Blackwarder
Adventurer
Can't find it mate, the DM Tools section don't have any downloadable things in it :/
Edit: nvm found it.
Warder
Edit: nvm found it.
Warder
D&D 5E Campaign Playtest - Rise of the Runelords
Connorsrpg
Adventurer
Session 1 - The Story
[Spoiler Alert: Players should not read this if playing through Rise of the Runelords].
Wow. Finally, our first session down and it seemed to go pretty well. The players seemed pleased with the mix of RPing early on and the fighting later.
PCs spent a fair amount of time wandering the Swallowtail Festival and trying their hands at various activities that were on. The dwarf wizard PC came seeking his cousin that would die if he did not come to Sandpoint, which turned out to be a hoax played by his cousin to get him out of his library to enjoy the world. The other 2 dwarf PCs were in on this scam and now I can reveal we have another member of the group; a dwarf rogue NPC. The 'meeting' of his cousin was a highlight.
Then the goblins raided and this is where the PC's came together as they each rushed to fight the goblins. Licktoads attacked around the Cathedral, Thistletops from a covered wagon, before a bunch of Seven Tooths (Teeth?) came burning and singing up High St. The Sherrif went to head off a group of goblins that had apparently taken the north gate.
After dealing with the goblins attacking the cathedral and festivities, the PCs went to help at the north gate, defeating 2 Licktoads mounted on goblin dogs and a bunch of Mosswoods on foot before closing the gates. The human rogue PC (Antonio) rescued the cowering noble Aldern Foxglove during this encounter.
(NB: A lot of the town guard had left to stop a goblin raid at Hosker's farm - hence the shortage of guards in town).
The Consecration of the Cathedral was called off until the next day and would be held alongside a funery service for the 11 residents that died, inc: Risa's daughter Lanalee and the town's chief street sweeper.
In a double blow, Risa's Place was badly burnt during the raid.
The PCs gathered at the Rusty Dragon for a lot of free ales where they were hailed the Saviours of Sandpoint. Aldern Foxglove's compliments to Antonio were accompanied by lots of drinks and Aldern had to retire.
PCs agreed to meet at the Rusty Dragon again the next day. Many also spent time at the Cathedral and Risa's Place helping out. Antonio had another admirer and was lured to the basement of the General Store by the daughter of the owner. He barely got out of the situation (having resisted/ignored the girl's advances) when the father arrived, .
PCs also met with the Sheriff and Father Zantus and learnt that the grave of the previous priest (and his adopted daughter) had been robbed.
Ended with PCs accepting an invitation to go on a boar hunt with Aldern as well as conduct some investigations into the missing remains and why the goblins are united.
[Spoiler Alert: Players should not read this if playing through Rise of the Runelords].
Wow. Finally, our first session down and it seemed to go pretty well. The players seemed pleased with the mix of RPing early on and the fighting later.
PCs spent a fair amount of time wandering the Swallowtail Festival and trying their hands at various activities that were on. The dwarf wizard PC came seeking his cousin that would die if he did not come to Sandpoint, which turned out to be a hoax played by his cousin to get him out of his library to enjoy the world. The other 2 dwarf PCs were in on this scam and now I can reveal we have another member of the group; a dwarf rogue NPC. The 'meeting' of his cousin was a highlight.
Then the goblins raided and this is where the PC's came together as they each rushed to fight the goblins. Licktoads attacked around the Cathedral, Thistletops from a covered wagon, before a bunch of Seven Tooths (Teeth?) came burning and singing up High St. The Sherrif went to head off a group of goblins that had apparently taken the north gate.
After dealing with the goblins attacking the cathedral and festivities, the PCs went to help at the north gate, defeating 2 Licktoads mounted on goblin dogs and a bunch of Mosswoods on foot before closing the gates. The human rogue PC (Antonio) rescued the cowering noble Aldern Foxglove during this encounter.
(NB: A lot of the town guard had left to stop a goblin raid at Hosker's farm - hence the shortage of guards in town).
The Consecration of the Cathedral was called off until the next day and would be held alongside a funery service for the 11 residents that died, inc: Risa's daughter Lanalee and the town's chief street sweeper.
In a double blow, Risa's Place was badly burnt during the raid.
The PCs gathered at the Rusty Dragon for a lot of free ales where they were hailed the Saviours of Sandpoint. Aldern Foxglove's compliments to Antonio were accompanied by lots of drinks and Aldern had to retire.
PCs agreed to meet at the Rusty Dragon again the next day. Many also spent time at the Cathedral and Risa's Place helping out. Antonio had another admirer and was lured to the basement of the General Store by the daughter of the owner. He barely got out of the situation (having resisted/ignored the girl's advances) when the father arrived, .
PCs also met with the Sheriff and Father Zantus and learnt that the grave of the previous priest (and his adopted daughter) had been robbed.
Ended with PCs accepting an invitation to go on a boar hunt with Aldern as well as conduct some investigations into the missing remains and why the goblins are united.
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Connorsrpg
Adventurer
Session 1 - GM Stuff
Just a few points that may help to explain things to others running this.
1. I made a diversion attack on an outlying farm to explain why several town guards were missing. (This was conveyed to the PCs by a young member of the militia who was raised to guard for the festival - making him feel more important).
2. I had stats for many of the goblins (see the tribes docs earlier). In all the PCs dealt with: ~20 goblins, 1 warchanter, 2 commandos, 1 leader, 4 goblin dogs. From memory only 2 PCs were knocked below 0 hps, but I do recall some discussion mentioning that goblins were dangerous. (They were a bit better than the Bestiary versions b/c they were using finesse weapons, meaning they could use their Dex (and some even had bows), but I did not end up adding +2 to their attacks as I had contemplated).
3. Monster stats were based upon the October Playtest (3). PC were still from the one before (I believe all the player stuff is about to be modified this week).
4. The module did nothing to explain what all these other important people (or the guards) were doing during the fight. I had the Sheriff appear and divide the guards (already short), and gave the description there were skirmishes everywhere. I also had several charts describing Townsfolk Deaths, Townsfolk Upper Hand and the same for the Goblins (with an extra Klutz table for them). At the end of each round the players made a general Townsfolk rolls vs the Goblins and I then read out the results. This added a LOT to the feel of the fight, but I often had to come up with more details and goblins b/c the PCs would finish theirs and then look to other skirmishes. But it was fun. (I have attached this doc now - I hope it makes more sense).
5. Running the several games was a lot of fun, and easy using the playtest rules. Lots of Ability checks and contests. The free-for-all 'Catch the Greased Pig' was fun.
6. Stealth rules. Like most editions, this is where I had some trouble. I was generous with granting advantage for those that were hidden (but needed to be harder on the 'it then takes an action to hide again'. I will be keeping that in mind next time.
7. DCs. I had memorised the DCs 10/13/16 and that made everything very easy
I often used the levels of success as 'Raises' too, a hangover from my Savage Worlds games.
8. We use poker chips for Roleplaying rewards (and I gave out some at the start that had done a bit of 'work' prior to the game). When you get 5 white ones (10XP each) you cash them in for a blue one (50XP). I also allowed blue ones to be used as 'Action Points' to take an extra action or make a reroll. From memory I think this was only taken up on once? (I hadn't intended to do this but a player requested it and I was happy to go with it)
9. We House-Ruled a few things (many of which seem common enough here): Glancing Blow - a roll of 5 or higher; Dwarf Poison Immunity was Advantage instead; Rogue Skill Mastery was Advantage instead of minimum of 10; Magic Missile required a roll to hit (at Advantage and damage up to 1d6+1). I tweeked our Critical Charts to suit the damage and conditions of DnDNext too. (We have always used crit charts).
Overall, I found the rules a breeze to work with. I had to ask players to look up a few things like cover, but that was easily remembered. I must say I am a fan of what has been done with the core rules so far. Advantage/Disadvantage was a lot of fun and I applied each on the fly a lot. Players were quite imaginative in their attempts to gain Advantage. I hope some players pop in to provide some specific details, but I cannot recall having any major issues with the rules.
Just a few points that may help to explain things to others running this.
1. I made a diversion attack on an outlying farm to explain why several town guards were missing. (This was conveyed to the PCs by a young member of the militia who was raised to guard for the festival - making him feel more important).
2. I had stats for many of the goblins (see the tribes docs earlier). In all the PCs dealt with: ~20 goblins, 1 warchanter, 2 commandos, 1 leader, 4 goblin dogs. From memory only 2 PCs were knocked below 0 hps, but I do recall some discussion mentioning that goblins were dangerous. (They were a bit better than the Bestiary versions b/c they were using finesse weapons, meaning they could use their Dex (and some even had bows), but I did not end up adding +2 to their attacks as I had contemplated).
3. Monster stats were based upon the October Playtest (3). PC were still from the one before (I believe all the player stuff is about to be modified this week).
4. The module did nothing to explain what all these other important people (or the guards) were doing during the fight. I had the Sheriff appear and divide the guards (already short), and gave the description there were skirmishes everywhere. I also had several charts describing Townsfolk Deaths, Townsfolk Upper Hand and the same for the Goblins (with an extra Klutz table for them). At the end of each round the players made a general Townsfolk rolls vs the Goblins and I then read out the results. This added a LOT to the feel of the fight, but I often had to come up with more details and goblins b/c the PCs would finish theirs and then look to other skirmishes. But it was fun. (I have attached this doc now - I hope it makes more sense).
5. Running the several games was a lot of fun, and easy using the playtest rules. Lots of Ability checks and contests. The free-for-all 'Catch the Greased Pig' was fun.
6. Stealth rules. Like most editions, this is where I had some trouble. I was generous with granting advantage for those that were hidden (but needed to be harder on the 'it then takes an action to hide again'. I will be keeping that in mind next time.
7. DCs. I had memorised the DCs 10/13/16 and that made everything very easy
I often used the levels of success as 'Raises' too, a hangover from my Savage Worlds games.8. We use poker chips for Roleplaying rewards (and I gave out some at the start that had done a bit of 'work' prior to the game). When you get 5 white ones (10XP each) you cash them in for a blue one (50XP). I also allowed blue ones to be used as 'Action Points' to take an extra action or make a reroll. From memory I think this was only taken up on once? (I hadn't intended to do this but a player requested it and I was happy to go with it)
9. We House-Ruled a few things (many of which seem common enough here): Glancing Blow - a roll of 5 or higher; Dwarf Poison Immunity was Advantage instead; Rogue Skill Mastery was Advantage instead of minimum of 10; Magic Missile required a roll to hit (at Advantage and damage up to 1d6+1). I tweeked our Critical Charts to suit the damage and conditions of DnDNext too. (We have always used crit charts).
Overall, I found the rules a breeze to work with. I had to ask players to look up a few things like cover, but that was easily remembered. I must say I am a fan of what has been done with the core rules so far. Advantage/Disadvantage was a lot of fun and I applied each on the fly a lot. Players were quite imaginative in their attempts to gain Advantage. I hope some players pop in to provide some specific details, but I cannot recall having any major issues with the rules.
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Connorsrpg
Adventurer
Calendar
I have this on our website, but I thought I would attach one here for any DMs interested. I use this as my adventure log when DMing and I have even had players use them for their own. Just copy and paste the table and rename it for the current month. (I usually plan ahead too).
I have this on our website, but I thought I would attach one here for any DMs interested. I use this as my adventure log when DMing and I have even had players use them for their own. Just copy and paste the table and rename it for the current month. (I usually plan ahead too).
5e Wizard
As a player I've found the 5e Wizard to be a good blend of 3e and 4e. 3e Wizards were always plagued with being piratically useless once they blew all their spells, so the at wills solved this well. I hope they take some of the layout from 4e when listing spells as it makes it a lot easier to find the meaty parts of the spell in a hurry. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with the wizard at the moment, in combat it performs as expected, though the spell list could be a bit longer which hopefully will be in later playtests.
As a player I've found the 5e Wizard to be a good blend of 3e and 4e. 3e Wizards were always plagued with being piratically useless once they blew all their spells, so the at wills solved this well. I hope they take some of the layout from 4e when listing spells as it makes it a lot easier to find the meaty parts of the spell in a hurry. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with the wizard at the moment, in combat it performs as expected, though the spell list could be a bit longer which hopefully will be in later playtests.
Vamprey
First Post
DnDNext Rogue
Having just played a rogue in out last 4E campaign and now playing another here, there is IMO a significant difference in how they play in combat. The 4E rogue was definitely more capable of standing his ground for a few rounds at lower level, but the NextRogue more care needs to be taken as one decent hit and that can be it.
That said I am much preferring the NextRogue as it plays a lot more like the older edition rogues, so that I am now merely stating what it is I intend to do, rather than looking at a list of powers of what I can do, which was more often than not the process with the 4ERogue.
With the change in the latest playtest it is also necessary (as we are sticking mainly with the latest playtest with a few house rules) for me to change a few things about the character. This will be mainly in the taking of the trickster class scheme instead of the thief scheme, taking the guild thief background (the guild being his sczarni family) to replace the charlatan background and taking the skill specialist to replace the missing archer speciality.
What he owns is staying exactly the same, as is his personality.
Having just played a rogue in out last 4E campaign and now playing another here, there is IMO a significant difference in how they play in combat. The 4E rogue was definitely more capable of standing his ground for a few rounds at lower level, but the NextRogue more care needs to be taken as one decent hit and that can be it.
That said I am much preferring the NextRogue as it plays a lot more like the older edition rogues, so that I am now merely stating what it is I intend to do, rather than looking at a list of powers of what I can do, which was more often than not the process with the 4ERogue.
With the change in the latest playtest it is also necessary (as we are sticking mainly with the latest playtest with a few house rules) for me to change a few things about the character. This will be mainly in the taking of the trickster class scheme instead of the thief scheme, taking the guild thief background (the guild being his sczarni family) to replace the charlatan background and taking the skill specialist to replace the missing archer speciality.
What he owns is staying exactly the same, as is his personality.
Connorsrpg
Adventurer
[MENTION=6701896]Chaddy[/MENTION]
Quote: "piratically useless"....best spelling error yet - esp given your love of maritime adventures and how may pirates you have slain in our games
Quote: "piratically useless"....best spelling error yet - esp given your love of maritime adventures and how may pirates you have slain in our games
Connorsrpg
Adventurer
Updated PCs
So since our first session and heading into our 2nd our PCs were updated to the Oct 2012 playtest rules (or are in the process of doing so).
Actually, we have updated again, without even playing the last playtest packet. Rather than try and keep up with the PC changes here, I am simply going to link our campaign PC Page: http://pathtogolarion.wikidot.com/rotr-pc-page
Hopefully, players will keep the page up to date with their modifications.
So since our first session and heading into our 2nd our PCs were updated to the Oct 2012 playtest rules (or are in the process of doing so
).Actually, we have updated again, without even playing the last playtest packet. Rather than try and keep up with the PC changes here, I am simply going to link our campaign PC Page: http://pathtogolarion.wikidot.com/rotr-pc-page
Hopefully, players will keep the page up to date with their modifications.
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Connorsrpg
Adventurer
Session 2 - Story
[Spoiler Alert: Players should not read this if playing through Rise of the Runelords].
Finally had our second session.
The players took up Aldern's invite for a boar hunt, but no one was particularly skilled in the area, so they 'hired' Jodar Provolost ( a local part-time carpenter) to lead the hunt. Nerdanye also invited Deverin along on the off chance he got to squash some goblins. (Nerdanye is staying with Deverin, as she helped his daughter, a merchant guard, on the road, and Deverin has shown her Chief Wartula).
Went to the beech and cedar forest of the Tickwood. Moved amongst some walnut groves with no luck but ended up bagging two boars along the creek and Turandarok River. (Aldern got to shoot one and seemed quite excited. Daverin was anything but excited, having seen no sign of goblins).
Upon returning to town, the group had to drop the boars in the street to help the Barret family with a rogue goblin under their floorboards, that had apparently bitten the son, Aeren. The goblin was taken to the jail before Daverin finally got his way (meaning he got the name of the goblin out of it before he killed it and its ear once dead).
Had a large feast at The Rusty Dragon. Owner Ameiko seemed distracted and snuck off during the feast.
In the morning, Bethana, (halfling who works for Ameiko), reported Ameiko missing and gave PCs a translated note, apparently from Ameiko's brother, Tsuto asking her to meet at the family glassworks the night before.
PCs went to the glassworks. They heard a lot of noise out back, broke in and spoiled the party the Licktoads were having in the workshop. Tsuto turned up near the end of the fight, only to cop a hammer to the back of the head. He was stabilised and also taken to jail.
Beneath the glassworks the PCs discovered several things: a bound and gagged Ameiko, Tsuto's journal (that contained a LOT of answers and details for an even bigger raid on Sandpoint), and a tunnel leading into the bedrock beneath the town).
All went to the jail. Sheriff Hemlock decided the town needed extra muscle and set out with 4 guards for Magnimar. Mayor Kendra spoke with and thanked the PCs, urging them to further help Sandpoint, especially whilst the Sheriff was away. Ameiko also gave her word that The Rusty Dragon was forever open to them.
PC's decided to follow the tunnel under the glassworks. On fork led to a place that had previously been bricked up, but recently smashed through again. Beyond they were jumped by a humanoid creature with long limbs, grotesquely pale skin and a jaw that separated and snapped out at Arkin. Once dispatched, it was clear the passages beyond were not smuggler's tunnels; these were of ancient construction. A large, red statue testified to this. Here we finished with the players deciding which way to proceed.
In all a good mix of RP, exploration, but not a lot of combat. I definitely planned a lot more would be achieved, but I often do
[Spoiler Alert: Players should not read this if playing through Rise of the Runelords].
Finally had our second session.
The players took up Aldern's invite for a boar hunt, but no one was particularly skilled in the area, so they 'hired' Jodar Provolost ( a local part-time carpenter) to lead the hunt. Nerdanye also invited Deverin along on the off chance he got to squash some goblins. (Nerdanye is staying with Deverin, as she helped his daughter, a merchant guard, on the road, and Deverin has shown her Chief Wartula).
Went to the beech and cedar forest of the Tickwood. Moved amongst some walnut groves with no luck but ended up bagging two boars along the creek and Turandarok River. (Aldern got to shoot one and seemed quite excited. Daverin was anything but excited, having seen no sign of goblins).
Upon returning to town, the group had to drop the boars in the street to help the Barret family with a rogue goblin under their floorboards, that had apparently bitten the son, Aeren. The goblin was taken to the jail before Daverin finally got his way (meaning he got the name of the goblin out of it before he killed it and its ear once dead).
Had a large feast at The Rusty Dragon. Owner Ameiko seemed distracted and snuck off during the feast.
In the morning, Bethana, (halfling who works for Ameiko), reported Ameiko missing and gave PCs a translated note, apparently from Ameiko's brother, Tsuto asking her to meet at the family glassworks the night before.
PCs went to the glassworks. They heard a lot of noise out back, broke in and spoiled the party the Licktoads were having in the workshop. Tsuto turned up near the end of the fight, only to cop a hammer to the back of the head. He was stabilised and also taken to jail.
Beneath the glassworks the PCs discovered several things: a bound and gagged Ameiko, Tsuto's journal (that contained a LOT of answers and details for an even bigger raid on Sandpoint), and a tunnel leading into the bedrock beneath the town).
All went to the jail. Sheriff Hemlock decided the town needed extra muscle and set out with 4 guards for Magnimar. Mayor Kendra spoke with and thanked the PCs, urging them to further help Sandpoint, especially whilst the Sheriff was away. Ameiko also gave her word that The Rusty Dragon was forever open to them.
PC's decided to follow the tunnel under the glassworks. On fork led to a place that had previously been bricked up, but recently smashed through again. Beyond they were jumped by a humanoid creature with long limbs, grotesquely pale skin and a jaw that separated and snapped out at Arkin. Once dispatched, it was clear the passages beyond were not smuggler's tunnels; these were of ancient construction. A large, red statue testified to this. Here we finished with the players deciding which way to proceed.
In all a good mix of RP, exploration, but not a lot of combat. I definitely planned a lot more would be achieved, but I often do
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