Outline for an E6 campaign

[mfrench]

This is a compilation of information for a campaign that I'm attempting to put together. It is primarily a place where I can organize everything for myself, but I would also like to welcome any comments, especially from people who have used any of the resources that I've referenced. Much of it is available for free (I'm pretty cheap), but some of it (like the alternate races) is not.

Note: There might be some spoilers to adventures, I'll try and hide them if possible.

The campaign will be based on E6, where nothing can have more than 6 class levels before advancement is limited to feats.

The first adventure I would like to run is A Dark and Stormy Knight. It gives a chance to bring together PCs from various backgrounds, and puts them all in one place. This introduces an older culture of Giants/Bugbears/goblinoids that used to have power in the area. This tomb is just one of many Tors, which could be explored at the PCs whim.

Further, the hobgoblin in the adventure has orders to look for G's Gauntlet and the Hoardmaster there, and has a map to it that the PCs can find. This idea is borrowed (stolen?) from rycanada from two threads, Depth in Worldbuilding and Gorgoldand's Gauntlet. One of the primary conflicts available for the players to take up is the one between the wielders of Hoardmasters and the hobgoblins. This set up opens to door to dungeon crawls, city adventure, and politics/intrigue. There's lots of potential there.

About this time, I'd been reading a Collaborative setting about Fey, which clicked with the Jibigi/hobgoblin as some sort of Dark Fey link. Some elements from that thread (like the Order of Johannes and trodes) I'd like to include.

I've also gleaned a few ideas from the very handy Pathfinder blog, which has great artwork, and outlines several adventure seeds, etc.

 

[mfrench]

Other resources - Brindinford

With the baron in political trouble, two adventures stood out: from Dungeon #130, Within the Circle, although I'd like to shift the focus away from Yuan-ti , and instead shift the focus toward the group in an adventure that I've had forever but never used, Speaker in Dreams. The city of Brindinford is the seat of Baron Polrost's power, using the map from Speaker. For the assassins in the adventure, I wanted to substitute the (extremely well-written) group from Eye for an Eye.

What this all amounts to is that some secret power helped the Baron gain power, and now that trouble's coming they've offered him more help. He is loathe to accept this, though, without knowing more about what the costs will be. I imagine him as a basically good person who didn't ask many questions when they first gave him aid a dozen years ago. His conscience has worked on him, however, and now he doesn't want a part in anything underhanded. I've given him some more backstory, but I can extrapolate on this later. The whole thing can culminate with Speaker, which should be as the PCs approach Epic.

Another event to forshadow will be the adventure The Menagerie. I want this wizard who collects magical beasts to be someone the players have a chance to meet and possibly befriend, and later in the campaign, this can be sprung on them. Whether the escaped animals are accidental, or a plot by one of the groups opposing the PCs can be decided later.

 

[mfrench]

Other resources - Deepwatch

The next town upriver from Brindinford is going to be Deepwatch (map from Dungeon #103), a city on a lake. The primary adventure that I'd like to set there is from Dungeon #109, Devil Box. The Shackling festival would be a very interesting event in any case.

The other focus of Deepwatch will be on the political front: [sblock] I imagine that the local lord is a bit of a tyrant. His father was an ally of the former Baron (Camis' older brother). However, this Earl has a short temper, and is very strict. He rules the region with his band of cavalry, which he uses to strike bandits, but also strikes fear into the average person. He also loves the hunt. The Earl isn't a great supporter of the Baron, and I get the idea that if he gets wind of the plot by Adstone, he might make a play for the Barony in exchange for helping to oust him. I also got the idea in my head that, ironically, the Earl helped earn Polrost the ire of Adstone. Something about the Earl's sister was courted by a minor visiting noble from Adstone, and the protective older brother killed him in a duel for the sake of 'family honor.' It was just a thinly veiled excuse for killing someone that he imagined had sleighted him. The Adstone's won't directly strike back, as technically all teh proper forms were followed. [/sblock]

Upriver from Deepwatch is the tiny mill-town of Aulbesmil, which lends itself to the adventures Beasts of Aulbesmil (from #131, and use this map) and Cry Wolf (from #102). The bandit groups here will be linked to the Jibigi cult, as they are trying to sow unrest in the region. There should also be clues that start the investigation toward House Adstone from the bandits.

 

[Ry]

I love how you're using my Depth in Worldbuilding idea to weave these things together.

If you change the half-orc cleric to a hobgoblin disciple of Jibigi, the Burning Plague would fit pretty well in the same milieu. Another thing that would work nicely is making Duvik's Pass technically inside Adstone, and the PCs, once they take care of it, earn the direct ire of Adstone as "Polrost's troublemakers"

 

[mfrench]

Other resources - Duvik's Pass

The next (and final) town upriver from Deepwatch is Duvik's Pass (however, the map is stolen from Redgorge, in the Shackled City AP - Demonskar Legacy, Dungeon #104. I expect the adventures here to be extremely Dungeon Crawl, with Burning Plague, Windswept Wall, and a megadungeon from Worldwide Adventure Writer's Month (specifically, the Maze of Cherno, Xathyl's Redoubt, and he's adding a third that I don't believe is complete yet).

I don't have a great idea about the politics of the pass yet - I only know that the arrival of Sionas has created a stir by 'stealing' miners away from the silver mines, and people wonder what he's all about. The Burning Plauge will then occur, further exacerbating the problem. I've not been real thrilled with the maps, so I'm considering using the Delve maps from Dungeons 109 (see Devil Box, above) and 111. Also, I would consider making the Orc cleric related to the Jibigi plot. This way, the PCs might draw her ire for killing one of her siblings, and they're further drawn in.

Edit: Ah! You've stolen my thunder! Actually, that's a great way to include the previous political situation in Duvik's Pass. I like it, and I'm glad that you approve of my use of your ideas.

 

[Ry]

I like how this setting doesn't say "Go here first, then go there, then go there" - it's nice and open for however the PCs want to approach it. Like an amusement park.

 

[mfrench]

I like how this setting doesn't say "Go here first, then go there, then go there" - it's nice and open for however the PCs want to approach it. Like an amusement park.

Exactly. I started doing that, but then you pointed that link out to me in an earlier thread. After I read that, I went back through the adventures and treated several of them like rides. I think the the progression from Dark Knight into G's Gauntlet, pointing them to the Baron and Within the Circle is about as far as it'll go. From there, PCs can explore anywhere, as their fancy dictates. If they get really involved with certain plots, NPCs can point them around, but I don't think that there will be much 'leading the players by the nose' after those first sessions.

There are lots of leads, and lots of potential bad guys for Epic level conflict (Jibigi, Adstone, the Dreaming cult in Brindinford, the Red Dragon that hunted Gorgoldand . . .). I want it to really give players a chance to have input into the campaign.

In a few posts, I'll describe one of the potential restaurants.

 

[Ry]

Oh, FYI, Baron Dennel Adstone did make an appearance as a recurring nonviolent antagonist in one of my old campaigns. If you get the chance, seizing PC or allied NPC assets is just about the best way to get PCs pissed off at Adstone.

 

[mfrench]

I almost forgot for Deepwatch, one of the sites in the town should be the Ministry of Winds. This can be tied into almost anything, but it might remain neutral so that not every campaign event ties into something.

 

[Ry]

So you're using 100% free stuff, right? If so this is a godsend.

Edit: You mentioned somewhere in your OP that it's not ALL free - what isn't free? I might be able to track down a free alternative...

 

[mfrench]

So you're using 100% free stuff, right? If so this is a godsend.

Edit: You mentioned somewhere in your OP that it's not ALL free - what isn't free? I might be able to track down a free alternative...

Some of it is Dungeon Magazine. Many of the maps are available, I believe, as free Paizo web enhancements. If you get the summaries, nothing is that complicated to build on your own. (That is, a CR appropriate bandit group, a wererat, etc.).

Also, I was going to use non-standard races, but it isn't strictly necessary.

 

[Ry]

OK, this gave me a great idea that will work in parallel with one of my previous great ideas.

I took out the pbwiki esix.pbwiki.com and ogcesix.pbwiki.com

The former will be for E6 gaming stitched out of online freebies, the latter for E6 gaming stitched out of OGC material. Now all I need is about six more hours a day to devote to gaming

 

[Dragonblade275]

Now all I need is about six more hours a day to devote to gaming

Well, there's always skipping sleep.

 

[Ry]

mfrench:

Check this out - this is just the tip of the iceberg, but here's 4 races from Sword and Sorcery Studios that might be handy as your variant races:

http://esix.pbwiki.com/Races

Edit: Note, all of these are just links to free stuff, not reproducing anything.

 

[mfrench]

Races

While E6 addresses one of my nagging problems with the standard races, it can't help the other one. Namely, campaign events that are ancient history to a human (IRL, say, the discovery of the New World) could have been witnessed by a demihuman's parents. The lifespans (while toned down from 2nd edition) are still quite a bother to me. I want this campaign's history to be influenced by events that could have been within demihumans' lifetimes, so I'd like to cut them out. (On top of that, there are balance issues, flavor issues, etc. etc.)

As replacements, I've looked through lots of stuff that I have available, and I'm choosing things that are closer to humanity, and much shorter lived. I've come up with the following:

From Oriental Adventures, modified versions of the Nezumi, Vanara, Korobokuru, Spirit Folk, Hengeyokai (with some inspiration from this pdf, which has a free sample at the bottom of the page)

From Eberron: Changelings, Shifters

 

[Ry]

Fair enough

I'm going to look at how all these freebies can work together in the one wiki, and the other one will be for strictly-OGC stuff.

 

[mfrench]

Fair enough

I'm going to look at how all these freebies can work together in the one wiki, and the other one will be for strictly-OGC stuff.

I like what you've done to put that together. In my experience, those things are best when grown organically. I'll try to contribute to it (incrementally!) if I can finally get this campaign outline wrapped up. Having a list of OGC resources for E6 settings would be great.

 

[mfrench]

Races (Cont'd)

Several of the PC races translate fairly well into the new races I've selected:
Half-Orc -> Shifter (physically strong half-breed, stays on the outside of society)
Dwarf -> Korobokuru (nearly identical stats, very different cultures)
Halfling -> Nezumi (racially isolated group, very clanish, sneaky)
Elf -> Vanara (tree-dwelling, inquisitive, in tune with nature)
Half-Elf -> Changeling (almost human, socially adept but vaguely out of place)

Gnomes don't have a great analogue, but Spirit Folk replace them as a spiritually-in-touch race.

Hengeyokai I'm not sure about. I'm considering making them an important NPC race rather than PC focused. In that case, they're rarely found in cities, and I'd say that they are intelligent animals that take human shape, and not vice versa. The possibilities really expand for them in that case.

In either case, shapechangers have become an important focus of the setting. I want changelings to not be true-bred; rather, they are children that have been replaced by fey. This makes them outsiders, and they might live a normal life without their family knowing. Shifters are marginalized, and live on the wilderness side of society. Nezumi are thought to be cursed men from an older society, whose magical research twisted them into what they are today. They fulfill the gypsy-type, hard to pin down role. Spirit Folk can mix in human company without being obvious, and they are usually revered for their spiritual side. They also don't frequent cities. Vanara are an oddity, they mostly keep to their own. The Kor are barbaric, and can be useful when scouting in the mountains.

 

[mfrench]

A Personal Touch

Ryan : One of the reasons that Dark & Stormy Knight won't get out of my head is that it reminds me of a site in Ireland that I was lucky enough to visit when I was younger. It is an old hill called Newgrange that predates the Celts by many years. It is much older than Stonehenge, and has astrological significance. On the Winter Solstice, it is designed such that the rising sun lights up the main chamber for a few minutes.

Details and pictures can be found here, with outside pictures and inside images. I imagine adjusting this to hobgoblin/bugbear/ogre size, and place the tomb in the back where a king of old was buried. The two side rooms will be where others of religious significance were buried. The white stone walls are very evocative as the PCs approach, and I've added a stairway spiralling on either side of the entrance for access to the tower on top of the tor (not there in real life). The huge standing stone with the tri-spirals will be what used to block the entrance, and the motif is repeated inside on the walls and ceiling. This gives the hobgoblin culture some depth, and a chance to give some imagery to the Jibigi cult.

Hope you enjoy it.

 

[mfrench]

Oh, and since the tower on top of the tor is mentioned but not mapped, I yoinked the free Wizard's map-of-the-week from here. I love those free maps!