[CONAN] It Just Happened That Way

Don't you love it when things just fall into place in a campaign?

I've been wanting to set up a simple scenario where my Cimmerian PCs go hunting. Not as a lead-in to an adventure--not as anything else but a simple hunting trip. I'm talking about using the Spot skill to spot an animal. Then using Move Silently and Hide vs. the animal, as the barb tries to get close enough to toss his spear.

After a few aboarted attempts, the PCs finally get one, then they've got to clean it, take it back to the village, and cure it.

This is something we always assume barbarians do, but we just skip over it because this type of scenario is hard to pull off in an interesting manner.

And, that's the problem. I've tried to come up with a reason to have focus on the hunting trip, and I've almost put it in the game a few times. But, whatever the PCs happen to have been doing at the time didn't seem to fit with my idea of a simple hunting trip.

It's almost as if I should have run this as the first scene of the campaign. But, I didn't. And, here we are.

Well, in our last game sessions, the PCs in my camapaign became recognized as men and warriors for their clan. They became adults. And, as adult warriors, everybody in the clan contributes to make them a mantle, which is a thick, heavy, hunting cape. And, it's a badge of honor, showing that the character is an adult warrior.

Well, there's an NPC that has become a warrior along side them. And, the players don't have anything to give for his mantle.

I smiled when it came out of the player's mouth. "We'll just go hunting--let's track one of the firecest animals known to exist in these parts--and that skin will become part of the mantle."

Inside, I was screaming YES! WOO-HOOO! JACKPOT!

Outside, I just said, with a calm demeanor, "Oh, that's sounds interesting. OK." (Meaning I'll set up something for next game session.)

Now, I don't have to figure a way to get the characters involved in somethign I've wanted to play out since I started this campaign a year ago. The players have gotten themselves there!
 
Spectator said:
sweet!
I am surprised how much fun your guys have had playing a cimmerian tribal campaign.

Yeah, I had zilch ideas at first. Then, I started brainstorming and realized that there really is a lot to do inside of Cimmeria without straying too far.

I actually want to go the more traditional Conan route and get the PCs traveling, but the story has kept them grounded. I also want to advance a few years and get the PCs older, but, again, that hasn't been right for the story yet.

I put a lot of work into the story. At some point, I'll be explaining a lot of things in the A Tale of the Hyborian Age thread.
 
I kinda like (a lot) how you are making your PCs essentially 3-4th level Barbarians before they ever stray too far from their homeland.
This will make the PCs appreciate being a bunch of bad-asses compared to the masses of non-cimmerian city slicker zero-level/ commoner types.

I always thought that starting a campaign at 1st level was so bogus.
A level 1 chump is some pimply squire who is 15-16 years old or some doofy wizard, both for their own left their Knight master and or powerful sorceror?!?!
 
Spectator said:
I kinda like (a lot) how you are making your PCs essentially 3-4th level Barbarians before they ever stray too far from their homeland.
This will make the PCs appreciate being a bunch of bad-asses compared to the masses of non-cimmerian city slicker zero-level/ commoner types.

I always thought that starting a campaign at 1st level was so bogus.
A level 1 chump is some pimply squire who is 15-16 years old or some doofy wizard, both for their own left their Knight master and or powerful sorceror?!?!

I'm following the level defintions in the 2E Core rulebook. Most people in the world never see level 3. So, about half the people the PC's encounter will be level 1 or 2. Even among Commoners.

Level 3-4 represent those people who excel--the Army combat sargents and highly skilled mercenaries. 90% of the world lives in the level 1-10 range. The aged Cimmerian chiefs get to be level 6-8 before they're too old to be effective warriors.

It's the same static level scheme used in the core rules.

The PCs are heroes, of course, so they'll be one of the exceptional few who level beyond Level 10.

My PCs, being so young and hitting level 3 at the end of the first story arc is something I've included in the story. It will be discovered that the two of them have Battle Destiny, and their kinsmen will be suitably awed. One with Battle Destiny is destined to be sung about by the Blind Bards. He will become a great warrior--the Tiger Woods of the Cimmerian battlefield.

That's how I explained their exceptional and growing talent at war in the game.
 
Spectator said:
Is Battle Destiny some kind of feat I missed?

I totally made it up.

From the NPC's point of view, it takes somewhere around 3 years, on average, of hard core experience, to get to 3rd level. The PC's in my game left 11 days ago at 1st level, then returned to the village at 3rd level.

I figure this amazing improvement must be both noticable and almost mythical from the NPC's point of view.

So, I made up "Battle Destiny". The PCs are blessed with this ultra-human prowess at battle. It's almost as if they are demi-gods. Conan must have had "Battle Destiny". Motzart had something similar for music. Einstein had it for math. Tiger Woods has it a golf. Spielberg has it at directing. Conan and my PCs (and yours too!) have it in the game universe.

It's that extra-special feature or gift people sometimes get that makes them head and shoulders above the rest.

Battle Destiny.
 
Battle Destiny
I love it!

I hope your PC female doesn't switch classes to Seductress or else she'll get Boner Destiny.
OK lame joke. Sorry.
 
Spectator said:
Battle Destiny
I love it!

It fits among my battle-loving, warrior culture driven, Cimmerians.

If I was playing a game focussed on the Shadizar Thieves Guild, I don't think I'd use Battle Destiny. But, with the Cimmerians, it fits.
 
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