*ahem*
anyways, the best campaign I ahve even been in (on either side of the shield) was this one back in february. We we're playing in this evil campaign where every single person in the group put "Stupid Evil" for alignment. One PC kills another, adn I call the game quits.
We roll up new characters. There are 2 dwarves (sorc and paladin - FR Gold Dwarves), 2 elves (druid and fighter) 2 humans (rogue and another sorcerer) and a half-elf ranger and a gnomish monk. Ironically, the similar races weren't even pre-meditated. We are in Deepingdale, in FR, in Highmoon, a small town with a temple of Lathander in it, and a blocked trade route (by goblins) which leads to Cormyr. We go to this place, kill a few goblins, take their scalps, come back to town and sleep. Session ends.
(Next: the Amazing session)
I went gung-ho for the next session, printing off NPC pics, thinking up plots, getting everything together. We kick it off.
We awake early, so to go and sell our Goblin scalps to the towns mayor, who has called for these pest to be disposed of, since they are blocking merchants going into Cormyr. His name is Lord Ulath the Wise, and he is the LG patriarch of the city. (Not statted, but used the Marshalls pic from the minis HB for him. Intended to be a Pally/marshall). Suddenly, the High Priestess of Lathander rushes in the door just as the town bell starts ringing, summoning us to the town square. She declares that goblins have been spotted and that she must speak with Ulath in private. Mistress Novita is her name, and she is the most well-respected cleric is possibly all of the southern dales. We head out to the town square. Confirmed: it seems a great force of goblins, orcs and their brethren are amassed at the Eastern Gate. Seign Enginges have been spotted. They outnumber the towns people 5-1 if not more, and many folk here are too old or too young to fight.
Mistress Novita takes the stage. She calls for her clerics and the faithful to arm up - they need to take this battle out of the city. The walls are not in the best of shape, and will be easily breached.
Battle at the gates - Lord Ulath holds the gate with his men as Mistress Novita and her clerics and her faithful (those not in the town guard) charge full-force into the goblins. We pellet them with spells from the battlements, adn kill the few strays that make it in the door, but there are too many goblins, and they full encircle the clerics, who are being taken out one-by-one. Blood flies in the sky. Suddenly, great nets are cast up in the air as only Mistress Novita is left, and she is overwhealed with screaming, screeching, stinking goblisn adn orcs overtaken her. She has been captured and there is nothign anyone can do.
The last of the orcs and goblins which have made it into town have been killed, and the gates are shut as the orcs and goblins (surprizingly) being to disperse. A Dark figure is seen out behind the horde, adorned in wicked-looking armour made frm an odd material, all boney and spikey, atop a giant wildhog, and weilding a large polearm. He/she leaves soon after.
***Throughout this combat, I looked up over my DM screen from descriing these events. I was shocked to see that Every. Single. Mouth. Was. Hanging. Open. It was so emotional, so amazing. It was a far fetch from the previous, PCvsPC session, which was so dark and frustrating. But now... I has eight players in front of me, completely ensnared by a story all my own - in rapture, one might say. It was truely, sincerely, the epitome of DMing for me, and something which I have yet to match.***
We had only one more session with this campaign before peopel started dropping out of D&D for their own reasons, but that was by far the most amazing thing which has ever happened to me while DMing, adn the best kick-off to any campaign I've ever had.
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DM Notes: the plot behind this whole bit was an invasion from Talontar Blightlords into the pristine forests of the Dalelands, which would be counterd partially by armies from Lathander form the southern Dalelands. The PCs would be travelling north and east, and would be trying to rescue Novita, stop the head honchoes of the blightlords in the Dalelands, and try not to get killed along the way. Of course, this would include a trip to the ruins of Cormanthor (sp?) where Novita was supposed to be sacrificed, but instead angers a bunch of fiends and gets the PCs into a big problem there, along with a buch of rotting, zombie-like animals which have already been corrupted in the forests, mistaken identites with some xenophobic elves, and various other encounters which never happend. Good times, those.
