Encounter in Waterdeep

[DannoE]

Hey guys,

I wrote a little encounter called--amazingly--Encounter in Waterdeep. I want to submit it to DRAGON Magazine, but I want to combat-test it first to make sure it's properly balanced. Anybody want to help?

I confess that this piece is the start to a larger (but still reasonably short) adventure, so if the story is popular, I'll be more than happy to continue DM'ing it for whoever wants to continue playing.

ABOUT ME: I'm a utilities analyst, freelance writer, and semi-pro comic reviewer. I've written 4 graphic novels, a bunch of short stories, and a prose novel in addition to a regular weekly column. I've no idea why I decided to do the newest story as a D&D adventure beyond the fact that: a) I'd never done it before, and b) I'm really enjoying Paul Kemp's new series.

So anyway, I intended Encounter in Waterdeep for 3 to 4 PC's plus one DM-controlled NPC, all of about 4th level. However, if there are 5 folks who want to play, we can drop the NPC. I don't recommend this encounter for PC's of less than 4th level, but I'll take characters of up to level 6 if that's where the interest is.

Here's the hook:

“It has been a pretty good week. The party signed on to escort a merchant caravan into Waterdeep, and though the road was long, the journey saw clear skies and open road the whole way. Your party’s spirits are high. Having been paid off upon arrival, you secured rooms at a local inn, The Flaming Camel—a nice one, for once—cached your heavy equipment and most of your coin, and headed out to explore the wonders of the City of Splendors.

“Events quickly took a familiar turn. You headed into a lowly dockside tavern just as the sun started to dip below the waterline. With a purse full of coin and a heart full of cheer, you and your companions ordered dinner—finely cut chops of meat, huge brick-like loaves of dark bread, and the house’s finest red wine. A round of ale followed. Then another. Soon stories were exploding across the table like smoke bombs.

“The hours flew.

“Now, with your coin spent, you stumble outside just as the faintest light of morning appears. It’s twilight, and between the booze and the sudden dimness of the morning starlight, you find it hard to see. The harbor spreads before you like a great black sheet of glass. The street itself is mostly empty. Across the way, you see a handful of vendors setting up stalls and preparing for the day. The shops opposite the pub you just exited are closed, and if you look left, you can see a set of steps leading back up towards the Merchant District and your current quarters.”

If you want to play, please post your character sheet and then roll a spot-check.

Thanks!

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

DannoE, you need to post this in the Talking the Talk forum. That's where you recruit players and talk about out-of-character things. The Playing the Game forum is only for in-character action. Character sheets get posted in the Plots and Places forum.

All Play by Post games around here have those three threads. Check my sig for the games I've played and whatnot, and you'll see what I mean. I know you're new, and I just wanted to help set you straight.

You'll probably also want to add things like whether your people need to use point buy (and how much) or dice rolling (and what method) for character generation stats, what books are allowed, what version of the game you want to run (3.0, 3.5, 4.0, etc.), how you want your character sheet formated, and how you want the players to roll. In Play by Post, oftentimes the DM rolls everything, or the players can do some of their own rolling with an electronic dice roller like www.invisiblecastle.com (which allows everyone to see their rolls so you know no one's cheating).

You'll also need to add how hit points are being done, how much money they have (if other than normal) if they have any more XP that the base for 6th level (to provide for item crafting or other things), if you have any house rules, and other things of that matter.

Take a look here, it's the OOC (out of character) thread for my latest game, which has the kind of information your potential players will be looking for. You'll also want to put "Recruiting" in the subject line so people know you're looking for players.