Dungeon Campaign (Start to Finish)

[sixsideddice]

an overweight  consulting detective with a steam powered dog called snack... hence the order - snack...attack and a ex military doctor with a damaged leg... and these are the two who shall defend queen and country against the dashed enemies of the state.... oh lord rpreserve us

OOoo I wanna hear more.... do you have any of this (batreps, campaign journal) on blog or anything? Sounds like my cup of tea.

[Maenoferren]

hey six here is the forum link
http://www.tripleacegames.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=22&sid=4c364c3487454e9620160fbaf0ad8bb7
I  just had a look on the web front, the special offer for leagues of adventure runs out 19th June Uk time and date stamp
the horror supplement is coming out next month I think.
Well worth a look if you are interested, to be honest we used to play savage worlds but now moving over to ubiquity as a system.
I am running the games now, but will have to sort out a character for when somebody else runs one - now do i resurrect Sir Percival Fanhard or do I come up with somebody new.hhhhhmmmmm

here is a review of the game from a third party, I shouldnt really comment too much as the writer is my mate and in my gaming group.. but I like it  
http://solaceofsavagery.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/leagues-of-adventure/

ohh and sorry for hijacking your thread..if someone wants to shift it please feel free

[sixsideddice]

wow.... Wow... WOW  WOW

That looks truly AWESOME.

Thank you very much for the links Maenoferran (<---  what does that name mean btw?).

ohh and sorry for hijacking your thread..if someone wants to shift it please feel free

Gosh no...  hack away. This is realy just a thread for me to place all things campaign related regarding the new rpg fantasy campaign I`m running; thoughts, ideas, rundown of game sessions, etc etc... and any imput is always very welcome. Side-trecks into things like your game threads just add a bit more spice really  


Six

[sixsideddice]

Where to start….

The players for this new campaign had, with the exception of my eldest daughter Tiffany, never played a game of D&D before in their lives. I knew the biggest hurdle I was going to have to overcome was their reliance on information they  t-h-i-n-k they perceive about how the game is run, based on their extensive knowledge of X-Box, PlayStation, and PC/Console games in general. This problem, I realized early on (and of course, later borne out in the game sessions themselves) was going to come from pre-conceptions that “D&D is similar to watching a screen and making the characters move about based on commands promoted by thumbs and fingers”; and secondly, the ugly meta-gaming syndrome where all those badly borrowed monsters and other creations from rpg and fantasy books which end up on PC games screen…  wind their way into the consciousness of the players, causing them `wrongly`  to believe this `out of game` information will help them with their knowledge and comprehension when transposed to paper and pencil gaming…

DM: “you see a green viscous mass slowly slithering its way towards you, filling the tunnel almost completely as it gurgles its way forward”.

Player: “oh it’s just a Green Slime, I’ve seen these in Balders Gate, easy to kill… I know cos I`ve faced these many times before on the PC game…”.

WRONG…. badly wrong. Not only does this take away the wonder and excitement of discovering new things for the fledgling player team; it creates a totally blasé  “seen it all before” attitude which de-sensitizes the players to the game before it even begins, and steals the suspension of disbelief  needed to provide maximum suspense and sense of wonder which should be intrinsic throughout the game.

This has been the biggest bone of contention that I (as a DM) have had to face so far.

The second problem I have had to deal with and an ongoing problem) is that…  PC games are all about, stat blocks, gaining and attaining powers and in game level `pick ups` , combined with a vast array of avatar types the console player can command with his fingers and thumbs. This is all well and good for a console game, because those types of game are all about tailoring the best avatar possible to battle your way through the `unrealistically` vast legions of bad guys the player is going to meet as he/she fights an endless linear onslaught to reach the end of the game and face its inevitable pre-written `cut scene` conclusion…  some console games even allow for a couple of alternative endings *gasps in mock respect and delighted surprise*… but meh! end of the day it’s all pre-programmed and inevitable.  In RPG pencil and paper gaming… especially the old school gaming that I like so much, I really like the concept of players playing humans; this was the way D&D was originally conceived (by Gygax and Arneson), and in fact Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits (note -not Halflings… that name came later), Half Orcs etc were massively penalised as playing characters with a level cap way lower than humans might ever attain. I LIKED this concept… it meant that I as DM was able to make the Elves and Dwarves and what not come alive… could make them culturally different and exotic for the players to encounter. Hard to do when you`re trying to explain to the characters that the group of Elves meandering through the forest path towards you look almost other-worldly, fey and enchanting, with an element of sad melancholy etched into their features as though their wisdom transcends through the mists of time… only to hear the player controlling the elf go: “yeah yeah, I know all this from my last DC history check and my racial bonus is +6 because I`m an elf…  so do I see a wizard who can teach another spell for my mage?” 

LET the players play humans, and let the demi humans be played as NPC`s by the DM. It’s time the good old stock human character finally took a rightful stand against the prejudice gamers have developed against this `boring` character class… when other racial types of character (barely conceived enough ever to be played properly in a role playing capacity) often look far more appealing.

I`m known for breaking rules and for making rules… usually I break them first, then remake them again to suit my style of play. In my game, it is j-u-s-t starting to dawn on the players that humans have a massive advantage in the game world over the other `potentially` playable racial types they can choose from. In fact… I will be kind and benevolent, and allow them miraculously to metamorphose into humans if they choose to (I think of my whole group, only one player chose a human would you believe; yet the rest actually have no idea how to role play a demi-human effectively). But I`ll let them all come to this conclusion themselves… in time.

But, all in all, they are a pretty good bunch, and have for the most part, taken to role playing , like ducks to water… bottom line, were all having a ball. Several sessions in and the adventure is just starting to pick up and become epic.

Next thread will summarise the game plot so far, and if I can work out image re-sizing, I`ll add photo/bios of the group :-)

[Squirrel]

Sounds like you are all having a great time - which is the whole point after all

Step learning curve for your players, but I'm sure they will master it quicker than you expect

Cheers,

Kev

[nikharwood]

Totally agree with Kev - sounds like you're getting them (& you) to enjoy themselves six - and that's what it's all about...

I can't stand meta-gaming, it must be said - does my head in & can completely ruin it for others as well. That's why it's useful to have a load of DM variables up your sleeve...not necessarily anything particularly evil (certainly not a TPK) but just things that will discourage 

Anyway - glad you're underway and it's all working out - looking forward to more detail etc as you get it 

[Nosher]

Roleplay is best left for bedroom antics

[sixsideddice]

lol

[Luddite]

What you're up to is rather interesting SSD.  When i started, there weren't even mobile phones (in fact my parents didn't even have a landline), let alone console games.

Since almost the entire 'computer game' industry owes its lineage to Messrs Arneson, Gygax et al and their wonderful roleplaying games, i find it very interesting to hear about youngsters coming out of the console gaming into pen and paper gaming.

I don't think your 'willing suspension of disbeleif' issues are unique to the generational feedback though.  I remember my earliest childhood games that were filled with wonder at the beasties i was facing in this magical world.  Experience dulls that wonder though as you become a creature of the game mechanics.  Its the old 'Monty Haul' or 'roll playing vs role playing' debate isn't it?  Lovely to hear your facing it with a new generation, prised from the soulless PC games. 

Hopefully, sticking at it, and keeping the GM pressure on developing characters rathyer than stat blocks will pay off in the end.

The best game i found to help new players understand what roleplaying is about was Greg Staffords Pendragon.  Unfortunately not much good for female gamers though...

[sixsideddice]

What you're up to is rather interesting SSD.  When i started, there weren't even mobile phones (in fact my parents didn't even have a landline), let alone console games.

When I started, the white box D&D had only just been invented, and I had one of the initial run of 2000 copies printed by Gygax and purchased from Gen Con in 1973. Space Invaders the arcade machine hadn`t even been invented yet, and like you say, most homes didn`t have a phone (eveyone used the public phone box). Supermarkets didn`t exist, and kids still wore short trousers to school.

Since almost the entire 'computer game' industry owes its lineage to Messrs Arneson, Gygax et al and their wonderful roleplaying games, i find it very interesting to hear about youngsters coming out of the console gaming into pen and paper gaming.

It is incredible isn`t it... something which was considered an unhealthy fad, a minor annoyance to most parents and frowned upon by the church as devil enhancing and spiritually unhealthy should become one of the major uber businesses of the coming decades; turning not only rpg but wargaming as a whole into a money making factory as opposed to an amateur minority pastime.

I don't think your 'willing suspension of disbeleif' issues are unique to the generational feedback though.  I remember my earliest childhood games that were filled with wonder at the beasties i was facing in this magical world.  Experience dulls that wonder though as you become a creature of the game mechanics.  Its the old 'Monty Haul' or 'roll playing vs role playing' debate isn't it?  Lovely to hear your facing it with a new generation, prised from the soulless PC games. 

Yes, totally correct. Thankfully, due to a bit of experience, some tenacity in steering the `ship` and a lot of gentle DM persuasion, I seems to be keeping things nicely on track.

Hopefully, sticking at it, and keeping the GM pressure on developing characters rather than stat blocks will pay off in the end.

This is my single minded plan... I`ve actually banned my players now from pouring over the rule books and monster manuals... sounds harsh, but we`ll see if that helps.

The best game i found to help new players understand what roleplaying is about was Greg Staffords Pendragon.  Unfortunately not much good for female gamers though...

Funnily enough, I never got on with that game; but I noticed it had quite a considerable following so it must have been a pretty cool game. I still own a copy somewhere.

[Fenton]

Pendragon was one of the best RPG's along with Torg in both occasions in long campigns we had the right players with lots of RPG experience and the right characters...I thought it was amazing in Pendragon how quickly we became bogged down trying to run our Manors and what a pain in the arse it was when our characters got married...I had 4 daughters , had to think about doweries so couldnt get the bloody defensive walls built to proect the Monor house...a couple of them ended up in the nunnery for financial purposes...fun times though

[sixsideddice]

I have no doubt it is as amazing as I have heard....   I think I was just put off by the incredibly bad artwork....  just didnt feel Arthurian in style.... but thats just me probably.

[Fenton]

I think we were playing it around the time Bernard Cornwells Warlord Trilogy was published ( still I think my fave books)  so that probably spurred us on as well

[Squirrel]

I think we were playing it around the time Bernard Cornwells Warlord Trilogy was published ( still I think my fave books)  so that probably spurred us on as well

A splendid set of books, certainly inspired my modelling and gaming!

Cheers,

Kev

[sixsideddice]

My mainstay fellowship of players are Hilary, who plays a strange human with an even stranger past, but I`ll reveal a little of this a bit further on. Hillary`s Daughters: Robyn (24) and Hayley (19); son Ryan (17), my daughter Tiffany (19), and Jack (18) who is the boyfriend of my youngest daughter.


It all started with the gang travelling together (cheaply) in a rickety old carriage, as far as their coin would allow, as they set off on their adventures together. In the course of travel over the next few days they got to know one another, they decided to bond together for companionship, camaraderie… and of course, for safety.


Their gold finally ran out, and they were eventually set down on the market square in a small town called Sandpoint situated on the north western coast of _____________   (at the time I had the campaign floating, as I was still undecided exactly where I was actually going to place the game world).


It was a cold January evening when they arrived, and sleet was in the air; but the lantern lights dotting the square on the market  (which was still in full swing) warmed their hearts greatly, especially as they were all travel weary and hungry.


Within minutes, the female Dwarf (Robyn) found her trousers falling down round her knees, and discovered someone had cut not only her purse from her waist, but had severed the belt leather too. A suspicious looking rogue was seen heading away hurriedly into the crowd, and the group decided to follow  - at a distance.


However, the cut-purse was a seasoned thief, and quickly picked up he had been spotted by the group;  and using a silent sign language known only to thieves, he speedily relayed the problem to others of his house lurking in the busy market square. He was soon leading the group following him down narrow winding lanes and alley-ways thinking to himself “Yule has certainly come earn this year… not often a group of `green behind the ears`  `would be` adventurers fall so easily into such an obvious ambush”. After a while, the thief stopped half way down an especially dark and narrow alley, turned round and sneered at the group… by now very obviously following him. Behind the group of players, a small gang had now appeared at the entrance of the alley, effectively blocking them off. The thief the players had been following so badly (like a Pink Panther comedy sketch) called out: “Right, YOU lot… yer MONEY… hand it over, or else!!!”


Several things happened all at once; as the players panicked, and instead of talking it out amongst themselves for a few seconds first… each of them told me what he or she was doing, while I silently rubbed my hands with glee. They t-o-t-a-l-l-y failed to work as a team for this encounter.


The Bard (Tiffany) decided to un-sling her bow from her back (an action), take aim (another action) and shoot an arrow at the thief they had been following… the shot missed totally, sailing over head and threading its way through several loads of washing, hanging like banners from the half open windows overhead. Simultaneously, the Sorcerer/Healer (Hilary) decided to cast a morale breaking spell at the gang approaching them from behind. The spell scored “1” a critical fail (a fumble) and instead of scaring them, the gang suddenly became incensed with rage and picked up speed, waiving their fists and shouting uncouth curses at the players as they advanced. The male Dwarf (Ryan) decided (alone) to charge the gang following them, while the rest of the players decided to run the other way towards the lone thief. The thief turned tail and ran with the players (minus the Dwarf) hot on his heels. The Dwarf, realising his mistake, turned in mid charge and followed after his companions…puffing and panting  as his little legs carried him as fast as they could as he tried to catch up with the heels of his friends.


And so that initial encounter played itself out. The thief who had cut the purse and belt from the female Dwarf escaped into the streets, and soon, the players found themselves back in the market square and quickly mingled with the crowd, effectively losing the gang of thieves… or so they innocently assumed. Oh the sweet beauty of innocent new players.


They entered an Inn (The Blind Po), secured themselves a dormitory for the night, and went down to the tap room to pick up local gossip and news. They quickly got interested in the rumour of a Wyrm that had been spotted in the area, and which had recently plucked up and carried away a few victims into the night. Strangely, the players went for the very first adventure hook I gave them… and didn`t stop to take any real notice of three other (more manageable) plot hooks I had also hinted to them.



As a group, they went to see the local lord to learn more about the Wyrm. None of them really took much notice of the fact that one of the thieves* they`d encountered earlier was not only sitting in the Inn, was obviously well known and accepted at the place,  sat close to the bar and looked very much at ease talking with many other locals). Nor did they notice he had dispatched a young female woman to `tail` them. I was waiting to see if anyone looked behind, at which point they`d have easily spotted Janey Jenkins following them.


{{*By now I`d given them a family name (Jenkins), the large house and warehouse where they obviously lived and worked, and had let slip several Jenkins names… but they were by now single mindedly bent on talking to the local Lord, so failed to take any notice of much else that was going on around them.}}



They gained audience with Lord Tomson, and he told them that a giant wyrm had carried away two victims this last week; the first was a woman who had been taken from the shore line, at night, at the foot of the high cliffs. This information came from an eye witness… an old fisherman who claimed to have seen the whole thing….  at night….in a stormy gale… mending his nets… on the shore in the dark… Hmmmm! The second victim, a few days later, was a soldier plucked from the walls of the town as he stood watch at night… both the girl and the man were related (but the players never really followed up on that fact at all) . The players investigated both `murders` and found inconsistencies in both stories. The fisherman who claimed to have spotted the girl was never questioned.  Nor was the soldier on the wall that night who claimed to have seen his companion carried away into the night. And when they were shown the wall where the soldier had been taken, they discovered the claw marks on the parapet were in fact chiselled to look like giant claws; and the sorcerer felt the slight residue of recent illusionary magic in the same area.


They retired back to The Blind Po to think about all this, and thus ended the first session.


The second session started with them overhearing that a shipment of smuggled goods was due to arrive… over the castle walls, that very night… incidentally,  from the same section of the wall they had searched the night before. Sitting on their newly acquired information, they decided to investigate this for themselves. That night, some of the party (Tiffany and Ryan) decided to go investigate the bottom of the cliffs to see if they could pick up any more clues about the murder that had taken place there; and they were shown out of a small postern gate and shown the way down the long, narrow, frail, rickety old steps to the shore below. The rest of the gang decided to follow up on the smuggling. As they were now working (for pay) for the Lord, they pretty much had unrestricted access to the town walls. So that night, they hid themselves, waited and watched. Sure enough they soon spotted a grapple and hook go over the wall section near to them, and the soldier on watch (obviously bribed to take no notice) turned his back and pretended not to see a thing. As the person on the end of the rope started to climb over the wall and onto the parapet, the players rushed forward to apprehend the villain.  The soldier on the walls was totally surprised and half heartedly tried to stop them with a “Oh, what you…. Uuuugh” But that`s as far as he got. The Human woman Sorcerer (Hilary) gave him a small shove as she pushed past him towards the person climbing over the wall. Of course, she rolled a perfect 20 for her shove, and the soldier went toppling  backwards over the wall on the town side… and crashed heavily, onto and through the wooden roof of a building attached to the wall… ouch, broken leg at least. When the woman and the Dwarf reached the person climbing over, he tried to react by drawing a blade, but somehow, in the confused scuffle, he lost his grip and fell down… down… down onto the rocks below on the seaward side of the walls; but not before the woman and the Dwarf had managed to snatch a heavy bag from his hands just before he toppled from his precarious purchase.


Meanwhile, the rest of the gang had discovered a cave at the foot of the cliff, and they decided to investigate. Basically, they decided to follow a mini dungeon crawl (I wanted them to rejoin the others and go back as a full group, but they decided to go it alone… there and then). They had a few encounters, but nothing major… and one of the party (Tiffany) found a medallion of water protection (from the God of the sea). They decided they`d seen enough and not to go in deeper. But on their way back they found footprints in the sand behind them and knew they   `d been followed, at least part of the way. As they ascended the rickety old steps back up to the town wall above, the ropes of the steps above began to be hacked through by someone up above. They barely escaped this encounter; but they never discovered (or tried to discover) who had tried, and nearly succeeded, to kill them.


This concluded the second evening s entertainment.


Play resumed with the gang still split in two. The woman and the Dwarf (now joined by the fey half human (Hayley) opened the bag and discovered several crystal shards and a note. This all meant a great deal to the woman sorcerer, but she still decided to sit on her newly acquired knowledge.


At this stage I should point out… the woman (Hilary) was in fact a newly made Vampire. Her Husband had bitten her out of love, because he didn’t want ever to be parted from her… the following week as fate would have it, he was hunted down (far away from the current location) and killed by angry villagers. A loyal servant had carried the weakened woman to safety and had tended to her, nursing her back to health. The Woman refused to take human life and feed, so she only drank animal blood (and thus never knew her full strength and potential as a Vampire). Already she was shaping herself into a bit of a neutral (neither good nor bad) character type. Her main mission in joining the others was to hide amongst them, for safety in numbers if nothing else, and find out as much as she could about her strange husband ( an arranged marriage)…. and hopefully reveal some much needed truth about her current condition. The smugglers, the crystal shards, the Jenkins, all pointed towards dealing with her deceased ex. But she had not yet put it all together, and still sought to find out more information…. Her current lead suggested looking below in the Underdeeps.


Meanwhile, the party inside the town decided to go tell the Lord what they had discovered so far.  But upon reaching the Lord`s castle home, they found all the guards, the servants, and the entire family (including the Lord) butchered in their beds or where they stood on watch throughout the castle. They now made a dreadful mistake… *sighhhhs* the players actually looted many of the bodies (men, women and children) and searched the bedrooms for more; and then left hurriedly to sell their misbegotten treasures in the town. They never even raised the alarm with anyone. Oh dear!!!


By now the player party was all reunited and they found themselves being observed by the same girl who had followed them earlier (Janey) and they gave chase… strange really, but they did none the less. The chase continued all through the town and ended up at a Tavern (based on the Yawning Portal in Waterdeep) and the girl jumped down the well in the main tap room, and after a while talking to the proprietor (who I called Durnan… lol), the player party descended after the girl.


The game now turned into a full blown dungeon crawl in which the party had many adventures... but they never did find the girl they were chasing.


When they determined to wind their way back to the surface, they met with the Tavern proprietor`s wife (Maeve)  who immediately spotted the Vampire for what she was, and quickly sussed she was tied in with another seperate story… a hunt she herself was actively a part of… to find the missing Vampire nest formerly led by the sorcerer`s husband (Iran Von Drakonfels). Maeve, perceiving the female half vampire was not evil, determined to help the party of adventurers. Whether Maeve acted through kindness, or whether she in fact had another motive, this has not yet become clear.


But she warned them that they were being hunted in the town above in connection with the murders of Lord Tomson and his family, and especially due to the fact their activities had been noticed (the selling of the loot from the dead bodies), and that things did not look at all good for them.  I really laboured this point across to them.. all role played  and in character, of course.


As DM, I smiled gleefully to myself at this, as I watched the blood drain slowly from the players` faces. Bingo! I successfully taught them in one fell swoop, you can`t go looting indiscriminately at the scene of a murder… in an urban environment.. and hope to get away with it scot free...  not to mention pushing a soldier from the walls while he (supposedly) stood watch, but failed to hang about to explain to anyone why they had done so. They were now the main suspects in a growing murder enquiry, and as the Lord and his family had been so popular in the town, it was highly likely they`d all swing for their deeds before being given a chance to prove they had no hand in the deaths… whether innocent or not.


Maeve offered (with her husband’s help) to clear their names; but she required all their currently acquired treasures (to buy back the things they had stolen and then sold to the various vendors), and to bride authorities not to pursue this case any further. Effectively, the players lost just about everything they had acquired from their dungeon crawls and now had nothing left but the small change in their pockets.


But Maeve took pity on them again (she was fast becoming their patron) and told them that though she herself had business elsewhere, she would point them to where a stash of unclaimed treasure still lay… and also to a defiled, unholy temple complex within yet another part of the Underdeeps. There she required them to retrieve some files of holy water blessed by Saint Agnus of the Blessed Sacrament. By the time they return to the surface, Maeve says, if she and her husband could work their charm on the authorities, the players names should all be cleared (by a mix of gentle honest persuasion and some bribery in the right places) of all suspicion concerning the deaths of the Lord, his family, and the entire household.


It had taken two more sessions to reach this point in the campaign.


The current session sees the players half way through the mini dungeon adventure Maeve sent them on, having so far waded through half submerged temple chambers, hordes of zombies, and a myriad of hidden traps… there is still no sight of the chamber where the vials of Saint Agnus are supposed to rest, but play is planned to resume in a few days time.


This game synopsis completely misses a heck of a lot of the finer detail, but does give an overall picture of the campaign plot so far. I have missed the funny dungeon crawl encounter with Shnott and his small Goblin tribe…. The dangerous encounter with a horde of dire rats; a giant millipede that literally swallowed the Dwarf (Ryan) whole and he had to cut his was out from the inside while his friends hacked away, in horror, at the beast from the outside….  nor have I described the run in with an evil Goom… an undead mud like ooze…. which Maeve calls Nargul…. I was glad to see the party lost their bottle with this one and fled long and far (and got totally lost for a while) to escape this powerful botched amorphous blob like entity. Only a Daylight spell cast in utter desperation from the fey half human (Hayley) put some distance between themselves and it… when the thing finally tracked them down where they rested. I have not mentioned the encounter with the Floating Roof Monsters (Darkmantles) or how that chance meeting so nearly ended up wiping the entire player party… but didn`t due to some funny and lucky dice rolling. The best bit was when the party finally found the hidden stash Maeve had pointed them towards.... they had gained the unwanted attention of a group of Huffity-Puffs (ghostly shape shifting demons who can temporarily alter time and dimension to work frightening mind tricks on weak victims)... you should have heard the girls SCREAM when I role played this encounter.


I may describe some of these encounters as one off threads at some later point; if anyone has an interest in reading about them.