Tutorial Campaign: Alanella Academy [Archive] - Wizards Community

Tutorial Campaign: Alanella Academy [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
a_charlie
01-14-08, 02:02 AM I've had this idea for a campaign introducing new players to the rules of the game, therefor I created Alanella Academy, designed to teach the basic rules of the game. Tell me what you guys think of the idea, and the initial adventure i have written out. If you guys like it feel free to contribute ideas, it would be much appreciated.

Alanella Academy:
School of Combat

Adventure Background:

This adventure is designed to allow first time players to become associated with the combat and movement rules found in the player’s handbook 3.5.

The adventure is set in Alanella Academy, a place for young adventurers to learn the way of adventuring. The academy serves to provide training in all aspects of adventuring and is designed to cater for all classes.

The academy is divided into five schools; Combat, Adv. Combat; Magic, Adv, Magic (Arcane, and Divine); Ranged, Adv. Ranged; Martial arts, Adv. Martial Arts; and Rouge, Adv Rouge.

One part of the academy is the school of combat, designed to teach all character classes the art of combat, and for those who choose the paths of warriors, such as fighters, paladins etc. the school provides advanced training.

The school head trainer, Sir Felmar is an ex-military officer, adept in training young soldiers the art of war. Felmar himself taught two of the Royal Princes, and is perhaps one of the best swordsmen in the kingdom.

This adventure acts as an interactive way in order to learn combat and movement rules. Throughout the adventure the PC/’s will demonstrate what the have learned in a number of basic encounters.

The learning structure is set into ‘rounds’. Each round will contain a theory component, followed by a practical demonstration, and finished with an encounter demonstrating what the PC has learnt.

Lesson Breakdown:
Lessons 1-5 basic, lesson 5-10 advanced

Lesson One: Combat basics.
In this first lesson the PC/’s will learn about the basics of combat as outlined on page 134 of the Players Handbook. The basics to be outlined in this lesson are, the battle grid (if eligible), rounds, initiative, actions (Free, standard, full), movement/speed and death and dying.

The first lesson does not contain a practical demonstration or encounter.

Lesson Two: Movement
In this lesson the PC’s will learn the basics of movement such as Speed, moving as a standard or full round action, running, difficult terrain and hampered movement, encumbrance, distance, moving through a square and the 5-foot step. These rules can be found on pages 142-149 of the player’s handbook.

A demonstration may be needed for this lesson, depending on the DM. A basic encounter is also ran at the end of this lesson.

Lesson three: Basics of attacking.
In this lesson the PC/’s will learn about the basics of attacking including, attack roles, attack bonus’s, and AC and modifiers, as well as Damage, Min Damage, ability Modifiers, multipliers/critical hits, fighting defensively, and non lethal damage.

This round is accompanied with a practical demonstration and a basic encounter.

Lesson Four: Attacking and moving
This lesson is used as a summary of both moving and attacking, and brings the two together. In this lesson you will also cover actions (standard and full), attacks of opportunity, five foot step, and withdrawing from combat. This lesson is also used to better explain initiative and rounds.

There is a practical demonstration and an encounter at the end of this round in order for the PC’s to demonstrate everything they have learnt in lessons one through to four.

Synopsis:

The adventure is set in a large empty room, 50ft by 50ft. above the room, 20ft up is a ledge, 20ft wide indented into the wall. The ledge is surrounded by a rail 3ft high. At one end of the room is two small iron doors, behind them are two staircases leading to the platform (appendix A)

The floor of the room is wooden, and the walls made of stone. The PC/’s begin in the centre of the room, facing Sir Felmar who is standing on the ledge looking down at the PC/’s. Beside Felmar stands Elaia, a human female sorcerer and on the other side stands a stout and well groomed male Dwarven cleric named Dabar.

LESSON ONE:

Read the following:
You stand in a large empty room, 50ft by 50ft; the floor is made of a polished wood, but regardless provides a good footing without any slip. At the far end of the room are two large metal doors; above the doors, about 20ft off the ground is a ledge, running around the length of the room. Standing on the ledge is your mentor, Sir Felmar, dressed in a shinning metal breastplate with a golden tree on the front. Under the breastplate is a white robe, hanging down to his feet and just above his hands. Around his waste is a belt, with a swords sheathed to it. The hilt of the sword is beautifully crafted, with a large black gem on the pommel, which seems to shine on its own accord. Sir Femars piercing grey eyes shine down upon you, his head is bald; a large scare runs from just above his eye to behind his ear out of sight. Besides Sir Felmar is a tall woman wearing a long white robe with a golden tree on the chest. Around her waste is tied a golden belt made of cloth. Her hair is a brilliant red, and her eyes are a piercing brilliant green, her skin almost white. On the other side of Felmar is a stout dwarf, dressed in a similar breast plate to Felmar, and a white robe with blue trimming underneath. On his back the hilt of a large weapon can be seen, the weapons identity however can not be made out. His long blond beard is plated, as is his hair.

Felmar looks down upon, placing one hand on the hilt of his sword, and speaks. “Greetings young one, I am Sir Felmar. Besides me is the sorceress Elaia, and on my other side is the cleric Dabar. They are here to assist me with your training.” The tall women, obviously Elaia smiles and nods at you. The dwarf Dabar makes a strange grunting sound. Felmar suddenly claps his hands together exclaiming “lets begin!”, making the dwarf Dabar wince slightly.

“Your first lesson will look at the basics of game play such as the battle grid, rounds, initiative, actions, including Free, standard, and full, movement/speed and Dabar here will explain the basics of death and dying.”

You can either now summarize the information outlined on page 135 of the players handbook 3.5 edition, remembering to read only the concepts discussed above, or you can read the following dialogue.

“First of all we shall look at the battle grid” Felmar remarks, a look of boredom on his face. Elaia moves her hands around slightly and a small white piece of paper appears in front of you with small 1-inch squares cover it. The grid shimmers slightly every now and then, affirming that it is only an illusion. “This is the battle grid” Felmar continues, “It is used to represent battles and other encounters you might come across during your adventures. Each 1-inch square on the grid represents 5ft in the real world.” The image of the battle grid shimmers one last time and disappears. Felmar, with the same look of boredom on his face moves on. “Next up we will talk about initiative. Initiative is used to see who goes first in the first round and the order of play therein. At the beginning of the round you will roll to see your initiative, and the DM will roll to see your opponent’s initiative. Your initiative check, or roll, is the d20 dice plus your dexterity modifier. The person or opponent with the highest check goes first, with the lowest going last. This applies for all rounds for that particular encounter thereafter.” Dabar the Dwarf lets out a large yawn, interrupting Felmar. Felmar, looking impatiently at Dabar continues. “Next up is actions. Each round you may take a number of different actions including a move action, and a standard action, two move actions, or a full action. You may also take a free action, which is an action that doesn’t take any of time. A standard action may be attacking, and a full action may be doing a full attack, or running. Finally I will talk briefly about movement and speed. Every character has a speed measurement, in ft, which dictates how far the character can move in a standard action. For instance I have a speed of 30ft which means I can move six feet as a standard action. I can therefore take two move actions in a round and move 60ft, or run, which I will talk more about later. I’ll now hand over to Dabar for the basics about death and dying” Felmar folds his arms and looks down at the dwarf, who has a large and somewhat sadistic smile on his face. Elaia the sorceress raises her hands, moving them about slightly. Slowly a mirror image of yourself begins to appear about 20ft from you. Dabar, still with a sadistic grin on his face, clears his throat and begins to talk. “Now, you little bastards may think your invincible owt’ ‘ere in the real world, but rest assured that your not!” as Dabar finishes speaking the mirror image of yourself promptly blows up, spreading pieces of smoldering flesh and blood all over the room. The mass destruction and gore linger for a moment and begin to fade; Dabar however is nearly falling over in laughter. Composing himself he continues. “Death ye see wee one can happen as quickly as a giant spike falling on your head, or a dark mage disintegrating you from the shadows. Now, you’ be noticing ye have Hit points. When your hit points reaches 0 your unconscious. Every round there after you lose 1 hit point until you reach -10, then ye DEAD!” The dwarf screams the last bit out with a giant grin on his face. “However! You can stop one of ya wee friends loosing hit points if you try to heal them. Healing is a standard action. A heal check or roll of 15 or more stops ye wee friend from loosing hit points. You can also use spells to heal unconscious friends. If one hit point of health is healed then the unconscious person stops losing health. If you heal them above 0 hit points then they can take part in the fun again, that is their head isn’t hurting too much!” With this the dwarf roared laughing again. Felmar glances briefly at the dwarf and coughs into his hand. “Thank you Dabar”. The dwarf, slightly out of breath stands up holding onto the rail. “My pleasure” the dwarf grumbles. Felmar then continues; “Dabar will remain here just in case something goes wrong during these lesson... we have lost students before. Now I do understand that some of this information might not make sense at the moment, but hopefully it will become clearer. That is the end of lesson one. Please feel free to ask any questions.

The PC/’s may wish to ask a few questions about lesson one. Remember in answering them don’t overload them or give them too much information.

P.S. Sorry for any typos and spelling mistakes, i havn't proof read it. Oh and i apologise for the length of the post, i havn't figured out how to do spiolers. cheers.
LVL10human
01-14-08, 03:21 PM I think it's a really good plan. However i do think that the basic board game is a good way to learnthe rules of the game.
Archus Forix
01-14-08, 08:14 PM seems ok, reminds me of the intro to Neverwinter Nights. I suppose as preamble you could give a description of the atmosphere of it, the city, the academy, the general feel of the game, then proceed.

For an intro to the game in its entirety, it is a good effort. It seems very open and thus non-linear, so can easily be made really fun if not taken too seriously. Yea sure they'll need to learn the rules, but encourage RP and telling each other their experiences.
'I got that kobold in three hits! :) '
'Well I got it in one! Without taking damage! ;) '
'.... screw you lot, I cast a fire spell on that **** just burned like that dwarf's spirit. I tell you, you should have seen those kobold's eyes, they were like wide in fear and pain! I can't believe I cackled when after experiencing that pain the only relief was when those eyes melted in its sockets! I can't wait for the next lesson! :devil:'

:mymy:
:mymy:
:D

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
a_charlie 01-14-08, 02:02 AM	I've had this idea for a campaign introducing new players to the rules of the game, therefor I created Alanella Academy, designed to teach the basic rules of the game. Tell me what you guys think of the idea, and the initial adventure i have written out. If you guys like it feel free to contribute ideas, it would be much appreciated. Alanella Academy: School of Combat Adventure Background: This adventure is designed to allow first time players to become associated with the combat and movement rules found in the player’s handbook 3.5. The adventure is set in Alanella Academy, a place for young adventurers to learn the way of adventuring. The academy serves to provide training in all aspects of adventuring and is designed to cater for all classes. The academy is divided into five schools; Combat, Adv. Combat; Magic, Adv, Magic (Arcane, and Divine); Ranged, Adv. Ranged; Martial arts, Adv. Martial Arts; and Rouge, Adv Rouge. One part of the academy is the school of combat, designed to teach all character classes the art of combat, and for those who choose the paths of warriors, such as fighters, paladins etc. the school provides advanced training. The school head trainer, Sir Felmar is an ex-military officer, adept in training young soldiers the art of war. Felmar himself taught two of the Royal Princes, and is perhaps one of the best swordsmen in the kingdom. This adventure acts as an interactive way in order to learn combat and movement rules. Throughout the adventure the PC/’s will demonstrate what the have learned in a number of basic encounters. The learning structure is set into ‘rounds’. Each round will contain a theory component, followed by a practical demonstration, and finished with an encounter demonstrating what the PC has learnt. Lesson Breakdown: Lessons 1-5 basic, lesson 5-10 advanced Lesson One: Combat basics. In this first lesson the PC/’s will learn about the basics of combat as outlined on page 134 of the Players Handbook. The basics to be outlined in this lesson are, the battle grid (if eligible), rounds, initiative, actions (Free, standard, full), movement/speed and death and dying. The first lesson does not contain a practical demonstration or encounter. Lesson Two: Movement In this lesson the PC’s will learn the basics of movement such as Speed, moving as a standard or full round action, running, difficult terrain and hampered movement, encumbrance, distance, moving through a square and the 5-foot step. These rules can be found on pages 142-149 of the player’s handbook. A demonstration may be needed for this lesson, depending on the DM. A basic encounter is also ran at the end of this lesson. Lesson three: Basics of attacking. In this lesson the PC/’s will learn about the basics of attacking including, attack roles, attack bonus’s, and AC and modifiers, as well as Damage, Min Damage, ability Modifiers, multipliers/critical hits, fighting defensively, and non lethal damage. This round is accompanied with a practical demonstration and a basic encounter. Lesson Four: Attacking and moving This lesson is used as a summary of both moving and attacking, and brings the two together. In this lesson you will also cover actions (standard and full), attacks of opportunity, five foot step, and withdrawing from combat. This lesson is also used to better explain initiative and rounds. There is a practical demonstration and an encounter at the end of this round in order for the PC’s to demonstrate everything they have learnt in lessons one through to four. Synopsis: The adventure is set in a large empty room, 50ft by 50ft. above the room, 20ft up is a ledge, 20ft wide indented into the wall. The ledge is surrounded by a rail 3ft high. At one end of the room is two small iron doors, behind them are two staircases leading to the platform (appendix A) The floor of the room is wooden, and the walls made of stone. The PC/’s begin in the centre of the room, facing Sir Felmar who is standing on the ledge looking down at the PC/’s. Beside Felmar stands Elaia, a human female sorcerer and on the other side stands a stout and well groomed male Dwarven cleric named Dabar. LESSON ONE: Read the following: You stand in a large empty room, 50ft by 50ft; the floor is made of a polished wood, but regardless provides a good footing without any slip. At the far end of the room are two large metal doors; above the doors, about 20ft off the ground is a ledge, running around the length of the room. Standing on the ledge is your mentor, Sir Felmar, dressed in a shinning metal breastplate with a golden tree on the front. Under the breastplate is a white robe, hanging down to his feet and just above his hands. Around his waste is a belt, with a swords sheathed to it. The hilt of the sword is beautifully crafted, with a large black gem on the pommel, which seems to shine on its own accord. Sir Femars piercing grey eyes shine down upon you, his head is bald; a large scare runs from just above his eye to behind his ear out of sight. Besides Sir Felmar is a tall woman wearing a long white robe with a golden tree on the chest. Around her waste is tied a golden belt made of cloth. Her hair is a brilliant red, and her eyes are a piercing brilliant green, her skin almost white. On the other side of Felmar is a stout dwarf, dressed in a similar breast plate to Felmar, and a white robe with blue trimming underneath. On his back the hilt of a large weapon can be seen, the weapons identity however can not be made out. His long blond beard is plated, as is his hair. Felmar looks down upon, placing one hand on the hilt of his sword, and speaks. “Greetings young one, I am Sir Felmar. Besides me is the sorceress Elaia, and on my other side is the cleric Dabar. They are here to assist me with your training.” The tall women, obviously Elaia smiles and nods at you. The dwarf Dabar makes a strange grunting sound. Felmar suddenly claps his hands together exclaiming “lets begin!”, making the dwarf Dabar wince slightly. “Your first lesson will look at the basics of game play such as the battle grid, rounds, initiative, actions, including Free, standard, and full, movement/speed and Dabar here will explain the basics of death and dying.” You can either now summarize the information outlined on page 135 of the players handbook 3.5 edition, remembering to read only the concepts discussed above, or you can read the following dialogue. “First of all we shall look at the battle grid” Felmar remarks, a look of boredom on his face. Elaia moves her hands around slightly and a small white piece of paper appears in front of you with small 1-inch squares cover it. The grid shimmers slightly every now and then, affirming that it is only an illusion. “This is the battle grid” Felmar continues, “It is used to represent battles and other encounters you might come across during your adventures. Each 1-inch square on the grid represents 5ft in the real world.” The image of the battle grid shimmers one last time and disappears. Felmar, with the same look of boredom on his face moves on. “Next up we will talk about initiative. Initiative is used to see who goes first in the first round and the order of play therein. At the beginning of the round you will roll to see your initiative, and the DM will roll to see your opponent’s initiative. Your initiative check, or roll, is the d20 dice plus your dexterity modifier. The person or opponent with the highest check goes first, with the lowest going last. This applies for all rounds for that particular encounter thereafter.” Dabar the Dwarf lets out a large yawn, interrupting Felmar. Felmar, looking impatiently at Dabar continues. “Next up is actions. Each round you may take a number of different actions including a move action, and a standard action, two move actions, or a full action. You may also take a free action, which is an action that doesn’t take any of time. A standard action may be attacking, and a full action may be doing a full attack, or running. Finally I will talk briefly about movement and speed. Every character has a speed measurement, in ft, which dictates how far the character can move in a standard action. For instance I have a speed of 30ft which means I can move six feet as a standard action. I can therefore take two move actions in a round and move 60ft, or run, which I will talk more about later. I’ll now hand over to Dabar for the basics about death and dying” Felmar folds his arms and looks down at the dwarf, who has a large and somewhat sadistic smile on his face. Elaia the sorceress raises her hands, moving them about slightly. Slowly a mirror image of yourself begins to appear about 20ft from you. Dabar, still with a sadistic grin on his face, clears his throat and begins to talk. “Now, you little bastards may think your invincible owt’ ‘ere in the real world, but rest assured that your not!” as Dabar finishes speaking the mirror image of yourself promptly blows up, spreading pieces of smoldering flesh and blood all over the room. The mass destruction and gore linger for a moment and begin to fade; Dabar however is nearly falling over in laughter. Composing himself he continues. “Death ye see wee one can happen as quickly as a giant spike falling on your head, or a dark mage disintegrating you from the shadows. Now, you’ be noticing ye have Hit points. When your hit points reaches 0 your unconscious. Every round there after you lose 1 hit point until you reach -10, then ye DEAD!” The dwarf screams the last bit out with a giant grin on his face. “However! You can stop one of ya wee friends loosing hit points if you try to heal them. Healing is a standard action. A heal check or roll of 15 or more stops ye wee friend from loosing hit points. You can also use spells to heal unconscious friends. If one hit point of health is healed then the unconscious person stops losing health. If you heal them above 0 hit points then they can take part in the fun again, that is their head isn’t hurting too much!” With this the dwarf roared laughing again. Felmar glances briefly at the dwarf and coughs into his hand. “Thank you Dabar”. The dwarf, slightly out of breath stands up holding onto the rail. “My pleasure” the dwarf grumbles. Felmar then continues; “Dabar will remain here just in case something goes wrong during these lesson... we have lost students before. Now I do understand that some of this information might not make sense at the moment, but hopefully it will become clearer. That is the end of lesson one. Please feel free to ask any questions. The PC/’s may wish to ask a few questions about lesson one. Remember in answering them don’t overload them or give them too much information. P.S. Sorry for any typos and spelling mistakes, i havn't proof read it. Oh and i apologise for the length of the post, i havn't figured out how to do spiolers. cheers.
LVL10human 01-14-08, 03:21 PM	I think it's a really good plan. However i do think that the basic board game is a good way to learnthe rules of the game.
Archus Forix 01-14-08, 08:14 PM	seems ok, reminds me of the intro to Neverwinter Nights. I suppose as preamble you could give a description of the atmosphere of it, the city, the academy, the general feel of the game, then proceed. For an intro to the game in its entirety, it is a good effort. It seems very open and thus non-linear, so can easily be made really fun if not taken too seriously. Yea sure they'll need to learn the rules, but encourage RP and telling each other their experiences. 'I got that kobold in three hits! :) ' 'Well I got it in one! Without taking damage! ;) ' '.... screw you lot, I cast a fire spell on that **** just burned like that dwarf's spirit. I tell you, you should have seen those kobold's eyes, they were like wide in fear and pain! I can't believe I cackled when after experiencing that pain the only relief was when those eyes melted in its sockets! I can't wait for the next lesson! :devil:' :mymy: :mymy: :D