Cormyr Campaign Update or When Actions Have Consequences

So, when you're running a sandbox style game as opposed to a railroad adventure, one of the big things that sets it apart is the fact that your PC's actions will have consequences.  This is all too often forgotten in the sandbox game.  Because unlike a railroad adventure where the PCs will always pop into the room with the evil mage right smack in the middle of sacrificing the virgin, the sandbox is a different animal altogether.  In the sandbox, you have a world, full of NPCs and villains and what all and they all have their own plots, schemes and motivations, and shit is happening in the background.  Sometimes it's major world changing shit, and sometimes it's not so grand, but the point is, when your PCs act, or DON'T act, their should be consequences and those consequences should affect them.

 

If you have been following my Cormyr Campaign series of blog posts, you probably recall that in the first session, the party had an opportunity to find a pretty powerful artifact (although they didn't know it at the time, of course.)  Unfortunately for them, they botched this effort and were sent on a wild goose chase through the Stonelands outside of Tilverton.  In the time it took them to make their way back into the city (after discovering that their original retainer was basically a bad guy) a lot of shit went down. 

 

So, in sum, they made their way through the goblin smuggling tunnels from the Stonelands back to the sewers of Tilverton.  Cleverly disguised as bandits with a passphrase to get into the thieves guild controlled sewer system which they retained from a bandit encounter, they were ready to get back into the fray and find this thing before it fell into the wrong hands.  They were too late.  Instead of tracking down this thing (which they learned a little about while in the Stonelands), they were greeted by undead...who were multiplying rapidly.

 

After an encounter with a Purple Dragon patrol in the sewers, they discovered several things had happened in their absence.  First, all of the priests from the friendly temples in Tilverton had been murdered almost simultaneously.  The undead had begun ravaging the sewers and some were making their way to the city streets as well.  The Purple Dragons had uncovered that the ancient crypts, sealed up long ago, had been breached from the inside.  Something blew the seal open, and it was believed the source of this chaos, whatever it was, was stemming from somewhere within the crypt.

 

So, this now leaderless Purple Dragon patrol (their sergeant killed earlier by said undead) were commanded by one of the PC's (a hedge knight in Cormyr) to accompany the party into these crypts to investigate.  Along the way, the party discovered a secret temple devoted to Myrkul within the crypts with lots of evil necromancer types, a few undead, and a group of stone guardian golems (which almost resulted in a TPK.)  As the session ended, they were spending time resting and recouping in the crypts attempting to gain some strength (and lost hit points) before pressing forward.  Their resources nearly depleted (most spells cast, hit points low, etc.), they now face the dilemma of spending valuable time restoring resources or pressing forward.  They choose to restore their resources.  Again, this action has consequences.  One they'll discover in the next session in the form of a 7 hit dice abomination summoned from the Abyss.  

 

Shit has hit the fan in Tilverton, and the more the PCs delay, the closer they come to losing the city.  Because their actions have consequences. 

Hex Map of The Stonelands

Click image to enlarge

Above is my hexographed version of The Stonelands area of Cormyr for my current Cormyr campaign.  I used the free hex mapper at http://hexographer.com and imported a map I got from Candlekeep of the area to trace over.  Each hex = 6 miles.  The red trail there is a tunnel leading into the Tilverton sewer system from the Stonelands area, which is what my players are currently looking for right now in the game.  I plotted this map out because I imagine they'll be spending a great deal of time in this area over the next few sessions.  Currently I'm working on keying up the important areas on the map.  Although I've played with hexographer here and there, this was the first time I've ever used it to trace a map.  Hexographer is a great tool, although a bit cumbersome to use until you get used to it.  I'm not telling most of you anything new, most likely, as many of you are already very familiar with the program.  I mainly wanted a hex version of this map so I could key up interesting points and keep track of their progress through the area.  There's nothing quite like some good old wilderness hex crawling.

Making Zero Level Villains that Can Terrorize the Party

I posted a campaign summary of the first session of my Cormyr campaign a week ago or so. If you read that post, you are probably already somewhat familiar with Lasander Highmoon, the NPC that hired the party to retrieve his supposed "stolen merchant wares" from the Rogues of Tilverton. Highmoon introduced himself to the party as a merchant from Arabel and proprietor of the Red Sun Trading Coster.

Some simple investigating from the party would have revealed much about Highmoon, had they not been so impulsive (or greedy.) For one, Highmoon seemed to know a lot about Tilverton, and more importantly the thieves guild therein. He knew a lot about the intricate sewer network the rogues use to smuggle goods, the black market in the sewers, and he even knew where his goods were being kept and the main access points to get into the place. In other words, he knew a hell of a lot more about this city than any simple merchant from another city should know.

The PC's never bothered to talk to any other locals about Highmoon. They never asked any questions of the man. Some of the locals likely would have pointed out that Highmoon is, in fact, a local of Tilverton. They also never checked into this supposed merchant company he owns. A quick public record search would have revealed there is no merchant company called "Red Sun Trading Coster" in Cormyr.

The PC's were rather curious at the large sum of money they were to receive for retrieving the goods (1,000 gp), but their lust for money overcame their sense of curiosity, and thus they attempted to raid the warehouse that very night, which was a botched effort entirely.

So, who is Lasander Highmoon really? He is a pawn himself, but a smart one. He serves a death cult devoted to the dead god Myrkul, who operates out of the sealed off crypts underneath the city of Tilverton. What exactly is in those crates that were stolen? A piece of an ancient evil artifact called the Crown of Horns, which contains the essence of Myrkul within. I'll go into more detail about this item in a later post.

Highmoon is a zero level NPC, and one whom will likely be a focus of the party's attention when they finally figure out what he's up to (if they do find out anyway.)
As I know they'll meta-game the hell out of this guy once they figure some things out, I imagine they'll likely be terrified to confront him for fear that he is some evil high level cleric capable of obliterating them at lower levels. He, of course, could do no such thing, and were the party to search him out and manage to confront him, they'd slay him rather easily, but they won't do that...not for a while at least because they will dwell in terror of this NPC.

A zero level NPC, with the proper backing and means, can become a true horror in the eyes of your players, and especially when they don't know that he's just a common man. Villains in the campaign are supposed to be crafty and cunning, and they don't have to be of a high level to terrorize your party. With the proper motivation and means, even a common man can be a threat to a group of adventurers.

Cormyr Campaign: Session 1

As I have mentioned in previous posts, this past Friday I finally got the chance to sit around the table to play some AD&D with my old gaming buddies for the first time in many years.  We ran 2e, but more or less I run a hybrid of 1e and 2e.  The campaign is set in the Forgotten Realms in the northeastern part of Cormyr in a city called Tilverton.  I chose this spot because it sits along the border of the kingdom and for all intents and purposes is still very much a frontier town in an otherwise stable kingdom.

 

Some Realms purists may note I took a bit of liberty with the NPCs and factions here in order to make things more intriguing for my players.  For example, Tilverton is the only major city in Cormyr with a thieve's guild inside its walls.  The Purple Dragons have a garrison 850 men strong (considerably high for most cities and towns in the kingdom) in order to quell raids by the "border raiders" in the Stonelands region adjacent to the city.  The Stonelands themselves are an area rife with goblins, orcs, ogres, and brigands, not to mention the Zhentarim, so a strong military presence is required in order to keep the peace in the region.  As such, the posting here by a Purple Dragon soldier is a very dangerous one compared to most other postings in the kingdom.  So, I decided to add a bit of a twist here with many of the Purple Dragon soldiers, including the garrison commander, being "on the take" from the thieve's guild, aka the Rogues of Tilverton.  The Rogues provide the soldiers with a little extra money on the side to turn a blind eye to their underground actvities, of which there are many.  The logic behind this being, due to the danger of the posting at this garrison, many of the soldiers feel they deserve a little something "extra" to compensate for putting their necks on the line in a region filled with danger and strife.  Of course, when the game begins, the players don't know this.

 

Cast of characters:

 

Sir Bryndan Lowman of White Forks - Human, Fighter, 1st level.  A hedge knight from the nation of Cormyr.  His family squandered away all of his lands and holdings so all he has left is his title.

Kylar - Elf, Ranger, 1st level

Clangar - Dwarf, Fighter/Cleric, 1st level

Maverick - Half-elf, Thief, 1st level

Solaris - Elf, Thief/Mage, 1st level

Myst - Human female, Mage, 1st level

Sylana - Human, female, Bard, 1st level

 

 

Session 1 Summary:

 

The PC's enter the city, and are directed by the Purple Dragon soldiers at the gate that the best inn in town is Grimwald's Revenge in the oldtown section.  The PC's one by one made their way to the inn.  The patrons in the inn don't look to be travelers at all, and seem to be a bit on the shady side.  They PC's pay for their rooms and sit down to enjoy some dinner when one of the men in the inn approaches them each individually asking them if they want to play in a card game with he and two of his friends.  Solaris, Kylar, and Sylana accepted the offer to play, while the others chose not to.  The other PC's who did not play in the card game, received some free ale courtesy of a strange man in the corner of the inn.  The PC's who were not playing, go over to talk to the gentleman kind enough to buy them a drink. 

 

During the game, Sylana, the bard, attempted to cheat using a sleight of hand cantrip, and was caught, which caused quite a ruckus.  The local and his two friends stood up, along with just about everyone else in the inn, expecting a fight.  They put their hands to their daggers, but the bard, who did not win the game despite cheating, managed to talk her way out of a fight.  After the game, each of the party members ended up sitting together with the strange man in the corner of the inn.

 

The man introduced himself as Lasander Highmoon of Arabel, and owner of the Red Sun Trading Coster.  He tells the party that Grimwald's Revenge is not safe, and that they should seek out another inn in town called the Whispering Witch.  He agrees to meet them there after one hour.  One by one, the PCs slowly filter out of Grimwald's met with stares by the locals in the inn.  After a while, they all meet up at the Whispering Witch where Highmoon tells them Grimwald's Revenge is actually a front, and is in truth the headquarters of the Rogues of Tilverton.  The Rogues pay the Purple Dragons working the gates to send any adventurers and mercenaries they see entering the town to the inn.  This allows the Rogues to measure up any threats, and deal with them if need be.

 

Highmoon goes on to tell the party that he was on a journey from Arabel to the Moonseas with his wares when he was met upon the road by brigands who stole his goods.  These brigands were actually members of the Rogues, he later found out, and after some information gathering, he was able to determine that the Rogues had his wares in an abandoned warehouse in the city.  He is willing to pay the party 1,000 gold pieces (Gold Lions) to retrieve his wares from the warehouse.

 

The party, seeing an opportunity to make a good amount of coin, agree to the mission.  Highmoon takes them into the city and shows them the warehouse, which appears to be completely abandoned and boarded up from the outside.  Some of the party members pay attention to the area trying to spot guards or spotters for the Rogues, of which they find none.  Highmoon tells the party there are three ways into the building; the front door, a sewer access route which the Rogues use to transport their stolen goods and sell them in the sewers in the black market, and a small access door on the roof of the structure.

 

After discreetly casing the warehouse, they all go back to the Whispering Witch Inn to formulate a plan.  Solaris, however, stays behind to further case out and investigate the warehouse.  After deciding on a plan (or not deciding as it were), the party came back to the warehouse.  At this point, Maverick, using his infravision, was able to spot a figure on top of the warehouse, but could not make out any details.  This figure was Solaris, who was now on the roof.  Solaris dropped a rope down the side of the warehouse in an alley so the party could ascend to the roof.  Maverick sees the rope, but no one else in the party was able to notice.  Maverick decided not to pass this information onto the party.  Instead, they go to the front door of the warehouse, and attempt to listen in.  They hear nothing, and after a few moments, Maverick rattles the doors gently and whispers.  He does this several times, until finally he hears footsteps inside the warehouse approaching the door.

 

Kylar, standing back with his bow ready, notices a small slot open in the window adjacent to the door, and after a few seconds it closes again.  In the meantime, Solaris, thinking the rest of the party is coming up the rope to back him up, decides to open the access door on the roof.  In doing so, he is unable to avoid the door squeaking, and he opens it to find 5 men sitting around a table in a room below.  Hearing the door open they look up, but are caught off guard.  Solaris casts a sleep spell knocking out 4 of them.  The other, a mage, attempts to cast a sleep spell on Solaris, not realizing he is an elf.  Solaris resists the sleep spell and tumbles into the room.  The mage wins the initiative, and attempts to cast a spook spell on Solaris, which again fails.  Solaris misses his attacks the next round, and the mage turns to run away.  He manages to get away, and Solaris slits the throats of the other 4 men in the room.

 

Meanwhile, down at the front door, Clangar and Bryndan decide to bash the hinges off the door.  Clangar was successful in doing this, bringing the door halfway from the door frame.  He ripped the rest of the door down, and the group entered a long horizontal hallway.  Back inside the warehouse, Solaris is finishing off the last of the 4 he put to sleep when the mage returns, this time with 2 of his friends armed with crossbows.  Solaris attempts an escape up the ladder to the access door, but the men fire shots from their crossbows.  The bolts are laced with poison, and Solaris fails his saving throw, and falls unconscious.

 

After ripping to door down at the front of the warehouse, the rest of the party suddenly hears a bell ringing within the warehouse, and decide to retreat back to the inn.  They arrive back at the inn to find Highmoon, stunned to see them back so soon, and of course, without his wares in tow.  He tells the party that the Rogues will most certainly be moving the stolen goods in the warehouse through the sewers and into the black market after this botched attempt to raid the place.  The party, fearing to traverse the complex network of tunnels in the sewers instead learn from Highmoon that there is an access tunnel from the Stonelands that leads into the sewers underneath the city.  This tunnel is used to transport stolen goods from the black market by the goblins and border raiders in the Stonelands.  Not knowing where this tunnel is, the party decides to go into the Stonelands to find the tunnel and attempt to take back the wares.

 

Meanwhile, after a bit, Solaris wakes up to find himself bound in a chair with 3 men in the room, one standing directly behind him.  One of the men, apparently senior to the other 2, begins to interrogate Solaris.  Solaris attempts to convince them that he was working alone, and was trying to display his worth in an attempt to join the guild, to which the interrogator scoffs.  He knocks Solaris back out and orders him thrown into a cell.

 

Highmoon sneaks the rest of the party out of the city in the back of a cart, and tells them he will meet them in a small village south of Tilverton in one week.  If they fail to bring the wares in one week, the deal is off, and he will have to move on to other options.  That night, the party entered the Stonelands and set up camp.  The next day after essentially walking aimlessly in the Stonelands for half a day, Kylar scouts ahead and discovers a trail with recent wagon tracks leading west away from the direction of the city.  The party decides to follow this trail for a while with Kylar scouting ahead.  After some time, Kylar discovers a goblin ambush party situated near the road ahead and reports this back to the party.  The party engages the band of 6 goblins and defeats them.  Myst managed to put 3 of the goblins to sleep with a color spray spell, and after the battle, Maverick slits the throats of the 3 remaining goblins.  It was here that we ended our first session.

 

Reflections on the first session:

 

I noticed several things the party did wrong, specifically Maverick, which did not make sense to me.  Upon the initial raid on the warehouse, he saw the rope come down, and chose not to investigate or even tell anyone else in the party.  He was simply metagaming because he knew out of character that it was Solaris that dropped the rope.  Why he chose to ignore this, is beyond me.  The next gaffe came on the goblin ambush in the Stonelands, which was really nothing more than a random encounter.  The party knew that goblins used the tunnel access point to get into the sewers, but they had no idea where the tunnel was or how to find it.  One would think it a good idea to capture and question one of the goblins they had managed to put to sleep.  Instead, Maverick chose to slit their throats.  So, now when we pick back up, they will still be roaming around in the Stonelands, which are vast, looking for a tunnel in which they haven't the slightest clue where it might be and is likely hidden from plain view anyway.

 

It was an odd session to say the least.  I was expecting an extreme manner of caution when approaching the warehouse and they all were fairly careful in how they approached the situation.  I touched upon this in my previous post, Why Not 4th Edition, but a major difference in that game and old school DnD is game balance.  In 4th edition, the players know that whatever challenge they face, they have an opportunity to defeat the enemy, succeed in their skill challenges, and effectively "win" the scenario.  In old school DnD, that is not always the case, and most of my players know this because most of them (with the exception of Maverick, Myst, and Solaris) have been playing old school DnD for years.  In old school DnD, you can't simply bust in the front door and expect to win every fight, because you never know what's on the other side of that door.  After breaking the door down, and hearing the warning bells, one of the veteran players immediately yelled out to run.  Knowing when to run is just as important as knowing when to fight in old school DnD.  After the botched raid, they were all commenting on how epic of a fail it was, while I simply reassured them, no, you're still alive.

 

It was still a lot of fun to sit around the table again. The players were really into it, although they obviously had some tactical issues with raiding the warehouse. Most of all I noticed no one really seemed to want to take charge, and make a decision the party could agree with. Still yet, we are planning on playing again next month, so I look forward to playing and updating on their antics.

My Favorite Dice

The polyhedral dice set is the gamer's talisman. These dice are the way by which we identify ourselves with our characters. They serve as the physical link to the fictitious figments of our unbridled imaginations. For most of us in the hobby, our dice become as integral to the game as we are. We wait to hear the DM utter, "roll to hit" or "give me a saving throw vs spells" so we may pick up that favorite d20, roll it between our palms, and cast it on the table as if it were some sort of ancient rune. We live for those moments, watching intently as that die rolls across the surface of the table to land on that all important number, because we know more than one character's fate has been decided by the roll of a single die.

For nearly two decades I have relied upon a single set of 7 dice, which I call affectionately "the blues" not only for their sky blue color, but also because of the many cases of the blues they have set upon me. Of course, the great times have been better than the bad with these dice.

The Blues

I've lost some along the way as gamers are wont to misplace these things. They've rolled mysteriously under a couch or fridge, only to be found and returned to me much later, either by myself, or one of my friends. These dice have stuck with me as I have stuck with them over the years, and no matter what, they always make their way back to me. Odd as it seems, it's the truth.

I recall several years back, when I had convinced myself I'd probably never play DnD again, and I donated my library of DnD material, I picked up those dice in their little black dice bag. I contemplated tossing them in with the things I was giving away, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I tucked them neatly away in my desk drawer. Later, when I came back to the game, there they were, waiting patiently for my return.

I have recently ordered a new set of dice, sky blue with white hand-painted numbers, the dice are from Gamescience and should be arriving soon. Still, as balanced and amazing as the gamescience dice may be, I don't think they'll ever replace my "blues."

These may seem the ravings of a mad man, and maybe I am a little strange for having such an attachment to a few dice. If that is the case, then so be it. Certainly I can't be the only gamer out there who has a favorite set of dice he/she has retained over the years. I hope I'm not anyway.

The Northlands and Beyond Campaign: Meet the Players

First, let me say that none of my players know about my blog here, although I'm sure they will eventually find out.  I didn't tell them about it intentionally, as I plan to use this blog to discuss and share opinions and tips on game mastering.  As such, game plots about my campaign tend to be revealed here or there, so I thought it best to keep them out of the loop about Black Hole Diaries, at least for now.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, we currently play in a play-by-post game using AD&D 2e rules set in the Forgotten Realms.  Of course, it doesn't beat playing at the table, but considering it's the first time all of us have been able to play DnD together as a group for nearly a decade now, it works out quite well for us.  I detailed how I have made it work for us to be as close a simulation of the table top experience in another post, so go take a look if you haven't already, and you're interested in exploring the play-by-post method.

Since I plan on discussing my adventure quite a bit on this blog, I thought it best to introduce those curious enough to read all this to some of the players in the game.  I've known some of these guys for over 20 years.  We have a great cohesion together, because we've been playing so long.  While that sounds good, and overall I suppose the pros outweigh the cons in that regard, it can be terribly difficult to design a game that can be both surprising and enjoyable because they have seen and done it all.  They know my style as a DM, and I know their styles as players.  Fortunately, they are all very talented gamers.

Here they are.  The cast of the Northlands and Beyond.

Chris - I've known Chris for 26 years.  We have been best friends our entire lives, and truly he is more like a brother to me than just a friend.  Then again, the same can be said about all the guys in the group.  Chris has a very eclectic taste when it comes to DnD.  He doesn't tend to favor any one particular class or race.  He's often careful in how he approaches a situation, taking the time to assess as thoroughly as he can.  He tends to play this way due to past games where he has been tasked with accomplishing something major for the party, and being unable to get it done.  This stems mainly from poor dice rolls rather than bad play on his part.  He is the king of the "fumble."  The joke in our group is never tell him "all you have to do to hit is NOT roll a 1," as this is often the kiss of death.  Truly, he has fumbled more times in critical situations in previous games than I can even recall.  His character in our current game Xilus, a Fighter/Mage/Thief half-elf from the village of Conyberry just south of the Neverwinter Wood.  Yes, a Fighter/Mage/Thief.  I told you he was eclectic.

Ron - Throughout most of our time playing DnD as a group, Ron has always been the primary DM.  His imagination is unreal.  He has crafted brilliant home brew worlds, and some of the most brilliant adventures one could imagine.  He doesn't use modules, preferring to run his own adventures, and honestly, they are better than any module you could pick up.  I say this having experienced some module gaming, and also running characters in his games.  There is no comparison.  Why he isn't working for WotC or some other gaming company is beyond me at this point.  He lives far from us all now, which makes getting together to play at the table impossible, so the play-by-post works perfectly.  In fact, he's created his own system of rules which he's been using to run his own games for over a decade now.  As to his style of play, he tends to put a lot into his characters.  He likes to flesh out a great background for them, and make them a little different from the rest.  The brilliant thing about this is the fact that he can turn the basic race/class combination from the PHB into something unique without having to devote it to kits and the like.  His current character, Bazhur, is a Ranger/Thief from Calimshan.  He's stuck in the northlands by accident pretty much, his ship having crashed ashore there.  He is in search of his wife and child, who were taken by slavers some time ago.  Readers might recall a recent post in which I pointed out how he played a rather remarkable heroic situation for a 1st level character.  Give it a read if you haven't already.

Billy F. - I've known Billy F. for about 17 years.  He and I tend to get pretty crazy when we get together if there's alcohol involved, which we do pretty routinely.  He's a funny guy with a sharp wit.  In DnD, he generally tends to play the warrior type.  I can't recall an instance where he ever played a mage, in fact.  Most of his time has been devoted to playing melee fighters.  He decided to try something new in this game, and play a Paladin.  He chose this, I imagine, because he knows that often in games I run, it becomes nearly impossible to play the Paladin class.  I wouldn't say I am necessarily strict on how I look at the Paladin class, however there are certain benefits derived from the class, and it is one of the few classes in the PHB that must stick to a straight and narrow line in terms of alignment and the like.  I simply hold players to those terms, which in an adventuring party full of different alignments and classes, often results in a challenge.  It's been pretty interesting thus far, because his presence in the party creates a great dynamic in how they work to accomplish certain goals.  Oftentimes, they work behind his back to achieve an end, not because they are doing something evil, but because he simply would not allow it if he knew about it due to the lawful good alignment.  So far, he has done a good job playing the character although I have often questioned if he's really having fun with it, because it is such a departure from what he's typically used to running.  His character, Davrun, is a human Paladin of Ilmater.

Rouse - Rouse was a latecomer to our group about 15 years ago.  He's currently in the military and deployed, so I've been running his character as an NPC for quite some time.  Rouse tends to play the lawful good type in just about every game.  He loves the Paladin class, but I have sort of broken him from this in the past.  We played a one-on-one campaign for about a year in which he played a Paladin that nearly lost his Paladinhood.  He generally tends to play the same way with all his characters.  I can't think of a time that he's ever played anything but a Paladin or Cleric.  In our game, in fact, he's playing a human Cleric of Torm named Stanley.

Billy C. - Billy C. is a large man.  He's a very heavy guy with a heart just as big.  Truly, he's one of the nicest people I've ever had a privilege to know.  His tastes are eclectic as well when it comes to DnD.  He has played everything from the large melee warrior, to a devious female thief.  He enjoys intrigue and shady plots in the background, and working to expose them.  He's also prone to going his own way to look for things when the rest of the party is focused on something else entirely.  Sometimes this is rewarding, and other times this has proven to be disastrous for the party in other games.  One of the most dreaded things to hear at the gaming table is Billy C. saying "I'm opening the door."  He is a good player, however, and his risk/reward style is always something I have to prep for well as a DM.  He is Murphy's Law epitomized at the gaming table.  If you suspect the party is going to do one thing in an encounter, you can pretty much count on Billy C. doing something entirely different.  No matter how much I prepare to plan with him in mind, it never matters though.  He always catches me off guard with his antics.  Currently in our game he's playing a half-elf Bard named Flute.  His main goal being to write tales and sing songs of the party's exploits wherever they go.  Currently, he's recovering from an attack from a doppleganger, which nearly cost his character his life.  Another instance of his inquisitive nature almost getting the best of him, and the party for that matter.  Yet, were it not for his prying, the doppleganger would have likely inflicted even more damage on the party as a whole.

Paul - Paul is currently in the Navy and is deployed at sea.  He also tends to be careful in how he handles situations.  He rarely takes the lead, but often works in the background with his characters to achieve his own ends.  He has a tendency to play the thief in our games.  He enjoys slinking about, hiding in shadows and sneaking up on opponents.  Much like Billy C., he also relishes in intrigue and the like, and he's prone to go against the grain, although not to the extent of Billy C.  He's a good player, and his ideas and input on certain situations have saved the party on more than one occasion.  His current character is a human thief named Rabe Branty.

There you have it; the cast of The Northlands and Beyond campaign.  Now, that I've taken the time to introduce you to them and their characters, some of my posts about the campaign will make more sense.  If you're interested in reading up on the campaign, take a look at our Obsidian Portal page, which we update regularly.  Check out the Adventure Log there as well.  Several of the players are using the Adventure Log to post entries from their own characters' perspectives, and some of them have been very awesome. 

Heroic Moments Create Great Memories

If there's one thing the OSR community, and RPG gamers in general, love to do, it's reminisce about their characters' most heroic efforts.  My friends and I do it as well.  We often speak about some of our greatest moments in DnD with such vigor and enthusiasm that if a listener didn't know any better, they would think we were actually there ourselves, swinging an axe taking down a goblin horde, or locked in a battle of wills with a beholder in his lair.  My friends and I have made many such memories over the years, as most gamers do.  Last night, we made another one.  One that will be told around many campfires for years to come on those chilly autumn nights.

First allow me to set this up a bit.  I promise there won't be too much exposition, but I feel some is necessary to get the full effect of the scenario.  This particular heroic effort occurred in our play by post game.  A 2nd edition AD&D game set in Forgotten Realms.  The party was originally sent out on a mission to find a group of bandits attacking traveling merchants on the High Road between Neverwinter and Waterdeep.  They soon discovered, through a series of incidents and encounters, that these weren't just bandit raids, but rather part of a large, elaborate plot involving the Arcane Brotherhood of Luskan, bitter enemies of Neverwinter, and the Eldreth Veluuthra, an ancient elven organization bent on  the elimination of all humans and half-elves from Toril.

So, the main "villain" in this particular adventure has been a 3rd level elf fighter.  He's not exceptionally well armed, being only 3rd level, of course, but he's been able to outwit and remain a step ahead of the party for essentially the entire adventure up until last night.  The party had managed to track him down to a small village south of the Neverwinter Wood where after much difficulty they finally managed to capture him.  He was to be executed per the law in the village for his crimes (considering the party contains a few lawful good types.)

Well, the elf had concocted an escape scheme with several of the "chaotic" members of the party.  The plan being that he would give them all sorts of information that would guide them to the bigger picture of this whole nasty plot to take down Neverwinter, if they simply released him under the guise of an escape.  The party agreed, however, also consorted behind his back to double cross and kill him after gaining the information they needed.

The elf played on the emotions of one particular character in this group, a thief, who was supposed to be in on the plan to double cross him.  Instead, the thief decided he would actually try to help the elf escape with his life, essentially double crossing his own friends in the process, but in such a way as to make it seem the elf actually did escape.

So, the plan was set into motion.  The ranger stood guard outside the stable where the elf was being held captive, the thief would question the elf in the stable (and subsequently release him), and the fighter/mage would stand outside awaiting the elf to flee where he would pop him with a few arrows.

So, the thief obtained the information from the elf, and cut his bonds.  He then cut his own arm with his dagger, gave the dagger to the elf, and released two horses, slapping them on the rear, causing them to bolt out of the stable.  The elf then ran to the back of the stable and hid in a stack of hay amidst the confusion.  The ranger had to duck out of the way to avoid being trampled while the fighter/mage watched on in disbelief from his vantage point outside.  The thief ran out holding his arm saying the elf had donned his magical cloak, which rendered him invisible (a lie), and was headed to the inn to take out one of his rescued prisoners who was now recuperating.

The fighter/mage fired a few arrows at the horses to ensure the elf wasn't riding on one of their backs while being "invisible."  He then went with the thief to the inn.  The ranger, played by my friend Ron, who also happens to be one of the best DM's I've ever had the privilege to play under through the years, watched the thief and the fighter/mage run into the inn.  He then used his tracking to find a set of tracks leading to the back of the barn.  And so our heroic moment begins.

The ranger, whose name is Bazhur, closed the stable doors, but did not lock them.  He then drew his weapons and stood in the center of the stable and issued a challenge to the still hidden elf.  This is what he wrote:

Bazhur smiles to himself, closing the doors to the stables (if there are any) and drawing his blade and axe.

"Did you know, elf, that in my land even the condemned are shown hospitality? The flesh may commit sins, yes, sadiiq. But the soul will one day return to the world; perhaps even into the body of a loved one, ally, or friend. Because of this, one must show generosity, even to one's enemies. It is why I gave you water, even though my blades were ever more thirsty for your blood."

He stands near the center of the stables.

"You have but to slay me to gain your freedom. I will not call out for the others, elf. If you slay me, you may easily don my cloak and escape unseen from this town. These men will not be able to track you without my aid. Slay your last human this day, and know freedom once more."

After a few moments the elf stepped out of the back of the stables, and approached Bazhur.  The ranger even retrieved the elf's sword, a magical long sword, and gave it to his opponent.  We had some out of character discussion and Ron knew he was greatly outmatched in this combat.  The elf was of a higher level with a magical blade, and was an incredibly cunning warrior.

Despite the fact that he knew as a player he was out matched for a one-on-one combat with no assistance, he stood his ground, because that's what heroes do.  The next few moments will live on in gaming infamy for our group forever.  I had already decided the elf's actions would be to simply use his tumbling ability, making him practically impossible to hit for Bazhur, leap over the ranger, and exit out of the unlocked stable door and flee.

We rolled initiative and Bazhur won the round.  He took his first swing.  20.  Critical hit dealing double damage.  In the first strike of the game, Bazhur hit him for 12 damage (of which the elf only had 17 hit points).  The elf, crippled by the critical hit, was unable to tumble effectively, and because he had chosen to tumble (giving up combat for the round), Bazhur could roll the rest of his attacks.  19.  He dealt 5 damage with his shortsword and the battle was over.  The elf fell to the ground, not having inflicted a single wound to his opponent.

Bazhur then approached the dying elf and asked him where he wanted to be taken to be buried. In his dying breath, the elf muttered "Evermeet," and Bazhur vowed to ensure he would have the proper funeral of an elven warrior.

We were both in shock at how the dice rolls went and sat in amazement at the pure epicness of the encounter.  The elf, who had plagued the party for months of playing time, was taken down in one of the greatest combats I've ever rolled as a DM.  Once the rest of the party figured out what happened, they were in utter disbelief as well. 


Heroic moments create great memories.  Ron put his 1st level ranger against a cunning and more experienced foe in one brilliant display of heroism, and overcame the odds.  That's what true gamers do.  Sometimes you lose, but when you win, it creates memories that can last a lifetime.  In my opinion, this is what makes old school gaming so great.  Or maybe I'm taking a game a little too seriously?   Nahh.

Why I Love the Forgotten Realms Setting

Yes, I'm sure most of you are cringing at reading the post title.  Let me be clear about something; I am a fan of the Forgotten Realms setting up to, and only shortly after, the 1993 boxed set was released.  I am not a fan of the current 4e incarnation since I'm hardly familiar with it, or the 4e system for that matter, at all.  That said, I know that within the particular hard core circles of the OSR community, the Forgotten Realms setting is maligned as it signified a step away from the niche Gygaxian hobby, and a move towards commercialism and mass-market appeal.  Perhaps I was just a young, impreshionable teenager, and hence a prime example of how their "mass market appeal" worked.  I'd like to think it was more than that though, and after having read through my old 1993 boxed setting again, I'm pretty sure it was.

The great thing about the Realms back then was the rich and varied detail in the setting.  It was very much a high fantasy setting full of magic and wonder populated by varying countries, NPC's, and creatures galore.  Within the sourcebooks, there was just enough detail about each region to give a DM an idea on how to incorporate those areas into his/her game.  The maps were all fantastic and wonderfully rendered with plenty of space in certain areas for the DM to incorporate elements of his own creation into the Realms seamlessly. 

I understand there were a great many products released for the Realms, and a great many of them were crap.  TSR, and later WotC, was able to use the Realms as a platform for their product because of the mass appeal of a lot of their novels.  As a result, many of the books and supplements were absolute garbage.  I know because I threw away many a dollar on their shrinkwrapped splatbooks and modules, only to open them and discover the content within practically useless.  Still yet, overall the Forgotten Realms of that era was the most rich high fantasy setting out there.  If there was a sourcebook I didn't like, I simply didn't incorporate its contents into my game.

It's sort of funny in hindsight, because I was never a huge Ed Greenwood fan.  I never could get into his novels, and felt he focused way too much time doting on Elminster's awesomeness in his writings on the Realms; something that made me throw up a little each time I saw an instance of it.  Then again, I was a Drizzt fanboy as well, which is something else that will likely make many readers from the old school cringe.  Sorry, I thought he was a great character and I like RA Salvatore's books.

I understand the frustation of many from the old guard who see 2nd edition, and the removal of Gygax from the game, as the start of the long road that has led to the demise of the hobby as they once new it.  Just because I am a fan of 2e and the Realms doesn't mean that I'm unsympathetic or ignorant to this notion.  Gary was Dungeons and Dragons, we can all agree with that.  With that said, however, I can still say I loved the Forgotten Realms and the setting will always have a place near and dear to me.  Well, the 1993 edition will anyway. 

My Foray into Play-by-Post Gaming

Let me preface this entry by noting that there is no better way to play D&D, Labyrinth Lord, S&W, or any other RPG for that matter, than with pencil and paper, dice, and a table.  In my own opinion, this is the key to playing and enjoying those games the way they were intended.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, my D&D group hasn't changed much since the mid-90's.  I'm not one that's going to go to a game shop and post a bulletin looking for a game, or visit meetup.com and try to start a gaming group with people I don't know.  Maybe it's because I'm getting old and have a harder time making new friends, but It just seems strange to me to do these things.  Oddly enough, my current group, all lifelong friends, met up in this same fashion 15+ years ago; at a game shop in our hometown.

 

Back to my point.  Over the years we've played, with various members of the group here or there, but rarely with everyone able to play at once.  Most of us are fairly spread out and live far from each other, so organizing games to play on a regular basis at the table is not an option for us.  One evening early last year, I had an idea to play D&D on a forum via a play-by-post method.  I was hesitant and skeptical of it working, as anyone would be.  I emailed all of my friends and asked them what they thought of it, and they were all eager to jump on and give it a go.  I must say,although we've had to take a few breaks along the way due to unexpected life events, we've had as much fun as we've had in years and years playing.

 

Here's how I made it work.  Well, this is the simple abbreviated version of it, anyway.  I didn't want to invest a lot of money into this starting out, because let's face it, the mere notion that it might work was a crapshoot.  So, I headed over to ProBoards.com and created a free forum.  The great thing about ProBoards forums, aside from being free, is they are very easy to customize.  The first question that immediately arose, of course, was dice rolling.  How were we going to handle dice rolling in a play by post game?  Fortunately, I was able to find a great script which allows us to roll randomly generated dice in our posts.  Any dice with any number of sides.  The script, for those inclined, can be found on the ProBoards Support Forum.  With the dice roller installed, we were ready to begin.

 

We had decided to use 2e rules for AD&D prior to the start of the game, primarily because it is the edition we are all most familiar with.  Only a couple of us ever ventured into the "forbidden zone" of 3e, 3.5, or 4e.  So, I individually communicated via email and forum posts on the board and we created the characters.  From there, I began to populate the board with various forums in order to make the game work and flow smoothly.  I tried to look at things in the perspective of a DM at a table, rather than on a computer. 

 

I created one board I titled simply "The Adventure."  Within the board was the main storyline threads of each part of the adventure.  I organized these into "chapters" with each chapter having its own thread.  This was the equivalent of the entire group together at the table calling out actions, movements, etc.  I created a simple color code system for the posts.  Green=OOC chatter, Red=actions, Blue=character speaking, and normal text=descriptions.  This really helped keep the game separated from any OOC speak and really made things a lot easier, especially during combat.

 

My players are sneaky bastards.  I say that with a great deal of affection, but it's the truth.  They like to do their own thing.  At the table this is done in the ever popular method of "passing the DM a note."  So, in order to facilitate this on the forum, I created each player his own personal password protected board.  I assigned each player a password which only he and I knew.  This allowed each of us to communicate one-on-one information without everyone seeing it.  Also, it allowed me to keep track of players' XP and their character sheets, items, spells, etc.

 

At this point, I had the basics down, and we were ready to start.  I began with a fairly simple adventure to stop a band of brigands robbing people on the roadway.  That evolved into a more complex storyline, which the characters are still pursuing.  Combat was the one area we were particularly curious about in the play-by-post method.  As we didn't have a table with miniatures, or tokens to give us an idea, instead I created very simple maps of the area in MS Paint.  The players were marked by various colored numbers on the maps along with the enemies annotated in different colored X's.  This gave the players a visualization of the combat, just as the miniatures do at the table.  This map was of course ever changing and I would have to update it several times during the combat, but due to its simple design in Paint, this was easy and quick.

 

To streamline combat, I would ask each character what his actions were for the round and they would post them.  After they all posted, I rolled initiative for both the party and the enemies using the dice roller in the post.  If they were tied, then we went to speed factors, dex adjustments, casting times, etc. to determine initiatives.  This was only in the cases of ties, however.  If the enemy won initiative, I would take their actions and then it would be the players' turns.  I had them roll to hit in their posts as well as the damage with adjustments using the dice roller in the same post.  If they hit, the damage was applied.  If not, the damage was null.  This really helped speed things up because we weren't waiting on separate posts for damage.  It might sound confusing to read on the surface, but it works surprisingly well.

 

The game so far has been a huge hit, as I said.  We're having more fun gaming than we've had in many years.  Partly because we're not waiting to meet twice a month and can actually "play" on a daily basis, but also because it's been the only time in 15+ years that we've all been able to get the same group together in one place to play.  In fact, a couple of my players have branched off and created their own private forums running their own games.  We found a way to make the play-by-post method work.  No, it can never replace the joy of sitting around the table together, but it has been a great substitute.

 

Let's All Play in the Sandbox

When it comes to D&D people have their own opinions and ideas on what exactly constitutes "sandbox" play. Most in the OSR community cringe at the notion of "story-centric gaming." I agree with the fact that a story-centric game isn't really about the players, but more about the DM telling a story using the PC's, who are essentially never more than "along for the ride."

That said, we can all pretty much agree on the basic concept of a "sandbox" style game as one in which the players are placed into a world, of which it is the DM's responsibility to populate with interesting places and people, and allowed the free reign to go and come to various places within the world as they see fit. The players are not necessarily driven by some over-arching epic storyline, but rather by their own choices, and how the consequences of those choices effect the world around them.

In my current campaign, using 2e rules and set in the Forgotten Realms, I'm running a sandbox style game in which the PC's can come and go as they please. My role as the DM is to present them with the environment, and the places, NPCs, and creatures to populate that environment. From there, they make their own choices. The consequences of those choices have an impact on the world, but only to an extent.

Rather than railroad them into a storyline I have prepared, I present to them things which are happening around them, and allow them to make the choices on what they want to do and where they want to go. The PCs are not the center of the universe in this game. They are merely people populating a world. Will some of their actions have large consequences on the world around them? Probably at some point, yes, but at the same time, they very well could never have any significant impact on the world around them.

The biggest challenge a DM faces running a sandbox style game, in my opinion, is in preparation. I have found that, when running a sandbox game, the DM should never be under prepared, nor should he/she spend hours preparing for one particular "site" for his players to explore, because, after all, players in a sandbox game are highly unpredictable and prone to go and do things the DM would never have prepared for. Yes, this means in some cases, you're just winging it.

The best way to handle this, I've found, is to know your world. Know your setting. Know the NPCs in your world and their motives. Give your players various adventure hooks to follow, and prepare as best you can for their choices. Just as important as the choices they do make, are the choices they don't make. If there is some secret assassination attempt in the works between one noble family and another in a city, for example, and your players choose not to pursue that hook, allow the results of this assassination to continue to play out. After all, the people of your world have their own goals, and they aren't going to sit back and wait for the PCs to foil their plans.

Keep things as loose as possible. You won't always be prepared for everything, and there's no sense trying. That's the fun and beauty of DnD, or any RPG for that matter. At the same time, give your players some kind of incentive to pursue a goal or hook. Breathe life into the world around them, and they will likely react.

It's a delicate balancing act, because despite the fact that you might be running a "sandbox" style game, there is still a "story" or series of "stories" going on in the background in the world around them. But rather than one, epic spanning story in which the PC's are the hub, the "story" is simply the acts and events of the world around them, and how the PCs fit into their world. In the sandbox game, the end is not predetermined.

Here are some tips I've found that help me DM the sandbox game.

1. Prepare a handful of adventure hooks and leads for your PCs, and write down some preliminary background info for each. When they determine which to pursue, if any, expand upon the preliminary background. Let the players give you enough time to prepare, as best you can, for the lead they wish to pursue.

2. Do not game balance. The ruins outside the city are not simply going to be full of orcs or goblins just because your party is all 2nd level. If you know there to be greater basilisks roaming through the ruins, and your PCs decide to go investigate, then by goodness let them encounter the basilisks. Remember, your job as the DM is to populate an exciting world, not to formulate every challenge so they are capable of victory at every turn. PC's should know this going in if they're playing a sandbox game. Let them know that sometimes it's okay to run away.

3. Allow for consequences for the leads or hooks the party decides not to follow. In the earlier example, I mentioned the assassination attempt. If they choose not to pursue it, allow the assassination to take place, and thus the consequences of their non-actions to unfold.

4. Do not plan on too large a scale. Yes, your world lives and breathes, but keep things simple at first. Let the immediate world around your PCs unfold as it will. After all, there are plenty of hooks and plot devices that can be used in an immediate area. You may have a general idea of things that are happening 1,000 miles away in your world, but focus more on what's happening directly around your PCs. After all, this is what they will see most. If they opt to travel 1,000 miles away, then focus on the events and people of those lands. Yes, you can have a plot in the background of a nation 1,000 miles away preparing for war on the kingdoms your PCs occupy, but keep things included in that plot local to where your PCs are.

From the Vault: Forgotten Realms Cloak and Dagger

Prior to the arrival of 3e, in the middle of 2000, Wizards of the Coast released one of it's last AD&D 2nd edition supplements to the Forgotten Realms.  It was a sourcebook for DM's called Cloak and Dagger.  Now, most people will tell you, myself included, that in the peak of 2nd edition, TSR, and subsequently Wizards of the Coast, released a plethora of splatbooks and awful sourcebooks for a variety of their campaign settings.  The market was saturated and bloated, and knowing this, it was often difficult to differentiate the good from the bad.

I recall approaching Cloak and Dagger with natural skepticism at the time.  After seeing so many awful products hit the shelves, my patience to sort through them all was thin.  Still, the description of the book intrigued me so I picked it up.  I'm glad I did, as it has served as the single most valuable Forgotten Realms tool for me outside of the primary box set over the years.

Cloak and Dagger gives insight into the many secret organizations in the Realms, some of which had not been explored in great detail prior to the book's release.  It lists the various secret groups within the Realms, their goals and motivations, areas of operation, tactics and methods, and their histories.  It also has detailed descriptions of the organziations' leaders as well as their motives and goals.

What impressed me the most about the supplement was the sheer volume of information within its pages.  Truly there is enough to keep a DM busy for years.  It should be noted that this supplement works best for those DMs and players who like to add a little intrigue and espionage into their games.  For the typical dungeon crawling DM and  game group, this tome will be of little use to you.

So, if you're looking to add a little spice to your DnD game in the form of some political intrigue and shadowy cabals, I highly recommend picking up Cloak and Dagger.  Copies can be found on Amazon for as little as $13-$15.  Whether you run the Realms or not, you'll find the information within to be one of the last great 2nd edition resources.