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...
Monday, July 20, 2015
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.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Campaign Journal 12 - Local Ruins
We last left our heroes in Linden, having just arrived back from a three week journey to Talengard and Rimini.
Having just spent three weeks on the road, the group decided to do a little local exploring rather than embarking on a more substantial adventure. Perusing Ravar's sketch map of the area, and the locations of ruins on that map, the characters decided to investigate the ruins near the headwaters of the Perla stream, not far upstream from the location of their very first dungeon.
With plans to set out the next morning (Thursday May 23), the party was going about their business in town and got involved in a minor brawl in Linden's town square. A traveling troupe of entertainers were putting on an elaborate puppet show in the square, and a small crowd had gathered. Amongst these were 6 caravan guards from Mirraddi, who were typical of their people (long hair, braided beards and lots of tattoos). Causing a bit of an interruption in the proceedings were 5 members of a religious group known as the Prophets of Doom. The Prophets 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 rope sandals, and travel the roads and towns of the north, preaching gloom, doom and repentance for your sins. The Prophets also often shave their heads and tattoo their skulls with religious symbols.
In Linden's square, the Mirraddi swordsmen were watching the puppet show and the other entertainers, who were in turn being interrupted by the Prophets. The Mirraddians were getting increasingly annoyed, and were yelling at the Prophets, making fun of their shaved heads and tattoos. The Prophets were getting more aggressive, the Mirraddians were getting more annoyed, and Duncan decided for a little mischief and cast a Fog Cloud spell on the bunch of them. A simple fistfight ensued, the townspeople quickly emptied the square, and the party snuck away before the town guard arrived to settle matters.
The party left Linden on Thursday morning, passed through Olmsby and headed north up the trail past the Kel-Vandiir dungeon, camping for the night at a spot nearby that they had used on prior travels. The night was uneventful, and by 8am Friday morning, the party was heading north. They followed the old trail on the west bank of the Perla stream for about 3 miles, crossing to the east bank at a ford. The old trail continued northeast, but the party stayed by the stream, trudging through the grasslands. At about 10am, the flatlands came to an end, and the stream began climbing into some rolling hills. After a brief halt, they continued along the stream.
About a mile into the hills, as the party was following a game trail along the stream bank through a wooded section, they came around a bend and came face to face with a group of 5 fierce-looking creatures the size of a large man. These turned out to be bugbears, and a fight quickly ensued. The party, consisting at this point of Duncan (wizard), Malachy (barbarian warrior), Badric (dwarves cleric) and Niam (wood elf rogue), were hard-pressed, but eventually overcame the creatures after a very tough fight. With a few coins and a lot of wounds for their efforts, they rested for a couple hours, healed up, and continued northwards.
After another 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile through rugged wooded hills, the game trail came to a tiny valley nestled between a number of hills. In the valley were the remains of a half dozen or so buildings, including a ruined tower on a hill. They investigated the tower first, and found a stone staircase leading down, which had been very well hidden and overgrown with brush and vines. Clearing a way in, they headed down into the darkness.
The dungeon was in decent repair, and was not overly large. The first section contained a second stairway down to a number of old storerooms. There was a trapped door that Niam was unable to detect, and which did some damage.
The second section of the dungeon had more traps as they descended another staircase, and was of indeterminate purpose. After successfully navigating another trapped chamber, they went down another short flight of steps and came to a 25 foot wide section of passage that was filled with standing water to a depth of 3 feet or more. Beyond the water could be seen another short flight of stairs (this time leading up), and a faint pulsing green glow of light. After some discussion, Niam climbed down into the water and waded through to the other side. When nothing happened, the others safely did the same.
Climbing the stairs, the party entered a 30 foot side octagonal shaped room. In the center of the room was a waist-high black stone pillar, on which seemed to sit a pulsing and dimly glowing orb of green light. When people entered the room, the light glowed more brightly. Nothing else could be seen in the room, and when Niam attempted to touch the glowing orb, he found that it was insubstantial, and that his hand passed through it with no effect.
Not knowing what else to do, they left the chamber by the only other exit, and descended a staircase to a final chamber. The stone walls of the chamber were heavily carved with scenes of a settlement along the banks of a body of water, including large pillared buildings that might be temples or government buildings. In the far wall, opposite the stairs, was an outline of a doorway, carved in runes in the stone. When Niam approached, the area inside this "doorframe" began to glow and pulse with a swirling purplish-pink light. When he reached out his hand to touch it, he was instantaneously sucked through the doorway and disappeared.
The other characters, not wanting to be separated, immediately did the same. One by one, each reached out to touch the light, and was gone...
Next - Beyond the gate.
GM Commentary - Over the last few sessions, we have had a mix of our 7 players coming and going. As noted before, in the interests of keeping the party to a manageable size (I think 5 is ideal), we have taken the path of approaching the game from the standpoint of "if you are here, then your character is here; if you are not, your character isn't either." From a narrative standpoint, this leaves something to be desired, as a specific adventure spanning two sessions can have the cast of characters mysteriously change in midstream, but it is an accommodation that seems to be working fairly well.
From a level standpoint, all of our characters are level 3, with some fairly close to level 4. Depending on how the next session goes, we may have a couple of advancements next time. If not next time, then the session after that will be guaranteed. The increased flexibility in what I can throw at the party without them needing to run for their lives is nice.
A note on the dungeon map picture - I do my dungeons on graph paper, hand-drawn (the old school way). During sessions, I use a large flip-chart easel pad faintly printed with a 1" grid. We can quickly draw out what they find as they explore, and can put little colored beads and other markers on the map sheet to represent the characters as they move around and monsters that they encounter. This becomes the tactical map for running combats. The easel pads aren't cheap (about $30 US for a 30 sheet pad), but we rarely use more than 2 sheets in a session, and the ability to have a map on "large graph paper" that everyone around the table can see from several feet away makes it well worthwhile. Much better than everyone hovering around a tiny piece of paper...
Having just spent three weeks on the road, the group decided to do a little local exploring rather than embarking on a more substantial adventure. Perusing Ravar's sketch map of the area, and the locations of ruins on that map, the characters decided to investigate the ruins near the headwaters of the Perla stream, not far upstream from the location of their very first dungeon.
With plans to set out the next morning (Thursday May 23), the party was going about their business in town and got involved in a minor brawl in Linden's town square. A traveling troupe of entertainers were putting on an elaborate puppet show in the square, and a small crowd had gathered. Amongst these were 6 caravan guards from Mirraddi, who were typical of their people (long hair, braided beards and lots of tattoos). Causing a bit of an interruption in the proceedings were 5 members of a religious group known as the Prophets of Doom. The Prophets 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 rope sandals, and travel the roads and towns of the north, preaching gloom, doom and repentance for your sins. The Prophets also often shave their heads and tattoo their skulls with religious symbols.
In Linden's square, the Mirraddi swordsmen were watching the puppet show and the other entertainers, who were in turn being interrupted by the Prophets. The Mirraddians were getting increasingly annoyed, and were yelling at the Prophets, making fun of their shaved heads and tattoos. The Prophets were getting more aggressive, the Mirraddians were getting more annoyed, and Duncan decided for a little mischief and cast a Fog Cloud spell on the bunch of them. A simple fistfight ensued, the townspeople quickly emptied the square, and the party snuck away before the town guard arrived to settle matters.
 |
| Ravar's Map - South end |
The party left Linden on Thursday morning, passed through Olmsby and headed north up the trail past the Kel-Vandiir dungeon, camping for the night at a spot nearby that they had used on prior travels. The night was uneventful, and by 8am Friday morning, the party was heading north. They followed the old trail on the west bank of the Perla stream for about 3 miles, crossing to the east bank at a ford. The old trail continued northeast, but the party stayed by the stream, trudging through the grasslands. At about 10am, the flatlands came to an end, and the stream began climbing into some rolling hills. After a brief halt, they continued along the stream.
About a mile into the hills, as the party was following a game trail along the stream bank through a wooded section, they came around a bend and came face to face with a group of 5 fierce-looking creatures the size of a large man. These turned out to be bugbears, and a fight quickly ensued. The party, consisting at this point of Duncan (wizard), Malachy (barbarian warrior), Badric (dwarves cleric) and Niam (wood elf rogue), were hard-pressed, but eventually overcame the creatures after a very tough fight. With a few coins and a lot of wounds for their efforts, they rested for a couple hours, healed up, and continued northwards.
After another 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile through rugged wooded hills, the game trail came to a tiny valley nestled between a number of hills. In the valley were the remains of a half dozen or so buildings, including a ruined tower on a hill. They investigated the tower first, and found a stone staircase leading down, which had been very well hidden and overgrown with brush and vines. Clearing a way in, they headed down into the darkness.
The dungeon was in decent repair, and was not overly large. The first section contained a second stairway down to a number of old storerooms. There was a trapped door that Niam was unable to detect, and which did some damage.
 |
| Dungeon at Ranatayza |
The second section of the dungeon had more traps as they descended another staircase, and was of indeterminate purpose. After successfully navigating another trapped chamber, they went down another short flight of steps and came to a 25 foot wide section of passage that was filled with standing water to a depth of 3 feet or more. Beyond the water could be seen another short flight of stairs (this time leading up), and a faint pulsing green glow of light. After some discussion, Niam climbed down into the water and waded through to the other side. When nothing happened, the others safely did the same.
Climbing the stairs, the party entered a 30 foot side octagonal shaped room. In the center of the room was a waist-high black stone pillar, on which seemed to sit a pulsing and dimly glowing orb of green light. When people entered the room, the light glowed more brightly. Nothing else could be seen in the room, and when Niam attempted to touch the glowing orb, he found that it was insubstantial, and that his hand passed through it with no effect.
Not knowing what else to do, they left the chamber by the only other exit, and descended a staircase to a final chamber. The stone walls of the chamber were heavily carved with scenes of a settlement along the banks of a body of water, including large pillared buildings that might be temples or government buildings. In the far wall, opposite the stairs, was an outline of a doorway, carved in runes in the stone. When Niam approached, the area inside this "doorframe" began to glow and pulse with a swirling purplish-pink light. When he reached out his hand to touch it, he was instantaneously sucked through the doorway and disappeared.
The other characters, not wanting to be separated, immediately did the same. One by one, each reached out to touch the light, and was gone...
Next - Beyond the gate.
GM Commentary - Over the last few sessions, we have had a mix of our 7 players coming and going. As noted before, in the interests of keeping the party to a manageable size (I think 5 is ideal), we have taken the path of approaching the game from the standpoint of "if you are here, then your character is here; if you are not, your character isn't either." From a narrative standpoint, this leaves something to be desired, as a specific adventure spanning two sessions can have the cast of characters mysteriously change in midstream, but it is an accommodation that seems to be working fairly well.
From a level standpoint, all of our characters are level 3, with some fairly close to level 4. Depending on how the next session goes, we may have a couple of advancements next time. If not next time, then the session after that will be guaranteed. The increased flexibility in what I can throw at the party without them needing to run for their lives is nice.
A note on the dungeon map picture - I do my dungeons on graph paper, hand-drawn (the old school way). During sessions, I use a large flip-chart easel pad faintly printed with a 1" grid. We can quickly draw out what they find as they explore, and can put little colored beads and other markers on the map sheet to represent the characters as they move around and monsters that they encounter. This becomes the tactical map for running combats. The easel pads aren't cheap (about $30 US for a 30 sheet pad), but we rarely use more than 2 sheets in a session, and the ability to have a map on "large graph paper" that everyone around the table can see from several feet away makes it well worthwhile. Much better than everyone hovering around a tiny piece of paper...
Monday, May 18, 2015
Campaign Journal 11 - Visiting Talengard
We last left our heroes in Linden, preparing to journey to see the sages of Talengard, in the hopes of selling 65-70 antique books, and potentially gaining other information...
The party left Linden on Tuesday April 30, heading east on the Great North Road, in two horse-drawn carts. They had 65-70 antique books to sell, a 6 foot by 6 foot antique carved wooden artwork panel depicting a fight between several warriors and a dragon, as well as some pieces of salvaged arms and armor of modest value. These would all be sold to raise as much money as possible, and to gain information that would help the party's future explorations. Mordecai (NPC fighter) expressed an interest in cashing out his share of the treasure so that he continue a few days further on into Alsberg, where he could visit his father and give him some money.
The trip east through Wegley and Nandra was uneventful, and the party reached Talengard on Tuesday May 7th, 8 days out of Linden. Duncan and Niam (wizard and rogue) were dispatched to meet with the sages of Talengard regarding a potential sale of the books, while the remainder of the party stayed in the town of the same name.
Duncan and Niam first met with a minor administrator, but when the size and rarity of the collection they were trying to sell became apparent, Oleran Graybeard, Master of the Library, came to discuss matters with them himself. Much of the day was spent in allowing time for numerous sages in various specialties to exam the works, after which some negotiating was needed. The sages valued the collection at 6,700 GP (a princely sum!), but as Bertram, the Master of Coin, explained, that was an amount of coin that they could easily come up with. The next day, it was agreed that 2,500 would be paid in cash, and 4,200 would be paid in "credit" for future services where the sages could be of use. The party was also provided with a much better map of Onoria than the very simple sketch map which was all they had access to previously, and a couple of small journals of adventurers who had traveled the area in the past.
Before leaving, Eustace of Jasla, the sage they had saved near Castle Langborne, and his mentor Bethziral (an elderly halfling) came to visit with the party. Knowing of their interest in Castle Langborne, Bethziral had some additional information to share. Based on her researches, she said that she believed Alferith Langborne was a direct descendent of the Tramantine family, and that was probably one of the reasons he returned to Brin-Dendra (as it was known in the Elder days). The Tramantine family were the Dukes of Sesteval, which roughly covered what is now the Shearingvale and surrounding lands in southeast Onoria. The other reason she believes he went to Brin-Dendra is because of the legends of something called the Soulfire Beacon. Legend has it that the Soulfire Beacon was the culmination of the Tramantine family's researched into dark magic. Some tales say that it is a powerful artifact that uses sacrificial life forces from the living to summon and control the dead. Others say that it is some sort of gate or portal to the underworld, or to a different plane of existence where the souls of the dead rest. Bethziral said that the only specific mention she had uncovered as to the location of the Soulfire Beacon is that it is near a place in deepest mines under the town, a place where the delvings had broken through into the Underdark. It is a place said to be holy to the duergar (the dark dwarves).
After spending the night in Talengard town, the party decided to head to Greva (one day southeast) and then on to the city of Rimini (another day east). In Rimini, they would change their new coins into gems for portability, sell the carved artwork panels, and buy some better gear while they were in a large city.
After two full days in Rimini, the group left on Monday May 13, and had an uneventful trip west along the Great North Road and back to Linden, where they arrived on Tuesday the 21st.
Next - And now what?
GM Commentary - This was a full three hour session where not a single die was rolled in anger. I was OK with it, as some important things happened from the standpoint of building out the world and setting up future adventures (at least from a myth/legend and history of the world standpoint). I hope the players were OK with it, as there was experience awarded for goals and information learned and gathered.
The party left Linden on Tuesday April 30, heading east on the Great North Road, in two horse-drawn carts. They had 65-70 antique books to sell, a 6 foot by 6 foot antique carved wooden artwork panel depicting a fight between several warriors and a dragon, as well as some pieces of salvaged arms and armor of modest value. These would all be sold to raise as much money as possible, and to gain information that would help the party's future explorations. Mordecai (NPC fighter) expressed an interest in cashing out his share of the treasure so that he continue a few days further on into Alsberg, where he could visit his father and give him some money.
The trip east through Wegley and Nandra was uneventful, and the party reached Talengard on Tuesday May 7th, 8 days out of Linden. Duncan and Niam (wizard and rogue) were dispatched to meet with the sages of Talengard regarding a potential sale of the books, while the remainder of the party stayed in the town of the same name.
 |
| Talengard and the Grand Duchy of Rimini (6 mile - Hexographer) |
Duncan and Niam first met with a minor administrator, but when the size and rarity of the collection they were trying to sell became apparent, Oleran Graybeard, Master of the Library, came to discuss matters with them himself. Much of the day was spent in allowing time for numerous sages in various specialties to exam the works, after which some negotiating was needed. The sages valued the collection at 6,700 GP (a princely sum!), but as Bertram, the Master of Coin, explained, that was an amount of coin that they could easily come up with. The next day, it was agreed that 2,500 would be paid in cash, and 4,200 would be paid in "credit" for future services where the sages could be of use. The party was also provided with a much better map of Onoria than the very simple sketch map which was all they had access to previously, and a couple of small journals of adventurers who had traveled the area in the past.
Before leaving, Eustace of Jasla, the sage they had saved near Castle Langborne, and his mentor Bethziral (an elderly halfling) came to visit with the party. Knowing of their interest in Castle Langborne, Bethziral had some additional information to share. Based on her researches, she said that she believed Alferith Langborne was a direct descendent of the Tramantine family, and that was probably one of the reasons he returned to Brin-Dendra (as it was known in the Elder days). The Tramantine family were the Dukes of Sesteval, which roughly covered what is now the Shearingvale and surrounding lands in southeast Onoria. The other reason she believes he went to Brin-Dendra is because of the legends of something called the Soulfire Beacon. Legend has it that the Soulfire Beacon was the culmination of the Tramantine family's researched into dark magic. Some tales say that it is a powerful artifact that uses sacrificial life forces from the living to summon and control the dead. Others say that it is some sort of gate or portal to the underworld, or to a different plane of existence where the souls of the dead rest. Bethziral said that the only specific mention she had uncovered as to the location of the Soulfire Beacon is that it is near a place in deepest mines under the town, a place where the delvings had broken through into the Underdark. It is a place said to be holy to the duergar (the dark dwarves).
After spending the night in Talengard town, the party decided to head to Greva (one day southeast) and then on to the city of Rimini (another day east). In Rimini, they would change their new coins into gems for portability, sell the carved artwork panels, and buy some better gear while they were in a large city.
After two full days in Rimini, the group left on Monday May 13, and had an uneventful trip west along the Great North Road and back to Linden, where they arrived on Tuesday the 21st.
Next - And now what?
GM Commentary - This was a full three hour session where not a single die was rolled in anger. I was OK with it, as some important things happened from the standpoint of building out the world and setting up future adventures (at least from a myth/legend and history of the world standpoint). I hope the players were OK with it, as there was experience awarded for goals and information learned and gathered.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Campaign Journal 10 - The East Laboratory
Further Explorations of Castle Langborne's Dungeons
We left our heroes in a secure room in the East Basements level, bedding down for the night to rest and recuperate.
The night passed uneventfully, and in the morning, as the party was leaving the chamber, sharpeyed Melior the Druid noticed some faint scratch marks on the floor in the southeast corner of the room. This turned out to be a secret door leading to more stairs descending further. The stairs showed years of undisturbed dust.
After descending another 40 feet or so, the party came out into what was once an alchemical laboratory or something similar. There were old stone and wooden tables and stools, many shelves lining the walls, and a large amount of very old arcane equipment. Storage rooms to the east were explored.
When the door to the north (right in the picture) was opened, a waft of fresh air swept across the party, and a magical light began to glow, illuminating what was obviously a library. Stone alcove shelves lined the walls, and a table and chairs were in the center of the room. The room seemed to have magical climate control, and the combination of steady temperature and humidity levels had preserved approximately 100 of the books, tomes, grimoires and sets of scrolls stored here (not all were salvageable). These books were made of all imaginable kinds of materials, and were written in a variety of languages. A few hours of going through the books and finding the ones that were still in good condition made the characters realize that they had found a treasure trove of great value. Perhaps 25-30 of the works would be useful in forming the foundation of a wizard's library for Duncan, and the remainder would be of value to sages or collectors. They covered all sorts of subjects (alchemy, biology, mathematics, natural history, astronomy, history, etc), and it was estimated that they might be worth thousands of gold in the right hands.
In searching the library, a secret door was found in the east wall which led to a short tunnel. In the tunnel was a small chest sitting on a wooden crate. The crate was filled with decaying green and gold clothing, obviously the livery colors of someone's household. The small chest had a dozen pieces of jewelry and a note. The note (written in an older dialect of high elven) said:
My dearest Estrellia, Despite your youth, you show the signs of having a gift in the Art. In these dangerous times, that is both a gift and a curse. I have been called to the battlefield, and leave in the morning. Rumor is that General Tamarka fell yesterday, although I know not if this is true. They say that a demon-led orc horde has crossed into the Central Plains, and threatens to overrun everything north of the Serintan. I know that you will be using the library, and so I hope that you will find this. I have set aside these things that should be of help to you should you choose to follow the path that I, and many others of our ancestors have taken. –Grandpa Max
Duncan was given a chance to make an Arcana roll to see if this meant anything to him. He would need to roll a natural 20 to succeed...and rolled a natural 20. Duncan's reading on famous wizards of the past allowed him to recognize that this probably referred to Maximilian Baroka and his granddaughter Estrellia Baroka (known as Estrellia the Savage). These were two of the most famous of a family of wizards (Conjurers especially) from late in the Elder times. This letter itself was probably also of value to a sage or collector.
Among the pieces of jewelry, two items of magic were discovered. One was identified to be a Ring of Protection +2, and one was identified to be Bracers of Fire Resistance. The ring went to Duncan (?) and the bracers went to Malachy.
The decision was made that what they had found thus far was realistically all that they could carry, and that they would travel back to Linden, and then on to Talengard to sell the books.
An ankheg (a gigantic earth-tunneling praying mantis type creature that spits acid) was killed on the way home. The trip was otherwise uneventful.
Next - The party has decided to head to the sage enclave of Talengard in the Grand Duchy of Rimini, approximately a week's journey east on the Great North Road.
GM Commentary - Outside the game, we discussed experience for non-combat goals and discoveries and how I want this to open up the storyline and the choices that the players can choose to make. We also touched on the fact that we now have more characters than comfortably make a medium sized party (and than we have players who regularly show up), and how we should deal with this. I don't know that we have a good answer yet...
The issue with our party size, characters and players is this:
We originally had four player characters and two NPCs to fill out a reasonable (and survivable) party of 1st level characters. Then we gained another adult player and a teenager whose father would sit in and make sure she was doing ok (and to see what D&D was all about). All three of the new people are enjoying the game, and show up pretty much all the time. The teenager has rolled her own new character, so we now have a dwarven paladin. The new adult is content to adopt the NPC druid as his own and make it his player character, which is great. That gives us 7 characters. The teen's father is into it, and we are going to create a character for him (he has been playing our rogue, who is a player character whose owner can rarely make it). That will give us 8. Eight is a lot. Perhaps too many. Now that characters are all 3rd level (and not that far from 4th), they have a lot more hit points, spells, abilities, etc. Challenging a party of 8 in combat encounters would be challenging for me (the GM). Eight characters in a dungeon crawl feels like a small army to me.
So I'm not quite sure what to do. We can play with all 8 and adapt. We can make the one remaining NPC (fighter) go away, which would get us down to 7. We could make the campaign more "one-shot" oriented where each playing session could be tailored to "you do 3-3.5 hours of gaming in doing xyz then you all go back to town at the end of every session". Whoever shows up at the session would have their character involved; those that didn't wouldn't (XP gaps would develop as two of our players can rarely make it). Or we could keep the narrative as it is and bend reality to say that players who are not present at sessions just vanish in and out of the narrative depending on when they can be present. From a story telling standpoint, I'm not sure I can happily get my head around that. We'll have to see where this goes...
We left our heroes in a secure room in the East Basements level, bedding down for the night to rest and recuperate.
The night passed uneventfully, and in the morning, as the party was leaving the chamber, sharpeyed Melior the Druid noticed some faint scratch marks on the floor in the southeast corner of the room. This turned out to be a secret door leading to more stairs descending further. The stairs showed years of undisturbed dust.
After descending another 40 feet or so, the party came out into what was once an alchemical laboratory or something similar. There were old stone and wooden tables and stools, many shelves lining the walls, and a large amount of very old arcane equipment. Storage rooms to the east were explored.
 |
| Castle Langborne's East Labs sub-level |
When the door to the north (right in the picture) was opened, a waft of fresh air swept across the party, and a magical light began to glow, illuminating what was obviously a library. Stone alcove shelves lined the walls, and a table and chairs were in the center of the room. The room seemed to have magical climate control, and the combination of steady temperature and humidity levels had preserved approximately 100 of the books, tomes, grimoires and sets of scrolls stored here (not all were salvageable). These books were made of all imaginable kinds of materials, and were written in a variety of languages. A few hours of going through the books and finding the ones that were still in good condition made the characters realize that they had found a treasure trove of great value. Perhaps 25-30 of the works would be useful in forming the foundation of a wizard's library for Duncan, and the remainder would be of value to sages or collectors. They covered all sorts of subjects (alchemy, biology, mathematics, natural history, astronomy, history, etc), and it was estimated that they might be worth thousands of gold in the right hands.
In searching the library, a secret door was found in the east wall which led to a short tunnel. In the tunnel was a small chest sitting on a wooden crate. The crate was filled with decaying green and gold clothing, obviously the livery colors of someone's household. The small chest had a dozen pieces of jewelry and a note. The note (written in an older dialect of high elven) said:
My dearest Estrellia, Despite your youth, you show the signs of having a gift in the Art. In these dangerous times, that is both a gift and a curse. I have been called to the battlefield, and leave in the morning. Rumor is that General Tamarka fell yesterday, although I know not if this is true. They say that a demon-led orc horde has crossed into the Central Plains, and threatens to overrun everything north of the Serintan. I know that you will be using the library, and so I hope that you will find this. I have set aside these things that should be of help to you should you choose to follow the path that I, and many others of our ancestors have taken. –Grandpa Max
Duncan was given a chance to make an Arcana roll to see if this meant anything to him. He would need to roll a natural 20 to succeed...and rolled a natural 20. Duncan's reading on famous wizards of the past allowed him to recognize that this probably referred to Maximilian Baroka and his granddaughter Estrellia Baroka (known as Estrellia the Savage). These were two of the most famous of a family of wizards (Conjurers especially) from late in the Elder times. This letter itself was probably also of value to a sage or collector.
Among the pieces of jewelry, two items of magic were discovered. One was identified to be a Ring of Protection +2, and one was identified to be Bracers of Fire Resistance. The ring went to Duncan (?) and the bracers went to Malachy.
The decision was made that what they had found thus far was realistically all that they could carry, and that they would travel back to Linden, and then on to Talengard to sell the books.
An ankheg (a gigantic earth-tunneling praying mantis type creature that spits acid) was killed on the way home. The trip was otherwise uneventful.
Next - The party has decided to head to the sage enclave of Talengard in the Grand Duchy of Rimini, approximately a week's journey east on the Great North Road.
GM Commentary - Outside the game, we discussed experience for non-combat goals and discoveries and how I want this to open up the storyline and the choices that the players can choose to make. We also touched on the fact that we now have more characters than comfortably make a medium sized party (and than we have players who regularly show up), and how we should deal with this. I don't know that we have a good answer yet...
The issue with our party size, characters and players is this:
We originally had four player characters and two NPCs to fill out a reasonable (and survivable) party of 1st level characters. Then we gained another adult player and a teenager whose father would sit in and make sure she was doing ok (and to see what D&D was all about). All three of the new people are enjoying the game, and show up pretty much all the time. The teenager has rolled her own new character, so we now have a dwarven paladin. The new adult is content to adopt the NPC druid as his own and make it his player character, which is great. That gives us 7 characters. The teen's father is into it, and we are going to create a character for him (he has been playing our rogue, who is a player character whose owner can rarely make it). That will give us 8. Eight is a lot. Perhaps too many. Now that characters are all 3rd level (and not that far from 4th), they have a lot more hit points, spells, abilities, etc. Challenging a party of 8 in combat encounters would be challenging for me (the GM). Eight characters in a dungeon crawl feels like a small army to me.
So I'm not quite sure what to do. We can play with all 8 and adapt. We can make the one remaining NPC (fighter) go away, which would get us down to 7. We could make the campaign more "one-shot" oriented where each playing session could be tailored to "you do 3-3.5 hours of gaming in doing xyz then you all go back to town at the end of every session". Whoever shows up at the session would have their character involved; those that didn't wouldn't (XP gaps would develop as two of our players can rarely make it). Or we could keep the narrative as it is and bend reality to say that players who are not present at sessions just vanish in and out of the narrative depending on when they can be present. From a story telling standpoint, I'm not sure I can happily get my head around that. We'll have to see where this goes...
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