Soledyn Lumaenars - Level 3
Male Aerenian Elf Ranger 3
Medium humanoid (elf)
HD 3d8+3 (22 hp)
Init +5; Spd 30ft; AC 20
Atk +7/+7 melee (1d6+3, masterwork hand axe x2), +8/+8 ranged (1d6+3, masterwork hand axe x2), +8 melee (1d8+3, long sword)
SA Favoured enemy(undead); SQ Elf traits
AL NG; SV Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +3
Str 17, Dex 20, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 11
Skills and Feats: Bluff +2*, Handle Animal +2, Heal +6, Hide +11, Knowledge(geography) +5, Listen +8/+10*, Move Silently +11, Search +6, Sense Motive +2*, Spot +8/+10*, Survival +10; Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesses, Endurance, Point Blank Shot, Track, Least Aberrant Dragonmark (Inflict light wounds 1/day).
*Bonuses against favoured enemy(undead).
Possessions: +1 mithril chain shirt, masterwork hand axe (x2), hand axe (x2), long sword, potion of cure moderate wounds, cold iron capsule, travelling papers.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Session V -- New Player
When last we heard from of our heroes, they were victorious over the Ashbound, but on the edge of Aundair/Eldeen Border. They had found some serious treasure, gotten themselves good and blooded, and were in a dilemma about where to go.
They need to get to Sharn. They had basically 3 choices;
1. Go overland.
2. Sneak back into Passage to take the Lightning Rail.
3. Try to develop a third option. What Kaloei, the Aundairian native suggested was; go to Arcanix.
(OOC Note: This is also the route strongly endorsed by the GM, since we needed to introduce a new player tonight, and Arcanix made the most sense as a place for him to be).
Also, Arcanix provides many advantages; the Dragonmarked Houses are not, as a rule, welcomed there, and do not wield much influence, so the likelihood of House Deneith and House Orien coming after them there were slim. Now, granted, a Sentinel Marshal has power wherever he goes, but if they have a Sentinel Marshal after them, there isn't much they can do about it.
So, Arcanix it was; for those not in the know, Arcanix is the site of the Arcane Congress, a gathering of Aundair's most powerful mages (as well as those of other countries) and the primary rival of the Twelve (the most powerful wizards of the Dragonmarked Houses). Arcanix is famous for its floating towers, and I think of it as the Eberron equivalent of a luxury condominium building, with super-expensive condos above a group of exclusive shops. You can buy anything magical in Arcanix, and many non-magical goods.
Knowing this, among the first things the party decided to do was find a shop where they could convert their recently found treasure to some cash money.
The first sign they spotted was a magically animated one, of a backpack being upended and all sorts of adventuring gear pouring out, over glowing letters that said:
They need to get to Sharn. They had basically 3 choices;
1. Go overland.
2. Sneak back into Passage to take the Lightning Rail.
3. Try to develop a third option. What Kaloei, the Aundairian native suggested was; go to Arcanix.
(OOC Note: This is also the route strongly endorsed by the GM, since we needed to introduce a new player tonight, and Arcanix made the most sense as a place for him to be).
Also, Arcanix provides many advantages; the Dragonmarked Houses are not, as a rule, welcomed there, and do not wield much influence, so the likelihood of House Deneith and House Orien coming after them there were slim. Now, granted, a Sentinel Marshal has power wherever he goes, but if they have a Sentinel Marshal after them, there isn't much they can do about it.
So, Arcanix it was; for those not in the know, Arcanix is the site of the Arcane Congress, a gathering of Aundair's most powerful mages (as well as those of other countries) and the primary rival of the Twelve (the most powerful wizards of the Dragonmarked Houses). Arcanix is famous for its floating towers, and I think of it as the Eberron equivalent of a luxury condominium building, with super-expensive condos above a group of exclusive shops. You can buy anything magical in Arcanix, and many non-magical goods.
Knowing this, among the first things the party decided to do was find a shop where they could convert their recently found treasure to some cash money.
The first sign they spotted was a magically animated one, of a backpack being upended and all sorts of adventuring gear pouring out, over glowing letters that said:
The Bottomless Bag
Catering to those in the rough trades
of Adventuring and Exploring
All Needs Met! All Orders Filled!
Holden Cannear, Prop.
Catering to those in the rough trades
of Adventuring and Exploring
All Needs Met! All Orders Filled!
Holden Cannear, Prop.
They figured that was as good a place as any to start, so in they went.
It was quite the emporium, with separate counters for arms, armor, miscellaneous items, and jewelry. The most prominent customer was a rather lean looking human fellow negotiating over the price of a hat. It must have been quite the hat, given that the haggling was over the lack of a feather, and centered on 100 gp of the whole price. The human insisted that there must be a feather, while the halfling he haggled with demonstrated that the hat in question could appear to have any kind of feather the wearer wished once its properties were activated. The human countered that, if he were caught in an anti-magic zone, his hat would not have a feather, at which point the halfling called for his assistant to procure a selection of feathers.
Cirya, the druid, sidled up and offered the fellow an eagle feather, while Kaloei began negotiating the sale of their goods. For the exotic harp, she managed to wrangle 600 gp. Meanwhile, Sol was showing the set of the warhammer, shield, and breastplate, all with the arms of a Cyran noble family, likely made by Cannith Smiths in Metrol. In other words, the kind of work that you just don't see anymore.
This, unfortunately, was not being accurately conveyed by Sol, who isn't up on his haggling etiquette. The human fellow, though, noticed this, and appearing to know something about Cyran work, helpfully pointed out that the set ought to be worth some serious gold, especially considering the fact that no one will ever make something quite like it again. The set fetched around 1400 gp. In thanks for his help, Cirya promised to buy him a beer at the inn later.
But then, the real cash-money items came out; the ring and the fire-opal pendant. Upon seeing the ring, the halfling at the jewelry counter said he need to introduce them to his boss. So into the back study they went with the boss, Holdren Cannear, halfling provisioner, who told them he never wanted it said that an adventurer was treated unfairly at his store.
The ring was serious money. Around 4,000 gp. Then Kaloei remembered the bag of rubies they've been carrying around, and those fetched 900 apiece.
(To all DMs: beware rolling random treasure. Then you wind up putting 10,000+gps into the hands of players. But sometimes random treasure is fun- but that's a whole other blog post).
At any rate, all the haggling and selling and buying resulted in Kaloei getting her rapier enchanted to +1, and a masterwork lute, Soledyn getting a +1 mithral chain shirt and 2 braces of masterwork handaxes, and Cirya getting herself a traveling alchemist's kit and a masterwork darkwood breastplate.
Thence to the Inn and meeting with the human fellow, Adan, who had a business proposition for them; one of the professors at Arcanix, Magana Corleis, an enchantress, was in need of some particularly hard to acquire spell components; redcap teeth.
Redcaps, for those not in the know, are particularly vicious, psychotic, cannibal fey. Their caps stay red by being dipped in the blood of those they devour. When slain, they leave behind a single tooth, one with faint magical properties the enchantress believes she can exploit.
Adan's proposal was simple. Enter the forest outside Arcanix, find some redcaps, slay them, get their teeth, and be paid 1200 apiece. Redcaps are not easily slain, as Adan was told, but cold iron could help do the job, and there are places to acquire cold-iron alchemical capsules (there are silvering capsules, so why not cold iron?), one application each, lasts for 1 minute, at 100 gp per. The party acquired some, along with some much needed healing potions, and set off.
It wasn't hard to find redcap sign, but it took the better part of a day to track them. Eventually, of course, the party was ambushed by a group of five of the little beasts, and it was quite the fight. Though no PCs were killed, it was quite taxing on their resources and teamwork. Five redcaps were brought down (redcaps are not the sort to retreat from a fight) with significant damage being done to Cirya and Sol.
OOC Note: I kept rolling absolute stink for these little bastards. I think in total they landed 4 blows with melee weapons, and maybe 3 with slings. Not good.
Adan voted for staying to find more redcaps, pointing out that one doesn't abandon a precious metal mine after getting the first load. Mines, however, don't actively bite back.
The party set back off for Arcanix, but after a few hours travel the next day, heard the voice of a young woman calling for help. Sol and Kal rushed forward, and there was a slight cloaked figure upon a hunter's path, claiming her horse had thrown her and broken her leg, and she needed any aid they could render.
When Sol approached the damsel in distress was revealed to be a slight avian figure brandishing a crossbow, ordering the party to stand down.
More combat!
Turns out a squad of Kenku assassins were after the party, and Kenku assassins mean business. One rogue, two thugs (rogue/fighters) and one wizard assaulted the party.
The wizard proved to be the toughest foe, disabling Adan with Tasha's Hideous Laughter, and severely limiting Sol with a Ray of Enfeeblement. Much damage was dealt, with Sol once again barely scraping through. When things turned against the kenku, the wizard went invisible and disappeared.
When one of the thugs was brought down alive, however, the wizard appeared again in order to silence him with a Magic Missile, as he had offered to spill all he knew. The wizard was then captured in his stead; interesting information was brought to light.
Namely, that this was a directed hit/capture attempt. The leader had a sheet of parchment with detailed descriptions of Sol, Kaloei, and Cirya. Under duress (not quite torture, mind you...just some good cop/bad cop/leave him tied up for the redcaps cop act by Kal, Sol, and Adan) he said he didn't know why they were hired, or the client's name. That they came out of Stariluskar in Breland (several hundred miles away) four days ago, with the client, who was a large, soft, rather rotund kind of man, with teleportation magic at his command, since he took them quickly to Passage and then set them on the trail.
The party concludes that Joreth d'Orien put a hit out on them, but that House Deneith (given some info on Deneith practices by Adan) wouldn't be sending assassins; that's not their way.
Edit: I forgot to mention this important moment; they could not decide what to do with the captive. There was brief talk of buying him off and having him try to dig up information for them; they concluded he wasn't likely to stay bought. The wizard himself said that if they just let him go, he'd disappear into Sharn. Kaloei couldn't bring herself to execute him, while Adan and Cirya were both perfectly willing to let it happen, it seemed neither wanted to do the deed. The decision was left to Sol (who seems, in some ways, to be evolving into a 'party leader' role- they also left it to him to decide whether to go out into the wild with Adan). Sol's weighed the decision heavily, but ultimately drew his longsword and pierced the bound kenku wizard's throat.
Back to Arcanix, with more loot. Interestingly enough, once they returned to town, everyone in sight was reading a special issue of The Korranberg Chronicle, with the headline and lead story:
Five redcap teeth were turned over for the promised gold, and finally (after a little prompting) Kal remembered that one of the names on the list way back from session I was Agate Corleis...similar to Magana Corleis, the professor they were working for. The list was produced. Magana was a bit put off. Asked who they were working for. Disappeared for a few minutes, then came back and was all help, no fuss. Turns out the missing Agate Corleis is her niece, and a student from Arcanix who vanished 4 months ago.
The plot thickens. Magana has promised help in getting them quickly to Sharn, and they await learning the form that help might take.
Another Edit: Since when did Kenku not have wings? Second edition depictions of Kenku always did. They were also telepathic, weren't they? Now they're just sneaky evil little bird men, with no level adjustment as a PC race. How far would wings and projective telepathy take them up? +2? I don't remember if they could actually fly or not, though.
It was quite the emporium, with separate counters for arms, armor, miscellaneous items, and jewelry. The most prominent customer was a rather lean looking human fellow negotiating over the price of a hat. It must have been quite the hat, given that the haggling was over the lack of a feather, and centered on 100 gp of the whole price. The human insisted that there must be a feather, while the halfling he haggled with demonstrated that the hat in question could appear to have any kind of feather the wearer wished once its properties were activated. The human countered that, if he were caught in an anti-magic zone, his hat would not have a feather, at which point the halfling called for his assistant to procure a selection of feathers.
Cirya, the druid, sidled up and offered the fellow an eagle feather, while Kaloei began negotiating the sale of their goods. For the exotic harp, she managed to wrangle 600 gp. Meanwhile, Sol was showing the set of the warhammer, shield, and breastplate, all with the arms of a Cyran noble family, likely made by Cannith Smiths in Metrol. In other words, the kind of work that you just don't see anymore.
This, unfortunately, was not being accurately conveyed by Sol, who isn't up on his haggling etiquette. The human fellow, though, noticed this, and appearing to know something about Cyran work, helpfully pointed out that the set ought to be worth some serious gold, especially considering the fact that no one will ever make something quite like it again. The set fetched around 1400 gp. In thanks for his help, Cirya promised to buy him a beer at the inn later.
But then, the real cash-money items came out; the ring and the fire-opal pendant. Upon seeing the ring, the halfling at the jewelry counter said he need to introduce them to his boss. So into the back study they went with the boss, Holdren Cannear, halfling provisioner, who told them he never wanted it said that an adventurer was treated unfairly at his store.
The ring was serious money. Around 4,000 gp. Then Kaloei remembered the bag of rubies they've been carrying around, and those fetched 900 apiece.
(To all DMs: beware rolling random treasure. Then you wind up putting 10,000+gps into the hands of players. But sometimes random treasure is fun- but that's a whole other blog post).
At any rate, all the haggling and selling and buying resulted in Kaloei getting her rapier enchanted to +1, and a masterwork lute, Soledyn getting a +1 mithral chain shirt and 2 braces of masterwork handaxes, and Cirya getting herself a traveling alchemist's kit and a masterwork darkwood breastplate.
Thence to the Inn and meeting with the human fellow, Adan, who had a business proposition for them; one of the professors at Arcanix, Magana Corleis, an enchantress, was in need of some particularly hard to acquire spell components; redcap teeth.
Redcaps, for those not in the know, are particularly vicious, psychotic, cannibal fey. Their caps stay red by being dipped in the blood of those they devour. When slain, they leave behind a single tooth, one with faint magical properties the enchantress believes she can exploit.
Adan's proposal was simple. Enter the forest outside Arcanix, find some redcaps, slay them, get their teeth, and be paid 1200 apiece. Redcaps are not easily slain, as Adan was told, but cold iron could help do the job, and there are places to acquire cold-iron alchemical capsules (there are silvering capsules, so why not cold iron?), one application each, lasts for 1 minute, at 100 gp per. The party acquired some, along with some much needed healing potions, and set off.
It wasn't hard to find redcap sign, but it took the better part of a day to track them. Eventually, of course, the party was ambushed by a group of five of the little beasts, and it was quite the fight. Though no PCs were killed, it was quite taxing on their resources and teamwork. Five redcaps were brought down (redcaps are not the sort to retreat from a fight) with significant damage being done to Cirya and Sol.
OOC Note: I kept rolling absolute stink for these little bastards. I think in total they landed 4 blows with melee weapons, and maybe 3 with slings. Not good.
Adan voted for staying to find more redcaps, pointing out that one doesn't abandon a precious metal mine after getting the first load. Mines, however, don't actively bite back.
The party set back off for Arcanix, but after a few hours travel the next day, heard the voice of a young woman calling for help. Sol and Kal rushed forward, and there was a slight cloaked figure upon a hunter's path, claiming her horse had thrown her and broken her leg, and she needed any aid they could render.
When Sol approached the damsel in distress was revealed to be a slight avian figure brandishing a crossbow, ordering the party to stand down.
More combat!
Turns out a squad of Kenku assassins were after the party, and Kenku assassins mean business. One rogue, two thugs (rogue/fighters) and one wizard assaulted the party.
The wizard proved to be the toughest foe, disabling Adan with Tasha's Hideous Laughter, and severely limiting Sol with a Ray of Enfeeblement. Much damage was dealt, with Sol once again barely scraping through. When things turned against the kenku, the wizard went invisible and disappeared.
When one of the thugs was brought down alive, however, the wizard appeared again in order to silence him with a Magic Missile, as he had offered to spill all he knew. The wizard was then captured in his stead; interesting information was brought to light.
Namely, that this was a directed hit/capture attempt. The leader had a sheet of parchment with detailed descriptions of Sol, Kaloei, and Cirya. Under duress (not quite torture, mind you...just some good cop/bad cop/leave him tied up for the redcaps cop act by Kal, Sol, and Adan) he said he didn't know why they were hired, or the client's name. That they came out of Stariluskar in Breland (several hundred miles away) four days ago, with the client, who was a large, soft, rather rotund kind of man, with teleportation magic at his command, since he took them quickly to Passage and then set them on the trail.
The party concludes that Joreth d'Orien put a hit out on them, but that House Deneith (given some info on Deneith practices by Adan) wouldn't be sending assassins; that's not their way.
Edit: I forgot to mention this important moment; they could not decide what to do with the captive. There was brief talk of buying him off and having him try to dig up information for them; they concluded he wasn't likely to stay bought. The wizard himself said that if they just let him go, he'd disappear into Sharn. Kaloei couldn't bring herself to execute him, while Adan and Cirya were both perfectly willing to let it happen, it seemed neither wanted to do the deed. The decision was left to Sol (who seems, in some ways, to be evolving into a 'party leader' role- they also left it to him to decide whether to go out into the wild with Adan). Sol's weighed the decision heavily, but ultimately drew his longsword and pierced the bound kenku wizard's throat.
Back to Arcanix, with more loot. Interestingly enough, once they returned to town, everyone in sight was reading a special issue of The Korranberg Chronicle, with the headline and lead story:
WAR!
In the Lhazar Principalities
In the Lhazar Principalities
"Prince Ryger ir'Wynarn of the Seadragons, self-styled heir to the throne of Galifar, appears to have been betrayed by his own fleet and deposed as de facto leader of the island territories. The ships in his fleet that have not turned against him have been forced into a siege at his seat of Regalport, where he is besieged by the Diresharks and the Cloudreavers, two of his larger and stronger opponents, have united to destroy him. Prince Lorrister of the Heavenly Fleet intends to aid him, but the blockade keeps his smaller fleet at bay. Given that fact, Prince Lorrister, a dashing figure you will no doubt recall having been written up in this very Chronicle when he set off to "sweep clean the Lhazar Principalities of pirates and make the seas safe for honest men," is even now making a tour, at great expense (with aid of House Orien's magic) of the great cities of Khorvaire, pleading for aid and allies. Though the Prince is a rousing speaker, he has yet to gain any allies of note. He is expected in the City of Towers within the week. When asked for comment, Lord Admiral Lyrien, consul of the Lhazar Principalities in Sharn, stated that the people Khorvaire needn't be worried, that it was all a purely internal matter, a squabble over succession, and that order should be restored in the Lhazar Principalities within a matter of weeks. The Lord Admiral would not comment upon the imminent arrival of Prince Lorrister."
The party bought and read a copy, and in Kaloei's words, "we must get to Sharn quickly."
The party bought and read a copy, and in Kaloei's words, "we must get to Sharn quickly."
Five redcap teeth were turned over for the promised gold, and finally (after a little prompting) Kal remembered that one of the names on the list way back from session I was Agate Corleis...similar to Magana Corleis, the professor they were working for. The list was produced. Magana was a bit put off. Asked who they were working for. Disappeared for a few minutes, then came back and was all help, no fuss. Turns out the missing Agate Corleis is her niece, and a student from Arcanix who vanished 4 months ago.
The plot thickens. Magana has promised help in getting them quickly to Sharn, and they await learning the form that help might take.
Another Edit: Since when did Kenku not have wings? Second edition depictions of Kenku always did. They were also telepathic, weren't they? Now they're just sneaky evil little bird men, with no level adjustment as a PC race. How far would wings and projective telepathy take them up? +2? I don't remember if they could actually fly or not, though.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
The Oldest Question: Bag End Edition
Okay, maybe not the oldest. But an old one; applying character classes/levels/characteristics to favorite protagonists from movies and or books.
Today: Bilbo Baggins
The Bilbo Baggins we meet at the beginning of The Hobbit clearly has no PC class levels. As I see it, there are three potential choices; Commoner, Expert, or Aristocrat. Bilbo is a man of leisure; he has staff (the Gamgees) lives off his parents' money, and has no craft or job as far as we know, and is an expert at nothing. I think he's clearly a 1st level Aristocrat, and his stats look something like this;
Str 8, Dex 15, Con 16, Wis 14, Int 12, Cha 13
I think Con and Wis have to be well above average because of how well he deals with the Ring- remember, further on down the line, Bilbo becomes the only person ever to willingly give up the Ring after holding it for more than a brief time. He also shows some real hardiness on the trip to the Lonely Mountain. I wavered on his Intelligence, but honestly, in the Riddle Game he relies on Wisdom, and "what have I got in my pocket" was a complete fluke.
His 1st level skills, I think, are as follows (Aristocrat gets 4 skill points, +1 for Int)
Hide +2
Move Silently +2
Knowledge: Local-Shire +4
Knowledge: Geography +2
Knowledge: History +2
Craft: Cooking +2
Perform: Sing +2
Sometime early in the trip he definitely breaks the PC-class barrier and starts taking levels in Rogue (probably maxing out somewhere around 5 or 6) and starts beefing up Hide and Move Silently, as well as adding Sleight of Hand. I do not think he ever picks up Open Locks or Disable Device.
I also think one can make a convincing argument that somewhere on the trip through Mirkwood he attains a level or two in Ranger, with Favored Enemy: Vermin.
By the time he gets to the Lonely Mountain he probably looks something like this:
Aristocrat 1/Rogue 5/Ranger 2, with maxed out Hide and Move Silently, and some points into Balance, Jump, Survival, and Climb (he dances around those trees in the battle against the spiders with aplomb) having added points into Dexterity and Charisma, for a new stat block of
Str 8, Dex 16, Con 16, Wis 14, Int 12, Cha 14.
He has also acquired two super-nifty magic items:
+2 Mithril Chain Shirt (Small-Size)
+3 Orcbane Short Sword (Sting)
And one super powerful treacherous artifact; the Ring. For now though, it functions merely as a Ring of Improved Invisibility, a handy item for a Rogue/Ranger.
Eventually as Bilbo comes home he retires from active adventuring and multiclasses even further, taking levels in Bard, probably no more than 2. So he'd finish his career as an Aristocrat 1/Rogue 5/Ranger 2/Bard 2. Thankfully he has managed to avoid the dreaded multiclass experience penalty. As a Bard he focuses on Perform: Poetry, and also I believe takes some ranks in Craft: Cartography (as we all know, a fine traditional skill for Hobbits of all sorts to have).
There you have it; Bilbo Baggins reduced to a set of D&D stats. Enjoy.
Today: Bilbo Baggins
The Bilbo Baggins we meet at the beginning of The Hobbit clearly has no PC class levels. As I see it, there are three potential choices; Commoner, Expert, or Aristocrat. Bilbo is a man of leisure; he has staff (the Gamgees) lives off his parents' money, and has no craft or job as far as we know, and is an expert at nothing. I think he's clearly a 1st level Aristocrat, and his stats look something like this;
Str 8, Dex 15, Con 16, Wis 14, Int 12, Cha 13
I think Con and Wis have to be well above average because of how well he deals with the Ring- remember, further on down the line, Bilbo becomes the only person ever to willingly give up the Ring after holding it for more than a brief time. He also shows some real hardiness on the trip to the Lonely Mountain. I wavered on his Intelligence, but honestly, in the Riddle Game he relies on Wisdom, and "what have I got in my pocket" was a complete fluke.
His 1st level skills, I think, are as follows (Aristocrat gets 4 skill points, +1 for Int)
Hide +2
Move Silently +2
Knowledge: Local-Shire +4
Knowledge: Geography +2
Knowledge: History +2
Craft: Cooking +2
Perform: Sing +2
Sometime early in the trip he definitely breaks the PC-class barrier and starts taking levels in Rogue (probably maxing out somewhere around 5 or 6) and starts beefing up Hide and Move Silently, as well as adding Sleight of Hand. I do not think he ever picks up Open Locks or Disable Device.
I also think one can make a convincing argument that somewhere on the trip through Mirkwood he attains a level or two in Ranger, with Favored Enemy: Vermin.
By the time he gets to the Lonely Mountain he probably looks something like this:
Aristocrat 1/Rogue 5/Ranger 2, with maxed out Hide and Move Silently, and some points into Balance, Jump, Survival, and Climb (he dances around those trees in the battle against the spiders with aplomb) having added points into Dexterity and Charisma, for a new stat block of
Str 8, Dex 16, Con 16, Wis 14, Int 12, Cha 14.
He has also acquired two super-nifty magic items:
+2 Mithril Chain Shirt (Small-Size)
+3 Orcbane Short Sword (Sting)
And one super powerful treacherous artifact; the Ring. For now though, it functions merely as a Ring of Improved Invisibility, a handy item for a Rogue/Ranger.
Eventually as Bilbo comes home he retires from active adventuring and multiclasses even further, taking levels in Bard, probably no more than 2. So he'd finish his career as an Aristocrat 1/Rogue 5/Ranger 2/Bard 2. Thankfully he has managed to avoid the dreaded multiclass experience penalty. As a Bard he focuses on Perform: Poetry, and also I believe takes some ranks in Craft: Cartography (as we all know, a fine traditional skill for Hobbits of all sorts to have).
There you have it; Bilbo Baggins reduced to a set of D&D stats. Enjoy.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Session IV Part II
So the intrepid heroes approached the small Ashbound camp. It was basically just 3 earthen huts, a midden heap and a firepit. Many of the marauders were simply milling around in front of the fire, silhouetting themselves nicely for arrow fire.
The party, plus the Constable and his 2 men, decided to come around the back, unleash a volley of arrows, along with an entangle spell from Cyria, then move in and slaughter them as necessary. There were no signs of the Shifters known to be with the crew, including a vile Ashbound druid named Kir; tracking had revealed two sets of Shifter tracks, however.
The arrow volley went off; unfortunately the druid neglected to fire off her entangle, and thus ended the surprise round.
There was some eerie howling coming from off in the trees, but still no sign of the Shifters as Sol and the Constable skulked in. The entangle went off, another volley of arrows, and the slaughter was on. The average Ashbound warrior was toting a club, a wooden shield and some crude hide armor; these arms were no match for the metal and discipline and skill of Sol and the Constable.
Unfortunately nobody accounted for the Shifters, and the first time one was seen was when, charging from the shadows, he clubbed one of the deputy constables into a fine pulp with his massive greatclub.
The only person capable of a response at the time was Cyria; she did what any good druid would and cast Summon Nature's Ally. The resulting wolf attacked.
Meanwhile Sol and the Constable and Kal were making short work of the Ashbound; highlights included Sol cracking a sternum with an axe blow, and Kaloei spearing one clean through the throat on a charge with her rapier.
Meanwhile, still no sign of the Druid. The barbarian Shifter, however, broke the spine of that poor summoned wolf. Cyria summoned another, which was quickly dispatched in the same manner. But they both did some damage.
Then Kir emerged.
Pop quiz: when you're in combat and you know a Druid is around, but you don't see him for 4 rounds, what is the Druid doing?
Answer: He's casting Bull's Str, Bear's Endurance, Barkskin, and Shillelagh.
So once Kir emerged, he was buffed to the max and charging while waving his now glowing club- with which, in two quick blows, he felled Sol to death's door.
Thankfully Sol was able to get a blow or two in himself, first. As was Kaloei. Finally, the Constable went for a two-handed thrust with his bastard sword, and spitted the bastard.
In the meantime, the barbarian Shifter had charged Cyria and whacked her around a bit. Sol wasn't in danger of bleeding to death, though definitely out of the fight, and Kaloei boldly charged the barbarian, sticking him with the rapier. Cyria brought her spear into play, and the Barbarian was felled.
Victory!
They began searching the bodies...and finding hide armor, clubs, and crude wooden shields.
The Constable fetched the horses and pointed out that anything of value the Ashbound had found on victims would be tossed into the midden. Then he mounted up, pointed the direction Passage was, and the direction Sharn was, and rode off back towards Passage.
Sol, not too proud to get dirty, climbed into the midden and started searching. The search turned up the first serious treasure the party has found:
600 gp in assorted coinage
a finely-crafted MW warhammer
a matching set of MW breastplate and large steel shield- clearly goes with the warhammer as the equippage of a knight, including coat of arms
a MW adamantine dagger
a bronzewood harp inlaid with ivory and zircons
a fire-opal pendant
a jeweled platinum ring
So, side quest over. The party has horses, though of course they barely know how to ride. The debate as the session ended was, do we try to sneak back to Passage to get on the lightning rail, or do we ride to Sharn?
I love leaving them in conflict.
The party, plus the Constable and his 2 men, decided to come around the back, unleash a volley of arrows, along with an entangle spell from Cyria, then move in and slaughter them as necessary. There were no signs of the Shifters known to be with the crew, including a vile Ashbound druid named Kir; tracking had revealed two sets of Shifter tracks, however.
The arrow volley went off; unfortunately the druid neglected to fire off her entangle, and thus ended the surprise round.
There was some eerie howling coming from off in the trees, but still no sign of the Shifters as Sol and the Constable skulked in. The entangle went off, another volley of arrows, and the slaughter was on. The average Ashbound warrior was toting a club, a wooden shield and some crude hide armor; these arms were no match for the metal and discipline and skill of Sol and the Constable.
Unfortunately nobody accounted for the Shifters, and the first time one was seen was when, charging from the shadows, he clubbed one of the deputy constables into a fine pulp with his massive greatclub.
The only person capable of a response at the time was Cyria; she did what any good druid would and cast Summon Nature's Ally. The resulting wolf attacked.
Meanwhile Sol and the Constable and Kal were making short work of the Ashbound; highlights included Sol cracking a sternum with an axe blow, and Kaloei spearing one clean through the throat on a charge with her rapier.
Meanwhile, still no sign of the Druid. The barbarian Shifter, however, broke the spine of that poor summoned wolf. Cyria summoned another, which was quickly dispatched in the same manner. But they both did some damage.
Then Kir emerged.
Pop quiz: when you're in combat and you know a Druid is around, but you don't see him for 4 rounds, what is the Druid doing?
Answer: He's casting Bull's Str, Bear's Endurance, Barkskin, and Shillelagh.
So once Kir emerged, he was buffed to the max and charging while waving his now glowing club- with which, in two quick blows, he felled Sol to death's door.
Thankfully Sol was able to get a blow or two in himself, first. As was Kaloei. Finally, the Constable went for a two-handed thrust with his bastard sword, and spitted the bastard.
In the meantime, the barbarian Shifter had charged Cyria and whacked her around a bit. Sol wasn't in danger of bleeding to death, though definitely out of the fight, and Kaloei boldly charged the barbarian, sticking him with the rapier. Cyria brought her spear into play, and the Barbarian was felled.
Victory!
They began searching the bodies...and finding hide armor, clubs, and crude wooden shields.
The Constable fetched the horses and pointed out that anything of value the Ashbound had found on victims would be tossed into the midden. Then he mounted up, pointed the direction Passage was, and the direction Sharn was, and rode off back towards Passage.
Sol, not too proud to get dirty, climbed into the midden and started searching. The search turned up the first serious treasure the party has found:
600 gp in assorted coinage
a finely-crafted MW warhammer
a matching set of MW breastplate and large steel shield- clearly goes with the warhammer as the equippage of a knight, including coat of arms
a MW adamantine dagger
a bronzewood harp inlaid with ivory and zircons
a fire-opal pendant
a jeweled platinum ring
So, side quest over. The party has horses, though of course they barely know how to ride. The debate as the session ended was, do we try to sneak back to Passage to get on the lightning rail, or do we ride to Sharn?
I love leaving them in conflict.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Session IV- Time for a Side Quest
So all of us DM sorts have been there. What do you do when;
A. You aren't quite sure how to bridge from Plot Point A to Plot Point B
B. Even if you get the players to Plot Point B they'd be chewed up like a drunk rabbit by a John Deere
Do I hear "side quest?"
Side quests can, if you ask me, make or break a campaign. They aren't necessary- that's why they're "side" quests. Now there are some DMs who'll tell you that side quests are pointless. I disagree. Think of what your favorite RPG video games would be without side quests. Sure, in Baldur's Gate II you don't have to go, say, root out the slavers in the slums, or take on the Unseeing Eye, or fight either the Shadow Dragon or the Red Dragon. But what fun is the game if you don't?
Now, a pen and paper game is no video game. However, as I said, they can make or break a campaign. I don't think everything the players do has to relate heavily to the over-arcing plot. Sometimes you just need to let them kill monsters. Sometimes you come up with an interesting little wrinkle and you can't jam it into the overall plot. But if you come at the players with nothing but side quests, they'll get bored, they'll get punchy, and I postulate they'll just stop showing up to the table.
Unless, of course, you're playing an episodic game- which could work very well for, say, a group of private investigators located in Sharn, which would be a great campaign- but that's a whole other post.
Back to the main point; too many side quests, bad. No side quests, bad. No side quests means the players are slogging through plot every week, and that can get a little heavy. Not to mention it makes it a little tough on the DM; with no side quests, you need heavy main-plot relevant content every week and fill up a whole session with it. That's lots of work. And unless you're B.A. Felton and have 8 hours a week to devote to prep, you don't want to be doing that. Now, from what I hear about Burning Empires from Soul Kerfuffle , side quests don't seem to be a part of the B.E. experience; it just doesn't seem like the game is built for that, and that's fine. D&D definitely is.
So, tonight I clearly needed a side quest. Some bait had been dangled, some plot points introduced, some villains revealed, etc. Now, there was no way the party would make it all the way to Sharn tonight; that just wouldn't be possible, as they're still hundreds of miles away. So, I started thinking, what can I do, what interesting obstacles can I toss in front of them and drag them into a side quest that would be interesting but not take them too far off the beaten path.
So, the summation of the session:
Milaya d'Orien, the acting caravan master, made it clear she would no longer tolerate their presence once the caravan reached Passage. She also made it clear that they would not be allowed anywhere near the wagon carrying the one remaining statue from Master Sculptor Haradeen.
So, naturally, they had to try and get a good look. Kaloei employed her Least Dragonmark's ability and tried to wheedle her way into the wagon while looking like an Orien guard, but the 2 remaining Tharashk mercs were having none of that tomfoolery. Sol, meanwhile, tried to track Milaya on her circuits around the caravan- a difficult task when you're tracking someone with serious "Dimension Jump" ability. Sol also quickly learns he has a shadow, albeit one not very good at skulking.
Ultimately, not terribly much was accomplished, except for Derrin Leyn d'Sivis trying to drop a not-very-well-regarded warning to them that he expected to be sending detailed descriptions of three people ahead to Passage via his speaking stone before they got there.
Eventually, the caravan does reach Passage. And every passenger is asked to present their identification papers. And Sol, Kal, and Cyria are all asked to "please go wait in the gatehouse for a moments. Thank you. No I don't know why, sir/lady. Please just go wait in the gatehouse. Please. Yes. Thank you. Yes, now."
And they go wait in the gatehouse...until a detachment of armed, armored men show up, all clearly bearing the signs of House Deneith. One of them introduces himself as Velden d'Deneith, Sentinel Marshal. And you guessed it; Sol, Kal, and Cyria are all placed under arrest under charges of aiding and abetting banditry, banditry, attempted theft, granting aid and succor to bandits(which sounds an awful lot like the first, but isn't quite the same). There is some sputtering, but there were 6 heavily armed members of House Deneith out to discharge their duty, and several other witnesses, in the form of Passage City Guardsmen, to add the charges of assault, resisting arrest, and murder to the charges that would be levied against Kal, Sol, and Cyria, or, rather, against their corpses, since they wouldn't be terribly likely to survive against 6 Sentinel Marshals.
They were asked to surrender their arms and goods, for 3 small elfish folk, quite an impressive pile of steel appeared- a longbow, a longspear, a rapier, four throwing axes, about 8 daggers, some darts, a longsword...it was a little surprising.
They were manacled together and tossed in the back of a covered, windowless, locked wagon and carted around the city for 15 or 20 minutes. Eventually they were delivered to a nondescript little jailhouse, run by a local Constable known as Constable Corleth. A big fellow, a bit older, a bastard sword strapped to his back, etc. They get tossed in a jail cell with a fellow named Gen, and are warned by the Constable not to get too close or they'll find their pockets are missing anything they've got left in them.
Sol responded with a great line; "All Gen will find in my pockets are broken fingers." The Constable chuckled.
It was around then that Sol noticed an insignia on the hilt of the Constable's sword, a Cyran one. Sort of similar to those the erstwhile bandits were wearing. They bring this up, to which he tersely responds that he is not, in fact, Cyran. They also start dropping all the names and hints attached to what landed them in jail; Iyerke d'Tharashk, the Queen's Blades, Ilgar ir'Tarnis , that Joreth d'Orien vanished with the purported petrified, etc etc.
The Constable was intrigued. Mildly. He started questioning them systematically. What did Iyerke d'Tharashk look like? How did he act? Anyone claiming to be Ilgar ir'Tarnis was lying. The ir'Tarnis line was extinguished.
Side note; to anyone from the old Eberron games reading this blog, I'm just re-using the name ir'Tarnis. Not the character. Nobody is looking askance at anyone's silver arm.
Ahem; we now return from the in-joke back to your regularly scheduled blog update.
He asks question after question about their story, reconstructing it. They reiterate their belief that the statue of the Cyran officer was, in fact, really a person, and that the "Queen's Blades" claimed it truly was Ilgar ir'Tarnis. He questioned them closely on the tactics and behavior of the bandits, although Kaloei's insistence that they must be Cyran because they used the battlecry "For Cyre." He sneered and wondered why anyone would bother fighting for a statue. Besides, he said, the captain's dead.
Eventually someone realized that he just said "the captain." Not "their captain." The captain. Has to mean something, right? He stubbornly insists he isn't Cyran.
Meanwhile, when they get a quiet moment, Gen starts working on them. Get the Constable in there; he'll lift the keys, or a knife, and they can get out. He's looking at a death sentence and that just isn't fair. Just a sad coincidence he's in there, they're just trying to pin something on him, he didn't do anything. Did he mention they're going to hang him? Just get the Constable in here and we'll figure it out from there, c'mon, we can get out together. And so on.
The Constable informs them that dinner will be along eventually. Along with, hopefully, a death order for Gen.
Gen kept explaining to Kal, Sol, and Cyria how it was all a misunderstanding. A visibly angered Constable stormed back towards the cell. Turns out Gen is a grave-robber.
Grave-robbing, they say? Ugly, but hardly a capital crime.
The Constable explained; "He was robbing a veteran's graveyard. Looking to sell bits of uniform and weapons and buttons as souvenirs. And when a hobbled old veteran out there early one morning saw him with a shovel in one hand and a sack in the other, he got his throat cut. Didn't he, Gen?"
That shut Gen up, and made Sol offer to hang him himself. Thus ensued a discussion between the Constable and Sol about the war, what Sol did and where, and what was an Aerenal elf doing in Cyre, anyway? He seemed a bit impressed. Sat down and smoked his pipe and asked more questions about their story. When his shift ended, he said he'd be back in the morning. And, he added, pointing at Gen, hopefully I get to hang you.
The night passed uneventfully. Gen wailed and blubbered. Begged for them to help him get out. They were unsympathetic.
Comes morning. Also comes their barrister, and who should it be, but Derryn Leyn d'Sivis. He notes that he probably won't be the barrister if it goes to trail, but is serving temporarily till a more permanent one can be found. He will take messages, bring them parchment and writing implements (they're entitled) and leave a small coin purse with the Constable to pay for messengers.
He'll bill them.
As he's speaking to them, the Constable shows up to fetch Gen, warrant in hand, smile on his face. He manacles his hands through the bars, one at a time. Gen sobs. Gen pleads, Gen goes limp with fear. The Constable drags him off, unmoved. The party thought they saw an opening when the Constable came in the cell- without help- to fetch Gen. Thankfully, Derrin saw their eyes go wide and gave them a frantic wave-off, pointing to the sword. He spoke to them some more while they tried not to listen to the crowd outside cheering raucously for the hanging.
What did he have to tell them? The Constable was, regrettably, impossible to bribe. He had a good reputation. He was Cyran born, but claimed Aundairian citizenship through marriage. House Deneith and House Orien, despite the latter's basically owning the city of Passage, were reluctant to deal with the case- that's why they were in a local Constable's prison, and not the cells in the Deneith enclave. Their best bet was to lay low, send messages to whomever they could and try to stay on the Constable's good side. He'd be back before lunch.
He took away some messages and off he went. The Constable came in and thumbed his pipe full. Noted that the Haradeen sculptures were on display up in the Orien enclave for a 5 silver piece fee. He took a walk last night and had a look. Said the statue did indeed look an awful lot like the Captain. (You could just hear the capital C). Still, could just be a statue- he'd disappeared over a year and a half ago, and all his family was considered dead in the Mourning. He asked some more questions about the tactics of the "Queen's Blades" and speculated about why they'd try to steal a statue. Maybe that's all some people have left to fight for. Odd.
They was some more sitting around in cells till there was some commotion in the front room. They caught the words "Ashbound" and "massacre" and "village" and "making for the border" and "need help." The Ashbound, of course, are crazy farkin' druids who believe civilization should be utterly destroyed, that the natural state of existence is as small hunter-gatherer groups. They don't use metal, they abhor arcane magic, and they occasionally burn villages and slaughter people.
And the Ashbound have found many a recruit from Cyran refugees. In fact, Constable Corleth has reason to believe that many of this particular group are Cyran.
The Constable, then, had a challenge on his hands. Here comes the speech.
"The smart thing to do...the smart thing would be to turn this over to the Deneith Marshals. There are more of them, and they're professionals. And if they decided to take an interest, they'd be very professional, gather a superior force, track them down and capture as many as possible alive. They'd bring them back to the city, parade them through the streets in chains, put them on trail, and hang them. Now, understand- these people are Ashbound. Once a person's gone that route, taken the Ritual of Ash, there's no more use capturing them then there is capturing a rabid dog. You can't heal them, you can't bring them back. They're gone.
But these people, some of them...they're Cyrans. Now I've shed all the tears I plan to on account of that country, and done all the fighting for it I can stomach. But that doesn't mean I didn't love it once. And when it's your own dog gone rabid, it's your responsibility to put it down."
Pause.
"I can call on 10 men. Of those 10, 2 have shot arrows at something not made of straw."
Pause.
"I'm going to go draw up some prisoner transfer paperwork. If the story you told me was false, well...you'll all just try to kill me the instant you get out of the city."
Paperwork was drawn. Derrin visited, cheerfully told them he hoped never to see any of them again, and disappeared. They were manacled and loaded into the wagon. Driven far. Much farther than before. They were let out at the side of the road, unchained, where they saw Constable Corleth and 2 other men mounted, with 3 spare mounts, loaded with the party's weapons and gear. The young lance-constable driving the wagon was given his story, and a heavy clout on the head to make it believable. They went on a hunt. A long hunt. Found the village; salted earth, a heap of dead bodies and burned houses. A longer ride, where they pretended not to see the border stones that showed they'd crossed into the Eldeen Reaches. Eventually the trail grew warm, and a small clearing was found with the temporary earthen huts and large firepit the Ashbound had created for themselves.
Blogger just stopped me from typing more, and it's late. I'll finish this post in the morning.
A. You aren't quite sure how to bridge from Plot Point A to Plot Point B
B. Even if you get the players to Plot Point B they'd be chewed up like a drunk rabbit by a John Deere
Do I hear "side quest?"
Side quests can, if you ask me, make or break a campaign. They aren't necessary- that's why they're "side" quests. Now there are some DMs who'll tell you that side quests are pointless. I disagree. Think of what your favorite RPG video games would be without side quests. Sure, in Baldur's Gate II you don't have to go, say, root out the slavers in the slums, or take on the Unseeing Eye, or fight either the Shadow Dragon or the Red Dragon. But what fun is the game if you don't?
Now, a pen and paper game is no video game. However, as I said, they can make or break a campaign. I don't think everything the players do has to relate heavily to the over-arcing plot. Sometimes you just need to let them kill monsters. Sometimes you come up with an interesting little wrinkle and you can't jam it into the overall plot. But if you come at the players with nothing but side quests, they'll get bored, they'll get punchy, and I postulate they'll just stop showing up to the table.
Unless, of course, you're playing an episodic game- which could work very well for, say, a group of private investigators located in Sharn, which would be a great campaign- but that's a whole other post.
Back to the main point; too many side quests, bad. No side quests, bad. No side quests means the players are slogging through plot every week, and that can get a little heavy. Not to mention it makes it a little tough on the DM; with no side quests, you need heavy main-plot relevant content every week and fill up a whole session with it. That's lots of work. And unless you're B.A. Felton and have 8 hours a week to devote to prep, you don't want to be doing that. Now, from what I hear about Burning Empires from Soul Kerfuffle , side quests don't seem to be a part of the B.E. experience; it just doesn't seem like the game is built for that, and that's fine. D&D definitely is.
So, tonight I clearly needed a side quest. Some bait had been dangled, some plot points introduced, some villains revealed, etc. Now, there was no way the party would make it all the way to Sharn tonight; that just wouldn't be possible, as they're still hundreds of miles away. So, I started thinking, what can I do, what interesting obstacles can I toss in front of them and drag them into a side quest that would be interesting but not take them too far off the beaten path.
So, the summation of the session:
Milaya d'Orien, the acting caravan master, made it clear she would no longer tolerate their presence once the caravan reached Passage. She also made it clear that they would not be allowed anywhere near the wagon carrying the one remaining statue from Master Sculptor Haradeen.
So, naturally, they had to try and get a good look. Kaloei employed her Least Dragonmark's ability and tried to wheedle her way into the wagon while looking like an Orien guard, but the 2 remaining Tharashk mercs were having none of that tomfoolery. Sol, meanwhile, tried to track Milaya on her circuits around the caravan- a difficult task when you're tracking someone with serious "Dimension Jump" ability. Sol also quickly learns he has a shadow, albeit one not very good at skulking.
Ultimately, not terribly much was accomplished, except for Derrin Leyn d'Sivis trying to drop a not-very-well-regarded warning to them that he expected to be sending detailed descriptions of three people ahead to Passage via his speaking stone before they got there.
Eventually, the caravan does reach Passage. And every passenger is asked to present their identification papers. And Sol, Kal, and Cyria are all asked to "please go wait in the gatehouse for a moments. Thank you. No I don't know why, sir/lady. Please just go wait in the gatehouse. Please. Yes. Thank you. Yes, now."
And they go wait in the gatehouse...until a detachment of armed, armored men show up, all clearly bearing the signs of House Deneith. One of them introduces himself as Velden d'Deneith, Sentinel Marshal. And you guessed it; Sol, Kal, and Cyria are all placed under arrest under charges of aiding and abetting banditry, banditry, attempted theft, granting aid and succor to bandits(which sounds an awful lot like the first, but isn't quite the same). There is some sputtering, but there were 6 heavily armed members of House Deneith out to discharge their duty, and several other witnesses, in the form of Passage City Guardsmen, to add the charges of assault, resisting arrest, and murder to the charges that would be levied against Kal, Sol, and Cyria, or, rather, against their corpses, since they wouldn't be terribly likely to survive against 6 Sentinel Marshals.
They were asked to surrender their arms and goods, for 3 small elfish folk, quite an impressive pile of steel appeared- a longbow, a longspear, a rapier, four throwing axes, about 8 daggers, some darts, a longsword...it was a little surprising.
They were manacled together and tossed in the back of a covered, windowless, locked wagon and carted around the city for 15 or 20 minutes. Eventually they were delivered to a nondescript little jailhouse, run by a local Constable known as Constable Corleth. A big fellow, a bit older, a bastard sword strapped to his back, etc. They get tossed in a jail cell with a fellow named Gen, and are warned by the Constable not to get too close or they'll find their pockets are missing anything they've got left in them.
Sol responded with a great line; "All Gen will find in my pockets are broken fingers." The Constable chuckled.
It was around then that Sol noticed an insignia on the hilt of the Constable's sword, a Cyran one. Sort of similar to those the erstwhile bandits were wearing. They bring this up, to which he tersely responds that he is not, in fact, Cyran. They also start dropping all the names and hints attached to what landed them in jail; Iyerke d'Tharashk, the Queen's Blades, Ilgar ir'Tarnis , that Joreth d'Orien vanished with the purported petrified, etc etc.
The Constable was intrigued. Mildly. He started questioning them systematically. What did Iyerke d'Tharashk look like? How did he act? Anyone claiming to be Ilgar ir'Tarnis was lying. The ir'Tarnis line was extinguished.
Side note; to anyone from the old Eberron games reading this blog, I'm just re-using the name ir'Tarnis. Not the character. Nobody is looking askance at anyone's silver arm.
Ahem; we now return from the in-joke back to your regularly scheduled blog update.
He asks question after question about their story, reconstructing it. They reiterate their belief that the statue of the Cyran officer was, in fact, really a person, and that the "Queen's Blades" claimed it truly was Ilgar ir'Tarnis. He questioned them closely on the tactics and behavior of the bandits, although Kaloei's insistence that they must be Cyran because they used the battlecry "For Cyre." He sneered and wondered why anyone would bother fighting for a statue. Besides, he said, the captain's dead.
Eventually someone realized that he just said "the captain." Not "their captain." The captain. Has to mean something, right? He stubbornly insists he isn't Cyran.
Meanwhile, when they get a quiet moment, Gen starts working on them. Get the Constable in there; he'll lift the keys, or a knife, and they can get out. He's looking at a death sentence and that just isn't fair. Just a sad coincidence he's in there, they're just trying to pin something on him, he didn't do anything. Did he mention they're going to hang him? Just get the Constable in here and we'll figure it out from there, c'mon, we can get out together. And so on.
The Constable informs them that dinner will be along eventually. Along with, hopefully, a death order for Gen.
Gen kept explaining to Kal, Sol, and Cyria how it was all a misunderstanding. A visibly angered Constable stormed back towards the cell. Turns out Gen is a grave-robber.
Grave-robbing, they say? Ugly, but hardly a capital crime.
The Constable explained; "He was robbing a veteran's graveyard. Looking to sell bits of uniform and weapons and buttons as souvenirs. And when a hobbled old veteran out there early one morning saw him with a shovel in one hand and a sack in the other, he got his throat cut. Didn't he, Gen?"
That shut Gen up, and made Sol offer to hang him himself. Thus ensued a discussion between the Constable and Sol about the war, what Sol did and where, and what was an Aerenal elf doing in Cyre, anyway? He seemed a bit impressed. Sat down and smoked his pipe and asked more questions about their story. When his shift ended, he said he'd be back in the morning. And, he added, pointing at Gen, hopefully I get to hang you.
The night passed uneventfully. Gen wailed and blubbered. Begged for them to help him get out. They were unsympathetic.
Comes morning. Also comes their barrister, and who should it be, but Derryn Leyn d'Sivis. He notes that he probably won't be the barrister if it goes to trail, but is serving temporarily till a more permanent one can be found. He will take messages, bring them parchment and writing implements (they're entitled) and leave a small coin purse with the Constable to pay for messengers.
He'll bill them.
As he's speaking to them, the Constable shows up to fetch Gen, warrant in hand, smile on his face. He manacles his hands through the bars, one at a time. Gen sobs. Gen pleads, Gen goes limp with fear. The Constable drags him off, unmoved. The party thought they saw an opening when the Constable came in the cell- without help- to fetch Gen. Thankfully, Derrin saw their eyes go wide and gave them a frantic wave-off, pointing to the sword. He spoke to them some more while they tried not to listen to the crowd outside cheering raucously for the hanging.
What did he have to tell them? The Constable was, regrettably, impossible to bribe. He had a good reputation. He was Cyran born, but claimed Aundairian citizenship through marriage. House Deneith and House Orien, despite the latter's basically owning the city of Passage, were reluctant to deal with the case- that's why they were in a local Constable's prison, and not the cells in the Deneith enclave. Their best bet was to lay low, send messages to whomever they could and try to stay on the Constable's good side. He'd be back before lunch.
He took away some messages and off he went. The Constable came in and thumbed his pipe full. Noted that the Haradeen sculptures were on display up in the Orien enclave for a 5 silver piece fee. He took a walk last night and had a look. Said the statue did indeed look an awful lot like the Captain. (You could just hear the capital C). Still, could just be a statue- he'd disappeared over a year and a half ago, and all his family was considered dead in the Mourning. He asked some more questions about the tactics of the "Queen's Blades" and speculated about why they'd try to steal a statue. Maybe that's all some people have left to fight for. Odd.
They was some more sitting around in cells till there was some commotion in the front room. They caught the words "Ashbound" and "massacre" and "village" and "making for the border" and "need help." The Ashbound, of course, are crazy farkin' druids who believe civilization should be utterly destroyed, that the natural state of existence is as small hunter-gatherer groups. They don't use metal, they abhor arcane magic, and they occasionally burn villages and slaughter people.
And the Ashbound have found many a recruit from Cyran refugees. In fact, Constable Corleth has reason to believe that many of this particular group are Cyran.
The Constable, then, had a challenge on his hands. Here comes the speech.
"The smart thing to do...the smart thing would be to turn this over to the Deneith Marshals. There are more of them, and they're professionals. And if they decided to take an interest, they'd be very professional, gather a superior force, track them down and capture as many as possible alive. They'd bring them back to the city, parade them through the streets in chains, put them on trail, and hang them. Now, understand- these people are Ashbound. Once a person's gone that route, taken the Ritual of Ash, there's no more use capturing them then there is capturing a rabid dog. You can't heal them, you can't bring them back. They're gone.
But these people, some of them...they're Cyrans. Now I've shed all the tears I plan to on account of that country, and done all the fighting for it I can stomach. But that doesn't mean I didn't love it once. And when it's your own dog gone rabid, it's your responsibility to put it down."
Pause.
"I can call on 10 men. Of those 10, 2 have shot arrows at something not made of straw."
Pause.
"I'm going to go draw up some prisoner transfer paperwork. If the story you told me was false, well...you'll all just try to kill me the instant you get out of the city."
Paperwork was drawn. Derrin visited, cheerfully told them he hoped never to see any of them again, and disappeared. They were manacled and loaded into the wagon. Driven far. Much farther than before. They were let out at the side of the road, unchained, where they saw Constable Corleth and 2 other men mounted, with 3 spare mounts, loaded with the party's weapons and gear. The young lance-constable driving the wagon was given his story, and a heavy clout on the head to make it believable. They went on a hunt. A long hunt. Found the village; salted earth, a heap of dead bodies and burned houses. A longer ride, where they pretended not to see the border stones that showed they'd crossed into the Eldeen Reaches. Eventually the trail grew warm, and a small clearing was found with the temporary earthen huts and large firepit the Ashbound had created for themselves.
Blogger just stopped me from typing more, and it's late. I'll finish this post in the morning.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Meet an NPC: Gideon
Disclaimer: Current players, I ask you please not to read this post. The game will be less fun for you if you do.
So, in an earlier post I promised a good "behind the scenes" glimpse at how I develop and use NPCs. I don't have a clear cut system, but I do try to obey the rules I set out earlier;
Make important NPCs cool and memorable, but not cooler than the PCs. Don't make them significantly more powerful than the PCs if they're going to be involved in combat with them. Don't make them be the hero unless you have to; you want the PCs to be heroes.
So, with those in mind, meet one of my NPCs, and the thought process that went into him. You all know I like to play paladins. And one of the things I like to do with them is strain the limits and boundaries of the class and it's alignment. Everyone tends to think Paladin=mounted holy knight with lance and heavy armor.
Well, what about an urban Paladin? One who does most of his work inside a city. Like, say, Sharn. Not much use for lances and horses on the crowded streets and floating cityscapes of the City of Towers.
Well, an urban paladin would need a different skill set, and a different role. Luckily, the Complete Adventurer has a pair of the best Prestige Classes WoTC has yet devised; the Shadowbane Stalker and Shadowbane Inquisitor. An "urban paladin," probably multiclassed (necessarily if you're going to take one of these PrCs) would feel something like these. So whether the PrC comes into play or not, we'll sort of use one as a goal. Probably the Inquisitor.
So, how do you make a multiclassed paladin/rogue and make it make sense? Well, as I said, I like to have a backstory for my NPCs, and in many cases, an NPC is a germ of an idea for a character I just haven't gotten the chance to play yet. As long as I rein in my desires as a player a bit, I can make him a fine fit for the campaign and a foil/aid/friend/ally/enemy of the PCs.
So, Gideon. Born in Thrane. Son of a Silver Flame clergyman (not necessarily a Cleric, with levels and spellcasting and all that). Rather devout, if not exceptionally (by Thranite standards, anyway). Was in training to head off to war, as were most young men, when the war ended, and his unit was disbanded without ever being activated, but it left him a basic familiarity with weapons, horses, training, etc. Wanted to see the wider world, however, and despite warnings about how it'll corrupt him, he sets off for Sharn, full of thoughts about the bigger world, and making it better.
One thing cities always need is warm bodies for the watch, right? And Sharn is the biggest city in the world, so a healthy young lad like Gideon can find work there, get some training, get a uniform, some respect, some coin in his pocket, a career. And Gideon, who is a smarter and more stalwart fellow than most, has the intelligence and the disposition to rise rather quickly and receive a bit of training to match his talents.
Meet Gideon, the 1st Level LG Rogue, Junior Inquisitive on the Sharn City Watch. Now, we're not done; that's not the Gideon the players will meet in a few sessions. There's more.
Gideon, being the unyielding LG sort, is not necessarily likely to get on all that well in the Sharn City Watch. No matter how competent he might be, being LG and unbuyable aren't going to endear him to some of the men he has to work with. Eventually, I figure, Gideon, perhaps after gaining a level or two, doing some good work, learning something about the city and the people, helping some folks out...is framed for corruption and tossed off the Watch in disgrace.
So what does Gideon do? He's started to build a life for himself, and the bastards took it away. He was doing good work. He was helping people. Now that's gone.
Or is it? Falling back on his faith, Gideon visits a Temple of the Silver Flame to pray for guidance.
And boy, does he ever get it. Receiving what he believes to be a vision of his future, Gideon sees himself, gleaming silver blade in hand, righteous anger on his face, helping and defending the people of Sharn like he has for the past couple of years, but doing it not just for them, but for the Flame.
Meet Gideon the 2nd Level Rogue/1st Level Paladin of Skyledge Investigations, Independent Inquisitive; people found, crimes investigated, for a reasonable price, barter accepted, payment plans available. Cheaper than Tharashk, less likely to forget about you than the Watch.
Ding! We have an NPC. Let's sketch out his stats:
Gideon's a big strong fellow, and smart and personable. Not the most dextrous or super sturdy. Remember that in my games, I tend to let players have high stats anyway; increases survivability, and besides...heroes are supposed to be exceptional.
Str:16 Dex:12 Con:12 Wis:12 Int:14 Cha:16 (around the # of points I prefer PCs to have in my campaigns- I run a high powered game. Not as high powered as some, mind you).
What feats must he have? Well, definitely Investigate. And probably Knightly Training if we're doing it by the book. Those are his two first-level feats. At third? Silver Smite seems a likely guess, since it's for Silver Flame Paladins, and an extra d6 of damage never hurts.
Skills: I preach maxing out, and I practice it as much as possible. He gets 8 as a rogue, +1 for human, +2 for Int, for a total of 11 maxxed out skills. Search, Sense Motive, Diplomacy, Spot, Listen, Intimidate, and Gather Info are absolute no brainers. Decipher Script is handy- but I don't think it makes sense, so it's out. He has military training from the past, so Ride is good. Knowledge Local, Sharn, only makes sense. Got two more. Hide and Move Silently are very handy, but do they make sense? I imagine Sharn Watch Inquisitives learn how to skulk. I don't think they learn how to open locks or disable devices, however. Gideon is not a dungeoneering rogue.
Okay, now all the math is basically done. How do you flesh it out? What sets him apart? Where might they meet him? Well, in his work, clearly. What does Gideon do to make ends meet when his one-man Inquisitive operation isn't raking in the cash? And, given that he's a Paladin, he isn't going to squeeze people for bills or demand retainer. He'll barter. He'll let them slide. And he'll need some kind of regular work. Not protection racket or strong-arm stuff, obviously, but some basic security work will probably do.
Who might need cheap but reliable security work? Who needs a guy who is untouchable, unbribeable, unflappable, might have a little magic healing on hand, won't steal or harm merchandise or skim cream? Who meets all those requirements and might be palatable to a Paladin who isn't under the watchful eye of a church hierarchy? The average merchant is going to go bargain-basement and figure theft and incompetence are expenses he can write off. The top flight merchants (Dragonmarked Houses) have in-house security. Ditto temples and banks. Who's left?
Did I hear anyone say "modest brothel?"
Think about it. Brothels are legal, for one, so he isn't breaking the law by being there. He's watching over people that probably need some protection, and maybe a little bit of soul-saving, so long as he isn't too obnoxious about it. He isn't going to harm them or steal them or be a pimp. Just sit in the bar with obvious arms and a steely eye for anyone thinking to make trouble.
Plus, I just really want to somehow force the PCs into making a brothel their erstwhile headquarters in Sharn and I'd like them to meet Gideon there. Heck, maybe he'll even have some half-assed crush on one of the girls there...no, I am NOT above a paladin-prostitute romance...and if he becomes the PCs ally, someone can lean on him that way. Why might they need him? Well, see the post on Session III below. They're going to need to investigate the people those statues were headed to, and who knows what else. They'll need someone who knows the city, perhaps someone with the "Investigate" feat, someone who isn't the Watch (the Watch won't touch either of the names the players have) and someone who isn't afraid of the Watch. Maybe someone with a grudge against the Watch.
I'd say Gideon fits that bill. He can also be a foil for the players if someone else hires him to come after them and he thinks the other hire is legit. Then maybe we do the "fought each other but banded together to go after our real enemy" bit. I love that bit. That bit works. It's a classic bit.
Anyway, Gideon can, I believe, do what I want NPCs to do; provide skills or knowledge the party doesn't have, but needs, be a unique and hopefully memorable character for them to meet and get to know and fight beside. And he isn't so powerful that he makes the PCs look silly. I can scale him up or down depending on their level when they meet him. And if he needs to kick a little ass, he'll kick a little ass, without overwhelming the PCs.
As for how I manage my NPCs, I use index cards. They're big enough to fit all the pertinent info on, and I usually try to scribble a quote or two the NPC is prone to using, as well as a descriptive word about their overall appearance, mien, demeanor, or presence. For Gideon; reserved. Calm. Strong. Don't really have a quote yet, but I'm leaning towards, "help you?" spoken neutrally and softly.
Other examples of these adjective/quote combos; Urik Rorham: businesslike. Unruffled. Alert. Quote: Always have two strings for your bow.
Derrin Leyn D'Sivis; cheerful. Nonthreatening. Quote: What service can House Sivis provide today?
Ya'll get the idea, I hope.
So, in an earlier post I promised a good "behind the scenes" glimpse at how I develop and use NPCs. I don't have a clear cut system, but I do try to obey the rules I set out earlier;
Make important NPCs cool and memorable, but not cooler than the PCs. Don't make them significantly more powerful than the PCs if they're going to be involved in combat with them. Don't make them be the hero unless you have to; you want the PCs to be heroes.
So, with those in mind, meet one of my NPCs, and the thought process that went into him. You all know I like to play paladins. And one of the things I like to do with them is strain the limits and boundaries of the class and it's alignment. Everyone tends to think Paladin=mounted holy knight with lance and heavy armor.
Well, what about an urban Paladin? One who does most of his work inside a city. Like, say, Sharn. Not much use for lances and horses on the crowded streets and floating cityscapes of the City of Towers.
Well, an urban paladin would need a different skill set, and a different role. Luckily, the Complete Adventurer has a pair of the best Prestige Classes WoTC has yet devised; the Shadowbane Stalker and Shadowbane Inquisitor. An "urban paladin," probably multiclassed (necessarily if you're going to take one of these PrCs) would feel something like these. So whether the PrC comes into play or not, we'll sort of use one as a goal. Probably the Inquisitor.
So, how do you make a multiclassed paladin/rogue and make it make sense? Well, as I said, I like to have a backstory for my NPCs, and in many cases, an NPC is a germ of an idea for a character I just haven't gotten the chance to play yet. As long as I rein in my desires as a player a bit, I can make him a fine fit for the campaign and a foil/aid/friend/ally/enemy of the PCs.
So, Gideon. Born in Thrane. Son of a Silver Flame clergyman (not necessarily a Cleric, with levels and spellcasting and all that). Rather devout, if not exceptionally (by Thranite standards, anyway). Was in training to head off to war, as were most young men, when the war ended, and his unit was disbanded without ever being activated, but it left him a basic familiarity with weapons, horses, training, etc. Wanted to see the wider world, however, and despite warnings about how it'll corrupt him, he sets off for Sharn, full of thoughts about the bigger world, and making it better.
One thing cities always need is warm bodies for the watch, right? And Sharn is the biggest city in the world, so a healthy young lad like Gideon can find work there, get some training, get a uniform, some respect, some coin in his pocket, a career. And Gideon, who is a smarter and more stalwart fellow than most, has the intelligence and the disposition to rise rather quickly and receive a bit of training to match his talents.
Meet Gideon, the 1st Level LG Rogue, Junior Inquisitive on the Sharn City Watch. Now, we're not done; that's not the Gideon the players will meet in a few sessions. There's more.
Gideon, being the unyielding LG sort, is not necessarily likely to get on all that well in the Sharn City Watch. No matter how competent he might be, being LG and unbuyable aren't going to endear him to some of the men he has to work with. Eventually, I figure, Gideon, perhaps after gaining a level or two, doing some good work, learning something about the city and the people, helping some folks out...is framed for corruption and tossed off the Watch in disgrace.
So what does Gideon do? He's started to build a life for himself, and the bastards took it away. He was doing good work. He was helping people. Now that's gone.
Or is it? Falling back on his faith, Gideon visits a Temple of the Silver Flame to pray for guidance.
And boy, does he ever get it. Receiving what he believes to be a vision of his future, Gideon sees himself, gleaming silver blade in hand, righteous anger on his face, helping and defending the people of Sharn like he has for the past couple of years, but doing it not just for them, but for the Flame.
Meet Gideon the 2nd Level Rogue/1st Level Paladin of Skyledge Investigations, Independent Inquisitive; people found, crimes investigated, for a reasonable price, barter accepted, payment plans available. Cheaper than Tharashk, less likely to forget about you than the Watch.
Ding! We have an NPC. Let's sketch out his stats:
Gideon's a big strong fellow, and smart and personable. Not the most dextrous or super sturdy. Remember that in my games, I tend to let players have high stats anyway; increases survivability, and besides...heroes are supposed to be exceptional.
Str:16 Dex:12 Con:12 Wis:12 Int:14 Cha:16 (around the # of points I prefer PCs to have in my campaigns- I run a high powered game. Not as high powered as some, mind you).
What feats must he have? Well, definitely Investigate. And probably Knightly Training if we're doing it by the book. Those are his two first-level feats. At third? Silver Smite seems a likely guess, since it's for Silver Flame Paladins, and an extra d6 of damage never hurts.
Skills: I preach maxing out, and I practice it as much as possible. He gets 8 as a rogue, +1 for human, +2 for Int, for a total of 11 maxxed out skills. Search, Sense Motive, Diplomacy, Spot, Listen, Intimidate, and Gather Info are absolute no brainers. Decipher Script is handy- but I don't think it makes sense, so it's out. He has military training from the past, so Ride is good. Knowledge Local, Sharn, only makes sense. Got two more. Hide and Move Silently are very handy, but do they make sense? I imagine Sharn Watch Inquisitives learn how to skulk. I don't think they learn how to open locks or disable devices, however. Gideon is not a dungeoneering rogue.
Okay, now all the math is basically done. How do you flesh it out? What sets him apart? Where might they meet him? Well, in his work, clearly. What does Gideon do to make ends meet when his one-man Inquisitive operation isn't raking in the cash? And, given that he's a Paladin, he isn't going to squeeze people for bills or demand retainer. He'll barter. He'll let them slide. And he'll need some kind of regular work. Not protection racket or strong-arm stuff, obviously, but some basic security work will probably do.
Who might need cheap but reliable security work? Who needs a guy who is untouchable, unbribeable, unflappable, might have a little magic healing on hand, won't steal or harm merchandise or skim cream? Who meets all those requirements and might be palatable to a Paladin who isn't under the watchful eye of a church hierarchy? The average merchant is going to go bargain-basement and figure theft and incompetence are expenses he can write off. The top flight merchants (Dragonmarked Houses) have in-house security. Ditto temples and banks. Who's left?
Did I hear anyone say "modest brothel?"
Think about it. Brothels are legal, for one, so he isn't breaking the law by being there. He's watching over people that probably need some protection, and maybe a little bit of soul-saving, so long as he isn't too obnoxious about it. He isn't going to harm them or steal them or be a pimp. Just sit in the bar with obvious arms and a steely eye for anyone thinking to make trouble.
Plus, I just really want to somehow force the PCs into making a brothel their erstwhile headquarters in Sharn and I'd like them to meet Gideon there. Heck, maybe he'll even have some half-assed crush on one of the girls there...no, I am NOT above a paladin-prostitute romance...and if he becomes the PCs ally, someone can lean on him that way. Why might they need him? Well, see the post on Session III below. They're going to need to investigate the people those statues were headed to, and who knows what else. They'll need someone who knows the city, perhaps someone with the "Investigate" feat, someone who isn't the Watch (the Watch won't touch either of the names the players have) and someone who isn't afraid of the Watch. Maybe someone with a grudge against the Watch.
I'd say Gideon fits that bill. He can also be a foil for the players if someone else hires him to come after them and he thinks the other hire is legit. Then maybe we do the "fought each other but banded together to go after our real enemy" bit. I love that bit. That bit works. It's a classic bit.
Anyway, Gideon can, I believe, do what I want NPCs to do; provide skills or knowledge the party doesn't have, but needs, be a unique and hopefully memorable character for them to meet and get to know and fight beside. And he isn't so powerful that he makes the PCs look silly. I can scale him up or down depending on their level when they meet him. And if he needs to kick a little ass, he'll kick a little ass, without overwhelming the PCs.
As for how I manage my NPCs, I use index cards. They're big enough to fit all the pertinent info on, and I usually try to scribble a quote or two the NPC is prone to using, as well as a descriptive word about their overall appearance, mien, demeanor, or presence. For Gideon; reserved. Calm. Strong. Don't really have a quote yet, but I'm leaning towards, "help you?" spoken neutrally and softly.
Other examples of these adjective/quote combos; Urik Rorham: businesslike. Unruffled. Alert. Quote: Always have two strings for your bow.
Derrin Leyn D'Sivis; cheerful. Nonthreatening. Quote: What service can House Sivis provide today?
Ya'll get the idea, I hope.
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