As I put together the initial details of what will be the 13th and final session for the group, I find the planning to be a lot easier (in a very morbid "it's all over" sort of way)

I get to show how lots of plots were connected (or not connected as the case may be) and there is a strong feeling of closure for me, mentally.

I do feel a little awkward because I am doing an artificial level increase for the PCs (something I don't like doing), but in doing so it will let the players get to play with lots of new goodies and it will also let the group end at the end of the heroic tier (level 10, which is arbitrary, but none the less, some people like that as an ending point) -- and why not go out with a memorable bang, right?

They'll have a tough set of fights ahead of them (that's all I can say in case the players are reading)... hopefully it won't result in a TPK!

fba827

(kind of rushed copy/paste - might not make much sense to those who weren't present)

The party and allied forces headed back to the city. En route, you met a savage humanoid mother was seeking revenge on wizards who killed her sons (as well as the rest of the males in her village); she was stalking your powerful group to determine if any of you were ones that she was seeking. The Royal Guardsmen convinced her to come along to see the King, in case he could do anything to help her, especially if people are going around destroying villages (and also because they didn't want a savage vigilante running around unchecked, but they wouldn't tell her that part).

The King wanted to see you right away. He thanked you for your efforts and then wanted to talk to you in private (without his guards). He seemed a little angry but it turns out, he wasn't angry with you but rather because his wife was kidnapped. As ransom, it was said that he stop the investigation of the Greenspire estate, and turn over the artifacts as well as Basil, Melenna, and Brennan. Though, rather than trick the trio to their deaths as the letter suggested, the King asked for their help (not as the King, but as a man who wants his wife back in one piece).

Meanwhile the grieving mother was not allowed to see the King due her resistance at removing some bone daggers, so instead she was directed to speak with Mayor Rohan. There, she told him her story and what she knew of the incident. Rohan suggested that she travel with the party if only because the party seemed to have some knowledge of clues that she had. Brennan made the savage newcomer promise not to reveal anything she was about to see, and she agreed.

The group did some leg work activities: researching new rituals and asking around town about the queen's past (to confirm whether or not she was really kidnapped or a willing participant in the random demands). They also cast speak with dead on Theurge, using some of the lich dust, resulting in Theurge being reborn! Though, he was very tired from the ordeal his body, mind, and soul has undergone. Doing Object Readings on the ransom note they learned more of the circumstances surrounding the letter's writing, delivery, and drop-off: it was apparently written by Duncan, delivered by some skinny goblin, and the queen was apparently unconscious during the letter drop-off. They also learned about the jade statue of Sureya, which seemed to be chiseled by a trio of halflings under the direction of Duncan.

The group debated between several options but ultimately chose to go to the mausoleum (where the first queen was buried) since the king was going there for his weekly visit and also because one interpretation of the ransom letter suggested this to be the ransom delivery site. They lift open the sarcophagus and find no body (or parts), and instead find an emerald green portal.

Jumping down in the portal, they find themselves in a cavernous room with no apparent exits. There is a warning written in the air that they are expecting the artifacts and any doublecrossers will be left to rot. In the alcove on the side is a keystone, whose rune matches a carving on the wall. Placing the stone to the rune carving causes another portal to open. Quickly the shuffle through the emerald opening.

The group finds themselves in another chamber, though Brennan somehow did not appear with you - somehow he vanished while crossing through. There was a fight with some fleshy creatures whose bodies were covered in jaws filled with sharp teeth, and one was even crawling on the wall by digging its teeth into the stone and spitting it's thick saliva to hold people in place.

After dispatching the aberrations, you take a moment to recover from your injuries and then go to examine the pile of keystones in the corner (each with a different rune on its face). After some searching, you find one keystone whose rune matches the carving on the wall. Placing the stone to the wall, a green portal opens and the party quickly goes through ...

fba827

Since session #13 will be the last one for the group, and by 'hard numbers' the party isn't quite 7th level yet, I offered two options to the players ...

Would the prefer to end the campaign at level 8 or level 10?

Sure, it's just an arbitrary number and simply represents how much 'stuff' they get.

Either choice has some advantages...

Option A: The campaign ends at level 10.

Advantage: From a very arbitrary definition, it seems 'complete' to say the campaign ended at the end of the 'heroic' tier.

Disadvantage: It will mean you get -several- new feats and powers in a short period of time, which could be overwhelming and may take some time to get used to your own character.


Option B: The campaign ends at level 8.

Advantage: It is a manageable amount of new powers to get in a short period of time (so you won't feel overwhelmed by radical changes in your character, while still getting several new things to try out)

Disadvantage: it's "fewer" new things to try out (when compared to Option A)


It's entirely a player-personal-preference about what they feel is manageable and yet still exciting, all in effort to end the group with a bang.

While I (the DM) have a preference, I can see the appeal of either choice. And I just want to end the group on a high note so that's why I offered them the vote/option.

If your group was currently at level 6 and offered the chance to end the campaign -in one session- would you prefer it to end at level 8 or level 10?

Edit: I've heard back from most of the players by now.. unsurprisingly, they all had different opinions for different reasons, but it was mostly what I expected to hear from the various individuals. Some strongly prefer one or the other, others are okay either way but prefer one or the other, and some are just indifferent. By taking a mathematical average of the continuum of votes, it comes out -very- close but a slight edge to one of them...

Now the trick is to come up with a 'clean' way to implement it all because I refuse to have them all just go for a lunch break and come back to 'work' 5 minutes later being multiple levels higher.

fba827

So the current group for this campaign is about to come to an end due to time and energy constraints on the part of the DM (me). I am hoping to have one to two more sessions (session 12 and 13), but then that leaves the question ...

How to wrap up plots and the group in a limited time when using a very player-driven campaign style?

I could bluntly direct them towards the secret hideout of the bad guys and have an epic fight with everyone they have been searching for ...

I could drop not so subtle hints about where to go and just hope that the party goes there

Else, I could just let the party continue to go as they please (as they have been doing up until now) and just when I need to say "enough we need to stop" have a way/excuse to have the various bad guys come to them wherever they are.


Whatever way I go, I want the players to continue a sense of control (whether they really have control or I am just making them think they have it is irrelevant)... and I also don't want to do anything that seems forced/unnatural since I have made a conscious point of making sure any/all actions on the part of the 'bad guys' fits with their schemes and motivations and knowledge -- they wouldn't do something stupid like attacking the PCs for no reason.

To add in to the mix, I have a player who isn't able to attend, as well as a guest-player to fill out the party due to the one absence. So factoring in a 'clean' way to have one PC not participate and have another PC meet the party and have a reason to stick with them are other things I'll have to work in.

I have told the players to expect one to two more sessions, though in retrospect the way I phrased it has led some people are expecting the next session to be the last one -- which wouldn't be a bad thing either considering my grad school schedule ... So a lot to play by ear to see how fluid/unobtrusive I can make it, but still end on a high note!

What have your "end of campaign AND end of group" sessions been like?

fba827

Slightly different format for the recap this time (less list, more fluff because this is a copy/paste for a recap I had to write for an absent player); though I think I prefer the 'list' format better because it's easier to 'glance' for info ...

The group met with the king for the second appointment. They told him of the situation at the ruined Delphus (the dragon, the beholder, the 2 trolls, the ice barricades, the Farwalker journal). During the conversation, the king told of the Sureya investigation status: after questioning the guests it seems no one has personal first-hand knowledge of actually having seen or spoken to Sureya for months, questioning the staff they (eventually) said that she has been out of town for months. The king further goes on to say that Sureya's estate is continually being watched by men from the royal guard. Finally, the king also gave the group the time and place where the Necklace of the Ruby Flame's destruction ritual was going to be cast and (although the king did not necessarily care if you were there) said that since you showed interest in being present that you could get to that location to meet his royal guard that would be doing the ritual (it was going to be done in a spot a few days west, so out in the former war-zone, away from the kingdom itself).

With a couple days to spare, Melenna and Syd studied the rituals in the Farwalker journal, Brennan went to investigate around town in case there was something for him to do while waiting, and Basil went to catch the Bullthorns as they were leaving to get some allies to join in the task of facing whatever was to be released from the necklace. Melenna took an opportunity in the evening to get herself invited to one of Sureya's evening parties (going as a guest of a random man named Ambrose), she snooped around (even found that those "security" auras from the paintings were detecting the presence/absence of certain creatures but couldn't tell more than that) nor was she able to see actual evidence of Sureya other than second hand reports of people saying "they think they saw her around". Once the grop regrouped, they also visited Timor to get help for the coming battle (and got a couple priests of Melora assigned to help). They also visited Aleena to get help (and got a couple paladins of Pelor assigned to help). Keep in mind that none of these gathered allies (except for the royal guard) know the specifics of the background, they only know they are coming to help take care of an evil thing.

With the gathered allies, the group heads to the ritual site being prepared by the royal guardsmen. Upon arrival, they find that some of the royal guardsmen had been killed enroute to the site due to antics of the necklace on the way. The ritual is cast on the necklace and the others ready for what is to come. As the ritual is finished, a crack forms in the ruby pendant of the necklace - the flame that once burned inside of it extinguishes and out of the smoke near the necklace emerges a grotesque humanoid woman. Her limbs are bony and gaunt while her face and skin seems almost decayed. All around her, the prevalence of death and decay can be felt burning the flesh of anyone that approaches her. Nyssa is the first to realize that this is a rare being, once a creature of flesh that has been warped by necrotic rituals and forgotten lore of undeath (a lich).

A long and hard battle ensues as the lich causes several skeletons (forgotten dead left buried in natural shallow graves from the war) to crawl their way through to the surface. The lich continued to burn the ground with fiery energy that drained life, as well as her necrotic aura, and tossing blasts of energy at those who annoyed her. The skeletons continued to claw at the forces with burning claws. The allied forces (Royal Guards, Bullthorns, Priests, Paladins) and the PCs fight off the skeletons and the lich. During the fight, Melenna grabs the necklace in case it had an effect on the lich (though it did not seem to) as well as blasting away at the skeletons and slowing the lich so that she could not get away. Brennan worked on taking out skeletons one at a time and eventually blasting at the lich with radiant energy. Syd helped blast the skeletons and his prescience helped counter some attacks against his friends. Basil directed the forces around the field, and coordinated their attacks so that everyone helped weave and distract the lich so that others would have an easier time of striking. Nyssa, despite her fragile appearance, caused the most destruction to the lich, for her spirit was somehow protected from the brunt of the liches effects, causing her minimal discomfort and with rage she managed to critically strike the lich several times with her blade sheathed in radiant fire. The skeletons were destroyed and the lich eventually killed and crumbled in to dust. Between the healing of the allies, the only major casualty on the allied forces was that of a paladin (sent by Aleena). However, with the healing skills and attention from the force, he too was saved from any permanent damage despite the pain he suffered.


Current in game time: November 07, 7791, noon.
Melenna, Syd, Nyssa, Brennan: have riding horses on loan from the king
Basil and the allied Bullthorns: have warhorses
The clerics and paladins: have riding horses from their own orders.

Party Location: At the aftermath of the battle site. Though we may just fast forward back to the city at the start of next session if no one has any particular thing to do out here.

fba827

(in a brief list format since i'm tired, sick, and short on time -- and more grammar and spelling mistakes than usual because i'm not rereading as i type)

* The group spread around town to gather information. Some asked specifically about Sureya while others asked around for people matching the description of "The Mistress," some asked random strangers while others checked in with allies (Aleena and Sarim). Eventually, you were directed to Sureya's house in the wealthier district of the city. A brief external survey revealed a walled perimeter and door guards.

* Brennan woke up the next morning feeling a little weak and with his hair starting to turn a little gray, as best as you can guess, a side-effect from his experimentation with the earrings the day before.

* The group had their second meeting with the king and (eventually) turned over all the artifacts that you had, and gave him Canmore's message of "I will turn over the ring when his brothers are no longer a threat" though the king still wants to talk to Canmore and get that ring, Canmore neither wants to be meet the king nor give up the ring (until the family situation/threat is neutralized).

* The king is also holding the jade statue for you (so when it turns in to a creature at night and slays all within his palace, you'll know what happened :-P )

* Based on the stories you've told him so far, the King rewarded each of you with personally selected items for your help so far.

* The King says you're welcome to check back in two days (after he's had a chance to talk to his advisers and experts) so that he'll have a better plan on how to deal with Malcom, Duncan, Sureya (whose house he says he'll have watched for now), protecting or destroying the artifacts that he currently has, and getting the artifacts he doesn't have...

* You later went to go check at Sureya's manor to confirm that she was there... there was a party going on and none of you saw her, though people at the party mentioned she was around, and it was suggested that she might be "entertaining" male guests.

* Melenna found lots of magical traps and wards around the house (she was the only one who was able to go in further than just the foyer)

* Mitra, the captain of Sureya's house guard, said she'd relay your message to Sureya though you got the impression that she was just humoring you as a courtesy.

* At request of the King, you head to Daphnis (a mid-sized city in the plains just west of the Elara Mnts), to investigate how viable it would be to start relocating some of the refugees there as a permanent settlement annex to the Kingdom of Tarvos. He further explains that some of his own men went there to do that and have not been heard of since.

* You get to Daphnis - the main gate entrance is completely covered over by a slab of ice, but breeches along the wall make it simple enough to still get in. The city is mostly in ruins without an animal in sight, just some overgrowth and brush collecting in areas.

* Nestled in the ruins of a large building in the city center is a dragon (Azameer), and near him are a beholder and 2 trolls. The dragon lets you talk to him for as long as you continue amusing him and stimulating him with conversation, plays, and ballads -- some of your stories were more successful than others. But your glib tongue kept the situation from getting out of hand.

* Eventually you were told to leave when you were no longer amusing, and, surprisingly, not a single attack was drawn by any creature (the beholder and 2 trolls seem to be holding position at the dragon's behest). And, as you left, as a result of your epic-like diplomatic charms in your farewells (I guess at that point, he was more amused by your leaving than by your staying ), Melenna was able to take a book (the nature journal) with her - it is a record of local flora and fauna (animal and plant species seen in the area, a little about the prime growing season and migration patterns, and so on) as well as a few nature-related rituals interspersed.

* On the way back to the city, the party is accosted by some bandits who seem to think (at your mention of ties to the king) that you would fetch a good ransom price. Combat ensued and it was a difficult ... for them! Between veils of darkness, tight maneuvering that left no quarter to move without more strikes, grabs from chilling hands, radiant burning from moving, being knocked with such force to be tossed around the narrow ledge .... in the end, the party won with some minor casualties but no permanent injuries.

As of the end of the session, you made it back to the city. You probably have a couple hours before the follow-up meeting with the king if there was anything you wanted to do (otherwise, next time we'll pick up with the meeting with the king)

---
Incidentally, this marked the group's second encounter with a nonhumanoid creature (the first was the fateful blob of shadow essence), but the first encounter with an intelligent nonhumanoid creature (be it friend or foe).

fba827

Last session turned in to an exposition-heavy and role-play focused session, not a single combat encounter, other than 2 rounds of intraparty conflict resolution when the new PCs and the old PCs did not trust each other upon meeting...

But that session did not go without casualties...

I say this in jest, but the greatest damage was done to the campaign story!

And now, my greatest challenge in planning next session is how to help the story recover from its damage.

Again, I preface all this by saying that I use the word "damage" in jest, but it is a close enough for the purpose of explaining.

You see, the PCs have drastically changed the direction of the campaign - they involved the king who has, in his own opinion, better resources and command to lead and handle the "meta plot situation," thus, he wants to take control of it.

On one hand, i don't mind at all - it is a natural evolution of the story.

On the other hand, it puts me in a difficult position in how to make it interesting and keep it PC-focused when they have now involved better equipped persons... it is much trickier this way. While I do have a vague idea on how to do it (I can't say it now in case my players are reading), that idea feels weak. I only hope that between now and the next session (a couple weeks away) I'll be able to figure how to better flesh it out in to a more solid plot center.

fba827

Slightly out of order for simplicity

Pre-session:
1) Nyssa and sydd meet Kara, a woman escaping some goblins.

2) While escaping, the three feel a tremor, and Kara falls in to a crevice.

3) Under ground, Sydd and Nyssa fight some small earth elementals as well as some kobolds that were holding some dwarves as slaves.

4) The trio eventually continue on and get to Talon Lake ...

In Game sesion start: Oct 25, 7791, 3pm

1) Melenna finishes casting gentle repose on the bodies of the fallen allies while Brennan returns from his survey sidetrek.

2) A woman (Kara), a young girl (Nyssa), and a gnome (Sydd) approach. But Kara is upset by the two dead bodies (Talus and Theurge) and ends up revealing herself as actually being Canmore in disguise.

3) A whole lot of exposition follows as Canmore explains (his version of) things.
Brief version: Prior to starting the war, the Red King (RK) had researched and gathered relics of power to help him in his coming war of conquest. Then, he waged war. Then, he disappeared and some how the council of Tarvos got in possession of these relics. Fearing that the people could not begin to recover from the RK's advance until all sign of him were gone, the council hid the relics. What the council does not know i that the RK had three triplet sons (Malcom, Canmore, Duncan). At night, from beyond the grave (or wherever the RK is) he whispers to them and shows them visions of where these items are. So Canmore (claiming to be not on good terms with his family) has been essentially racing against his brothers to try and collect these relics so that Malcom and Duncan don't have them. Canmore has been trying to keep the PCs safe(r) by not wanting them to get too involved so he had been manipulating them in to helping (he has been Kara, Caleb, Kevin, the orc prisoner, and a couple other random people that they met) trying to guide the PCs towards his goals. He further states that of the 11 relics, he has 1, the PCs have 3, his brothers have 4, and 3 are still, apperently, in custody of the council wherever they hid them in the first place.

4) The scarred sage and timor remeet with the PCs. every body goes back to the city.

5) Basil and Melenna learn that the bullthorn army is in the process of packing up to go back to the elven lands. and they no longer have deputy rights within the city (thus can not brandish weapons or aide in policing, etc)

6) The body of theurge is left at a temple of ioun, the body of talus is left with the bullthorn captain for transport back to talus' family.

7) Basil, Sydd, Nyssa, the Scarred Sage, and Timor go meet with Rohan (royal mayor) in order to explain (since explaining to rohan is a way to get an audience with the king). they then successfully convince him of the story (retold canmore's version of things) and get an appointment with the king for the next day

8) Canmore, Melenna, and Brennan have been waiting back at camp. They also recombined the jade pieces to reform the statue, only to learn that it is a statue of Sureya. Basil raises concerns that it is not just a statue but might potentially be sureya herself transformed in to jade. so it is not sold but they ask the scarred sage to hold on to it for them at his tower.

9) Basil, Sydd, Nyssa, and the Scarred Sage go meet with the king the next day and explain the story to him. he thanks them for all their hard work thus far. he also requests the Necklace of the Ruby Flame from them (which Basil turns over). Sydd also (unknown to canmore) gives the king a drawing of what canmore looks like. The King also asks for a) the other two artifacts that the PCs have (the boots of the traveler and the shadowfell earrings), b) wants to talk to canmore himself (since he is the source of the information, information that contains a lot of state secrets, but it is also several bold claims of the red kings children and such -- a sensitive topic to be certain), c) he wants the scroll with the ritual to destory the necklace that they mentioned they had, d) wants any recommendations that the PCs have for getting the remaining artifacts from Malcom and Duncan

10) The king further goes to say that he'll have his people take appropriate precaustions now that they have a better idea what to watch for (i.e. scrying at night, keeping the items mobile, and better guards, etc).

11) The PCs have an appointment to remeet with the king in two days (Nov 4, 10am) with the agenda items he mentioned

12) Since the scroll to destroy the necklace was an easy one, they took that to rohan a couple hours later that same morning

13) Canmore is not happy at all that his name or heritage were used when had specifically asked not to out of fear of the reaction his lineage would get (as was evidenced by the same reaction the PCs got when he told them) and also since he feels he has the best chance of stopping his brothers and can not do that if he is caught up explaining himself instead of working towards finding or destroying the artifacts.

14) The PCs are preparing to go around the city to find out what they can of "The Mistress" that they heard of from the goblinoid before ...


In game end of session: nov 2, 7791, 2pm.

fba827

So it's time start planning out session 9. It won't be for a few more weeks, but we had two PC deaths last session..

So it gets to be the fun "introduce new PCs, find a reason that they want to stay with the group, and find a reason the group will want them to stay"

The two players in particular are usually good about having creative stories to tie things together, if they feel inspired. So we'll see how that goes!

I have been, inadvertently, revealing plot points much faster than I expected.

It usually happens when I have to start thinking up NPC conversations on the fly. So I am a bit surprised that the PCs are only at the upper end of level 4 and have already uncovered as much as they have. Hopefully things aren't getting too rushed for the players, but I'm kind of hoping that a chance to get together with new PCs will allow for a slight pause and breather.

Plus, the PC creation point is always exciting for me, as it gives me a chance to flesh out previously-untouched parts of the campaign setting. So, I'm looking forward to seeing how the new PCs work out in the story.

fba827

Some minor events from the session listed out of order to make the summary easier.

1. Talus and Basil passed an initiation test, becoming honorary members of the Kaytar Orc Tribe of Kethlowood forest. Brennan had to pass a series of longer tests but also eventually became an honorary member of the tribe. The three now have tribal tattoos as marks of their victory.

2. Melenna and Theurge used the time to continue searching the tribe's tents but still found nothing that they were looking for.

3. They did, however, see an orc being brought in as a prisoner - he was caught snooping around and is not part of the tribe.

4. The orc prisoner was revealed to be some sort of shapechanger, but he would not reveal his true form. Though he did make it clear that he knew the PCs and that he wanted their help to escape before sunset or else the entire tribe would be in danger. Eventually, he was kept at the tribe in care of the chief while the PCs went off.

5. The party went to the Scarred Sage's tower in order to make their appointment with him. The five of them, plus the Sage, then left to go investigate the mysteries at Talon Lake.

6. They find a few more dead bodies, and also meet Timor, an officer sent by Boreas (high priest of Melora) to investigate. He does not mention the underwater cavern but the PCs do notice that he is wet.

7. Theurge goes to check the underwater cavern to see if anything has changed. He realizes that the water in the lake has been recently poisoned. But nothing in the cavern itself has changed, save a pair of fresh water footprints (most likley Timor's)

8. Melenna learns that the local flora and fauna that feeds off the lake is poisoned, just like the lake itself is. But the timing of the darkness at the lake does not coincide with the apparent start of the lake's poisoning.

9. Brennan takes a horse to go and check on the crazy cat lady, to see how from a local's perspective things may have changed. The Scarred Sage and Timor have seemingly wandered off to continue looking at other things.

10. Basil, Melenna, Talus, and Theurge find themselves in a difficult fight against a shadow creature and three smaller shadow versions of themselves.

11. After being sucked inside the belly of the shadow monstrosity, both Talus and Theurge are eventually spit out, as corpses. While Melenna and Basil eventually kill the things from a safe distance.

12. Melenna casts gentle repose on the corpses of her fallen allies.

In-game session end time: Oct 25 7791, near Talon Lake. Talus and Theurge are dead. Basil (with one of the horses) and Melenna are there preserving the bodies. Brennan (with one of the horses) is still off checking on the cat lady. The Sage (with one of the horses) and Timor are somewhere near by.

fba827

I had been putting off the posting of this design diary because it had too many inherent spoilers for my players by the topic alone.

There is still a minor spoiler here, but it is subtle enough that it won't make sense in the game until the players learn other information. so I'm considering it safe to finally post this.

Time Travel in a session - how I plan to do it

An artifact is in the campaign that allowed for some time travel. Because time travel can cause lots of problems and paradoxes, I had to plan ahead and give myself some guidelines about what could/would and what couldn't/wouldn't happen with this artifact.

Guideline 1: No meeting themselves
Ex: they can't go some where that they could potentially run in to themselves in the past.

Guideline 2: No meeting already known NPCs
Ex: They can't meet NPCs that they have already met in the 'current timeline' since that would raise the question of why didn't that npc already know them when they met in current time. This also allows flexibility for the PCs to do whatever (they can kill the NPCs and such) and it won't cause a problem that they existed in the present. Once they met them in the past, then later in the present they can meet them for the second time if need be...

Guideline 3: No meeting NPCs whose deaths would alter the game
Ex: No killing their great grandfather which in turn would undo their own birth or alter some plot point that has already developed in the present

Guideline 4: Visits to the past should be short
The longer in the past, the more likley the PCs (or I, the DM) would break one of the rules. I initially thought 15 minutes but finally settled on 1 hour for the trips before the artifact pulled them back to the present.

Guideline 5: The artifact has to do this in a burst effect so that there is a chance everyone stays together
Ex: I finally settled on burst 5 from the artifact. Splitting the party would cause other issues

Guideline 6: There is some cost
Ex: In this case, I decided on healing surges being absorbed from the activator to fuel the magic

Guideline 7: All time trips should have an individual story
Ex: I didn't want it to be random. So the artifact pulls from the past/ancestry of the user. This let me explore the parts of the PC background that the players wrote up. It also gave little side quests for further character development. And, yeah, it gave me (the DM) a cheesy excuse to assume the PC would care about the NPCs involved.

Guideline 8: No planar travel
This is a bit self serving, but I always suck at describing other planes, so I just set the fact that the artifact would only pull from history on the same plane. It kept variables down somewhat.

Guideline 9: There has to be some randomness
Another selfserving guideline. But I wanted to be as surprised as the players for where they ended up while time traveling. So there is a random roll involved that determines where they go from a preset list of possibilities. This also keeps it from seeming like I am playing favorites (for a PC or even for a scenario).

Guideline 10: Whenever possible, plant a tiny seed that sheds a little light on the present timeline.

Guideline 11: Advancing time
For spending an hour in the past, when they return to the present they have lost 5 days. This is kind of the 'cost' aspect of it. It allows for 5 days where the villains are able to advance their own plots without interference from the PCs. Big things could happen while they are away...


So basically, allowing them to travel back but isolated enough that they can't cause time paradoxes and a couple other campaign-specific guidelines.

I generated these rules specifically for this campaign and for this group of players.

Different rules might apply to other campaigns or to other players. if I didn't know my players at all, I wouldn't even attempt any sort of time travel unless it was to the far far distant past or something.

How about any of you, what have your experiences been with time travel in campaigns?

fba827

In game time at start of session: Oct 11, 7791 7pm

Some minor items listed out of order of ease of listing.

1. Used the boots and (unknowingly) traveled back to Feb 03, 7791, to the elara mountain pass. Found Basil's grandfather in a fight with 8 humans. Also a pregnant eladrin (Sureya, turned out to be Basil's aunt) and the aunt's son (Arius, who is Duncan's brother) and the son's apprentice (Torin) were there. The humans turned in to devils and then vaporized when they died. Sureya gives birth to Taya, an eladrin-teifling crossbreed (predominatly eladrin but with horns and a tail). And the devils had on their equipment two portal scrolls that would take the caster to some portal on the west coast.

2. Went to the church of Avandra down the road, tended to the mother, baby, and grandfather. Further clarified Basil's relationship to everyone. Saw Queen Marleena at the church also, she was there helping make plans for church evacuation, heard that Sigfried was there as well. No one there heard of Caleb. After 1 hour passed, the boots pulled them all back to their normal timeline, but 5 days later.

3. Went back to the Scarred Sage's tower. Drink with him (though the wine ended up being poisoned). Talked with him about the stuff at Talon Lake, about Taya, about Torin, about the orcs in Kethlowood, and other names and happenings. Agree to meet him again in 4 days to go investigate Talon Lake with him.

4. Return to Kethlwood Forest to see the Orc camp. They find that it has been attacked sometime since they were last here. Many fewer orcs than before and the tents are all in disarray. Speaking to the chief, learn that the Tunkara (albino elves) broke the peace by killing his son a couple days ago. So they have been fighting since.

5. Some Tunkara attacked, PCs help defend the orcs, and took a Tunkara hostage. Talking to him, he says it was the orcs that broke the peace and that they didn't even know about the chief's son.

6. Melenna searched around for the artifact by did not find it

7. the orc chief thanks them for their help in fighting and asks if they want to be honorary members of the tribe.

End of session game time: Oct 21, 7791 4pm

Teaser for next time: finalizing anyone that accepts honorary tribe membership, and most likely going to make their meeting with the scarred sage

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Thanks in part to previous planning, I have almost no planning to do for this next session. This is somewhat a shame because I have more time than usual for the next couple of weeks...

When I plan out sessions, I have a line of two of "thought" for given areas/situations/major players. And then I detail out one or two things that are most likely to occur based on where I think the players seemed interested in heading.

But last session, the players pretty much didn't do any of the things that I had detailed out... leaving all my notes from before to simply carry over.

What is a DM to do when he has so much free time for planning but nothing to effectively plan?

I could plan out even more things, but, the nature of the current campaign is rather fluid (lots of things are cause and effect and relational to previous events/encounters) so if I plan any more it would be wasted effort.

I guess I could (*gasp*) do something more productive.

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In-Game Session Start Time: 04 Oct 7791, 7pm

(A couple events mentioned in a different order for ease of listing)

1. The group revisits the small farmhouse that they raided and burned, finding several hobgoblins digging through the rubble looking for "the boss' stuff"
2. After a minor cantrip from Melenna, Theurge approaches the hobgoblins, but they act as though they knew him but not expected him, and quickly ask him to help dig and sort
3. A fight eventually breaks out and the hobgoblins are killed, except one left for questioning.
4. Questioning the hobgoblin, they realize he doesn't know much but it seems his boss is Duncan, that Duncan went for a couple days to go swimming, and that there is someone named the mistress that they assume Theurge was sent by. The mistress is loosely described as an eladrin female with "sky gray" hair.
5. The group retake the boots after they reappear 5 days from when they first dissapeared. And they reappeared in the same spot.
6. The group travels to Theta to meet Caleb. Caleb seems to know more than he lets on, but the group tell him that they won't give him the necklace but instead will give it to the next elected high priest of Avandra, since that is the office Caleb said he was working for.
7. The group revisits Talon Lake and find a rotted corpse of a fisherman they spoke to the first time they were here. They check on the cat lady but she is find, just staying in her cabin, though not all her cats are back yet so she was anxious.
8. The group travels 1.5 hours away from the lake and attempt to activate the boots again, this time with everyone in the zone ...

In-Game Session End Time: 11 Oct 7791, 7pm

Teaser for next session:
You all gathered around while Brennan put on the boots, and then you all concentrate to activate them. Dust and debris kicks up all around you and Basil feels a little weaker. As the sandstorm subsides, the five of you find yourselves on the mountain ridge road at the Elara Mountain Pass. Behind you is a woman on the ground, apparently in labor, and further beyond her is the Avandra Temple though it seems full of life and activity compared to when 3 of you were there before. In front of you is a skirmish of several humans attacking this lone eladrin (that Basil thinks might be his grandfather), while two cloaked figured are running up the road trying to avoid the combat.

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I never actually hope the players will fail a given encounter, but as I put together some loose notes for next session, there is one encounter that I sort of hope they do fail.

Now I know that sounds like the wrong thing to say, and I agree, it is (or at least, that's not my style and mentality when I DM)! So I won't force the players in to failure or anything. But one encounter has a certain unique event that will happen if they do fail. And I have to admit, I had a lot of fun planning out that specific result and it seems cool on paper so I want to see it in practice.

I can't give details because some of my players have occasionally read this blog.

If nothing else, I can take this "cool idea" and reskin it and respin it for something later on.

We shall see what happens...

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