General Discussion Thread X

[Boddynock]

Well, I'm definitely not interested in an evil campaign or PvP. There are enough dangers out there without my companions trying to put a knife in my back.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Well, I'm definitely not interested in an evil campaign or PvP. There are enough dangers out there without my companions trying to put a knife in my back.

So far, there have been no fatalities or PvP combats started by evil PCs, though I think we had one started by a Lawful Good Wizard

 

[Boddynock]

About that Side Trek I'm preparing ...

Having moved recently, I don't have easy access to about half my Dungeon magazines, and the ones I have on hand only have a few STs. Of those, the only ones which are really appropriate for a 1st level party are all set in the wilderness, so I need a way of getting the party to the right spot.

That got me to thinking about that iconic low level employment possibility - the caravan which needs guarding. I wondered whether it might fit with LEW if I set up a Trader keen on opening up new territory, and who had ongoing, low-grade work for a handful of PCs.

That would provide a possibility of some scratch employment for the times, like now, when there's a glut of adventurers in the RDI, and allow a believable way to transport the party to the scene of some short adventures.

The PCs could sign on as many times as they wanted (although I'd think they'd get bored with guard duty after a while, which would open up the field). Certainly, I'd envisage the Trader advertising each trip at the RDI.

The deal might be something like this: The Trader says, "The pay's x gold per week, plus food and transport provided. Anything you defeat, you get to plunder. But guarding the caravan's your first priority!" PCs would receive the standard time XP award.

Hmm, it's just occurred to me that Rinaldo might already be doing something like this. Well, perhaps this is the competition.

What do people think of the idea?

 

[Rystil Arden]

You could use the Alvar Thorne, a currently extant Orussian merchant NPC, described as "one of Orussus's most successful merchants" who uses canny marketing techniques and new business strategies to get ahead. He's a bit competitor for Rinaldo too, having been longer established. In TCotM, ten years in the future there is a conglomerate DiSenzio & Thorne mercantile operations.

 

[Boddynock]

Hey, great!

What's TCotM?

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

It sounds perfectly plausible and there’s no reason why you couldn’t do it. You don’t have limit things to just caravans either. Escorting a noble, a press-gang or even a missive summoning characters to another location would serve just as effectively in taking characters to a more suitable location for the adventure to take place.

Well, I'm definitely not interested in an evil campaign or PvP. There are enough dangers out there without my companions trying to put a knife in my back.

That's where you need to draw a distinction in the type of game you want.

Whilst it can facilitate PvP combat just as well as any other gaming system, the aim of the average D&D game is for groups of PCs to travel with each other and overcome challenges as a group.

I would not want to play in a campaign where my companions were trying to put a knife in my back. It would just breed resentment. Plus, I doubt that it would have any real longevity anyway.

However, I do love to play in campaigns where the PCs can’t wait to stick a knife in other people’s backs, i.e. NPCs. My evil PCs have definitely been some of the most enjoyable characters I’ve played. They give you a great chance to let loose and really allow yourself to be drawn in the character. Wonderful roleplay opportunities!

 

[Rystil Arden]

Hey, great!

What's TCotM?

It's a secret!

Okay, not really, since you'll see that acronym in the front of four or five threads in this forum. It's an adventure involving the aftermath of a mage who violated the laws and attempted to harness the forbidden magic of Chronomancy.

 

[Boddynock]

*The report shows substantial profits for the DiSenzio & Thorne merchant house. Rinaldo recognises the second name as belonging to Alvar Thorne, one of Orussus's most successful merchants who used a few canny techniques that Rinaldo had studied even back when Rinaldo was just starting out, what seems so long ago. It seems significant that DiSenzio is the first name, though. Apparently the delegation to Ignussus has met with substantial success with a date listed ten years after Rinaldo and his friends set off to assault the tower. The form is notarised at the bottom by someone named Eileen Myrelle.*

So this is the only information on Alvar Thorne, then?

 

[Rystil Arden]

So this is the only information on Alvar Thorne, then?

Basically, and it's in the future, so you can ignore most of the details you quoted. He also has some female relative (unspecified as of yet) named Allistra Thorne.

 

[Knight Otu]

Just passing through to mention I'll be back in full swing on monday.