The Aftermath: A weekly Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 campaign set 20 years After Impact
Twenty years ago, a star fell from the sky, and smote the world. Darkness covered the heavens, and the oceans rose in great waves of destruction. Hundreds of thousands of beings died in the first few minutes. Millions more perished in the next few weeks and months. All manner of creatures, great and small, good and evil, human and goblin, giant and dwarf, elf and orc, suffered and died. Muddy rain fell endlessly from the sky. The sun was not seen for two years. Civilizations ended. Even the mighty dragons suffered, drowning in their sunken caves, or starving as their herds died in the fields. Only the most magical of beings survived, using their own power to create food, water and shelter. Or the most vile, taking from others, looting the ruins, eating the dead, and the few survivors.
But all was not lost. The Gods were still active in the world, and where their clergy survived, so did others. A few cities, beacons of strength and power, endured thanks to great Miracles. Elsewhere, survivors gathered around figures of strength, anyone who could protect them, and ensure their survival. The great wizards and clerics of the world kept the goodly races of humans, elves, dwarves and halflings from extinction. But only just.
And the druids, the servants of nature, they too were still active in the world. In the next twenty years, the druids spent of themselves ceaselessly, seeking to restore the balance to a wounded world. They succeeded, but at great cost. The sun shone once more, the skies were free of dirt, the oceans returned to their normal levels, and an Age of Ice was averted. It took twenty years, and reduced the once great Order to a mere remnant, but the balance of Nature was restored.
Cliffside: A village of refugees, perched on the edge of the ocean. A few hundred beings found a precarious perch of safety above the ocean waves. Once the ocean waves pounded a mere five to 10ft. below the village, now they lap 20 to 30 ft. beneath the cliff tops. The village survived thanks to the bounty of the sea, and the breaks in the land which isolated the village from the rest of the world and protected it as well. Every day shortly after dawn a bridge is carefully laid over the narrowest spot of the breaks. Every day as the sun is setting, the bridge is withdrawn. Guards patrol in shifts throughout the night, making sure that nothing enters the area. For 20 years the people of Cliffside kept their little haven safe. They endured and survived. Now, they hope to prosper.
The ocean has fallen, the sun shines, the seasons once more follow their normal march, and the first generation of children born after impact are coming of age. The people of Cliffside look to their children to reach out beyond the borders of the Village; to make the local area safe for fields and farms; to find other survivors, other villages, towns and cities which still exist; to establish trade and commerce; to grow from refugees huddled in a village into a civilization; and perhaps, just perhaps, to answer the questions How and Why.
Estimated length of campaign: 3 to 5 years, meeting weekly, roughly every 3 weeks out of 4 (real life happens, but I do want a firm commitment)
Planning on having 5 players and myself as GM. If lots of people are interested, I could make it six. Currently have 3 commited and one tenative.
Estimated character level at end of campaign: 20 to 25
Yes, this means a slooow, non-standard advancement. I hope to use story and plotish rewards, plus the ever popular Loot, to balance out slow XP. The vague
theory is 1 to 2 times the level you are trying to reach in Sessions to level up. This will undoubtly cap as folks reach higher levels.
Allowed races: Core plus default non-evil humanoid LA 0
Allowed classes: Core plus PHB2 (except the Beguiler)
special requirements for paladins, more information upon request. Clerics see second list for deities and domains.
Character creation method: one to one point buy, 79 pts. No evil characters. Heroes please.
Roughly standard wealth, but given the condition of the world, there are no 'Magic Shops'. But craft feats are encouraged, since there is a fair amount of raw wealth in the ruins of the world.
I have a vague 'Big Plot' in mind. But it is vague and fuzzy and I hope to use the characters: their backgrounds, choices, hopes and desires, to flesh it out. I'm hoping to run a more Character driven game then my previous two multi-year campaigns, which were very story and event driven.
House Rules:
Action points: add d6 to d20 roll, confirm crit, stabilize, cancel enemy crit - one per rd
Death Effects: any and all death effects of 7th level or lower reduce the target to –9 hps
Feats, prestige classes and spells from additional sources allowed on a case-by-case basis.
Five ranks in a skill makes that skill a class skill, always.
I don't penalize XP for non-Preferred multi-classing. But don't go crazy with it....
Interested? Email me at Zoooog at Yahoo.
Twenty years ago, a star fell from the sky, and smote the world. Darkness covered the heavens, and the oceans rose in great waves of destruction. Hundreds of thousands of beings died in the first few minutes. Millions more perished in the next few weeks and months. All manner of creatures, great and small, good and evil, human and goblin, giant and dwarf, elf and orc, suffered and died. Muddy rain fell endlessly from the sky. The sun was not seen for two years. Civilizations ended. Even the mighty dragons suffered, drowning in their sunken caves, or starving as their herds died in the fields. Only the most magical of beings survived, using their own power to create food, water and shelter. Or the most vile, taking from others, looting the ruins, eating the dead, and the few survivors.
But all was not lost. The Gods were still active in the world, and where their clergy survived, so did others. A few cities, beacons of strength and power, endured thanks to great Miracles. Elsewhere, survivors gathered around figures of strength, anyone who could protect them, and ensure their survival. The great wizards and clerics of the world kept the goodly races of humans, elves, dwarves and halflings from extinction. But only just.
And the druids, the servants of nature, they too were still active in the world. In the next twenty years, the druids spent of themselves ceaselessly, seeking to restore the balance to a wounded world. They succeeded, but at great cost. The sun shone once more, the skies were free of dirt, the oceans returned to their normal levels, and an Age of Ice was averted. It took twenty years, and reduced the once great Order to a mere remnant, but the balance of Nature was restored.
Cliffside: A village of refugees, perched on the edge of the ocean. A few hundred beings found a precarious perch of safety above the ocean waves. Once the ocean waves pounded a mere five to 10ft. below the village, now they lap 20 to 30 ft. beneath the cliff tops. The village survived thanks to the bounty of the sea, and the breaks in the land which isolated the village from the rest of the world and protected it as well. Every day shortly after dawn a bridge is carefully laid over the narrowest spot of the breaks. Every day as the sun is setting, the bridge is withdrawn. Guards patrol in shifts throughout the night, making sure that nothing enters the area. For 20 years the people of Cliffside kept their little haven safe. They endured and survived. Now, they hope to prosper.
The ocean has fallen, the sun shines, the seasons once more follow their normal march, and the first generation of children born after impact are coming of age. The people of Cliffside look to their children to reach out beyond the borders of the Village; to make the local area safe for fields and farms; to find other survivors, other villages, towns and cities which still exist; to establish trade and commerce; to grow from refugees huddled in a village into a civilization; and perhaps, just perhaps, to answer the questions How and Why.
Estimated length of campaign: 3 to 5 years, meeting weekly, roughly every 3 weeks out of 4 (real life happens, but I do want a firm commitment)
Planning on having 5 players and myself as GM. If lots of people are interested, I could make it six. Currently have 3 commited and one tenative.
Estimated character level at end of campaign: 20 to 25
Yes, this means a slooow, non-standard advancement. I hope to use story and plotish rewards, plus the ever popular Loot, to balance out slow XP. The vague
theory is 1 to 2 times the level you are trying to reach in Sessions to level up. This will undoubtly cap as folks reach higher levels.
Allowed races: Core plus default non-evil humanoid LA 0
Allowed classes: Core plus PHB2 (except the Beguiler)
special requirements for paladins, more information upon request. Clerics see second list for deities and domains.
Character creation method: one to one point buy, 79 pts. No evil characters. Heroes please.
Roughly standard wealth, but given the condition of the world, there are no 'Magic Shops'. But craft feats are encouraged, since there is a fair amount of raw wealth in the ruins of the world.
I have a vague 'Big Plot' in mind. But it is vague and fuzzy and I hope to use the characters: their backgrounds, choices, hopes and desires, to flesh it out. I'm hoping to run a more Character driven game then my previous two multi-year campaigns, which were very story and event driven.
House Rules:
Action points: add d6 to d20 roll, confirm crit, stabilize, cancel enemy crit - one per rd
Death Effects: any and all death effects of 7th level or lower reduce the target to –9 hps
Feats, prestige classes and spells from additional sources allowed on a case-by-case basis.
Five ranks in a skill makes that skill a class skill, always.
I don't penalize XP for non-Preferred multi-classing. But don't go crazy with it....
Interested? Email me at Zoooog at Yahoo.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
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