uneventful night, the party was wakened by Frayka well before dawn. Meerak was dressed in elaborate black robes, which were covered with red and gold embroidered runes and symbols. He was laying out and organizing all sorts of materials on the Dawnstone itself: a large and ornate golden amulet with a hole in the center, a very large red ruby, a number of what appeared to be small rune-covered clay tablets, containers and jars of various powders and liquids, a large vial of a thick red substance, a small golden knife, and a small golden hammer encrusted with gems and inlaid with runes.
Frayka went to several characters and made requests to borrow Thalmyr's axe, Badric's warhammer, and Malachy's sword. He also asked that Thalmyr be ready to cast Protection From Evil and Melior be ready to cast Thunderwave. [It was at this point that one of the players observed "umm, is it just my imagination, or did we just let this guy disarm all of our melee guys?"]
When the first light of the morning hit the Dawnstone, it began to glow red deep within the translucent white stone, just as the legends said. Meerak began a complicated series of spells and rituals, sprinkling the liquids and powders on the clay rune tablets and then shattering them with the jeweled hammer. As the tablets were shattered, swirls of multi-colored magical energy were released, and were bound into the amulet. The dwarves in the group recognized that they were watching a Runesmith at work. [Aside: Dwarven Rune Magic is a rare and powerful kind of magic that most people will never witness - Runesmith magic is the type of Rune Magic related to crafting metal items and weapons]. As the ritual continued, the Dawnstone glowed brightly, and tendrils of magical energy snaked out of some of the surrounding standing stones (which were now also glowing), coalescing around the altar, and creating a web of glowing and pulsing light and energy. As a final step, Meerak set the ruby in the center of the amulet, poured the thick red liquid over it (the blood of the Great Thane) and struck it with the jeweled golden hammer. There was a blinding flash of light, after which the ruby could be seen, embedded and glowing, in the center of the amulet.
As the light within the Dawnstone began to fade, Meerak, looking tired, performed quick rituals on each of the three borrowed weapons. While Meerak cast a spell over Thalmyr's axe, Thalmyr was asked to cast Protection From Evil. It seemed to those watching that Meerak's spell as able to capture the magical energy of Thalmyr's spell and cause it to vanish into the axe. Thunderwave cast on Badric's warhammer had a similar effect. Lastly, Meerak cast a final spell on Malachy's sword, then handed the small golden knife to Malachy and asked him to spill his own blood onto the sword. Mal slashed his palm, and drops of blood splattered onto the sword blade. The drops sizzled and smoked, and then were absorbed into the blade, leaving no trace. Meerak collapsed as the last light faded from the Dawnstone. The whole process took only 15 minutes.
The Heartstone ritual was a success.
After a short rest, Meerak handed Thalmyr's axe back to him, and said "this is a fine dwarven-forged weapon made 35 years ago by Tarrack Swifthand in the dwarven hold of Rockforge. It is a fine weapon that will serve you well." [In game terms it was now a +1 weapon that can invoke the Protection From Evil spell once per day].
Handing back Badric's warhammer, he said "this was made in Iron Gate 72 years ago by Brimdall Silvershard son of Sarndall, Use it well." [In game terms, the weapon can now invoke Thunderwave once per day, and is a "magic weapon", but not a '+' weapon. Brimdall Silvershard is of Badric's clan, and is in fact his great-uncle].
Meerak then told Malachy the following: "Your sword is Dralikin. It was forged in a place called Fellsar in the Elder days, by an elven craftsman named Friliar Stormwarden. It is a remarkable weapon, fit for a great warrior. It has lain dormant for a great many years. It is happy to have been awakened." When asked how he knew all this, he shrugged and responded "I asked it, and it told me."
When asked what enchantment had been placed upon it, Meerak hid the sword and then asked Malachy to concentrate on it, and tell him which stone it was behind. Malachy could sense the sword, and knew where it was. Meerak then asked him to concentrate again and call the sword to him. Mal did so, and the sword appeared in his hand. Meerak said "I have bound the sword to you, and you to it by blood. You can call it you and it will appear to serve you for as long as it wishes. I think it possible that it could choose not to respond to your summons, but I am not sure of that. Treat it well."
With that, Frayka presented the party with a few tokens of Granite dwarf friendship and the golden items they no longer needed (the hammer and knife), thanked them profusely, and teleported the two of them away. [Teleporting works fine for "going home", but is extremely dangerous when going to a place you don't know well. Teleporting to a place you hadn't been to at all, and weren't even sure where it was, would be suicidal.]
Next - North of the Dawnstone.
GM Commentary - The first two-thirds of this session (with the last third to come next), was good for revealing more of the mythology and background of the world, and provided the characters with some tangible benefits in terms of enchantments added to some of their primary melee weapons. There would be some exploring and fighting to come in the session. I like the mix of different aspects to a session. I especially like continuing to build the web of people that the characters have encountered, and what could be considered their circle of acquaintances and friends. This provides a lot of opportunity for going back to those relationships and drawing on those ties in the future.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
A Bigger Picture
Over the course of the last year (wow!), I have spent a decent bit of spare time building out a world for our D&D games. Both the games themselves and the world creation process have been a lot of fun. After coming up with an original "background idea" for the part of the world we would be playing in, I have alternated between detailing the local area that the characters are adventuring in, and spending time roughing out the region (or super-region, depending on how you would describe a piece of a continent). One thing I hadn't ever really given much thought to was how this piece of this continent fit into the larger world as a whole, and thus why things were the way they were.
The extremely short version of the background of the world as the players (and I) have known it is this:
In the Elder Days, there were kingdoms of men in the North and in the South of the land. 700 years ago, war broke out in the North and escalated to the point where civilization completely broke down, and magical creatures and evil beasts overran the North, turning it into a dangerous wilderness (500 years ago). The might of the nations of the South contained the onslaught in the North, and the southern realms continued on. Over the last 200-300 years, the scattered remnants of the northern peoples, supplemented by explorers and settlers from the South, have founded new nations along the coasts, and are exploring and settling inland. The far North (and the heart of the Northern Elder Realms) is still a very wild place.
This was certainly enough of a background story to get us started (and frankly would probably work the for entire duration of a campaign or two or three). It created a sense of what I wanted the campaign to be - civilization's struggles on the edge of a mysterious and dangerous wilderness, with lots of ruined towns and old sites to visit and explore. Ancient maps could be found, but would not be commonly available. Legends and stories of the Elder Days would provide for limitless adventure hooks. The effects of world shattering magic could continue to ripple through the land, allowing for all sorts of weirdness. All in all, this background has worked just fine.
Inevitably though, roughing out sketches of the southern lands and other peripheral areas, and staring at open spaces on the edges of all the maps leads to many questions. What else is out there? Where did the people come from? Is there anything beyond the oceans? What does the rest of this continent look like? Who else lives here? What, if anything, lies on the other side of the Southern lands? If there are other lands and continents out there, who lives in them, and are my "core" people in contact with them, and if not why not? And so on.
In general I have avoided delving into any of these questions for fear that (knowing myself) I will disappear down a rathole of detailed maps and write ups and will spend time creating something that we will almost certainly never use. But that doesn't make the curiosity and the desire to have a better bigger picture go away. So in just a couple of hours over the last few days and evenings, I have taken a few sheets of paper gridded to the scale of my existing Hexographer map sections, and sketched, working out from what is already in place. I have stuck to my promise so far of doing nothing more detailed than jotting a sentence here or there about what an area might contain. The yellow sticky notes on the picture of my sketching serve the same purpose; simple thoughts and ideas that may change.
As of now, I have a simple sketch of a much larger area, and the beginnings of an idea on how these fit together. Each small grid square on the sketch map is an area 480 miles wide and 360 miles high. The lens cap covers an area of maybe 700 miles in diameter, and is the area that the current campaign is centered in. These 6 sheets of paper in total are about 3,000 miles north to south and almost 6,000 miles east to west. I like it. There is enough in the far north to have arctic climates, and enough in the south to have tropical. If nothing else, the creation/imagination process is fun, and even this vague idea of what else is out there in the wider world will help color the myths and legends that do impact the characters in our campaign.
A bigger picture MIGHT be something like this:
Many years ago (1500? 2000? 2500?) human settlers first came to Myara from Old Lands far to the east across the ocean. [Were they fleeing something or were they explorers?] They settled parts of the eastern central coast of this new land, and built a civilization. [Centered in two main areas, North and South? If so, why/how were they different?] Connection to the Old Lands was lost long ago. [When, how, why?] Even the existence of the Old Lands has faded into myth. [Are they even still there? and what does that look like?] Far to the NE with limited contact with Myara is a land of seafaring barbarians. There are a few scattered nomadic remnants of the Elder peoples in the arctic areas of the far north. To the south across a narrow sea could be a marshy jungle filled land, perhaps with a well-developed lizardman civilization. Stretching west of our core lands, into a very large land mass, could be a vast expanse of grasslands with a nomadic warlike people. There could be a large and well-organized hobgoblin kingdom preventing encroachment of human civilization in that direction. And so on.
Or maybe it's something different entirely...
The extremely short version of the background of the world as the players (and I) have known it is this:
In the Elder Days, there were kingdoms of men in the North and in the South of the land. 700 years ago, war broke out in the North and escalated to the point where civilization completely broke down, and magical creatures and evil beasts overran the North, turning it into a dangerous wilderness (500 years ago). The might of the nations of the South contained the onslaught in the North, and the southern realms continued on. Over the last 200-300 years, the scattered remnants of the northern peoples, supplemented by explorers and settlers from the South, have founded new nations along the coasts, and are exploring and settling inland. The far North (and the heart of the Northern Elder Realms) is still a very wild place.
This was certainly enough of a background story to get us started (and frankly would probably work the for entire duration of a campaign or two or three). It created a sense of what I wanted the campaign to be - civilization's struggles on the edge of a mysterious and dangerous wilderness, with lots of ruined towns and old sites to visit and explore. Ancient maps could be found, but would not be commonly available. Legends and stories of the Elder Days would provide for limitless adventure hooks. The effects of world shattering magic could continue to ripple through the land, allowing for all sorts of weirdness. All in all, this background has worked just fine.
Inevitably though, roughing out sketches of the southern lands and other peripheral areas, and staring at open spaces on the edges of all the maps leads to many questions. What else is out there? Where did the people come from? Is there anything beyond the oceans? What does the rest of this continent look like? Who else lives here? What, if anything, lies on the other side of the Southern lands? If there are other lands and continents out there, who lives in them, and are my "core" people in contact with them, and if not why not? And so on.
In general I have avoided delving into any of these questions for fear that (knowing myself) I will disappear down a rathole of detailed maps and write ups and will spend time creating something that we will almost certainly never use. But that doesn't make the curiosity and the desire to have a better bigger picture go away. So in just a couple of hours over the last few days and evenings, I have taken a few sheets of paper gridded to the scale of my existing Hexographer map sections, and sketched, working out from what is already in place. I have stuck to my promise so far of doing nothing more detailed than jotting a sentence here or there about what an area might contain. The yellow sticky notes on the picture of my sketching serve the same purpose; simple thoughts and ideas that may change.
 |
| Sketching the bigger world |
As of now, I have a simple sketch of a much larger area, and the beginnings of an idea on how these fit together. Each small grid square on the sketch map is an area 480 miles wide and 360 miles high. The lens cap covers an area of maybe 700 miles in diameter, and is the area that the current campaign is centered in. These 6 sheets of paper in total are about 3,000 miles north to south and almost 6,000 miles east to west. I like it. There is enough in the far north to have arctic climates, and enough in the south to have tropical. If nothing else, the creation/imagination process is fun, and even this vague idea of what else is out there in the wider world will help color the myths and legends that do impact the characters in our campaign.
A bigger picture MIGHT be something like this:
Many years ago (1500? 2000? 2500?) human settlers first came to Myara from Old Lands far to the east across the ocean. [Were they fleeing something or were they explorers?] They settled parts of the eastern central coast of this new land, and built a civilization. [Centered in two main areas, North and South? If so, why/how were they different?] Connection to the Old Lands was lost long ago. [When, how, why?] Even the existence of the Old Lands has faded into myth. [Are they even still there? and what does that look like?] Far to the NE with limited contact with Myara is a land of seafaring barbarians. There are a few scattered nomadic remnants of the Elder peoples in the arctic areas of the far north. To the south across a narrow sea could be a marshy jungle filled land, perhaps with a well-developed lizardman civilization. Stretching west of our core lands, into a very large land mass, could be a vast expanse of grasslands with a nomadic warlike people. There could be a large and well-organized hobgoblin kingdom preventing encroachment of human civilization in that direction. And so on.
Or maybe it's something different entirely...
Monday, July 20, 2015
The Prophets of Doom
The Prophets of Doom are clerics, lay priests and other followers of the god Urdevaal, the god of pain and suffering. The Prophets dress in simple black and brown robes, wear plain rope sandals, and travel the roads and towns of the north, preaching gloom, doom and repentance for your sins. The Prophets often shave their heads and tattoo their skulls with religious symbols.
The Prophets are not a welcome sight among the commoners in the North, but have become more frequently encountered in recent years, especially in Mercia, Rimini and Alsberg. Within the last couple of years they have become a relatively common sight in the towns and villages along the Great North Road.
In addition to their generally unwelcome preachings, there is rumored to be a much darker side to the Prophets. Tales told in the taverns and inns tell of kidnappings, torture, and ritual sacrifices made to the Prophets' bloodthirsty god.
Whatever the truth may be, Urdevaal is a god to be feared, and perhaps pacified with the occasional offering, but that is the extent of the peoples' involvement with this dark god...
The Prophets are not a welcome sight among the commoners in the North, but have become more frequently encountered in recent years, especially in Mercia, Rimini and Alsberg. Within the last couple of years they have become a relatively common sight in the towns and villages along the Great North Road.
In addition to their generally unwelcome preachings, there is rumored to be a much darker side to the Prophets. Tales told in the taverns and inns tell of kidnappings, torture, and ritual sacrifices made to the Prophets' bloodthirsty god.
Whatever the truth may be, Urdevaal is a god to be feared, and perhaps pacified with the occasional offering, but that is the extent of the peoples' involvement with this dark god...
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Game Theory - Alignment
Alignment in D&D has been many things over the years. Apparently, the "9 alignment" grid of the possible combinations of law/chaos/neutrality and good/evil/neutrality was a blend of the two things. The first was from an early fantasy novel (Three Hearts and Three Lions, Poul Anderson, 1961) that puts things in the camps of law and chaos, with some remaining neutral. The other classic aspect of good versus evil (with some not choosing a side) became the other axis. To oversimplify, in D&D terms, this became a two-axis grid which had "are you a follower of the conventions of civilization or a loose cannon" on one side, and "are you good or bad or somewhere in the middle" on the other. I have always thought of this as following the rules vs heart (what you are deep inside).
Various editions of D&D have relied heavily on these concepts and classifications over the years. At the most basic fundamental (and restrictive level), certain classes required characters of certain alignments, and behaving "contrary to your alignment" had stiff penalties and consequences. Thieves couldn't be thieves. Paladins would lose their special abilities. And so on.
The silliest manifestation of this was always, to my mind, that in various editions, each alignment had its own language, and plane of existence. Souls of the lawful good dead went to one plane for their afterlife. Lawful evil people went to another. I've never been much for alternate planes, so this was a curiosity but didn't bother me much.
On the language front, I was never able to wrap my head around the idea the lawful good people (good hearted people who follow all the rules) and chaotic good people (good hearted people who will cheat the rules...i.e. the ends justify the means) had separate secondary languages that they spoke. Ridiculous and stupid. But that's just me.
So...why the ramblings? Just thinking about what alignment means in my campaign (if anything)...
Football coach Bill Parcells once said "you are what your record says you are." This is how I view alignment for my players and their characters. I don't ask them to pick an alignment. How they behave will determine what they are. In 5th edition terms, it really doesn't matter anyway, as most of the restrictions and limitations noted above have been removed. Or if not, I have removed them. However, a worshipper of a specific god (depending on them for spells and special abilities) who consistently behaves in a manner at odds with what a worshipper of that god should be, will create problems. Many character classes will never run into this kind of concern. And that is fine. A few classes and characters may be more restricted. And we play that as it comes.
In general, the only use I have for alignment in my campaign is a simple one. If I am making notes on a non-player character (NPC) that the players may encounter, or who is important for some other reason, I will often note one of the nine classic D&D alignments solely for the purpose of it being a shorthand way of reminding me how that specific NPC will behave. Chaotic neutral would be the unpredictable "I'm in it for me" NPC. Chaotic good would be "I'm unpredictable but I mean well." Lawful evil would be "I'm cold and calculating but all that matters is me." Chaotic evil would be "forget everyone else, it's me me me, all me and nothing but me." And so on.
For what I want in my campaign, that's enough.
Various editions of D&D have relied heavily on these concepts and classifications over the years. At the most basic fundamental (and restrictive level), certain classes required characters of certain alignments, and behaving "contrary to your alignment" had stiff penalties and consequences. Thieves couldn't be thieves. Paladins would lose their special abilities. And so on.
The silliest manifestation of this was always, to my mind, that in various editions, each alignment had its own language, and plane of existence. Souls of the lawful good dead went to one plane for their afterlife. Lawful evil people went to another. I've never been much for alternate planes, so this was a curiosity but didn't bother me much.
On the language front, I was never able to wrap my head around the idea the lawful good people (good hearted people who follow all the rules) and chaotic good people (good hearted people who will cheat the rules...i.e. the ends justify the means) had separate secondary languages that they spoke. Ridiculous and stupid. But that's just me.
So...why the ramblings? Just thinking about what alignment means in my campaign (if anything)...
Football coach Bill Parcells once said "you are what your record says you are." This is how I view alignment for my players and their characters. I don't ask them to pick an alignment. How they behave will determine what they are. In 5th edition terms, it really doesn't matter anyway, as most of the restrictions and limitations noted above have been removed. Or if not, I have removed them. However, a worshipper of a specific god (depending on them for spells and special abilities) who consistently behaves in a manner at odds with what a worshipper of that god should be, will create problems. Many character classes will never run into this kind of concern. And that is fine. A few classes and characters may be more restricted. And we play that as it comes.
In general, the only use I have for alignment in my campaign is a simple one. If I am making notes on a non-player character (NPC) that the players may encounter, or who is important for some other reason, I will often note one of the nine classic D&D alignments solely for the purpose of it being a shorthand way of reminding me how that specific NPC will behave. Chaotic neutral would be the unpredictable "I'm in it for me" NPC. Chaotic good would be "I'm unpredictable but I mean well." Lawful evil would be "I'm cold and calculating but all that matters is me." Chaotic evil would be "forget everyone else, it's me me me, all me and nothing but me." And so on.
For what I want in my campaign, that's enough.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Campaign Journal 13 - Part 2, Frayka and the Dawnstone
Our heroes had just returned to Linden...
After arriving back in Linden, the party regrouped and took care of a few minor errands. Near dusk, as Thalmyr (dwarven Paladin) was heading to the Wagon Wheel Inn to meet up with the rest of the group for dinner, a shadowy cloaked figure called to him from an alleyway. The figure was roughly Thalmyr's height, and proved to be a dwarf with gray skin and snow white braided beard and hair. The figure introduced himself as Frayka, and proved to be a Granite dwarf, a rarely seen sub-race of dwarves. Granite dwarves almost always have gray skin, white beards and hair, and are often heavily tattooed. They are reclusive, and live in remote areas.
Frayka asked if Thalmyr and his group would escort him to a place he was looking for called the Dawnstone. He was evasive and would not say why, but kept saying that it was urgent, and promised to make it worth their while. He seemed agitated. Thalmyr (and some of the others) were a bit wary, but Frayka appealed (successfully) to his dwarven heritage to help him out. It was agreed that the party would help Frayka find the place.
Based on Ravar Kelt's sketch map and other information, the party had a decent idea that the Dawnstone might be a large site of the Ancients W/NW of the Red Barrows. They had not yet been that far north, judging that if Ravar's notes were accurate, this place should be ~25 miles north of Castle Langborne, or ~45-50 miles north of Linden.
The party left Linden on the morning of Tuesday May 28, a sunny and warm day. About 2 miles outside of town, Frayka stopped near a roadside copse of trees, told the party not to be alarmed, and whistled loudly several times. After a moment or two, another Granite dwarf emerged from the trees. He looked similar to Frayka, but was a twisted hunchback with a pronounced limp. He was more heavily tattooed than Frayka, and was introduced as Meerak. He nodded greetings, but did not speak. Frayka explained that Meerak would not come into town, and had camped in the woods waiting for Frayka's return.
The party headed north in good weather, making decent time. The Granite dwarves were polite but quiet. On the third day of their trip, the party passed east of the hills containing Castle Langborne, and continued north. Early on the fifth day (Saturday June 1), the party saw rolling hills off to the northeast, which they guessed must be the Red Barrows. Skirting these to the west, they came upon another fragment of old Onorian paved road, which they followed north. Late in the day, their destination came into view - a large, complicated and well-preserved site of the Ancients. It was unlike anything the characters had ever seen.
Frayka and Meerak were extremely excited.
From the legends that the characters had heard of the Dawnstone, it was obvious that they had found what they were looking for. A central hillock has a number of round pillars (10' tall) and large upright rectangular slabs (12' tall). In the center is a 6' diameter and 20' tall black stone pillar, carved with faded symbols. At the foot of this pillar, on the east side, is a large table-like rock - this is the Dawnstone itself. The Dawnstone is of a different type of rock than is found locally, and is a semi-translucent white in color. Radiating out from this central formation are ancient stone paths flanked by rows of 10' high pillars, at the end of which is a huge rectangular block facing inward. There are other lines of pillars on the diagonal. At the end of each diagonal line of pillars is another small hillock on which stands another huge rectangular block, also facing inwards.
Legends say that each day at sunrise, for a short period of time, the Dawnstone glows with a red light coming from deep within the stone.
Next - At the Dawnstone.
GM Commentary - I hope the players enjoy this kind of session as much as I do. There was some combat, but also some good roleplaying and storytelling. I'm very much looking forward to developments in the next session.
As for more practical matters, a couple of our characters (Duncan the wizard and Malachy the barbarian) are teetering on the brink of level 4, and are guaranteed to reach that milestone in our next session. Several others are also closing in, and could theoretically make it...
 |
| Ravar's Map (North) |
Frayka asked if Thalmyr and his group would escort him to a place he was looking for called the Dawnstone. He was evasive and would not say why, but kept saying that it was urgent, and promised to make it worth their while. He seemed agitated. Thalmyr (and some of the others) were a bit wary, but Frayka appealed (successfully) to his dwarven heritage to help him out. It was agreed that the party would help Frayka find the place.
Based on Ravar Kelt's sketch map and other information, the party had a decent idea that the Dawnstone might be a large site of the Ancients W/NW of the Red Barrows. They had not yet been that far north, judging that if Ravar's notes were accurate, this place should be ~25 miles north of Castle Langborne, or ~45-50 miles north of Linden.
The party left Linden on the morning of Tuesday May 28, a sunny and warm day. About 2 miles outside of town, Frayka stopped near a roadside copse of trees, told the party not to be alarmed, and whistled loudly several times. After a moment or two, another Granite dwarf emerged from the trees. He looked similar to Frayka, but was a twisted hunchback with a pronounced limp. He was more heavily tattooed than Frayka, and was introduced as Meerak. He nodded greetings, but did not speak. Frayka explained that Meerak would not come into town, and had camped in the woods waiting for Frayka's return.
 |
| The Dawnstone site |
Frayka and Meerak were extremely excited.
From the legends that the characters had heard of the Dawnstone, it was obvious that they had found what they were looking for. A central hillock has a number of round pillars (10' tall) and large upright rectangular slabs (12' tall). In the center is a 6' diameter and 20' tall black stone pillar, carved with faded symbols. At the foot of this pillar, on the east side, is a large table-like rock - this is the Dawnstone itself. The Dawnstone is of a different type of rock than is found locally, and is a semi-translucent white in color. Radiating out from this central formation are ancient stone paths flanked by rows of 10' high pillars, at the end of which is a huge rectangular block facing inward. There are other lines of pillars on the diagonal. At the end of each diagonal line of pillars is another small hillock on which stands another huge rectangular block, also facing inwards.
Legends say that each day at sunrise, for a short period of time, the Dawnstone glows with a red light coming from deep within the stone.
Next - At the Dawnstone.
GM Commentary - I hope the players enjoy this kind of session as much as I do. There was some combat, but also some good roleplaying and storytelling. I'm very much looking forward to developments in the next session.
As for more practical matters, a couple of our characters (Duncan the wizard and Malachy the barbarian) are teetering on the brink of level 4, and are guaranteed to reach that milestone in our next session. Several others are also closing in, and could theoretically make it...
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Campaign Journal 13 - Part 1, Beyond the Gate
We left our characters in a partially ruined building, with a magical gate set into the cliff face behind them (into which the building was built). The gate had gone dormant after they came through...
With the magical get having closed behind them, and there still being several hours of daylight left, the group needed to decide what to do. Duncan's arcane knowledge led him to believe that since a command word had not been required to open the gate from the other side, this was probably a gate that would be dormant for some period of time before being able to be activated again.
Deciding to explore the immediate area, the party began to look around. The gate had put them in the back room of a stone house at the top of a hill. The back room was fairly intact, including a roof and closable door, but the other parts of the house were partially ruined. The view from outside the house showed that they were on top of a hill, with a number of other clusters of ruined buildings and towers scattered around the hills and valleys within sight. To the south (which they could tell from the position of the late afternoon sun) was a mile-wide lake with a small rocky island in the middle. The island also seemed to have some ruins.
With it being near dark, a quick view of the surroundings was all that could be managed, and the party slept in the house they arrived in.
The following day (Saturday May 25), the group restricted their exploring to the smaller hilltop area that they had arrived at, during which time they were attacked near dusk by a pair of gargoyles, killing one and badly wounding and driving off the other.
Two observations struck the party. First, these ruins seemed to show much less deterioration than very old Onorian ruins they had seen in the past (perhaps only 20-30 years as opposed to hundreds). Second, that some of the buildings seen around the area seemed to be very large columned or low pyramidal buildings that might be government or temple buildings (or some other special function).
As darkness came, the party decided to spend the night in the mostly intact ruins of a 3-story tower at the very top of the hill. The night passed without incident, although during Niam's watch from the shattered top floor, there was a brief period where flashes of greenish-yellow light could be seen on the horizon far to the south beyond the lake.
First thing in the morning (Sunday May 26), the party made their way back to the location of the gate. It activated when approached, and the characters stepped through one by one, appearing unharmed in the chamber they had arrived from. The party marched to Olmsby and spent the night there, arriving back in Linden late in the morning of Monday May 27.
Next (13, part 2) - Frayka and the Dawnstone.
With the magical get having closed behind them, and there still being several hours of daylight left, the group needed to decide what to do. Duncan's arcane knowledge led him to believe that since a command word had not been required to open the gate from the other side, this was probably a gate that would be dormant for some period of time before being able to be activated again.
 |
| Gate Exit Area (Players' map) |
With it being near dark, a quick view of the surroundings was all that could be managed, and the party slept in the house they arrived in.
The following day (Saturday May 25), the group restricted their exploring to the smaller hilltop area that they had arrived at, during which time they were attacked near dusk by a pair of gargoyles, killing one and badly wounding and driving off the other.
Two observations struck the party. First, these ruins seemed to show much less deterioration than very old Onorian ruins they had seen in the past (perhaps only 20-30 years as opposed to hundreds). Second, that some of the buildings seen around the area seemed to be very large columned or low pyramidal buildings that might be government or temple buildings (or some other special function).
As darkness came, the party decided to spend the night in the mostly intact ruins of a 3-story tower at the very top of the hill. The night passed without incident, although during Niam's watch from the shattered top floor, there was a brief period where flashes of greenish-yellow light could be seen on the horizon far to the south beyond the lake.
First thing in the morning (Sunday May 26), the party made their way back to the location of the gate. It activated when approached, and the characters stepped through one by one, appearing unharmed in the chamber they had arrived from. The party marched to Olmsby and spent the night there, arriving back in Linden late in the morning of Monday May 27.
Next (13, part 2) - Frayka and the Dawnstone.
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