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Sins of Our Fathers II - New Art Uploaded - 1/25
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<blockquote data-quote="Destan" data-source="post: 1706736" data-attributes="member: 12157"><p>The truth may be a bit stranger than fiction in this case.</p><p></p><p>In this particular adventure, I made what experienced DMs refer to as a "boo boo." I put one of my players in a helpless position. Let's rewind.</p><p></p><p>Baden departed the abandoned Halls of Axemarch after killing Buk'lokik the cave troll. He had three dwarven buddies with him - the stone priest Pemm, the Ironfist Captain Hoth, and his fellow Axemarch warrior Tamil. I have always, always been a fan of the "getting there" portion of adventures. I guess I like to dip in Tolkienesque type stuff when it comes to traveling across the Valus. I like my players to really feel that getting from Point A to Point B can be an adventure - or a number of adventures - in its own right. More recently, in this campaign, my players have been shunting about the world via <em>teleport</em> and the cosmos via <em>plane shift</em>. That's all well and good; it's an aspect of high level player, and to paraphrase Monte - "A DM shalt not nerf powers earned by his or her PCs."</p><p></p><p>I recently had a little email dialogue going about this very issue with Sepulchrave. He and I seemed to settle on 8th level as being a pretty good boundary between "traditional adventures" and "magic-powered adventures". At 9th level, of course, an arcane caster can grab <em>teleport</em>. And a divine caster can grab <em>raise dead</em>. Both of these spells could be technically classified as "biggies".</p><p></p><p>Anyway, I digress.</p><p></p><p>Baden set off from Axemarch to Val Hor. That's a helluva trip. He'd have to head down through the foothills of the Balantir Cor, cross the Weedsea, cut through or skirt the Boarswood, pick up the Coastal Road, pass through a number of towns that may or may not be friendly to a dwarf, before finally wandering through the landward gates of the White City.</p><p></p><p>I had a random encounter chart ready for that trek. The dreth and wolven came first; he dispatched them, as we've seen, near Epalan ruins just south of the Cor's foothills. The next roll came up as Selunite priests.</p><p></p><p>Like any random encounter, I like to take the "randomness" out of it. At least in my mind. I had to inwardly answer some questions. Why were the priests there? Who was with them? Where were they going? What would they think of a small band of dwarves crossing "Selunite" lands?</p><p></p><p>I determined that the elves, being arrogant, would initially treat Baden and his fellows with disdain. Since they were Moonies, I could wratchet the arrogance up a couple notches. I threw in some captive clansmen as a way to answer why the elves were where they were - they had been patrolling the northern borders in light of some disturbing news (the presence of ancient dreth and feral wolven), and collecting folks for questioning. </p><p></p><p>So Baden and his buds set off toward the Moon Cathedral at Mead Lake. This was a random encounter, but it was quickly evolving into a whole adventure. I was along for the ride as much as Baden's player was. I was interested how it'd turn out.</p><p></p><p>Then Baden dropped the proverbial bomb. He told the high priestess, in not as many words, that <em>he</em> might be responsible for the dreth/wolven within her demesne. Hmmm...how would she take that? Not well, I figured. So then it became a tit-for-a-tat. I gave the elves a problem they wanted solved (the presence of infidel Apians on their sacred grounds). And I gave Baden his out: he could rid the elves of their problem, and thereby be allowed to continue on his merry way.</p><p></p><p>This allowed me to introduce some mainlanders to my party - specifically Pandios of Margive. The Valus is just one island in a much larger world; until this time, that was largely ignored by my players. And, because this is, after all, a Valusian Campaign - I had to make sure there was no "easy" answer. Baden could fight Pandios, certainly, and could probably kill him. But would he want to? I decided to make Pandios a damned honorable, likeable guy. Heheh. Deal with that, Baden.</p><p></p><p>Again, I ramble. Baden fights Pandios and then all hell breaks loose. I was very much holding onto the coattails of this adventure now. Suddenly, when the dust cleared, I find Baden and Pandios on an isolated shrine at the end of a causeway. A bunch of Moonies are guarding the only entrance/exit. Baden had told his companions Hoth and Tamil to continue to Val Hor. He was very much alone, and I was very much out of ideas as to how to save him.</p><p></p><p>So...what do I do? I've placed a player in a situation that might not have an answer. Was that fair? Certainly not. How could I get out of this damned web I was responsible for creating?</p><p></p><p>I took the easy (lame) way out: divine intervention. Moradin - or, more direcly, Selune - would help him.</p><p></p><p>In the <em>real</em> version of the story, a moon elf approached and offered Baden/Pandios the chance to undergo a "test". If they could pass safely through the sacred catacombs beneath the shrine, it must mean that Selune favored their journey. They would be allowed to go free. Baden and Pandios opted to take the bait (what choice did they have?), and they made it through. Baden had been given a boon, and would need to pay one - down the road - in return.</p><p></p><p>In the story hour version, I didn't feel like throwing in another dialogue. I've been desperately trying to advance this tale to the point wherein the Brothers of Olgotha are all together again. As a writer, I <em>needed</em> Baden to meet up with the other players. So I ditched the "test" conversation and just had him find a secret trapdoor. The end result was the same.</p><p></p><p>So, there ya go. Long answer to a short question. For those who want nothing but accuracy in a story hour, this probably ain't the one to read. I do realize, however, that folks may like to hear what really did happen, and so I'll try to pull aside the Oz-like curtain whenever the SH differs from the campaign itself. Mind you, these differences, as a rule, are minor.</p><p></p><p>Take care,</p><p>D</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Destan, post: 1706736, member: 12157"] The truth may be a bit stranger than fiction in this case. In this particular adventure, I made what experienced DMs refer to as a "boo boo." I put one of my players in a helpless position. Let's rewind. Baden departed the abandoned Halls of Axemarch after killing Buk'lokik the cave troll. He had three dwarven buddies with him - the stone priest Pemm, the Ironfist Captain Hoth, and his fellow Axemarch warrior Tamil. I have always, always been a fan of the "getting there" portion of adventures. I guess I like to dip in Tolkienesque type stuff when it comes to traveling across the Valus. I like my players to really feel that getting from Point A to Point B can be an adventure - or a number of adventures - in its own right. More recently, in this campaign, my players have been shunting about the world via [i]teleport[/i] and the cosmos via [i]plane shift[/i]. That's all well and good; it's an aspect of high level player, and to paraphrase Monte - "A DM shalt not nerf powers earned by his or her PCs." I recently had a little email dialogue going about this very issue with Sepulchrave. He and I seemed to settle on 8th level as being a pretty good boundary between "traditional adventures" and "magic-powered adventures". At 9th level, of course, an arcane caster can grab [i]teleport[/i]. And a divine caster can grab [i]raise dead[/i]. Both of these spells could be technically classified as "biggies". Anyway, I digress. Baden set off from Axemarch to Val Hor. That's a helluva trip. He'd have to head down through the foothills of the Balantir Cor, cross the Weedsea, cut through or skirt the Boarswood, pick up the Coastal Road, pass through a number of towns that may or may not be friendly to a dwarf, before finally wandering through the landward gates of the White City. I had a random encounter chart ready for that trek. The dreth and wolven came first; he dispatched them, as we've seen, near Epalan ruins just south of the Cor's foothills. The next roll came up as Selunite priests. Like any random encounter, I like to take the "randomness" out of it. At least in my mind. I had to inwardly answer some questions. Why were the priests there? Who was with them? Where were they going? What would they think of a small band of dwarves crossing "Selunite" lands? I determined that the elves, being arrogant, would initially treat Baden and his fellows with disdain. Since they were Moonies, I could wratchet the arrogance up a couple notches. I threw in some captive clansmen as a way to answer why the elves were where they were - they had been patrolling the northern borders in light of some disturbing news (the presence of ancient dreth and feral wolven), and collecting folks for questioning. So Baden and his buds set off toward the Moon Cathedral at Mead Lake. This was a random encounter, but it was quickly evolving into a whole adventure. I was along for the ride as much as Baden's player was. I was interested how it'd turn out. Then Baden dropped the proverbial bomb. He told the high priestess, in not as many words, that [i]he[/i] might be responsible for the dreth/wolven within her demesne. Hmmm...how would she take that? Not well, I figured. So then it became a tit-for-a-tat. I gave the elves a problem they wanted solved (the presence of infidel Apians on their sacred grounds). And I gave Baden his out: he could rid the elves of their problem, and thereby be allowed to continue on his merry way. This allowed me to introduce some mainlanders to my party - specifically Pandios of Margive. The Valus is just one island in a much larger world; until this time, that was largely ignored by my players. And, because this is, after all, a Valusian Campaign - I had to make sure there was no "easy" answer. Baden could fight Pandios, certainly, and could probably kill him. But would he want to? I decided to make Pandios a damned honorable, likeable guy. Heheh. Deal with that, Baden. Again, I ramble. Baden fights Pandios and then all hell breaks loose. I was very much holding onto the coattails of this adventure now. Suddenly, when the dust cleared, I find Baden and Pandios on an isolated shrine at the end of a causeway. A bunch of Moonies are guarding the only entrance/exit. Baden had told his companions Hoth and Tamil to continue to Val Hor. He was very much alone, and I was very much out of ideas as to how to save him. So...what do I do? I've placed a player in a situation that might not have an answer. Was that fair? Certainly not. How could I get out of this damned web I was responsible for creating? I took the easy (lame) way out: divine intervention. Moradin - or, more direcly, Selune - would help him. In the [i]real[/i] version of the story, a moon elf approached and offered Baden/Pandios the chance to undergo a "test". If they could pass safely through the sacred catacombs beneath the shrine, it must mean that Selune favored their journey. They would be allowed to go free. Baden and Pandios opted to take the bait (what choice did they have?), and they made it through. Baden had been given a boon, and would need to pay one - down the road - in return. In the story hour version, I didn't feel like throwing in another dialogue. I've been desperately trying to advance this tale to the point wherein the Brothers of Olgotha are all together again. As a writer, I [i]needed[/i] Baden to meet up with the other players. So I ditched the "test" conversation and just had him find a secret trapdoor. The end result was the same. So, there ya go. Long answer to a short question. For those who want nothing but accuracy in a story hour, this probably ain't the one to read. I do realize, however, that folks may like to hear what really did happen, and so I'll try to pull aside the Oz-like curtain whenever the SH differs from the campaign itself. Mind you, these differences, as a rule, are minor. Take care, D [/QUOTE]
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