Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Senevri 10-06-07, 07:25 PM	Interesting game, with two players. I have the Tome of Battle and what I can remember from the phb & dmg. Mostly humans, although I've hinted at the supernatural. At first, it was because I didn't have any other books with me, now it's starting to seem more like an interesting challenge. I did pick a few animals from the SRD, to help with wilderness encounters, and I may use some appropriate spells I can remember for some of the supernatural creatures (Kitsune get Disguise/Alter Self), but mostly I'm using ToB, and only ToB. Much increased stat gains, but way less magic items. OTOH, since the opponents are humans as a rule, it's more of a self-balanced setting. I'm building based on my memories of HK movies, knowledge of oriental mythology and a generic "hundred kingdoms" idea. I felt if I'd went all Empirical, that would have become too much of a focus for the stories. Still, mood-wise, Jade Empire and Avatar are influences. Style-wise, I'm trying to sandbox as much as possible, which is tricky from time to time, as I also try to follow the rule, "do all the cool ideas immediately." There are no obvious magics, but level0-level1 equivalent magic is actually common and available via alchemy/herbalism/mystics. No clerics, but equivalent of cure light wounds potions. Except, I naturally don't know the de-facto prices for anything, just what I remember of item crafting. The story so far: originally, as a test of the rules, the first player ( A swordsage ) sneaked into an abandoned monastery, in which a group of bandits had taken residence in. A teaching scroll for the Iron Heart style had been taken from a temple, and he went there to steal it back. As he sneaked in, there wasn't much combat -- The leader - Elite Warblade1, however, was currently reading the scroll, and we got to see a bit of the combat in action. Later, as the game began proper, him and a Warblade, in a teahouse, in a table as close to the door, were in the worst possible place when the rather upset bandits (l1 common warriors) came in looking for the one who'd killed their leader. The two players start conversing quite a bit - which I rule to be in-character - we're quite fast-and-loose on what's OOC and what's IC, and combat ensues. Interesting. Not much of a challenge, but the Warblade, Säde, earns her nickname "the Unlucky", almost immediately. After the battle, the Swordsage leaves to avoid questioning, and the Warblade follows. They find a rather run-down inn, in which they stay. Next morning, they start looking for a GP-giving job, or opportunities to gain better gear. They explicitly ask who's the richest guy in town, so I come up with one, on the spot, since he could probably give them a job which pays something-or-other. They immediately start casing the place's security and valuables. Oy. They do also agree --or at least they give this impression to the guy-I-just-came-up-with, to fetch a box he left in an inn, two days' trip from the city. They're to get the huge reward of 100 GP - or equivalent thereof - for this. I think I also dropped a hint about the best smith in the area having died ten years ago. ( as the Swordsage will discover the Katana he has is actually a rather nice (legacy weapon style) blade in bad repair. He'll have chances to improve it, as much as the relative power levels allow.) So, they leave the city, and I roll percentile dice, at ad-hoc 10-20% chance of encounter on the road. First, they get ambushed by a few of the remaining bandits, which they easily clear --- except for the Warblade player's amazing ability to roll low on a d20. Then, they're almost attacked by a wolf, except they had a fire going. Next day, they encounter an old, apparently crazy man on the road, and offer him tea. Now, everyone should recognize this classic ploy. They get a few cryptic warnings about not trusting strangers and a paper talisman which is "sure to prove useful." I still haven't decided if the old man was a mystic, a dragon or a god. *shrug* So, they finally arrive at the Inn, which is actually well-lit and populated by many people. They fail a few checks, and end up enjoying a nice bowl of mystery meat. They stay in the inn overnight, but set up precautions in their room, which pay off when the cannibals attack. I happened to have a print-out of D20 Cthulhu Ghouls with me - I just make them non-undead, to use them. A rather entertaining, but ultimately unwinnable battle follows, involving acrobatics and defenestrated cannibals, thanks to the bull rushing maneuver. They do manage to light the inn on fire. Eventually, they start running low on HP, and then the Reth Dekala appears. So they run, and hide for three days. Then, they come back for a showdown - walk straight into an ambush, in which they almost die, until I pull Deus Ex on the Paper Talisman, which does a Heal on them, when they're close to death. after that, they're okay, until the Reth Dekala once again appears. They still almost win, but decide to run, as the battle isn't going too well for them, either. They decide they need better weapons, and leave for the capital of this kingdom they're in. I start to scramble to figure out why the Reth Dekala was there, besides me wanting to use a monster from the book. On the way, they encounter a trader, who sells them a waterproof blanket, a fishing rod (of +2 fish catching :P ), and an amulet which supposedly protects against something. If it works at all. (slotless +1 vs. disease.) I also introduce a salve which costs 10 coins a dose, but speeds up nightly healing by two steps. I'm coming up with prices as I go, and the Warblade seems to enjoy haggling. I apply diplomacy checks creatively, but eventually they push the trader too far, and his departing comment is, "See me when you can actually afford something!" They're hounded by a pack of wolves hungry enough to risk fire, during the night, and the fact there's little in the way of healing and them being on low HP to start with, actually makes it a scary battle. I end up ruling that Heal checks, in addition to activating triple healing, can immediately heal hit points as much as the check goes above 20. I haven't advertised this too much yet, but since Heal skill and nightly healing may end up being the major source of healing in this campaign, I don't foresee a problem. The capital: A bigger city, in which they find a blacksmith, who is willing to upgrade their weapons for 300 coins (basically, masterwork-ize). This is too much, so they start wandering. I'm all dry at this point, so we took a break. They actually manage to get lost in the city, while looking for a job ( untrained gather information, rollls of 1 and 2, respectively. ) They eventually find a small, slightly run-down tea house, filled with hooks. - There's a pair of martial artists with differing world-views, - A disguised Kitsune negotiating with an alchemist/medicine-merchant - A brooding man in an armor ,drinking rice wine in the corner. The swordsage has Scent going, so he spots the Kitsune, which I hadn't planned on, really -- but, still, that's one hook I can use. They find out that the alchemist is willing to buy handsomely for certain herbs, and are given descriptions of those. ( They could have asked for healing items, or even healing potions, but didn't. Oh, well. ) They do ask for directions to a decent Inn. One of the martial artists - an old master, with good Martial Lore, asks for an opinion on whether to kill your enemies or to let it live, from the players. This catches the attention of the brooding man in the corner. ...Who is part of a big plot thingy. He's been trying to decide on something important, depending on his skills with the blade. Now, he decides the PCs would be good candidates for testing his skills. So, as they leave, he follows and requests a duel 'til "first blood" --- which in HP abstraction I ruled to mean HD + level x con bonus. 18 for him, 17 for the Warblade and 16 for the swordsage. The Swordsage agrees--- for thirty gold. Both of them practically run out of maneuvers, and it's almost a draw- the swordsman had 5 HP above "first blood", as the Swordsage conceded defeat after being disarmed (Disarming Strike ==fun.) The swordsman takes interest on the Swordsage's katana as it's retrieved, and suggests he might be able to do some repairs on it, provided he'd have the proper tools and ingredients. And here we end. tbc Later, I decided that besides a smithy, the swordsman would need white clay, blue stone water (a type of an acid or something ), and spring water from a mountain spring ( high mineral count. ) My sword-making-fu is rusty, but the idea is that the clay is used to control how heat spreads, and to "restore" the blade without actual reforging. Plot-wise, the swordsman is the son of the local legendary sword-smith. I'm using the old story about the king wanting the best sword, and killing the smith to prevent him from making a better sword. Unknown to him, the smith had made two blades, one of which is in the hands of the son, who's trying to work his way to the king's bodyguards, to have a chance of killing him. He needed to be confident enough with his skills to apply, though.... I'll be trying to get either of these "legendary" swords for the Warblade, as the Swordsage already has a rather nifty blade. Not really sure of much else on what's going on. just trying to give the players a sandbox and other goals besides level-up and item hunting. So, suggestions, hints, tips? Opinions, comments?
Green_eyes 10-08-07, 07:11 AM	Great idea, running a ToB only game. I really like it. As for the warblade you might try a cursed intelligent sword. The man is unlucky after all. Then you can run a quest to get rid of the curse. As for the king. You could say that there is a secret passage into the palace through the royal tombs. It would be a nice place to get some legendary sword (although cursed) and fight some undead. And who is Reth Dekala? Yeah, and you could try incantations for magic: http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedIncantations.html
Senevri 10-10-07, 01:29 PM	Great idea, running a ToB only game. I really like it. As for the warblade you might try a cursed intelligent sword. The man is unlucky after all. Then you can run a quest to get rid of the curse. That... might be interesting. However, the warblade's been the weaker of the two thus far. I definitely don't want to a default DnD cursed item... but maybe something more in-genre - a bloodthisty demon blade(youto) of some sort. As for the king. You could say that there is a secret passage into the palace through the royal tombs. It would be a nice place to get some legendary sword (although cursed) and fight some undead. Maybe. I currently have no idea what they're going to do And who is Reth Dekala? Immortal undead^H^H^H^H^H^Hevil outsider warrior. Big on honor. Yeah, and you could try incantations for magic: http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedIncantations.html Yeah. something like that.
Green_eyes 10-12-07, 07:18 AM	IIRC, the warblade was named as the weakest of the three base ToB classes on the optimiser boards. And about the sword... How bout the Silver Tongue. The legendary sword. Long lost and deemed as a myth. Once it was a togue of a demon who was a great lier, and once fooled the greater gods themselves. Thus he got punished and his tongue was ripped out of his mouth and banished to the mortal realms. Now you have a magic sword and a mute demon who could become the archvillain for the story. The tongue now has a mind all by itself. It is not evil but chaotic instead. I think CN will do. Play it as a trickster. It will probably help the rescuer (the warblade) but will also grow bored every so often. What do you think?
Senevri 10-13-07, 07:36 AM	IIRC, the warblade was named as the weakest of the three base ToB classes on the optimiser boards. It really is. Thus, I don't want to saddle the player with an item which might be problematic. And about the sword... How bout the Silver Tongue. The legendary sword. Long lost and deemed as a myth. Once it was a togue of a demon who was a great lier, and once fooled the greater gods themselves. Thus he got punished and his tongue was ripped out of his mouth and banished to the mortal realms. Now you have a magic sword and a mute demon who could become the archvillain for the story. Workable. How a tongue would end up a sword, seems kinda tricky. I'll need to brush up on my far-east demonlike creatures lore to fit it in, though. The tongue now has a mind all by itself. It is not evil but chaotic instead. I think CN will do. Play it as a trickster. It will probably help the rescuer (the warblade) but will also grow bored every so often. What do you think? Not bad. I'm not sure if I want a randomizing element in the game that much. However, I could use the rule for possessed items - the more the sword likes the user, the more of it's power it will grant to the user, that sort of thing. Also, if it's intelligent, it can be INFLUENCED, since we're not speaking a basic intelligent item here.
Green_eyes 10-13-07, 08:05 AM	Workable. How a tongue would end up a sword, seems kinda tricky. I'll need to brush up on my far-east demonlike creatures lore to fit it in, though. Hm... Ok, his silver tongue was ripped out of his mouth and cast down. It turned into a silver falling star. A blacksmith found it and used the star metal to forge a sword. The swod is the warrior's soul. It's even more true when a demon's tongue is used in the process. The sword awakened. (and acts as a +1 silver long sword). Not bad. I'm not sure if I want a randomizing element in the game that much. However, I could use the rule for possessed items - the more the sword likes the user, the more of it's power it will grant to the user, that sort of thing. Also, if it's intelligent, it can be INFLUENCED, since we're not speaking a basic intelligent item here. Yeah, that's what I meant. Also the warblade could open new powers meditating on the sword. That way he could help the tongue remember it's past. At some moment he might even return to the demon, leaving a gift to his friend and master. You could even let the player play the role of the sword at some moments. Like the tongue posesses him, when he needs to bluff or smth like that. Might be a very fun RP. Only dicsuss it with the player beforehand.
Senevri 10-13-07, 03:10 PM	Hm... Ok, his silver tongue was ripped out of his mouth and cast down. It turned into a silver falling star. A blacksmith found it and used the star metal to forge a sword. The sword is the warrior's soul. It's even more true when a demon's tongue is used in the process. The sword awakened. (and acts as a +1 silver long sword). Neat. I think I like it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaoguai So, this would likely be one of the "pet of gods" type. Might not even be evil, if it was punished for it's insolence, for an example. Hmm. Certainly enough for many ideas. Also the warblade could open new powers meditating on the sword. That way he could help the tongue remember it's past. At some moment he might even return to the demon, leaving a gift to his friend and master. You could even let the player play the role of the sword at some moments. Like the tongue posesses him, when he needs to bluff or smth like that. Might be a very fun RP. Only dicsuss it with the player beforehand. Yes. Sounds good.