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Running Commentary on Rel's 4e Campaign (Complete 8/2/10)
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<blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 5032665" data-attributes="member: 99"><p>It was the party's turn to share news with Ryukaar and theirs was more hopeful. They spoke of their journey into the Feywild and how they had exposed the treachery of the Arcanon Confederacy to the Eladrin, thus breaking their alliance of nearly 30 years. More importantly however, they told of how they had used the ritual passed on from Galiban the Wizard to close the Gate that was letting Mist pour into the Feywild.</p><p></p><p>This caught Ryukaar's attention as he jumped to the same conclusion the PC's had: That ritual could close the Gate within Alboa and save his people! He requested this ritual at once and they provided it, watching as his eyes leapt from one line to the next. "This we must do," he proclaimed.</p><p></p><p>The party exchanged glances, not wishing to question the wisdom of a god, but then pointed out the fact that the ritual could only be completed if performed from both sides of the Gate simultaneously. This would leave one party trapped on the Elemental Plane of Fire.</p><p></p><p>"Of course," responded Ryukaar, "and that is an unfortunate circumstance. But this remains our only available way to save this place and so it is what must be done. Which brings up an important question. Are you all immune to fire?"</p><p></p><p>The PC's looked at each other and Ryukaar, knowing that everyone present already knew the answer to this question.</p><p></p><p>"Well I am," said Ryukaar.</p><p></p><p>Astavian couldn't refrain from objecting, "You'll be trapped on another plane! Is there some way you can return?"</p><p></p><p>Ryukaar turned his calming gaze upon his loyal Paladin. "Let me ask you, brother, what do you think is your best course of action from this point?"</p><p></p><p>Astavian didn't need to hesitate before answering, "I must go and destroy the Dracolich and see to it that he is no longer in control of the Nexus."</p><p></p><p>Ryukaar nodded. "Quite so. And when you have the Nexus then you can open a way for me to come back."</p><p></p><p>Astavian had too many unanswered questions, "How will we do that? We don't even know where the Isle of Wyrms is! Can the Dracolich simply use the Nexus to escape if we do find him?"</p><p></p><p>Ryukaar smiled, "I have faith in you. Now give me some time to prepare for what must be done. I need a few hours to gather some things we'll need. I'm sure that you can find a way to occupy yourselves."</p><p></p><p>They exited the Temple of Ryukaar. Astavian knew exactly where he was going.</p><p></p><p>*********</p><p></p><p>Alright, despite my desire to try and catch thing up, there was no way I could shorthand this in any way that would do it justice. This was one of the coolest roleplaying scenes in a campaign that has been full of cool roleplaying scenes.</p><p></p><p>Really excellent job by everybody involved. I think I was able to get across the sense that "Ryukaar" had brought hell to the world thanks to his good intentions. Remember that ultimately this is <em>all his fault</em>! He was the one who told Astavian to bring the Seal of the High Priest from the skeletal dragon inside The River Gate at Old Karak Tor. This was because he felt that it was a piece of evidence that could expose the deception of the trio of "Dragonborn Gods". So he wanted Astavian to bring it to him so that he could hide or destroy it.</p><p></p><p>But in doing so he brought a long dormant evil back into the world. And of course the very first thing the Dracolich had done was to denounce Drakaru, Gorunaga and Ryukaar. It then set about stealing their followers and destroying their homeland.</p><p></p><p>But now he has the ability to fix some of what he has done and of course the fact that he's almost martyring himself in the process is the kind of juicy story opportunity that I just couldn't pass up. It also really solidified this plot arc as the one that the remainder of the campaign would focus on.</p><p></p><p>In terms of how I design my campaigns, this is a critical turning point that is the unknown goal from the start of the game. Up to this point the game has been a series of plot hooks that I've tossed out here, there and everywhere. But then there comes the point when I see a clear direction leading to an exciting conclusion that the PC's latch onto.</p><p></p><p>This fundamentally changes the game from being fairly "sandboxy" to being "plotted". But the important thing, really in some ways the ONLY thing, I'm striving for is that the PC's are the ones who have written the opening to the final scene. It's not in any way forced and, even though the game is on rails of a sort, the players are the ones who decided where this track leads.</p><p></p><p>That's not to say that there aren't meaningful choices to be had for the rest of the game. Far from it. But the end goal has been decided and that's where this campaign is headed. As I write this, we are one session away from its completion. But I'm WAY behind and there is a lot of excitement yet to come in this thread.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rel, post: 5032665, member: 99"] It was the party's turn to share news with Ryukaar and theirs was more hopeful. They spoke of their journey into the Feywild and how they had exposed the treachery of the Arcanon Confederacy to the Eladrin, thus breaking their alliance of nearly 30 years. More importantly however, they told of how they had used the ritual passed on from Galiban the Wizard to close the Gate that was letting Mist pour into the Feywild. This caught Ryukaar's attention as he jumped to the same conclusion the PC's had: That ritual could close the Gate within Alboa and save his people! He requested this ritual at once and they provided it, watching as his eyes leapt from one line to the next. "This we must do," he proclaimed. The party exchanged glances, not wishing to question the wisdom of a god, but then pointed out the fact that the ritual could only be completed if performed from both sides of the Gate simultaneously. This would leave one party trapped on the Elemental Plane of Fire. "Of course," responded Ryukaar, "and that is an unfortunate circumstance. But this remains our only available way to save this place and so it is what must be done. Which brings up an important question. Are you all immune to fire?" The PC's looked at each other and Ryukaar, knowing that everyone present already knew the answer to this question. "Well I am," said Ryukaar. Astavian couldn't refrain from objecting, "You'll be trapped on another plane! Is there some way you can return?" Ryukaar turned his calming gaze upon his loyal Paladin. "Let me ask you, brother, what do you think is your best course of action from this point?" Astavian didn't need to hesitate before answering, "I must go and destroy the Dracolich and see to it that he is no longer in control of the Nexus." Ryukaar nodded. "Quite so. And when you have the Nexus then you can open a way for me to come back." Astavian had too many unanswered questions, "How will we do that? We don't even know where the Isle of Wyrms is! Can the Dracolich simply use the Nexus to escape if we do find him?" Ryukaar smiled, "I have faith in you. Now give me some time to prepare for what must be done. I need a few hours to gather some things we'll need. I'm sure that you can find a way to occupy yourselves." They exited the Temple of Ryukaar. Astavian knew exactly where he was going. ********* Alright, despite my desire to try and catch thing up, there was no way I could shorthand this in any way that would do it justice. This was one of the coolest roleplaying scenes in a campaign that has been full of cool roleplaying scenes. Really excellent job by everybody involved. I think I was able to get across the sense that "Ryukaar" had brought hell to the world thanks to his good intentions. Remember that ultimately this is [I]all his fault[/I]! He was the one who told Astavian to bring the Seal of the High Priest from the skeletal dragon inside The River Gate at Old Karak Tor. This was because he felt that it was a piece of evidence that could expose the deception of the trio of "Dragonborn Gods". So he wanted Astavian to bring it to him so that he could hide or destroy it. But in doing so he brought a long dormant evil back into the world. And of course the very first thing the Dracolich had done was to denounce Drakaru, Gorunaga and Ryukaar. It then set about stealing their followers and destroying their homeland. But now he has the ability to fix some of what he has done and of course the fact that he's almost martyring himself in the process is the kind of juicy story opportunity that I just couldn't pass up. It also really solidified this plot arc as the one that the remainder of the campaign would focus on. In terms of how I design my campaigns, this is a critical turning point that is the unknown goal from the start of the game. Up to this point the game has been a series of plot hooks that I've tossed out here, there and everywhere. But then there comes the point when I see a clear direction leading to an exciting conclusion that the PC's latch onto. This fundamentally changes the game from being fairly "sandboxy" to being "plotted". But the important thing, really in some ways the ONLY thing, I'm striving for is that the PC's are the ones who have written the opening to the final scene. It's not in any way forced and, even though the game is on rails of a sort, the players are the ones who decided where this track leads. That's not to say that there aren't meaningful choices to be had for the rest of the game. Far from it. But the end goal has been decided and that's where this campaign is headed. As I write this, we are one session away from its completion. But I'm WAY behind and there is a lot of excitement yet to come in this thread. [/QUOTE]
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