Campaign Part III

Part three of the ongoing campaign of no name, should involve, depending on what was resolved or unresolved in part II, a river run. I lives the river locale, similar to the Games Workshop river supplement, which is in the attic, and I cant recall the name, and am too tired to go get it. It could be Nuln, and or Altdorf thing, but you will know it when you see it.

Anywho, let the PCs wander about the wilderness, and stumble onto a ferry, or some type of river transport, kind of a Inn of Intrige on the water. A common threat amongst strangers, and an inability to escape said strife, that is no doubt leathal, works well in story for Hollywood, like Aliens, Jaws, Night of the Living Dead, and many others, and it will work here. (maybe a vampire cloistered away on board).

Or something... maybe the assasin shows up on board, lizardish tail- whipping in all his/her reptilian glory, or maybe the guild has a member or two , with an offer few can, or have refused. Maybe a impish like demon thing is causing the deaths among crew or passengers, invisible and deadly, or maybe a 'ganger posing as such and getting new victims. Its a chance to get new contacts and colorful NPCs, good and bad, and its a different culture and locale that usual, complete with its own language and customs to incorporate into play. PCs give great cues so watch for em.

Anywho, next is the Big City, full of tons of NPCs and interesting people, hooks, adventures, and so on. Pcs should be of decent level 5-6 or so, so they should have plenty of fun, since hits, and skills, and feats should be semi substantial, unless players have fallen, and are new characters that have launched off the crew or passengers, and fellow adventurers from the Inn of Intrigue.

Main plot should move forward thanks to the mobbish guild members, or the emissary of the benefactor paying for the gizmo, or the wizard it was stolen from, and or sect members, or maybe, just maybe, there is a goodie type ready to kill all to destroy it. A knightly sappy guy, that has a big pointy sword or spear.

Anything else that happens is up to the players and or GM. The City Books give good idears for what can be done, but feel free to tweek as you go. I list about 50 or so hooks and idears for the city gear, and it helps to have a list of names and one or two word descriptions so you can add a hook to your characters... like balding pate, stammering, or twitchy.... something that marks him or her memorable to the players. I like the gnomish hookers, who can forget them?

Campaign Part Two

Well, part two usually begins with a journey somewhere depending on what happened in the Inn of Intrigue beginning. Hopefully the players have not gone too awry from the plot as my players often do, but sometimes it leads to good gaming.

Hopefully they have gotten a clue about the magical thingy, and have gone to find some more knowledgable person in the BIG CITY .

This trek could allow a crawl or two depending on size, like lost tombs that do not have to be so extensive. Anywho, this allows an opportunity for the player and or players to hopefully build on some side plots, and introduce some contacts along the way that might be beneficial to the team, or not, or ones that just draw the players into all sorts of wacky goodness. This also allows the characters to experience the free form of play, as they transverse to the next site.

Big City is a hotbed for this style of play... PCs off exploring at will. I generate a list of side plots, mostly a NPC or two, bare bones, as a jump off point of sorts and let the PCs guide play. I will on ocassion bring them back to the campaign if need be to set up the next night's play, but the city should provide much, and the imagination of the players should fill in the rest.

But the road there should involve some of the major players currently in the game. The secret zealots could be there with spider god acolytes with crazy granted powers, or some adepts riding spiders of various natures, more of scouting than an assualt team. The re-occurring villian from the Inn could have the Assassin (hot Lizard Chick) tailing the party from the Inn, or whatever transpired if anything. Maybe hold off on the Guild until the Big City to introduce them as a mob like organization smart and widespread rather than the low lifes people take them for.

As a sidebar, maybe a female of pixie-ish origin, might fall in live with a party member, or a party's member, (hahahaha), and could launch salvos of sleepy arrows and cart him off to the secret pixie village in the faerie wood with some woodland friends and her sisters.

Maybe our heroes meet with a wizard, residing in a city, currently atop a live giant tortoise. Yes this is grand theft idea from Jeff's Gameblog. (see links) That's why his blog is so cool. He shares the gaming nuggets like this one. He (the Wizard, not Jeff) could pop up again later in the campaign, and help the PCs now with info, raise the dead, or spout cryptic riddles, and semi truthful fortune telling.

So what we have here, is the cult, maybe the assasin, maybe not, the pesky Pixie love tryst and possibly love-child, the turtle riding wizard, and whatever side plots, and or small dungeon crawls you might put in.

I likes a little river run down to the Big City, a litle river barge action, river gypies, and what not, prior to the scary city.

Campaign Part One

Ok, I will help you get started because its so easy. Having a general idea and or guideline is the way to go, because players will give you great ideas for plotting and or subplotting as the nights pile up and the story begins to mature.

I am not one for" game theory" and its gamespeak, I just like to play a little, roll some dice, have some fun. Anywho here it is fast and furious: the setting is a remote inn between two towns, and inclimate weather forces the newbies indoors. Easy enough. Enroute to said destination, as it can be seen in dark silhouette against the flashes of lighting, the players get a dying delivery.
A man in black explodes from the darkness, maybe they kill him cause he is armed, maybe he just croaks. He does mutter a word before the reaper comes to claim him. This adds mystery... is it a name, a place, a group, a codeword... I dont know 'cause it will work out in the end.

Anywho, he has on his person an item of interest, a small rod looking thing, maybe two and a half feet long, and having a crown like head, pointy an such. It is magical in nature for sure, but its uses are as yet unknown. The dead man worked for a thieves guild, and pilferred it from someone. (It's wrong to steal from wizards). So at the inn, the guild member should meet up with him for payment once a secret sign is flashed, and returned. Also unknown to the PCs, is its primary function, a key mechanism, so a secret society wants it for their ceremony to unleash some fogotten god, demon nasty, snot golem, whatever. I like the Elder Spider God from the prior post so lets go with it.

So ... as far as plot goes, the guild wants it, the spider clan wants it, the victim of the pilferring wants it back, and when and if, the guild doesnt get it, their benefactor who paid for the robbery, will get the PCs names and desriptions. Lots to do here, posturing and threatening and what not.

And now for the patrons of the establishment that are riding the storm out. A gambler is always an option and possible contact for the players as gamblers frequently leave areas after they have worn out their welcome. Perhaps a bard, or a bard with a pet monkey, cause I like monkeys... they work the same. Anywho, a merchant is there with some secret cargo, maybe a wounded manticore he plans to sell to a menagerie, that might or might not get loose, some nobles from fueding houses that could pull the players into the mix, the list is endless. I dont use a lot of demis, but a elf could be here, or a gnome or some wizard that had magic gone wrong like the wizard from the dungeons and dragons cartoon. This locale makes it a nice meeting place for the less than savory elements of society.

I like the mistaken identity ploy so sue me. I also like an assasin character that harasses the characters like a lizardman girl, so I can tail whip/trip attack while the melee goes my way. No one expects the assasin to be a lizard, let alone a hot chick lizardman if lizardman chicks can be hot and sexy which I think they can.It is a good idea for a reoccuring evil type character rather than the factoid giving monkey wielding bard, or sarcastic gambler.