D&D 5E OOC The European Union
I was looking for a basic guide to 5th Edition D&D- just to make you aware of the significant changes that have taken place between 4th and 5th editions, and also to show how 5th is really a variant of 3rd edition D&D (imho).
There's a good Wiki for this here-
http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Dungeons_&_Dragons_5th_Edition
Go take a look.
Cheers PDR
There's a good Wiki for this here-
http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Dungeons_&_Dragons_5th_Edition
Go take a look.
Cheers PDR
Just a note about the scenario/campaign you're getting into-
1) You are noobs- this is your first adventure, the 4e dynamic is gone- you are not heroes (yet), nor are you the finished article. In point of fact the pregen characters for this scenario are-
An ex-Acolyte turned Wizard who quests for knowledge,
A dockworker Folk Hero turned Fighter who used to have family in the region,
A fallen Noble turned Fighter who is desperate to make his families fortune again,
A Halfling Criminal that upset his superiors and is on the run, and
A Dwarf ex-Guard Sergeant, a Soldier, who got fed up of all the bad things he saw on the street and turned Cleric.
Think of your PCs as being just about to set out on the road to adventuring, in fact in the PHB I remember reading that PCs are considered to be apprentice adventurers until they reach level 5, at which point they are considered to be the real deal.
So, the big adventure is you are going to be caravan guards- think small, you want to be adventurers, your not there yet.
2) You don't know each other, probably.
3) You have been hired by Gundren Rockseeker in the city of Neverwinter, you may already know Gundren- that's something I'm going to decide with you individually. You have accepted his offer to transport a cart full of provisions from Neverwinter to Phandalin (Fan-dal-in), you need to deliver the ox drawn wagon to Barthen's Provisions there- Barthen will pay you 10gp each on behalf of Gundren. The journey to Phandalin will take maybe five days, through bandit country for the latter part of it. Gundren has also hired a human bodyguard called Sildar Haliwinter (NPC), a middle-aged ex-Guard Captain; the pair have gone ahead of you to Phandalin- on fast horses. Gundren has business to take care of there but will meet up with you later, he may have more work for you.
4) Phandalin is a frontier town, it used to be a major trade route (five centuries ago) and was particularly busy because of the local mines, however an Orc horde swept down from the north and decimated the town and the region. Recently, in the last twenty years or so, people have been moving back to Phandalin- prospectors are mining again and the town is beginning to attract attention, and gold. Gundren Rockseeker you know, like many other Dwarves, is a miner.
Lastly a word on PCs- it always strikes me as odd that players need to read the rules etc. and look stuff up before deciding what you want to play. Don't get me wrong I figure that's how some of you work but for me when I'm making players I just decide what I fancy playing, or what the party needs. The other thing is that my three favourite characters of all time that I have played were-
Eric the Cleric, a Human Cleric of Pelor Level 8, who I played simply because the party didn't have a priest- I rolled him up in twenty minutes. He shouted about 'the light' a lot, even at 1st level.
Kor-Vlaz-Trok of the Glaciers, a Half-Frost Giant/Human (what a night that was) Fighter Level 12, he appeared in White Dwarf magazine (not the same class), I rolled him up and nicked a load of details from the magazine when Eric (see above) died. He was Level 9 when he started- he only lasted maybe 10 sessions of play but oh he was glorious, monosyllabic and brutal, he wrestled for a while and tried to ride a Remorhaz.
Gonzo, a Half-Elf Cleric/Fighter/Wizard/Thief (see what I did there- a party in one PC) Level 1 who was a coward and tried not to kill anyone or anything. I think he didn't attack anything until something like his 7th session of play. He did however have a lot to say- and all the time.
Of the three PCs, two died- Eric & Kor; Eric in G1 Against the Hill Giant Chief- in the second encounter, while Kor died in D1 Descent into the Depths.
My favourite PC player ever was a guy called Boron, he was a 4th Level Human Illusionist whose spell book only had five spells in it (you had to roll to copy a spell into your book- he failed every time)- therefore he used Colour Spray all day, everyday; he was played by my brother. He killed an uninjured Adult Red Dragon with a dagger, with one hit- that moment will live me forever. To be fair the Dragon had just incinerated a massive spell book that Boron had found, the only spell that wasn't destroyed by the Dragon's Breath was Grease (which creates a patch of slippery floor). Boron made it to level 8 using a Colour Spray and Grease combo- it was the most fun every time.
I DM'ed a game in which a group of PCs got into trouble with a bunch of Ghouls- a semi-TPK ensued, my friend Pete was playing a Ranger. The two surviving PCs retreated to the town- rolled up new characters and then headed back into the dungeon to exact revenge. It didn't work out that way- the Ghouls raised a new one of their kind, Pete's Ranger came back as a Ghoul, the rest of the adventure (for a while) became a game of cat and mouse as the new Ranger Ghoul attempted to track down and kill the two party members that left him for dead. The Ranger Ghoul ultimately failed, it did however manage to kill Pete's character (again).
My point is just play what you want, and if they die make another one- yep talk to the other guys and try to balance the party, if you can, but don't think too hard about it. If you don't like your PC then either get it killed, or retire it, in short roll another PC.
This version of D&D, remember, is much more of an attempt to recapture those golden days, as I type this I'm listening to a recording of a 5th Edition D&D session- the guys are 1 hour and 40 minutes in, in that time they have killed two Goblins and captured another, the fight took maybe four rounds and a bit less than 20 minutes, the other 1 hour and 20 minutes have been spent investigating, roleplaying with the Goblin, trying to figure out how to get the Cleric conscious, planning and investigating some more, deciding what to do next- roleplaying with each other etc. Be aware this edition involves much more chatter.
This isn't a tirade (I promise) only a bit of reflection on the type of play I think this edition may invoke.
Last bit when can anyone start playing, or at least get on-line to go through rules and characters?
Bob and Christer as soon as you can please indicate what days you can play? And, of course, what class you want to play.
I think the problem is we've made the decision and because some of you guys are busy and others less so then we don't know when this is going to happen, we need to figure a date we can work towards.
Please reply when you can.
I'll keep putting the server up, there's a guide on how to roll up PCs (or you can just send them to me- I'll do it), otherwise no more massive missives from me- don't mind these, I'm off work and have little or nothing much to do.
1) You are noobs- this is your first adventure, the 4e dynamic is gone- you are not heroes (yet), nor are you the finished article. In point of fact the pregen characters for this scenario are-
An ex-Acolyte turned Wizard who quests for knowledge,
A dockworker Folk Hero turned Fighter who used to have family in the region,
A fallen Noble turned Fighter who is desperate to make his families fortune again,
A Halfling Criminal that upset his superiors and is on the run, and
A Dwarf ex-Guard Sergeant, a Soldier, who got fed up of all the bad things he saw on the street and turned Cleric.
Think of your PCs as being just about to set out on the road to adventuring, in fact in the PHB I remember reading that PCs are considered to be apprentice adventurers until they reach level 5, at which point they are considered to be the real deal.
So, the big adventure is you are going to be caravan guards- think small, you want to be adventurers, your not there yet.
2) You don't know each other, probably.
3) You have been hired by Gundren Rockseeker in the city of Neverwinter, you may already know Gundren- that's something I'm going to decide with you individually. You have accepted his offer to transport a cart full of provisions from Neverwinter to Phandalin (Fan-dal-in), you need to deliver the ox drawn wagon to Barthen's Provisions there- Barthen will pay you 10gp each on behalf of Gundren. The journey to Phandalin will take maybe five days, through bandit country for the latter part of it. Gundren has also hired a human bodyguard called Sildar Haliwinter (NPC), a middle-aged ex-Guard Captain; the pair have gone ahead of you to Phandalin- on fast horses. Gundren has business to take care of there but will meet up with you later, he may have more work for you.
4) Phandalin is a frontier town, it used to be a major trade route (five centuries ago) and was particularly busy because of the local mines, however an Orc horde swept down from the north and decimated the town and the region. Recently, in the last twenty years or so, people have been moving back to Phandalin- prospectors are mining again and the town is beginning to attract attention, and gold. Gundren Rockseeker you know, like many other Dwarves, is a miner.
Lastly a word on PCs- it always strikes me as odd that players need to read the rules etc. and look stuff up before deciding what you want to play. Don't get me wrong I figure that's how some of you work but for me when I'm making players I just decide what I fancy playing, or what the party needs. The other thing is that my three favourite characters of all time that I have played were-
Eric the Cleric, a Human Cleric of Pelor Level 8, who I played simply because the party didn't have a priest- I rolled him up in twenty minutes. He shouted about 'the light' a lot, even at 1st level.
Kor-Vlaz-Trok of the Glaciers, a Half-Frost Giant/Human (what a night that was) Fighter Level 12, he appeared in White Dwarf magazine (not the same class), I rolled him up and nicked a load of details from the magazine when Eric (see above) died. He was Level 9 when he started- he only lasted maybe 10 sessions of play but oh he was glorious, monosyllabic and brutal, he wrestled for a while and tried to ride a Remorhaz.
Gonzo, a Half-Elf Cleric/Fighter/Wizard/Thief (see what I did there- a party in one PC) Level 1 who was a coward and tried not to kill anyone or anything. I think he didn't attack anything until something like his 7th session of play. He did however have a lot to say- and all the time.
Of the three PCs, two died- Eric & Kor; Eric in G1 Against the Hill Giant Chief- in the second encounter, while Kor died in D1 Descent into the Depths.
My favourite PC player ever was a guy called Boron, he was a 4th Level Human Illusionist whose spell book only had five spells in it (you had to roll to copy a spell into your book- he failed every time)- therefore he used Colour Spray all day, everyday; he was played by my brother. He killed an uninjured Adult Red Dragon with a dagger, with one hit- that moment will live me forever. To be fair the Dragon had just incinerated a massive spell book that Boron had found, the only spell that wasn't destroyed by the Dragon's Breath was Grease (which creates a patch of slippery floor). Boron made it to level 8 using a Colour Spray and Grease combo- it was the most fun every time.
I DM'ed a game in which a group of PCs got into trouble with a bunch of Ghouls- a semi-TPK ensued, my friend Pete was playing a Ranger. The two surviving PCs retreated to the town- rolled up new characters and then headed back into the dungeon to exact revenge. It didn't work out that way- the Ghouls raised a new one of their kind, Pete's Ranger came back as a Ghoul, the rest of the adventure (for a while) became a game of cat and mouse as the new Ranger Ghoul attempted to track down and kill the two party members that left him for dead. The Ranger Ghoul ultimately failed, it did however manage to kill Pete's character (again).
My point is just play what you want, and if they die make another one- yep talk to the other guys and try to balance the party, if you can, but don't think too hard about it. If you don't like your PC then either get it killed, or retire it, in short roll another PC.
This version of D&D, remember, is much more of an attempt to recapture those golden days, as I type this I'm listening to a recording of a 5th Edition D&D session- the guys are 1 hour and 40 minutes in, in that time they have killed two Goblins and captured another, the fight took maybe four rounds and a bit less than 20 minutes, the other 1 hour and 20 minutes have been spent investigating, roleplaying with the Goblin, trying to figure out how to get the Cleric conscious, planning and investigating some more, deciding what to do next- roleplaying with each other etc. Be aware this edition involves much more chatter.
This isn't a tirade (I promise) only a bit of reflection on the type of play I think this edition may invoke.
Last bit when can anyone start playing, or at least get on-line to go through rules and characters?
Bob and Christer as soon as you can please indicate what days you can play? And, of course, what class you want to play.
I think the problem is we've made the decision and because some of you guys are busy and others less so then we don't know when this is going to happen, we need to figure a date we can work towards.
Please reply when you can.
I'll keep putting the server up, there's a guide on how to roll up PCs (or you can just send them to me- I'll do it), otherwise no more massive missives from me- don't mind these, I'm off work and have little or nothing much to do.
Meet Grimm....
the disgruntled fisherman on his uncle ship... Seeing that he was the 5th child of a scrimshaw seller, father sent him to his uncle ship to work there since he was too strong for the delicate work of scrimshaw (ing)?? and lacked the patience of the tranquil mind.
He was happy being on the see, working together with a crew but he needed a rest from the smell of the fish and pay was crap. Gathering all his belongings he said bye to his uncle, spent his life savings on equipment and went to the nearest tavern. What better way to start your new life, than having a killer hangover...
Oh and, Grimm is a follower of Tymora... started in an early age (13),because images of her beauty gave him frequent woodies and they still do occasionally O_0
the disgruntled fisherman on his uncle ship... Seeing that he was the 5th child of a scrimshaw seller, father sent him to his uncle ship to work there since he was too strong for the delicate work of scrimshaw (ing)?? and lacked the patience of the tranquil mind.
He was happy being on the see, working together with a crew but he needed a rest from the smell of the fish and pay was crap. Gathering all his belongings he said bye to his uncle, spent his life savings on equipment and went to the nearest tavern. What better way to start your new life, than having a killer hangover...
Oh and, Grimm is a follower of Tymora... started in an early age (13),because images of her beauty gave him frequent woodies and they still do occasionally O_0
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And so thanks for all connecting at the same time- it seems to work, and should be better than Maptools, certainly for me with its ability to just drop stuff in and auto calculate attacks et al.
So GAME ON!
First session will be 8 PM CET on Thursday 6th of August, that's this Thursday coming.
Bob, I hope you can make it but don't worry if you can't, we'll just drop you into the action when you're ready and available, I promise you'll not miss much.
We'll talk on Thursday about a date and time for the week after.
Next up, I'm going to start Fantasy Grounds afresh at 8 PM on Thursday, or five to- it seems to be much easier to get in if the server has only just gone up. If you crash out of FG then you can usually just reconnect, however if this doesn't work then come all the way out- re-open FG and then come back in.
The best method to get in is using the pass code- puny ninja epic gate
Things to do before the game-
I'm going to go through your PCs and make sure they're all done, if there are gaps or things that are easy to do then I'll just complete them, if the gap needs your input then I'll e-mail you and ask the question.
I will also be sending you a short sheet with some info and a question about your PC- this may generate a few e-mails, don't worry its nothing heavy- just some stuff I want to tell you, and a little info I need from you about your guy. I'll be in touch- probably tomorrow.
Christer (and Bob) if you want me to help you finish off your PC then e-mail (or Skype, or FG) me and suggest a time and day and we'll get it done. If you just want to send me a character sheet, or notes then I can build the PC for you- it takes about 10 minutes to do once you know how. The same goes for the rest of you if you want to chat, just get in touch
I'll keep the server up as usual, possibly all day every day- if you have problems getting in then skype or e-mail and I'll get back you and if need be restart the FG server.
Cheers PDR
So GAME ON!
First session will be 8 PM CET on Thursday 6th of August, that's this Thursday coming.
Bob, I hope you can make it but don't worry if you can't, we'll just drop you into the action when you're ready and available, I promise you'll not miss much.
We'll talk on Thursday about a date and time for the week after.
Next up, I'm going to start Fantasy Grounds afresh at 8 PM on Thursday, or five to- it seems to be much easier to get in if the server has only just gone up. If you crash out of FG then you can usually just reconnect, however if this doesn't work then come all the way out- re-open FG and then come back in.
The best method to get in is using the pass code- puny ninja epic gate
Things to do before the game-
I'm going to go through your PCs and make sure they're all done, if there are gaps or things that are easy to do then I'll just complete them, if the gap needs your input then I'll e-mail you and ask the question.
I will also be sending you a short sheet with some info and a question about your PC- this may generate a few e-mails, don't worry its nothing heavy- just some stuff I want to tell you, and a little info I need from you about your guy. I'll be in touch- probably tomorrow.
Christer (and Bob) if you want me to help you finish off your PC then e-mail (or Skype, or FG) me and suggest a time and day and we'll get it done. If you just want to send me a character sheet, or notes then I can build the PC for you- it takes about 10 minutes to do once you know how. The same goes for the rest of you if you want to chat, just get in touch
I'll keep the server up as usual, possibly all day every day- if you have problems getting in then skype or e-mail and I'll get back you and if need be restart the FG server.
Cheers PDR
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