Rhenny
Adventurer
Hi all,
Just because I like reading what others write about their campaigns, I decided to publish the game logs for my latest mini-campaign. I'm currently playing with 4 of my buddies using maptools and so far (we've been at it for 3 weeks now) it has been very fun. Most of my friends are old timers, playing 1st and 2nd edition over 30 years ago, so 4e is new to all of them.
The logs I post will be slightly edited versions of what I send to the players each week after our sessions. I left DM comments, introductions and parenthetical statements to make the campaign building aspect more transparent. I'll try to post sessions on this thread for as long as I can (at least until the first part of our campaign ends - which should be when the players make it to 2nd level).
Well, here goes. Enjoy.
Introduction to the players and beginning the campaign
Hi Guys,
To start the ball rolling, assume that you all either live near or in Sand's End, and you will meet each other in the town square. (You can decide why you are in this small town an share or not as you choose). Here is the starting situation:
You've been looking for work for a few days now. You fear that the coins you have in your purse will not last you too long, especially if you want to continue to equip yourself for the adventuring life that you so yearn to embark upon. You've trained in your chosen class for years, but you haven't really had much in the way of worldly experience. Today is the day that that will all change. You feel it in your bones. As the sun begins to rise higher in the sky...about 11:00 am, and the temperature hits 85 degrees, you see a messenger hammering a notice to the side of the town center building. Some village kids come over to look at it, and then they scamper off pretending to fight monsters as they play. A couple of villagers look at it and turn away. Then, as you get close to it, you realize that there are three other young adventuring types standing next to you. You all look at the notice and at each other. (This is how you meet. In total, there is a huge Dragonborn cleric, a Tiefling wizard, a Dwarven fighter and an Eladrin rogue. You guys will have to see if you can form an adventuring company...perhaps you can respond to this notice as a newly formed team).
The notice reads: "Lord Berris, the Vizier of Sand's End, is seeking a team of explorers who are brave and trustworthy. Come to Lord Berris' manor house this afternoon to apply. There will be ample opportunity to gain favor with the town and make some coin as well." -- The notice is signed by Lord Berris himself. You finish reading the notice and begin to daydream about honor, power, riches. You look at the other characters around you and begin to think.
Ok...that will start you off. Remember, this campaign will include roleplaying and combat (and you gain experience points for both!!) To that end...one of the first questions I will ask you when we start to play is: What is one or two words that you would use to describe your character? I'd also like to know which one of the following your character craves most: honor, power or riches? The answers to these simple questions will form the basis for your roleplaying/character development. As we play, feel free to expand your character personality or back story to make our games more vibrant. (Also, your ideas will help me develop parts of the campaign).
Also, try not to think of our sessions as a game where you know all the rules, etc. Think more like a character in the world. In 4e, combat can be dangerous. Most creatures even adventurers would rather avoid fighting when it is possible unless they are completely sure of the odds. Don't think like old 1st edition D&D, or Advanced Dungeons and Dragons where an orc is an orc is an orc and it has only 1d8 hit points. That is not the case in this world. For each race or species of monsters there are different variations and different roles. Many Kobolds or Orcs could be minions (1 hit and they die) creatures, but there are also ones that rival you in power, and even ones that may be more powerful than you. It is entirely possible that you may meet a Kobold Warrior who is a mini-boss or boss monster. He could have 100 hp and nasty attack abilities. I will try hard to describe each creature to give you clues or outright knowledge which will give you a sense of the creature's power. If you feel that you don't stand a chance vs. the mob...try to figure out another way around, or run away to regain resources, or retreat to make a better battle plan, or whatever. If the monsters are common, I'll tell you a lot about them. If they are more rare or are special variations, you will want to use your skill rolls to let me know what you know about the creatures -- Roll arcana skill for extraplanar or conjured/magical creatures -- Roll dungeoneering for underground creatures or hazards -- Roll Nature for natural creatures or hazards -- Roll Religion for undead, devils and demons. In game I'll let you know when you should make the checks, but you can ask anytime if you think it would benefit your group.
I'm looking forward to our sessions.
- Paul
1st Session
Karyak, the Dragonborn Cleric of Pelor (Played by Max), Grimgold, the Dwarven Guardian Fighter (Played by Lance), Xaxis, the Tiefling Combat Wizard (Played by Rob), and Geyorg, the Eladrin Trickster Rogue (Played by Ian), met in the town square of Sand’s End (a Southern Village only 10 miles west of the great desert and 10 miles east of the sea) and formed an adventuring company. (You guys should come up with a name for your group/enterprise) They decided to roam around Sand’s End to gain more information about the town and the vizier, Lord Berris, who was seeking explorers for a job. Buying fruits from one of the farmers in the marketplace, handing out sweet dried fruit to some children, and roaming the rest of the marketplace the group heard the following rumors:
Lord Berris was able to clean up the town and save them from raiders a number or years ago.
Lord Berris was able to inspire the town militia and lead it to victory
The children say they have seen a small dragon fly north of the town
Some say that they’ve seen Lord Berris having secret meetings with some town folk.
Two weeks ago, Abner, the town vagrant, was babbling about Orcus. Two days later, he vanished and has not been seen since.
Lord Berris pays well for help
After spending about 2 hours in town, the group went to Lord Berris’ manor house and applied for his job. The group found him to be a charming man, who seemed very agreeable, comforting and patronly. He explained how he knew of a ruined building about 10 miles north of town that may have a magical box that he would like to recover. He offered the party 100 gp each and the promise of future work, if the party investigated and if possible retrieved the magical box. He even gave them the coin in advance, saying that he trusts the group and if all works well, he would become their patron. Lord Berris also gave the group a crude map to help them locate the ruins.
The party spent one more night at the Oasis Inn, and started their trek north before sunrise the next morning. By about 8:30. succeeding a skill challenge, they found the ruin and sent their rogue, Geyorg into the entrance to scout ahead stealthily. Inside this celler-like room, they found two Red Iron Defenders and an electrical trap. The party fought the defenders valiantly sustaining wounds from the mechanical jaws, fire that the defenders could breath, and the electrical discharge from the trap. After destroying the defenders, Geyorg and Xaxis with help from Karyak disabled the trap while Grimgold, the stout dwarf, carefully watched the east portcullis, which rose when the trap was disabled. Grimgold tried to listen carefully at the door behind the portcullis, but could not hear anything alarming.
Needing 5 minutes to bandage their wounds and recover from their first official combat as a team, the group searched the room, and found nothing but the lifeless remains of the iron defenders.
- Paul
Just because I like reading what others write about their campaigns, I decided to publish the game logs for my latest mini-campaign. I'm currently playing with 4 of my buddies using maptools and so far (we've been at it for 3 weeks now) it has been very fun. Most of my friends are old timers, playing 1st and 2nd edition over 30 years ago, so 4e is new to all of them.
The logs I post will be slightly edited versions of what I send to the players each week after our sessions. I left DM comments, introductions and parenthetical statements to make the campaign building aspect more transparent. I'll try to post sessions on this thread for as long as I can (at least until the first part of our campaign ends - which should be when the players make it to 2nd level).
Well, here goes. Enjoy.
Introduction to the players and beginning the campaign
Hi Guys,
To start the ball rolling, assume that you all either live near or in Sand's End, and you will meet each other in the town square. (You can decide why you are in this small town an share or not as you choose). Here is the starting situation:
You've been looking for work for a few days now. You fear that the coins you have in your purse will not last you too long, especially if you want to continue to equip yourself for the adventuring life that you so yearn to embark upon. You've trained in your chosen class for years, but you haven't really had much in the way of worldly experience. Today is the day that that will all change. You feel it in your bones. As the sun begins to rise higher in the sky...about 11:00 am, and the temperature hits 85 degrees, you see a messenger hammering a notice to the side of the town center building. Some village kids come over to look at it, and then they scamper off pretending to fight monsters as they play. A couple of villagers look at it and turn away. Then, as you get close to it, you realize that there are three other young adventuring types standing next to you. You all look at the notice and at each other. (This is how you meet. In total, there is a huge Dragonborn cleric, a Tiefling wizard, a Dwarven fighter and an Eladrin rogue. You guys will have to see if you can form an adventuring company...perhaps you can respond to this notice as a newly formed team).
The notice reads: "Lord Berris, the Vizier of Sand's End, is seeking a team of explorers who are brave and trustworthy. Come to Lord Berris' manor house this afternoon to apply. There will be ample opportunity to gain favor with the town and make some coin as well." -- The notice is signed by Lord Berris himself. You finish reading the notice and begin to daydream about honor, power, riches. You look at the other characters around you and begin to think.
Ok...that will start you off. Remember, this campaign will include roleplaying and combat (and you gain experience points for both!!) To that end...one of the first questions I will ask you when we start to play is: What is one or two words that you would use to describe your character? I'd also like to know which one of the following your character craves most: honor, power or riches? The answers to these simple questions will form the basis for your roleplaying/character development. As we play, feel free to expand your character personality or back story to make our games more vibrant. (Also, your ideas will help me develop parts of the campaign).
Also, try not to think of our sessions as a game where you know all the rules, etc. Think more like a character in the world. In 4e, combat can be dangerous. Most creatures even adventurers would rather avoid fighting when it is possible unless they are completely sure of the odds. Don't think like old 1st edition D&D, or Advanced Dungeons and Dragons where an orc is an orc is an orc and it has only 1d8 hit points. That is not the case in this world. For each race or species of monsters there are different variations and different roles. Many Kobolds or Orcs could be minions (1 hit and they die) creatures, but there are also ones that rival you in power, and even ones that may be more powerful than you. It is entirely possible that you may meet a Kobold Warrior who is a mini-boss or boss monster. He could have 100 hp and nasty attack abilities. I will try hard to describe each creature to give you clues or outright knowledge which will give you a sense of the creature's power. If you feel that you don't stand a chance vs. the mob...try to figure out another way around, or run away to regain resources, or retreat to make a better battle plan, or whatever. If the monsters are common, I'll tell you a lot about them. If they are more rare or are special variations, you will want to use your skill rolls to let me know what you know about the creatures -- Roll arcana skill for extraplanar or conjured/magical creatures -- Roll dungeoneering for underground creatures or hazards -- Roll Nature for natural creatures or hazards -- Roll Religion for undead, devils and demons. In game I'll let you know when you should make the checks, but you can ask anytime if you think it would benefit your group.
I'm looking forward to our sessions.
- Paul
1st Session
Karyak, the Dragonborn Cleric of Pelor (Played by Max), Grimgold, the Dwarven Guardian Fighter (Played by Lance), Xaxis, the Tiefling Combat Wizard (Played by Rob), and Geyorg, the Eladrin Trickster Rogue (Played by Ian), met in the town square of Sand’s End (a Southern Village only 10 miles west of the great desert and 10 miles east of the sea) and formed an adventuring company. (You guys should come up with a name for your group/enterprise) They decided to roam around Sand’s End to gain more information about the town and the vizier, Lord Berris, who was seeking explorers for a job. Buying fruits from one of the farmers in the marketplace, handing out sweet dried fruit to some children, and roaming the rest of the marketplace the group heard the following rumors:
Lord Berris was able to clean up the town and save them from raiders a number or years ago.
Lord Berris was able to inspire the town militia and lead it to victory
The children say they have seen a small dragon fly north of the town
Some say that they’ve seen Lord Berris having secret meetings with some town folk.
Two weeks ago, Abner, the town vagrant, was babbling about Orcus. Two days later, he vanished and has not been seen since.
Lord Berris pays well for help
After spending about 2 hours in town, the group went to Lord Berris’ manor house and applied for his job. The group found him to be a charming man, who seemed very agreeable, comforting and patronly. He explained how he knew of a ruined building about 10 miles north of town that may have a magical box that he would like to recover. He offered the party 100 gp each and the promise of future work, if the party investigated and if possible retrieved the magical box. He even gave them the coin in advance, saying that he trusts the group and if all works well, he would become their patron. Lord Berris also gave the group a crude map to help them locate the ruins.
The party spent one more night at the Oasis Inn, and started their trek north before sunrise the next morning. By about 8:30. succeeding a skill challenge, they found the ruin and sent their rogue, Geyorg into the entrance to scout ahead stealthily. Inside this celler-like room, they found two Red Iron Defenders and an electrical trap. The party fought the defenders valiantly sustaining wounds from the mechanical jaws, fire that the defenders could breath, and the electrical discharge from the trap. After destroying the defenders, Geyorg and Xaxis with help from Karyak disabled the trap while Grimgold, the stout dwarf, carefully watched the east portcullis, which rose when the trap was disabled. Grimgold tried to listen carefully at the door behind the portcullis, but could not hear anything alarming.
Needing 5 minutes to bandage their wounds and recover from their first official combat as a team, the group searched the room, and found nothing but the lifeless remains of the iron defenders.
- Paul