Well, as is common in this hobby, we haven't been able to get the game going again. Two players had to drop due to a new work schedule.

If there are people in the San Francisco Bay Area who are interested in a Planescape-inspired Norse campaign, and who is a pretty chill (not a casual gamer, but not aggro about it either) gamer, post on this blog, and I'll try to get back to you!

lin_fusan

I have no interest in writing some fantasy narrative about the characters or the setting or session. I'll leave that to the players.

I'm more interested in writing about what worked and what didn't, like a director's commentary.

The very first session in a sandbox campaign is odd. As a DM, I don't know where the players are going, so I usually throw the spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. I am less interested in prodding players to act than presenting threads that might be interesting.

There was a moment when I had presented several NPCs (Thane Ingwild, the witch Gebogild, the smith Erlingr, and old lady Bordis) and the players wanted to talk to all of them, except for C.J. who seemed to just want a fight.

I was concerned about this introductory session dragging because I had presented too many hooks. I didn't know if tossing Bordis and her Oathbreaker brother was too pushy, but it seemed to be a "quest" that appeared to be immediate, simple, and action-orientated. It also had the added benefit of taking the characters closer to another hook (ie. the Cubs of Fenris hook).
My another concern was that I was afraid of having too many NPCs saying the same thing. I had originally wanted the Cubs of Fenris to be a kind of wandering monster threat or a "villain in the background", but enough people wanted the details to fight them right away. I wanted to avoid turning this hook into a detective story because detective stories often degenerates into a "guess what the DM is thinking" exercise.

I did two things I am proud of:

I liked having Thane Ingwall reward the players with a little bit of treasure for saving the caravan, which was all backstory and wasn’t played at the table. The "Devil DM" on my left shoulder thought it was heresy to give the players a reward for doing something off-screen instead of at the table. But it felt right for the NPC to reward the characters, and at the same time it was rewarding the players for putting in the time and effort into the backstory.

I also liked how I had handled the PCs accepting or rejecting the Vengeance Oath. The "spirit's" question was simply "Will you avenge my death?" I did not want to establish a right or wrong answer, only consequences for accepting or declining.

At first, I had expected the group to come to some agreement to take the Oath or not, but the group was rather split. Instead, I decided that each individual would have to be judged by their own answer. I hope I was fair in interpreting those answers.

What was interesting was interpreting the consequences of that decision in the resulting combat. I originally thought that if the players agreed, the spirit would not attack. If the players declined, then the spirit would attack. But what happens if only some agree?

I made a last minute judgment call that the spirit (and his skeleton minions) would not attack anyone who had agreed to his Oath of Vengeance, which also meant that Daoshan and Elysana would be immune from the spirit's cold aura.

This created another weird consequence; what if Daoshan and Elysana decided to attack the spirit? Should I interpret that as rejecting the Oath?

My quick answer was to forget about that detail. It was more interesting to let the players do what they wanted, but to keep the spirit and his minions under the restriction. I didn't want to create a situation where the players had to choose between fighting and "undoing" their decision to make the Oath, or to sit around and not fight in order to keep the Oath.

This created a really interesting situation where I had to move the skeletons and spirit (technically a zombie) around Elysana to get at the other characters. This created a flurry of opportunity attacks, but also set Elysana to use her Warden's Grasp (is this the correct power) in an innovative way.

more later.

lin_fusan

Here are a few questions that may help you flesh out some backgrounds for your character:

What do you want your character to do?

Where do you come from?

Why are you here?

What do you want your character to achieve in the Heroic Tier?

What do you want your character to achieve in the Paragon Tier?

What do you want your character to achieve in the Epic Tier?

What was the adventure that got you and the other characters together? Why did it make you famous or infamous? Was it a remarkable success or a glorious failure?

(I will also attach a rtf file with some background options in a bit. I still need to write them up.)

lin_fusan

Here are some rules I scratched out of the 4th ed. Manual of the Planes:

Cold Affinity: Attacks with the cold keyword gain a +1 bonus to the attack roll, and attacks with the fire keyword deal half damage (ongoing fire damage is not affected).

Corruption: Attacks with the disease or poison keyword gain a +1 bonus to the attack roll. Healing powers restore only half as many hit points as normal.

[As per player consensus, we are not playing with the above two rules. However, the players have given me permission to utilize planar effects in special circumstances.Which I will use as often as possible. ]

--

All magic in Ysgard is heavily tied to a runic alphabet known as the futhark. You inscribe the rune to your wand, staff, rod, orb, or weapon (or even tattoo it to your skin) in order to tap into the power of the rune.

Without this knowledge, magic simply won't function properly. Everyone born in Ysgard learns the Elder Futhark, which also serves as a written language and contains some basic power. (In game terms, your characters knows the basic rune to utilize magic of any particular keyword, such as Radiant).

However, there are rumors of a Younger Futhark, or even off-shoots of the runic alphabet that allows you to tap into greater power.

[In game terms, the Elder Futhark is simply a runic alphabet that everyone knows, but not everyone uses. I assume the PCs know the basic runes and blessings, and utilize them in their magic, or even in everyday life. Warriors probably scrawl the Uruz run on their weapons, for example.

However, finding new runes, or discovering combinations of runes will be the equivalent of finding permanent magic items.]

In addition, some magics require kennings, a form of word poetry that calls a ship a "sea steed" or a crow an "eagle of death". Spells requiring teleportation requires the user to mutter a little kenning to describe their intent, destination, or simple a good journey.

All Rituals use a combination of the futhark and kennings in order to function.

lin_fusan

Setting: Ysgard (Planescape-influenced homebrew)
Ruleset: 4th edition

A three-year long winter, known as Fimbulvetr, will begin the destruction of existence known as Ragnarok. According to your wizened sages, this 'Iron Winter' has lasted for three solid years...

Ysgard, the plane of battle and glory, consists of hundreds-miles wide and infinitely long rivers of earth (the Blood of Ymir) in a vast, black expanse (the Ginnungagap). Looking out into the darkness, you can see other rivers of earth criss-cross the sky like spiderwebs.

Like the backbone of our Milky Way, Yggdrasil, the World Tree, stretches infinitely tall and deep vertically through the sky.

--

Ysgard belongs to two known pantheons. The Norse gods (Odin, Thor, Loki, and the like) promote a grim, stalwart existence of struggle and personal glory. Haunted by the knowledge that they may be destroyed by Ragnarok, the Norse gods hunt for knowledge and prepare for battle, and encourage their followers to do the same.

The second pantheon belongs to the Chinese Bandit Kings, led by Song Jiang, the Timely Rain. Ruling on the mountain of Liangshan, the Bandit Kings fight for justice, personal honor, and freedom, yet desire legitimacy from their fellow, more orderly gods.

In the Great Wheel, the Rule of Threes apply, so if you see two things, look for a third...

[The third pantheon is the Seelie Court, usually ruled by Titania the Lady of Summer. However, in times of winter, the Prince of Frost reigns. So what happens if Ysgard suffers an eternal winter?]

--

Ysgard is the heaven for warriors and epic poets. People who believe in individual freedom, personal glory, and shaking their fists at inevitable doom get reborn here after they die.

The gods, creatures, and pantheons who exist here all ascribe to that way of life in one way or another, regardless of culture.

--

Karvfall is a transit and trading town that connects the warrior realm of Asgard to the marshes of Liangshan. The town is named after an old, broken longboat that sits in the center of the town. The bow points toward the main gate and toward Liangshan, while the stern paints toward Asgard.


Population: Roughly 1,200. Mostly human, dwarves, goliaths, elves, half-elves, eladrin, dragonborn, tiefling, and halfling in that order of frequency.

Government: Thane Ingwild, a tough, grizzled old man has no wives and no children. His cousins are in position to inherit control of Karvfall, but the town is so individualistic, thane is merely a title of respect as best and a paper position at worst.

Defense: Every man, woman, and child learns the art of war in Ysgard. The whole population serves as a disorganized but determined militia.

Inns and Taverns: [While several individuals and families all ferment their own ale or mead, there is only one real tavern. And since it is the only tavern, it is unnamed. The barkeep, Kettil, is either brewing in solitude or drunk unconscious. The tavern is really run by the lusty, busty barmaid Siv, who is perhaps the real reason to come to the tavern.]

Supplies: Individual craftsmen and farmers provide the most of the trade. The nearby fishing village of Knarrvale provides fish.

[In better days, caravans from Liangshan, and a few warriors from Asgard, would arrive in Karvfall to trade. As this endless winter drags on, outsiders have been appearing less and less.]

Temples: There are small public shrines located throughout Karvfall. Some families may have larger, more personal shrines in their homes. Worship is considered an individual affair. A small shrine to Hel is located in the graveyard outside of town.

lin_fusan