Supplement Four
Mongoose
What you are about to read really is my recollection of my first time.
How about yours?
Back when I was a sophomore in high school, I was introduced to this new game (new to me) called D&D. It was just me and the DM. I went over to his house on a Saturday. Out in the back yard, he had all these books and graph paper set up on a picnic table.
The adventure? Keep on the Borderlands/Caves of Chaos. One player and one DM.
That day started a love affair with what has become my favorite hobby, and it has been with me the rest of my life.
The first thing we did was roll up a character. I created a fighter. Then, he let me roll for beginning wealth for this 1st level character. I rolled a few coins then spent most of it equipping the dude.
Then, we just started playing.
I had cut my teeth as a fighter in the Duke's legions. My service over, I was a free man, and I had just reached the gates of Threshold.
With no more background than that, my DM just looked at me and said, "It's getting late. The sun is disappearing behind the horizon. The city's gates are closed at dusk. If you don't get in, you'll have to make due outside the city until morning. You're standing in front of the huge, wooden gates. What do you want to do?"
And, that's how it all started.
I approached the gate, and this led to my first roleplaying encounter with me trying to convince the guard that he should allow an armed mercenary type into the city right at dusk.
That was fun. I was hooked.
The GM just played off of what I did. "You cross into the city. It is noticably dark now. You see young boy, about 13 or 14 years old, with a donkey and wagon. He seems to be lighting some oil lights in the city. The city is shutting down for the evening. What do you want to do?"
I walked over to the boy and asked him where I could stay, get a bite to eat, and freshen up. He directed me to the inn.
Once I was there, talking with the barkeep and patrons, I learned about the caves. I couldn't go alone, though. So, after paying for a room for the night, I went to the market and paid a scribe to create notices. That took a day, so I spent the rest of it exploring the town and having improptu roleplay encounters with the GM.
I was running out of coin, so I needed to find some work or wealth soon. The next morning, I told the barkeep my intent to explore the caves, and he allowed me to tack up a notice. I put the other notices (I could only afford four of them) in the market, at the horse stalls, and at the temple.
This led to more roleplaying encounters. I sat in the inn as, one by one, these NPCs would come to see me, trying to get hired onto my team. Word spread quickly in that little keep.
I met with two or three thieves, then selected one. Befriended a Ranger. Hired a mage. Convinced a cleric to join me. And, before I knew it, I was leading a party (one PC and four hireling NPCs) into the Caves for fame and fortune.
Man, those were the days. I love every minute of it.
You speak of a bottleneck. This is exactly what happened when I played this adventure back in 1982. The goblins and the Hobgoblins hated each other, and when I went in there, they were at war, killing each other.
This was cool because it cut down the number of baddies my and my party had to face.
OTOH, every encounter we had was with fully armed and ready enemies, leery of the gobby/hobby war.
Man, those were fun times.
How about yours?
Back when I was a sophomore in high school, I was introduced to this new game (new to me) called D&D. It was just me and the DM. I went over to his house on a Saturday. Out in the back yard, he had all these books and graph paper set up on a picnic table.
The adventure? Keep on the Borderlands/Caves of Chaos. One player and one DM.
That day started a love affair with what has become my favorite hobby, and it has been with me the rest of my life.
The first thing we did was roll up a character. I created a fighter. Then, he let me roll for beginning wealth for this 1st level character. I rolled a few coins then spent most of it equipping the dude.
Then, we just started playing.
I had cut my teeth as a fighter in the Duke's legions. My service over, I was a free man, and I had just reached the gates of Threshold.
With no more background than that, my DM just looked at me and said, "It's getting late. The sun is disappearing behind the horizon. The city's gates are closed at dusk. If you don't get in, you'll have to make due outside the city until morning. You're standing in front of the huge, wooden gates. What do you want to do?"
And, that's how it all started.
I approached the gate, and this led to my first roleplaying encounter with me trying to convince the guard that he should allow an armed mercenary type into the city right at dusk.
That was fun. I was hooked.
The GM just played off of what I did. "You cross into the city. It is noticably dark now. You see young boy, about 13 or 14 years old, with a donkey and wagon. He seems to be lighting some oil lights in the city. The city is shutting down for the evening. What do you want to do?"
I walked over to the boy and asked him where I could stay, get a bite to eat, and freshen up. He directed me to the inn.
Once I was there, talking with the barkeep and patrons, I learned about the caves. I couldn't go alone, though. So, after paying for a room for the night, I went to the market and paid a scribe to create notices. That took a day, so I spent the rest of it exploring the town and having improptu roleplay encounters with the GM.
I was running out of coin, so I needed to find some work or wealth soon. The next morning, I told the barkeep my intent to explore the caves, and he allowed me to tack up a notice. I put the other notices (I could only afford four of them) in the market, at the horse stalls, and at the temple.
This led to more roleplaying encounters. I sat in the inn as, one by one, these NPCs would come to see me, trying to get hired onto my team. Word spread quickly in that little keep.
I met with two or three thieves, then selected one. Befriended a Ranger. Hired a mage. Convinced a cleric to join me. And, before I knew it, I was leading a party (one PC and four hireling NPCs) into the Caves for fame and fortune.
Man, those were the days. I love every minute of it.
You speak of a bottleneck. This is exactly what happened when I played this adventure back in 1982. The goblins and the Hobgoblins hated each other, and when I went in there, they were at war, killing each other.
This was cool because it cut down the number of baddies my and my party had to face.
OTOH, every encounter we had was with fully armed and ready enemies, leery of the gobby/hobby war.
Man, those were fun times.
