Talkan
2012-03-31, 10:49 PM
Hey, I'm back. Sorry it took so long to respond, RL decided to show up and keep me from posting in my old thread, so it's old enough that I don't feel comfortable posting in it without risking the wrath of the Moderators. If you want to take a look at it, here's a link to it. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235770) In case you don't, I'll give you some basic information. I have limited them to core only, since when I did this I thought it would save some confusion. I don't want to go back on this, though, since three out of the five characters are already created and I don't want to be seen as the DM who constantly changes his mind.
The SettingIt takes place on a large island populated by the PHB races. The island is (technically) ruled by The Council of Races, which has five council members from each Race, but there is some serious meddling and behind-the-scenes control by the major religious organization of the island (henceforth referred to as 'The Church'). The Island is divided into 7 sections, each of which is inhabited by a different group of people. Each section has it's own ruling government, but each of them report back to the Council of Races. There is a section for each Race, as well as one that is all Races mixed, an area for the Druids, and one for the Church. There is a lot of animosity between the Druids and the Church, since they both draw their powers from Divinity, but the Druids have no desire to join the Church. There are some Islands surrounding the Main Island, but they are populated by Wild Beasts and Savage Humanoids.
I've had some ideas for how to start the first session and started planning into the second session, but I don't know how likely they are to last as long as I want them to. I don't know how long sessions usually last either. I've had some that lasted 5 hours, some that were barely over 2, and one that was almost 8, so I have no idea how long to keep it going. I personally have very little gaming stamina, and after about 6 or 7 hours I start to have a harder time playing and keeping in character. Should I ask my players for their preferences? Or should I just say ‘this is how long I can go for, so that’s how long I’ll plan my sessions for’?
Ok, here is some other info:
The Party
Player A has made a TN Halfling Rogue after about a month of asking me whether or not I would loosen the restrictions on character creation and changing his mind of what he wanted constantly.
Player B is a TN Halfling Bard with a tendency for good, due to losing his original Half-elf character sheet.
Player C is a CG Elf (but might change to Half-elf) Ranger who has several Druid friends.
Player D is a TN Elf Rogue who is 'atheist', meaning he doesn't recognize the Gods. He's pretty sure they exist, but he just doesn't worship them. I don't think that this qualifies as atheist, but he's determined that it is, and I'm not going to argue with him. Are there any spells/feats/items that require you to be an atheist? That’s really the only reason (apart from character flavor) I could see making him desire to do this.
Player E is making his character right now, so I'm waiting for his to have the complete party.
The Items
I think that they are conspiring against me, because four of them have asked for "a Family heirloom" item that would be taken out of their total wealth. I thought they sounded fine, so I have given them a tentative yes.
Player C wants a Ring on Waterbreathing, but it only works for 1 hour per level and needs twice as long to recharge from an 'empty' state. From a partially used state (such as 3 hours used out of 4 total) it only takes one hour per used hour to recharge.
Player B wanted a fancy instrument (can't remember what type) that increases his Bardic Music abilities by 1. I’m not sure if this means 1 level or the numeric values (DCs, bonuses) are increased by 1. This seems like it could be very overpowered. I was thinking that one that grants an additional use of Bardic Music might be better, but I’m not sure.
Player A wants something, but it's changed as much as his character. Last time it was a sword (I can’t remember the type) that could split in two as a standard action, dealing normal damage as one and dealing 1 dice lower when separate. This seems a little overpowered to me, but I thought I’d bring it here to see what the Playground thinks.
Player D wants a pair of Elven Thinblades that both have a nonmagical +2 to disarms checks, which increases to +5 in "wet conditions like rain or being underwater." Normally this wouldn't bug me, but I think that they are planning on getting all of their items to work well together and either kill each other for theirs or work together and use them in conjunction to screw me over.
Player E hasn't talked to me about any of this, so I don't know if he's in on it (if there is even any conspiracy)
So here's the plan:
I want them to start on a ship on their way to one of the outlying islands for a hunting trip before a birthday celebration in the area that they all 'just happen to be in'. So, I was thinking that they could spend a couple of days hunting (resting on the ships for safety). Have them kill a couple of Dire Animals then head back to the celebration. On the way, they’ll get attacked by some Half-Orc Pirates. There will only be about 6 level 2s. (Is there a conversion factor for CR and class level? If so, what is it?) After they get done slaughtering the Pirates, they finally get home. When they get home, they find the celebration waiting for them, and the role-playing begins. I hope to gain a perspective on how they role-play with this part so that I can better guess what they’ll accept and what they won’t. I might even offer them a few jobs and see if they take the bait. These will be mostly to gain some cash, cause animosity towards some major organizations, and help me determine how best to DM this group. After the celebration, I’m going to have the host invite them to dinner with his family. A bit more role-playing, get to know each other, blah, blah, blah. After a while, the host sends his son outside to get something or other. After a little more conversation, the son bursts into the house, gasping for breath. “Father! They’ve returned!” At this, the host immediately gets up and closes the door, closing its latch. He tells his family to close and lock all the other windows and doors. He turns to the PCs and says “I know that we don’t know each other very well, but I would ask that you help me. There is a group of Mages living in the forest nearby that have been threatening my family and I if we didn’t give them access to the remains of our family and our graveyard. I fear that they are Necromancers! (Italics is hissed) They have threatened to torture my wife and children if I go to the authorities, so I haven’t done anything yet. Will you help me protect my family?” They can choose whether or not to do so. I’m guessing that Players A, B, C, and E will accept right off the back, maybe with some conditions, but they’ll accept nonetheless. I think that Player D will accept as well, though mostly because everyone else is. I’ll give them the option of being as creative as they want, whether they want to play it as a fortress where they pick them off with ranged weapons or go out and smash them to bits or choose something I haven’t thought of is their choice. The Necromancers will approach the house and call out the Host. They will taunt him and talk about torturing his family and the joy it will be. I’m going to be making some intimidate checks at this point, to determine whether or not the farmer will be intimidated. I was thinking about giving him a +3 bonus due to having allies now. I might make the players make the opposed check roll. I’m not trying to railroad them; I’m just trying to give the campaign flavor. I’m guessing (more like hoping) that one of the PCs will call out to them. IF so, the Necromancers will say that they have no quarrel with the PCs, so if they choose to leave now, their lives will be spared. I don’t think that any of the PCs will choose this, but I’m giving them the option. After that, a fight will ensue. There might be some undead due to the Summon Undead I spell. It will be the hardest fight I’ve given them yet, mostly because I’m going to be playing these much more intelligently than the others.
This campaign is most likely going to contain a lot of Undead. I have a question about Turn/Rebuke Undead: Does a cleric have to turn each undead individually? Or does it turn all Undead with Y HD or less within X radius after a cleric succeeds a turn check? Also, is there any item or weapon enchantment that allows sneak attack to affect the Undead? I have two rogues in my party and I don’t want to make one of their biggest class features completely useless against the some of the enemies early on.
Now I would like to acknowledge some stuff from the other thread.
HOW ARE YOU DEFINING DIVINES. This is a big one for me, personally. I hate playing a Cleric because if I play a good Cleric and do something evil (even a little) technically a god can take away all my power, depending how you define it, though usually a cleric's code of conduct isn't as strict as a paladin's it could easily be ruled to be.
Well, honestly I've never really thought about it too much (which is probably the problem, isn't it?), but I figured it would be more like "The ends justify the means, but if you do something super horrendous (like kill an innocent, good creature without justified cause) or do too many things that violate your code, you need an atonement" than like "OMG!! You acted evil?!? You must now hunt down some high level Cleric to repent!!"
And while on the topic of Clerics, I would like to have a plethora of low-level clerics on the island, with higher level ones more commonly found in bigger cities. I'd also like to have healing magic relatively common and thus slightly cheaper. This includes potions, scrolls, staffs, wands, clerics-for-hire, etc. The clerics-for-hire probably wouldn't go out adventuring with them, though. They'd be perfectly comfortable with staying in their chapels and raising/healing when paid to. Does this sound good to you guys?
Also,
A note on Diplomacy. Don't run it by the rules, just kind of allow it to be used in non-combat encounters or against people who maybe just trying to defend themselves. Do you think I should run it like The Giant says to? I've skimmed through that and it seems like a good method, but I'm not 100% sure and I would have to copy it down on a piece of paper to look at when I needed it.
BTW, I like your campaign ideas. Thanks! :smallredface:
Try to keep the players in the spotlight. This is easier said than done, and it's easier when the party is not evil. Evil parties are also the most prone to surprises: "The lord gives you the noble quest to kill a dragon, and will reward you with this amulet." "I sneak attack the lord, steal the amulet, cast Invisibility, and run." Countless examples. Would you say offering them money frequently is be a bad incentive? I'm thinking about doing that at first (unless that's a bad idea) and hope that they gain a sense of loyalty eventually. ...This is probably a bad idea, isn't it...?
Would it be a good idea to start updating this as the Campaign goes along and getting advice from the Playground?
That’s all I have for now. Any advice? Suggestions? Problems with my thinking?
Thanks in advance!
EDIT: Also, how do wands work? I've had a disagreement with someone on this. They say that you need to know the spell that's stored in the wand to use it, but I think that you just need to succeed a UMD check and you can cast the spell. Who is right? Is it the same for scrolls? Staffs?
The SettingIt takes place on a large island populated by the PHB races. The island is (technically) ruled by The Council of Races, which has five council members from each Race, but there is some serious meddling and behind-the-scenes control by the major religious organization of the island (henceforth referred to as 'The Church'). The Island is divided into 7 sections, each of which is inhabited by a different group of people. Each section has it's own ruling government, but each of them report back to the Council of Races. There is a section for each Race, as well as one that is all Races mixed, an area for the Druids, and one for the Church. There is a lot of animosity between the Druids and the Church, since they both draw their powers from Divinity, but the Druids have no desire to join the Church. There are some Islands surrounding the Main Island, but they are populated by Wild Beasts and Savage Humanoids.
I've had some ideas for how to start the first session and started planning into the second session, but I don't know how likely they are to last as long as I want them to. I don't know how long sessions usually last either. I've had some that lasted 5 hours, some that were barely over 2, and one that was almost 8, so I have no idea how long to keep it going. I personally have very little gaming stamina, and after about 6 or 7 hours I start to have a harder time playing and keeping in character. Should I ask my players for their preferences? Or should I just say ‘this is how long I can go for, so that’s how long I’ll plan my sessions for’?
Ok, here is some other info:
The Party
Player A has made a TN Halfling Rogue after about a month of asking me whether or not I would loosen the restrictions on character creation and changing his mind of what he wanted constantly.
Player B is a TN Halfling Bard with a tendency for good, due to losing his original Half-elf character sheet.
Player C is a CG Elf (but might change to Half-elf) Ranger who has several Druid friends.
Player D is a TN Elf Rogue who is 'atheist', meaning he doesn't recognize the Gods. He's pretty sure they exist, but he just doesn't worship them. I don't think that this qualifies as atheist, but he's determined that it is, and I'm not going to argue with him. Are there any spells/feats/items that require you to be an atheist? That’s really the only reason (apart from character flavor) I could see making him desire to do this.
Player E is making his character right now, so I'm waiting for his to have the complete party.
The Items
I think that they are conspiring against me, because four of them have asked for "a Family heirloom" item that would be taken out of their total wealth. I thought they sounded fine, so I have given them a tentative yes.
Player C wants a Ring on Waterbreathing, but it only works for 1 hour per level and needs twice as long to recharge from an 'empty' state. From a partially used state (such as 3 hours used out of 4 total) it only takes one hour per used hour to recharge.
Player B wanted a fancy instrument (can't remember what type) that increases his Bardic Music abilities by 1. I’m not sure if this means 1 level or the numeric values (DCs, bonuses) are increased by 1. This seems like it could be very overpowered. I was thinking that one that grants an additional use of Bardic Music might be better, but I’m not sure.
Player A wants something, but it's changed as much as his character. Last time it was a sword (I can’t remember the type) that could split in two as a standard action, dealing normal damage as one and dealing 1 dice lower when separate. This seems a little overpowered to me, but I thought I’d bring it here to see what the Playground thinks.
Player D wants a pair of Elven Thinblades that both have a nonmagical +2 to disarms checks, which increases to +5 in "wet conditions like rain or being underwater." Normally this wouldn't bug me, but I think that they are planning on getting all of their items to work well together and either kill each other for theirs or work together and use them in conjunction to screw me over.
Player E hasn't talked to me about any of this, so I don't know if he's in on it (if there is even any conspiracy)
So here's the plan:
I want them to start on a ship on their way to one of the outlying islands for a hunting trip before a birthday celebration in the area that they all 'just happen to be in'. So, I was thinking that they could spend a couple of days hunting (resting on the ships for safety). Have them kill a couple of Dire Animals then head back to the celebration. On the way, they’ll get attacked by some Half-Orc Pirates. There will only be about 6 level 2s. (Is there a conversion factor for CR and class level? If so, what is it?) After they get done slaughtering the Pirates, they finally get home. When they get home, they find the celebration waiting for them, and the role-playing begins. I hope to gain a perspective on how they role-play with this part so that I can better guess what they’ll accept and what they won’t. I might even offer them a few jobs and see if they take the bait. These will be mostly to gain some cash, cause animosity towards some major organizations, and help me determine how best to DM this group. After the celebration, I’m going to have the host invite them to dinner with his family. A bit more role-playing, get to know each other, blah, blah, blah. After a while, the host sends his son outside to get something or other. After a little more conversation, the son bursts into the house, gasping for breath. “Father! They’ve returned!” At this, the host immediately gets up and closes the door, closing its latch. He tells his family to close and lock all the other windows and doors. He turns to the PCs and says “I know that we don’t know each other very well, but I would ask that you help me. There is a group of Mages living in the forest nearby that have been threatening my family and I if we didn’t give them access to the remains of our family and our graveyard. I fear that they are Necromancers! (Italics is hissed) They have threatened to torture my wife and children if I go to the authorities, so I haven’t done anything yet. Will you help me protect my family?” They can choose whether or not to do so. I’m guessing that Players A, B, C, and E will accept right off the back, maybe with some conditions, but they’ll accept nonetheless. I think that Player D will accept as well, though mostly because everyone else is. I’ll give them the option of being as creative as they want, whether they want to play it as a fortress where they pick them off with ranged weapons or go out and smash them to bits or choose something I haven’t thought of is their choice. The Necromancers will approach the house and call out the Host. They will taunt him and talk about torturing his family and the joy it will be. I’m going to be making some intimidate checks at this point, to determine whether or not the farmer will be intimidated. I was thinking about giving him a +3 bonus due to having allies now. I might make the players make the opposed check roll. I’m not trying to railroad them; I’m just trying to give the campaign flavor. I’m guessing (more like hoping) that one of the PCs will call out to them. IF so, the Necromancers will say that they have no quarrel with the PCs, so if they choose to leave now, their lives will be spared. I don’t think that any of the PCs will choose this, but I’m giving them the option. After that, a fight will ensue. There might be some undead due to the Summon Undead I spell. It will be the hardest fight I’ve given them yet, mostly because I’m going to be playing these much more intelligently than the others.
This campaign is most likely going to contain a lot of Undead. I have a question about Turn/Rebuke Undead: Does a cleric have to turn each undead individually? Or does it turn all Undead with Y HD or less within X radius after a cleric succeeds a turn check? Also, is there any item or weapon enchantment that allows sneak attack to affect the Undead? I have two rogues in my party and I don’t want to make one of their biggest class features completely useless against the some of the enemies early on.
Now I would like to acknowledge some stuff from the other thread.
HOW ARE YOU DEFINING DIVINES. This is a big one for me, personally. I hate playing a Cleric because if I play a good Cleric and do something evil (even a little) technically a god can take away all my power, depending how you define it, though usually a cleric's code of conduct isn't as strict as a paladin's it could easily be ruled to be.
Well, honestly I've never really thought about it too much (which is probably the problem, isn't it?), but I figured it would be more like "The ends justify the means, but if you do something super horrendous (like kill an innocent, good creature without justified cause) or do too many things that violate your code, you need an atonement" than like "OMG!! You acted evil?!? You must now hunt down some high level Cleric to repent!!"
And while on the topic of Clerics, I would like to have a plethora of low-level clerics on the island, with higher level ones more commonly found in bigger cities. I'd also like to have healing magic relatively common and thus slightly cheaper. This includes potions, scrolls, staffs, wands, clerics-for-hire, etc. The clerics-for-hire probably wouldn't go out adventuring with them, though. They'd be perfectly comfortable with staying in their chapels and raising/healing when paid to. Does this sound good to you guys?
Also,
A note on Diplomacy. Don't run it by the rules, just kind of allow it to be used in non-combat encounters or against people who maybe just trying to defend themselves. Do you think I should run it like The Giant says to? I've skimmed through that and it seems like a good method, but I'm not 100% sure and I would have to copy it down on a piece of paper to look at when I needed it.
BTW, I like your campaign ideas. Thanks! :smallredface:
Try to keep the players in the spotlight. This is easier said than done, and it's easier when the party is not evil. Evil parties are also the most prone to surprises: "The lord gives you the noble quest to kill a dragon, and will reward you with this amulet." "I sneak attack the lord, steal the amulet, cast Invisibility, and run." Countless examples. Would you say offering them money frequently is be a bad incentive? I'm thinking about doing that at first (unless that's a bad idea) and hope that they gain a sense of loyalty eventually. ...This is probably a bad idea, isn't it...?
Would it be a good idea to start updating this as the Campaign goes along and getting advice from the Playground?
That’s all I have for now. Any advice? Suggestions? Problems with my thinking?
Thanks in advance!
EDIT: Also, how do wands work? I've had a disagreement with someone on this. They say that you need to know the spell that's stored in the wand to use it, but I think that you just need to succeed a UMD check and you can cast the spell. Who is right? Is it the same for scrolls? Staffs?