New Campaign

[warlock1971]

Hi All!

Some friends have roped me in to starting up and potentially running an ongoing Campaign.

We have never gamed together as a group and one of the players has never gamed before. One Saturday, soon, we're going to get together and roll up Characters and have a few beers. I figured, I may as well run a short session as well - since we'll all be together, anyway. So the question is, faced with such a different group, what kind of module do I run to begin things with?

1) Thieves guild wannabees on a mission to prove their loyalty, or
2) Raid by monsters on the village where the PCs live,
3) Newly recruited Pirates
4) Other, please elaborate?

 

[Hopeless]

Hi All!

Some friends have roped me in to starting up and potentially running an ongoing Campaign.

We have never gamed together as a group and one of the players has never gamed before. One Saturday, soon, we're going to get together and roll up Characters and have a few beers. I figured, I may as well run a short session as well - since we'll all be together, anyway. So the question is, faced with such a different group, what kind of module do I run to begin things with?

1) Thieves guild wannabees on a mission to prove their loyalty, or
2) Raid by monsters on the village where the PCs live,
3) Newly recruited Pirates
4) Other, please elaborate?

What do you fancy running?

When I started one of my games it consisted of a rescue mission at night and they're sneaking up a woodman's path to the top of a hill where the raiders' were holding their captives and it was supposed to be simple rescue them and get out... of course when I pointed out the guards were roaring drunk you would have thought it be over too fast... but no they had to pick a fight and alert the rest of the raiders' who weren't drunk on the opposite side of the hill... :shock:

I was surprised they remembered to rescue the captives by that point to be honest!

The other used an RQ adventures that had them start in an inn where someone is buying everyone drinks as its his birthday and then shortly after he leaves someone comes running in claiming a spectral hound has attacked a band of people and the birthday boy is missing... it turns out the hound is bound to the village and usually only helps drunk locals back to their home but if someone they're helping is attacked they go hound of the baskerville on the attackers! 8)
Eventually the PCs learn where the hound has obviously gone and have to fight a the ghost of a shrine guard so they can enter and locate the missing boy and on the return trip learn who was trying to get him killed as the older rival waits with a band of his lackeys to finish the job...

What do you know about what they like to play?

Part of the problem here is that they haven't created their characters so you could have they trampsing through a city sewers only to find they've generated a thief, a mercenary and a sorceror with the intent on going tomb robbing and they've been sold a map thats clearly a forgery given where they are and on turning around realise they've been turned into the city guard requiring they fight their way free so they have a chance to either flee the city or hunt down the map forger and find out who hired him to set them up....

Well that was another idea I guess! :roll:

 

[warlock1971]

Had a good giggle at the first part of that post. Seems typical ...

The guys seem to want to play a fantasy campaign. One of my players is a Raymond E Feist fan (also an ex-RuneQuest gamer, if I remember correctly), the other a Call of Cthulhu fan, and yet another has never role played before. There is a fourth player but he played D&D before and I have yet to meet him ...

Seems I have an opportunity to do something great here!

 

[Hopeless]

Had a good giggle at the first part of that post. Seems typical ...
The guys seem to want to play a fantasy campaign. One of my players is a Raymond E Feist fan (also an ex-RuneQuest gamer, if I remember correctly), the other a Call of Cthulhu fan, and yet another has never role played before. There is a fourth player but he played D&D before and I have yet to meet him ...
Seems I have an opportunity to do something great here!

Hmm sounds like you might be able to draw them in with a regular dungeon crawl but throw in a rival something like;

A priestess from the local church has come seeking help to investigate a local ruin to check on the catacombs there following rumours of brigands may be using the place as a lair.
In return for a sizable purse from the local guard if they do bring back proof of the brigands presence her church is willing to hire them for 50 silver per day with an extra 100 silver if they return with the priestess alive.
Ordinarily this might not be of interest but the brigands in question are believed led by the infamous Ebon Baron a member of the current king whose main adviser Bargle the Sorceror has been securing aid and loot to rebuild his forces to replace his hated brother King Stefan.

The catacomb is currently home to a group of ghouls who protect Bargle's lair and he also has three goblin aides who will fight s Bargle can flee via a concealed door but if they're not careful he will kill the priestess with a blackpowder weapon as long as there are surviving goblins otherwise will flee rather than risk fighting the PCs in melee himself.

The ghouls have a treasure trove of several grave goods mostly silver and some jewels worth about 200-300 silver let alone the loot Bargle leaves behind in his haste to flee which includes a sword bearing a Bladesharp 1 spell enchanted upon it, a orichalcum chalice that if returned to the church would easily earn the PCs entry as members of the local faith allowing them access to spells and training if they want it. There is also a couple of forgotten scroll cases if the PCs include a sorceror or spellcaster profession or replace that with a few vials say about 1 each with 2 being Heal 1 and the other a Protection 1 potion unless you'd rather they gain Heal 2 or 3 vials instead.

Seeking Bargle's escape route reveals evidence of him meeting a company of riders who are almost out of sight as they come outside where upon they come under attack by archers (2 of them) backed by another holding their horses so they can flee if the PCs pursue and yes if they do manage to catch them unprepared by going back the way they came and circling around have a chance to grab their mounts and gear which should be enough to let them spend their reward and loot money to upgrade their stuff.

Have Bargle as an occasional repeating nemesis until they're ready to meet the Ebon Baron... but I'm getting way too ahead of myself! :lol:

Hmm call of chtulhu maybe have him performing a ritual which if you want reveal he was commanding the undead to serve him and is preparing a much larger ceremony to bring a much larger and more powerful force of the undead under the banner of the Ebon Baron?
Could even then have them kill the Baron little realising he'll be brought back as the leader of an undead invasion at the behest of Bargle's true master....

 

[warlock1971]

Awesome, thanks!

I like layers of complexity in a story as it adds depth and realism.

Talking about Cthulhu, I'd like to add something similar to Sanity rules but I think the Cthulhu rules may be a bit brutal for a fantasy game. I am of the opinion that the horror of facing ghouls or similar monsters would be quite challenging to Butcher and Bakers' sons. There should be an element of fear involved in facing monsters until the PC attains a "blooded" status, say after a few sessions, like 10 or so. Any thoughts?

 

[havercake lad]

Awesome, thanks!

I like layers of complexity in a story as it adds depth and realism.

Talking about Cthulhu, I'd like to add something similar to Sanity rules but I think the Cthulhu rules may be a bit brutal for a fantasy game. I am of the opinion that the horror of facing ghouls or similar monsters would be quite challenging to Butcher and Bakers' sons. There should be an element of fear involved in facing monsters until the PC attains a "blooded" status, say after a few sessions, like 10 or so. Any thoughts?

Some useful Sanity rules are in Lawrence Whitakers 'Elric Companion'. I imagine hardened adventurers soon get inured to the horror of dead bodies and mortal comabat, having to take fewr checks or penalties obver the years ..but otherworld horrors will still,potentially, tear away their sanity.

 

[Hopeless]

How do you treat them hardening themselves against this Fear reaction?

Maybe eventually grant them access to a heroic ability that resists such checks?

 

[warlock1971]

Awesome, thanks!

I like layers of complexity in a story as it adds depth and realism.

Talking about Cthulhu, I'd like to add something similar to Sanity rules but I think the Cthulhu rules may be a bit brutal for a fantasy game. I am of the opinion that the horror of facing ghouls or similar monsters would be quite challenging to Butcher and Bakers' sons. There should be an element of fear involved in facing monsters until the PC attains a "blooded" status, say after a few sessions, like 10 or so. Any thoughts?

Some useful Sanity rules are in Lawrence Whitakers 'Elric Companion'. I imagine hardened adventurers soon get inured to the horror of dead bodies and mortal comabat, having to take fewr checks or penalties obver the years ..but otherworld horrors will still,potentially, tear away their sanity.

Agreed! Otherworldly "Cthulhu-esque" or even demonic types should be quite a test to non-blooded individuals and even a strain for hardened heroes - I would imagine.

One thing I would want to avoid, however, would be where experienced heroes fell to pieces at the sight of some demonic entity. Rereading Conan short stories at the moment and Conan faces quite a few summoned monstrosities and doesn't wilt. Some of the other characters in the stories fare a lot worse, of course! :wink:

Will have to check out the Elric Companion.

 

[soltakss]

I'd keep it very simple at first and go with the monsters raiding the village as that will be exciting, will show them how combat works, will allow them to use several different skills and can be used as a hook to new adventures.

Don't over complicate things, keep character generation simple, don't include loads of cults or options. Keep the adventure short, fast-moving, exciting with a reward at the end. Give everyone the chance to shine but don'#t force people to stand out if they don't want to. Try not to let people grandstand or take control of the game.

But, above all, try to have fun.

 

[warlock1971]

I'd keep it very simple at first and go with the monsters raiding the village as that will be exciting, will show them how combat works, will allow them to use several different skills and can be used as a hook to new adventures.

Don't over complicate things, keep character generation simple, don't include loads of cults or options. Keep the adventure short, fast-moving, exciting with a reward at the end. Give everyone the chance to shine but don'#t force people to stand out if they don't want to. Try not to let people grandstand or take control of the game.

But, above all, try to have fun.

That is good advice, I will definitely try keep it simple. i think I would prefer the setting and campaign to almost grow organically ... I could always use Greyhawk, as I know that world well!

 

[DamonJynx]

I could always use Greyhawk, as I know that world well!

That's a good place to start, go with what you know well. And there is plenty of stuff around that you could convert over. Check out the Classic Fantasy Group on Yahoo. They have converted a few AD&D modules to BRP/CF so a lot of the heavy lifting is done re conversions - obviously there are differences, but it's not as overwhelming as doing them from scratch.

 

[alex_greene]

Perhaps you could run a scenario along the lines of ...

There's a wedding in the air! The local laird's daughter has been betrothed to the son of the laird of the village next door, half a day's march from the characters' village. The wedding, by tradition, takes place in the manor of the bride-to-be, and everybody's invited.

If the characters are looking for employment, they can be hired as muscle to break up fights; as gofers to fetch and carry whatever is needed or go and find something old, something new ...; or they can entertain the guests, with minor displays of their skills (clearly not Seduction or Stealth, though Sleight can be very useful for providing some mundane stage conjuring tricks, and Sing, Brawn, Acrobatics and Play Instrument at high levels, perhaps coupled with Entertainer's Smile, would make the day pass smoothly enough).

In the midst of all this, the local "sorcerer" (actually just someone who knows a lot of Common Magic) comes in and does his thing to entertain the people ... but when he vanishes in a puff of smoke at the climax of his act, the villagers discover that the daughter has gone, too.

Guess whose job it is to go and bring her back? And guess who gets to find out that the girl has been in love with the sorcerer for years and had planned to elope with him during the ceremony?

 

[soltakss]

And guess who gets to find out that the girl has been in love with the sorcerer for years and had planned to elope with him during the ceremony?

And what if the girl has actually been kidnapped by a rival and the sorcerer is actually innocent and wondering why his sweetheart hasn't followed the plan?

 

[alex_greene]

And guess who gets to find out that the girl has been in love with the sorcerer for years and had planned to elope with him during the ceremony?

And what if the girl has actually been kidnapped by a rival and the sorcerer is actually innocent and wondering why his sweetheart hasn't followed the plan?

That is for the characters to find out. Time for some clues, and some Insight and Perception rolls.

 

[warlock1971]

That sounds very entertaining.

I would think the first place the Party goes to check out would be the local Sorcerer's Cave/Tower ... whatever. Only to discover the daughter isn't there. I think there would need to be some suitably embarrassing past deed between the village sorcerer and his rival to ensure the Sorcerer is reluctant to mention him, initially.

Maybe, the village Sorcerer stole something from the rival, which necessitated the backlash?

Long term, i think I want to run the D&D Module Red Hand of Doom, but I need to run a few introductory scenarios first to get the players comfortable with the rules and setting.

 

[alex_greene]

That sounds very entertaining.

I would think the first place the Party goes to check out would be the local Sorcerer's Cave/Tower ... whatever. Only to discover the daughter isn't there. I think there would need to be some suitably embarrassing past deed between the village sorcerer and his rival to ensure the Sorcerer is reluctant to mention him, initially.

Maybe, the village Sorcerer stole something from the rival, which necessitated the backlash?

Long term, i think I want to run the D&D Module Red Hand of Doom, but I need to run a few introductory scenarios first to get the players comfortable with the rules and setting.

Good thinking.

Make this story resolvable with some decisive actions from the characters. No complications; the missing daughter wants to come home, so it's a rescue mission from the rival. The rest, such as the cause of the spat between the sorcerer and his rival, the daughter wanting to marry the commoner village sorcerer, is just background - the characters' quest is just to get her back. (The laird can look at the girl, shrug and say "Go ahead, sweetheart. I'll marry off your younger sister to the boy in three years instead when she comes of age.")

As it's a small scale affair, light weapons, possibly of the blunt instrument variety rather than the cutlery, and light armour. Equip the rival's goons similarly, but make it challenging - the rival has a lot of goons. And if things get hairy for the characters, the friendly sorcerer can intervene once with something big and terrifying but ultimately harmless, clearing the decks for the characters to rush the rival's keep for the finale.

You could throw in a surprise, something the rival did not anticipate, such as the daughter knowing Countermagic and Countermagic Shield - which she'd learned, along with some Common Magic skill, from her lover. If things get hairy, that could be the distraction the characters need to clean the rival's clock and haul him and the daughter back to the laird.

 

[warlock1971]

That sounds very entertaining.

I would think the first place the Party goes to check out would be the local Sorcerer's Cave/Tower ... whatever. Only to discover the daughter isn't there. I think there would need to be some suitably embarrassing past deed between the village sorcerer and his rival to ensure the Sorcerer is reluctant to mention him, initially.

Maybe, the village Sorcerer stole something from the rival, which necessitated the backlash?

Long term, i think I want to run the D&D Module Red Hand of Doom, but I need to run a few introductory scenarios first to get the players comfortable with the rules and setting.

Good thinking.

Make this story resolvable with some decisive actions from the characters. No complications; the missing daughter wants to come home, so it's a rescue mission from the rival. The rest, the daughter wanting to marry the village sorcerer, is just background - the characters' quest is just to get her back.

As it's a small scale affair, light weapons, possibly of the blunt instrument variety rather than the cutlery, and light armour. Equip the rival's goons similarly, but make it challenging - the rival has a lot of goons. And if things get hairy for the characters, the friendly sorcerer can intervene once with something big and terrifying but ultimately harmless, clearing the decks for the characters to rush the rival's keep for the finale.

I like that! Once the players are accustomed to the rules we can see what they have an appetite for.

Has anyone used Legend/RuneQuest with the Greyhawk setting?

 

[alex_greene]

Can't say that I have, but I bet the Greyhawk setting would run like clockwork under the Legend engine.

And thanks. I'm always thinking up things like this to amuse and entertain your players. The secret is always to give the agency of resolution to the players - only they, in the end, can save the day.

 

[warlock1971]

My players seem to want to play newbie thieves starting out their careers in a Thieves' Guild. The advantage of this is that I can keep the first few scenarios mission-centric until everyone becomes comfortable with the rules. I plan on fleshing out many of the under world characters in the city, as well as the watch and local merchants.

I plan to forego the part of their careers leading up to their acceptance in to the Guild - or I may play a World Of Darkness style Prelude game with each player individually. Not sure, as yet.

Also, I am currently looking at which city, in the World of Greyhawk, to set the campaign in.

 

[DamonJynx]

The Red Hand of Doom is a lot of fun, played that with D&D 3.5E and converted it to 4E as we moved on.

Not to diminish any of the other posts, but as your guys are 'novice' wannabe's in the thieves guild perhaps their first mission is to find out what's happened to the tithes from the guild sub-branch in the 1st town the Red Hand has wasted. From there they become further involved in the scenario...

As for setting, any of the larger cities of Greyhawk would be fine. Brindol (I think that's the name of the major town in the scenario) is under Lord X of Y, blah, blah, blah.