tauton_ikhnos
First Post
May have miscommunicated: this is not an historical setting. They are in France in geographic sense, only - boundaried area is now tiny kingdoms, goblinoids at borders, magiocracy is center of campaign, etc.
World-building: What Have I Done?
- Thread starter tauton_ikhnos
- Start date
MerakSpielman
First Post
This sounds like a wonderful idea!
A thought - don't tell the players you're using France as a map. For the players' maps, just give them small-scale maps of the provence/kingdom they're in. At some point during the campaign, they'll be piecing them together to plan a long journey and have a revelation...
A thought - don't tell the players you're using France as a map. For the players' maps, just give them small-scale maps of the provence/kingdom they're in. At some point during the campaign, they'll be piecing them together to plan a long journey and have a revelation...
Oh, I know. It's just that there's so much interesting stuff here that could easily be worked into a fantasy campaign. Ancient fortresses, religious wars, inquisition, witches which turn out to be nothing more than misguided or misunderstood heretics, paladins involved in crusades against innocents, etc. Seems like a pity not to use some of this stuff for inspiration.tauton_ikhnos said:
Ok, I'll stop telling you how to run your campaign now.
tauton_ikhnos
First Post
We decided to go with 5th level instead of 3rd. Mainly, I didn't want to run low-magic part of campaign 
. Don't mind playing it, but running it tough for me .
Char Gen Rules:
1. Abilities: 18, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6. Allows almost any character concept, but forces at least one weakness.
2. Feats: Every odd level. Uses Seasong's big list o' feats.
3. Equipment: Provided by me. Players can then sell & buy as they wish.
4. Hit Points: Max for HD. Will need it
5. Spells: Some shifts back to 3rd ed. Ability buffs now 10 min/lvl. Invisibility now 10 min/lvl. Old 3rd ed Haste is now 3.5 Celerity, and is 4th level (it does not allow an extra spell per round, however). Old 3rd ed Blade Barrier is now Mordenkainen's Transection, and is 7th level (it still does slashing damage). More may occur in future (with player/GM discussion), but that's it for now.
6. Sorcerer: I am using Seasong's alt.sorcerer.
7. Monk & Paladin can multiclass freely. Ignoring XP penalties for multiclassing.
Ended up with:
Marceau - NG Gray Elf Swashbuckler 3, Sorcerer 2. STR 13, DEX 20, CON 10, INT 20, WIS 6, CHA 12. Feats Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack. HP 42. Described as "A flamboyantly gay elf, without a serious thought in his head. He's only 115 years old, and wasted most of that lounging about the forest, eating grapes, and mooning after this or that romantic story. His elders sent him to human lands to mature a bit or die trying. He sees himself as an aristocrat in exile, and moans about it a lot... unless he's in the middle of action, at which point he thoroughly enjoys himself. It's not the danger that depresses him - it's the slumming."
Sparrow - LG Human Fighter 5. STR 19, DEX 15, CON 18, INT 6, WIS 12, CHA 9. Feats Weapon Focus (Glaive), Weapon Specialization (Glaive), Improved Critical Strike (Glaive), Near & Far, Combat Reflexes, Draw Attack, Iron Skin (DR 1/-). HP 70. Described as "Sparrow is the clydesdale of humanity. He is big and unattractive and brutish looking. But he has a heart of gold. He is a Narbonese soldier. It was that or farm labor. He is not too bright. But he is very protective of his friends."
Viggo - LN Human Swashbuckler 1/Monk 4. STR 15, DEX 18, CON 10, INT 12, WIS 18, CHA 6. Feats Weapon Finesse, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Spiked Chain), Improved Grappling, Weapon Art (Spiked Chain), Combat Reflexes, Dodge. HP 42. Described as "He's one uptight bastard! He sees himself as a swordsaint, destined to master his weapon of choice. He believes he must purge himself of the taint of sin, which in his mind means lack of discipline. He obeys his own code of honor fanatically. Oh, he's not Good, though. Discipline & order don't equal a lkind and loving universe, in his mind. His weapon of choice is the spiked chain."
Gaures - LG Dwarven Wizard 5. STR 9, DEX 12, CON 18, INT 18, WIS 18, CHA 4. Feats Bookworm, Augment Familiar, Blessed (Cure Minor Wounds 5/day). HP 40. Described as "A studious wizard of a Narbonnes' clergical order, he has left his order to see the world for himself. Although only a weak scholar, he believes that his order is too passive, and that his ivory tower principles can be applied directly to the world. I would like it if his portable library and research abilities could be useful, but I'll take the lumps if not."
Gaures' Familiar - Hawk, augmented to have the Saint Template (+2 ECL, BoED). Feat Mystic Scent. According to player, "The hawk is the reincarnation of a saintly ancestor of Gaures, St. Catherine, and she was sent to help guide him away from a useless life of scholastic pursuit and towards whatever it is your overall plot is. As the augment increases, I'll be giving Catherine levels in Cleric."
Elaine duChamp - TN Rogue 5. STR 9, DEX 18, CON 15, INT 19, WIS 6, CHA 12. Feats Blood Arcanist, Blood Magic, Social Web. "Most of the group seems intent on Exalted stuff, so I thought I'd lean the other way just a bit. Elaine is a basically good person, but she craves power, wealth, etc., and she's not averse to stealing it from people who have more than she does. Well, from anyone, really. She works hard not to hurt people, really, but it's always a tough choice for her. Aside from the lack of appropriate feats, she's a proper rogue, and she generally doesn't show off her ability to do magic. Her social web is obviously in Narbonne itself..."
One player didn't make it to game, so still don't know what his character will be.
Character creation took most of game time, so we spent rest of evening discussing how PCs know each other:
Sparrow & Elaine have worked together in past. Elaine is a thief-catcher and investigator for city, and Sparrow has backed her up a lot. He has crush on her, she doesn't reciprocate but is kind to him.
Elaine also knows Marceau through "family". She knows a few gray elves in city, when Marceau's family decided to drop him on head, they were sent to her by the elves she knew. She's agreed (for a goodly sum) to show him around city. They've become good friends, though Sparrow is jealous.
Gaures & Viggo met in the street and took instant liking to each other. Disagree, but both love debates of truth. Have been visiting every day for past month in local, friendly tavern.
Viggo has been hired by guard before, knows Sparrow, and has occasionally dealt with Elaine, though does not like her. Or trust her.
. Don't mind playing it, but running it tough for me .Char Gen Rules:
1. Abilities: 18, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6. Allows almost any character concept, but forces at least one weakness.
2. Feats: Every odd level. Uses Seasong's big list o' feats.
3. Equipment: Provided by me. Players can then sell & buy as they wish.
4. Hit Points: Max for HD. Will need it
5. Spells: Some shifts back to 3rd ed. Ability buffs now 10 min/lvl. Invisibility now 10 min/lvl. Old 3rd ed Haste is now 3.5 Celerity, and is 4th level (it does not allow an extra spell per round, however). Old 3rd ed Blade Barrier is now Mordenkainen's Transection, and is 7th level (it still does slashing damage). More may occur in future (with player/GM discussion), but that's it for now.
6. Sorcerer: I am using Seasong's alt.sorcerer.
7. Monk & Paladin can multiclass freely. Ignoring XP penalties for multiclassing.
Ended up with:
Marceau - NG Gray Elf Swashbuckler 3, Sorcerer 2. STR 13, DEX 20, CON 10, INT 20, WIS 6, CHA 12. Feats Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack. HP 42. Described as "A flamboyantly gay elf, without a serious thought in his head. He's only 115 years old, and wasted most of that lounging about the forest, eating grapes, and mooning after this or that romantic story. His elders sent him to human lands to mature a bit or die trying. He sees himself as an aristocrat in exile, and moans about it a lot... unless he's in the middle of action, at which point he thoroughly enjoys himself. It's not the danger that depresses him - it's the slumming."
Sparrow - LG Human Fighter 5. STR 19, DEX 15, CON 18, INT 6, WIS 12, CHA 9. Feats Weapon Focus (Glaive), Weapon Specialization (Glaive), Improved Critical Strike (Glaive), Near & Far, Combat Reflexes, Draw Attack, Iron Skin (DR 1/-). HP 70. Described as "Sparrow is the clydesdale of humanity. He is big and unattractive and brutish looking. But he has a heart of gold. He is a Narbonese soldier. It was that or farm labor. He is not too bright. But he is very protective of his friends."
Viggo - LN Human Swashbuckler 1/Monk 4. STR 15, DEX 18, CON 10, INT 12, WIS 18, CHA 6. Feats Weapon Finesse, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Spiked Chain), Improved Grappling, Weapon Art (Spiked Chain), Combat Reflexes, Dodge. HP 42. Described as "He's one uptight bastard! He sees himself as a swordsaint, destined to master his weapon of choice. He believes he must purge himself of the taint of sin, which in his mind means lack of discipline. He obeys his own code of honor fanatically. Oh, he's not Good, though. Discipline & order don't equal a lkind and loving universe, in his mind. His weapon of choice is the spiked chain."
Gaures - LG Dwarven Wizard 5. STR 9, DEX 12, CON 18, INT 18, WIS 18, CHA 4. Feats Bookworm, Augment Familiar, Blessed (Cure Minor Wounds 5/day). HP 40. Described as "A studious wizard of a Narbonnes' clergical order, he has left his order to see the world for himself. Although only a weak scholar, he believes that his order is too passive, and that his ivory tower principles can be applied directly to the world. I would like it if his portable library and research abilities could be useful, but I'll take the lumps if not
."Gaures' Familiar - Hawk, augmented to have the Saint Template (+2 ECL, BoED). Feat Mystic Scent. According to player, "The hawk is the reincarnation of a saintly ancestor of Gaures, St. Catherine, and she was sent to help guide him away from a useless life of scholastic pursuit and towards whatever it is your overall plot is
. As the augment increases, I'll be giving Catherine levels in Cleric."Elaine duChamp - TN Rogue 5. STR 9, DEX 18, CON 15, INT 19, WIS 6, CHA 12. Feats Blood Arcanist, Blood Magic, Social Web. "Most of the group seems intent on Exalted stuff, so I thought I'd lean the other way just a bit. Elaine is a basically good person, but she craves power, wealth, etc., and she's not averse to stealing it from people who have more than she does. Well, from anyone, really. She works hard not to hurt people, really, but it's always a tough choice for her. Aside from the lack of appropriate feats, she's a proper rogue, and she generally doesn't show off her ability to do magic. Her social web is obviously in Narbonne itself..."
One player didn't make it to game, so still don't know what his character will be.
Character creation took most of game time, so we spent rest of evening discussing how PCs know each other:
Sparrow & Elaine have worked together in past. Elaine is a thief-catcher and investigator for city, and Sparrow has backed her up a lot. He has crush on her, she doesn't reciprocate but is kind to him.
Elaine also knows Marceau through "family". She knows a few gray elves in city, when Marceau's family decided to drop him on head, they were sent to her by the elves she knew. She's agreed (for a goodly sum) to show him around city. They've become good friends, though Sparrow is jealous.
Gaures & Viggo met in the street and took instant liking to each other. Disagree, but both love debates of truth. Have been visiting every day for past month in local, friendly tavern.
Viggo has been hired by guard before, knows Sparrow, and has occasionally dealt with Elaine, though does not like her. Or trust her.
Squire James
Explorer
I hope you don't let charismatic players override their 4 and 6 Charismas too easily! We're talking "uglier and more obnoxious than the average orc" territory here!
tauton_ikhnos
First Post
Low CHA: Viggo's player MORE than capable of being obnoxious ass. His CHA score will be roleplayed well. Gaures' player may try to be too charming too often - I foresee lots of Diplomacy checks in his future.
Viggo pretty good looking, just Oliver Cromwell for personality.
As for why low scores - each player had to pick 6 for SOMETHING. Ended up with 1 low INT, 2 low WIS, 2 low CHA.
Story Hour: Imagine page after page of no "the". Slow typist, crap writer.
Viggo pretty good looking, just Oliver Cromwell for personality.
As for why low scores - each player had to pick 6 for SOMETHING. Ended up with 1 low INT, 2 low WIS, 2 low CHA.
Story Hour: Imagine page after page of no "the"
. Slow typist, crap writer.
tauton_ikhnos
First Post
Got last player:
Daimos - NG Halfling Sorcerer 5 (Conjuration). STR 4, DEX 17, CON 10, INT 18, WIS 12, CHA 18. Feats Iron Skin (DR 1/-), Persistent Word, Instant Metamagic (Persistent Word). HP 20. Described as "An adventurer in the traditional sense, loves wandering the beautiful Narbonne landscape, thrills at sighting new monsters... a 3' tall Jaques Cousteau or Croc Hunter, only kind of frail."
We decided that Daimos & Elaine are old friends, and that when she needs "real" magical backup, he's who she looks to. Daimos is aware of Elaine's blood magic secret, but believes that she has the strength of character to avoid the "dark side" of it.
I can't wait for Friday.
Daimos - NG Halfling Sorcerer 5 (Conjuration). STR 4, DEX 17, CON 10, INT 18, WIS 12, CHA 18. Feats Iron Skin (DR 1/-), Persistent Word, Instant Metamagic (Persistent Word). HP 20. Described as "An adventurer in the traditional sense, loves wandering the beautiful Narbonne landscape, thrills at sighting new monsters... a 3' tall Jaques Cousteau or Croc Hunter, only kind of frail."
We decided that Daimos & Elaine are old friends, and that when she needs "real" magical backup, he's who she looks to. Daimos is aware of Elaine's blood magic secret, but believes that she has the strength of character to avoid the "dark side" of it.
I can't wait for Friday
.
tauton_ikhnos
First Post
Echo of Snow, revised for 5th level PCs
Thorstod Hammerdrum (CR 13)
Wight (dwarf), Bard 10
HP 168 (hopefully will last a few rounds) (14d12)
Init +2 (dex)
Spd 30 ft
AC 16 (+2 dex, +4 natural)
Base Attack +8/Grapple +8/Melee +8/Missile +10
Slam +8/+3 (1d4+1 plus one -1 energy drain/round)
Create Spawn (Shadows)
Darkvision 60 ft
Undead Traits
Fort +4, Ref +10, Will +9
Str 10, Dex 14, Con -, Int 11, Wis 15, Cha 21
Feats: Persistent Word, Dodge, Wpn Focus (longsword), Alertness, Extend Spell
Owned:
- longsword +2, frost
- winged boots
15 wights (6 HD) scattered about as chaff to keep Thorstod alive longer.
2 wights (6 HD + 2 bard) at door.
Drop zombie ettin; instead, replace with hell hound advanced to 9 HD (Large). Thorstod is the result of fiendish influences, which I will try to weave into larger plot later.
Heh. If Thorstod is killed, may have him return as half-fiend spectre or wraith, later
. If saved by PC diplomacy/bluff/etc, then maybe give PCs clue that he was manipulated.
Nightcrawler: changing few things here:
- is not "present" beneath earth; instead, will be created by Song of Power
- add living sacrifice, one of students who was captured, not killed
- if PCs fail, nightcrawler vomits from student's mouth, trailing blood; student dies, nightcrawler burrows into the earth, keening its own variant of same Song of Power
- maybe give AoOs to anyone in range, set it at 50 hp for first round
- Then Bad Things Happen
Side adventures, occurring simultaneously
PCs get together. Planning to gloss this over - get together for Base of Operations, below, stay together after that because of threat.
Base of Operations by Ed Stark (target level 5)
- this is whole reason PCs will be in dwarven mountains in first place
- word is that keep is available for taking day's march north of Narbonne/quarter day east of Moradin's Echo
- rumored treasure, of course
- this will be cakewalk compared to Eye for an Eye + Echo of Snow.
- will let PCs show off after I kick their butts
Eye for an Eye by Monte Cook (target level 8)
- Elaine has plenty of enemies; one of them is cashing in
- Note: will need to buff enemies.
Thorstod Hammerdrum (CR 13)
Wight (dwarf), Bard 10
HP 168 (hopefully will last a few rounds) (14d12)
Init +2 (dex)
Spd 30 ft
AC 16 (+2 dex, +4 natural)
Base Attack +8/Grapple +8/Melee +8/Missile +10
Slam +8/+3 (1d4+1 plus one -1 energy drain/round)
Create Spawn (Shadows)
Darkvision 60 ft
Undead Traits
Fort +4, Ref +10, Will +9
Str 10, Dex 14, Con -, Int 11, Wis 15, Cha 21
Feats: Persistent Word, Dodge, Wpn Focus (longsword), Alertness, Extend Spell
Owned:
- longsword +2, frost
- winged boots
15 wights (6 HD) scattered about as chaff to keep Thorstod alive longer.
2 wights (6 HD + 2 bard) at door.
Drop zombie ettin; instead, replace with hell hound advanced to 9 HD (Large). Thorstod is the result of fiendish influences, which I will try to weave into larger plot later.
Heh. If Thorstod is killed, may have him return as half-fiend spectre or wraith, later
. If saved by PC diplomacy/bluff/etc, then maybe give PCs clue that he was manipulated.Nightcrawler: changing few things here:
- is not "present" beneath earth; instead, will be created by Song of Power
- add living sacrifice, one of students who was captured, not killed
- if PCs fail, nightcrawler vomits from student's mouth, trailing blood; student dies, nightcrawler burrows into the earth, keening its own variant of same Song of Power
- maybe give AoOs to anyone in range, set it at 50 hp for first round
- Then Bad Things Happen
Side adventures, occurring simultaneously
PCs get together. Planning to gloss this over - get together for Base of Operations, below, stay together after that because of threat.
Base of Operations by Ed Stark (target level 5)
- this is whole reason PCs will be in dwarven mountains in first place
- word is that keep is available for taking day's march north of Narbonne/quarter day east of Moradin's Echo
- rumored treasure, of course
- this will be cakewalk compared to Eye for an Eye + Echo of Snow.
- will let PCs show off after I kick their butts
Eye for an Eye by Monte Cook (target level 8)
- Elaine has plenty of enemies; one of them is cashing in
- Note: will need to buff enemies.
