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HandofBlades
2007-10-30, 11:56 PM
If you are going to play in my Underpeak campain do not read this!!!

Alright, I am relativly new at DnD and I have been having a blast playing so far. My current DM is awesome but he really wants to play some of the character's he has created. So most of our group has agreed to run games of some type so that he can get his RPing fix and we can see who would do well running the next big campain. Since this will be my first time running a campain, I am asking for some general advice and cool ideas for the campain overall.

I know that they will be starting at level eight and I know that the campain shouldn't last more then ten sessions. As for the story, it is about the great dwarven stronghold of Underpeak (homebrewed world) and the time it came under attack by a great host of evil (lots of monsters and demons controled by an unknown source). The players will be a guard unit that after the first monster attack is converted to a special forces type group. I know the first session will be trying to survivie the inital attack, and that I am planing a session that plays to each character's strong points.

So far I know I will have a Qrill paladin/greyguard (my current DM playing a homebrewed race), a mounted combat fighter who specializes in archery, and a dwarf barbarian/rouge who uses short/long swords.

Each player will be getting a magic item after the first session in honor of their bravery in combat and the fact that they survivie. Then will come the fighter's session where they must ride to one of the outposts of the strong hold and see if it survived the attack. After that I need to figure out a cool session for the paladin and the barbarian/rouge. While I know the final two sessions will be a very long dungeon crawl.

I know the magic item for the mounted combat archer, but I can't think of something cool for the greyguard or the barbarian. Any help you all could give would be great, and thanks in advance.

Miles Invictus
2007-10-31, 12:43 AM
For the Paladin/Greyguard's session, you could have them reinforce a contingent of green recruits who are outnumbered, outclassed, and have a traitor in their midst. It hits the character's two primary angles -- he defends the innocent like a Paladin, and acts the scary badass like a Greyguard.

For the Barbarian/Rogue, you can send them out to ambush a particularly powerful group of monsters. This lets him use his survival skills, his speed, and his sneak attack to great effect.

You could give the Paladin a Scabbard of Keen Edges, assuming he uses a sword. The Barbarian might get some use out of Boots of Speed. Ten rounds of Haste will let him get in some fairly strong full attacks.

Tormsskull
2007-10-31, 06:45 AM
If this is one of your first sessions as a DM I'd highly recommend against having the PCs start at level 8. I'd also recommend against allowing homebrewed races.

While a player can learn something about DMing from being a player, there is a lot that they don't see going on behind the scenes. To develop the skills needed to be a good DM, you really need to start with the basics.


If you choose not to do that (No one online usually follows this advice anyhow), then here's what I suggest:

First, is Underpeak part of a homebrew world that the past DM made up or that you made up? If it is something that the other players have experienced before, throw in some references to past events that you all went through, but avoid like the plague making your former PC seem godly. If only the other DM knows about this world, don't include any references as it would be catering only towards him, and you don't want to do that.

If you homebrewed this world yourself, way to go! Homebrew rocks, and I like the name Underpeak too. If your group is into Roleplaying at all, try to give them glimpses into the dwarven lifestyle here and there, maybe include some murals on the walls of past battles that they have fought it. Throw a statue in here or there of a great dwarven weaponsmith. Basically try to bring the culture to life.

One thing I would be cautious about is that Underpeak sounds subterranean, and dwarves imply subterranean, and the fact that you said the last two sessions involve a long dungeon crawl makes me think subterranean. Are you sure that a character specializing in Mounted Combat is a good choice? You didn't give his race from what I saw, so unless you allow the cheesy "I'm small so my medium mount goes into caves and dungeons with me" plan, that character might be at a bit of a disadvantage.

A session for the paladin might involve a group of defenders of Underpeak deserting during the initial attack, and having him chase them down and figure out why. I'm not sure what a Greyguard is, but it sounds like a morally ambigious dispenser-of-justice type paladin, so perhaps he goes to kill the deserters?

Barbarian/rogue? Hmm, maybe information gets to the PCs that an evil accomplice of the attackers has bunkered down in his enclave, rife with traps, and might know some secrets of how to stop the demons? Then the PC group would have to travel there, the barb/rogue using DD often and finally encounter the evil accomplice.

Perhaps to tie it in with the Mounted Guy to give him some love to, have the evil accomplice flee his enclave when the PCs are at his door step, and they have to ride after him?

Anyhow, good luck.

HandofBlades
2007-10-31, 11:17 AM
Thanks for the help and cool ideas. Just for more information, the mounted combat guy is thinking about being a Kitsune (tiny fox race). As for the world it was homebrewed by our whole group so everyone who is playing knows the history. There is no chance for the PCs to run into former PCs because this campain is set about a hundred and fifty years before the current game. Underpeak is a bit of an odd dwarven stronghold. It is really just a massive mountain they hollowed out and made into a fortress. So there is a great deal of underground stuff, but there are plenty of defenses spread around on the outside of the mountain too. Think of a city build in tiers and that is how the defenses work.

Stormcrow
2007-10-31, 05:57 PM
You've inspired me to get back into my homebrew. Thank you.