Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Mumakil 07-30-03, 06:43 PM	My gaming group is getting together in August for a 2 1/2 day D&D marathon. It will be the first time we have played in a year. I'm tasked with being the DM (one of the reasons we stopped playing a year ago was our previous DM burned out). I'm going to use the Forgotten Realms campaign setting - but I don't know much about it. Feel free to offer any advice you might have on the first adventure: The Player Characters: Male Human Cleric Male Dwarven Paladin Female Human Rogue Male Gnome Wizard Male Drow Ranger (all will start at 3rd level) Here's the background for the adventure: The Human Cleric was born in Dagger Falls. When he was young, his parents were killed by the Zhentarim while the occupied the town out of suspicion of aiding Randall Mourn's forces. He was hidden by a local well-known Human Wizard. The wizard's Elven wife had also been killed during the Zhent occupation and his two Half-Elven daughters grew up being freinds with the cleric. The Wizard sent the Cleric to live with friends in Ashabenford to avoid being found by the Zhents, and he spent his youth and early childhood studying to be a Ceric. Since the Zhent's were kicked out of Dagger Falls, he has been heavily involved in his clerical studies and has not made the trip to Dagger Falls to visit the Wizard, or his childhood friends, the Wizard's daughters. The character gets a letter from one of the daughters that states she will be accompanying a merchant caravan from Dagger Falls to Ashabenford to visit him in a weeks time. The Dwarven Paladin is a Shield Dwarf who wanders from place to place spreading word of his god. He has heard of an ancient Dwarven shrine near Dagger Falls, and has stopped in Ashabenford on the way to the shrine. The Human Rogue is a childhood friend of the Human Cleric. The Wizards' daughter fails to arrive on the date stated in her letter, and rumors from other travellers mention that Zhentarim soldiers are roaming the areas between Ashabenford and Dagger Falls. The character is worried and wants to check it out. The other characters will accompany him for various reasons. The best way to travel is the river ferry. When they arrive, the ferry master tells them that one of his ferrys never arrived. The wreckage of that ferry is down river. The character's find Zhent bodies in with the merchant caravan, but their friend is not among the bodies. Tracks lead into Cormanthor. They also find a document on one of the Zhentarim agents that looks like a plan for a fresh Zhent attack on Dagger Falls. Here's where the adventure will start. Within Cormanthor, they are stalked by the Drow, who actually rescued the character's friend from the Zhent attack. She is wounded, but stabile, and in the Ranger's care. When they meet, and are taken to see their friend she will want to report the attack plan to her father in Dagger Falls. The trip to Dagger Falls will be uneventful (Random Encounters only), but when the characters arrive, the will find that the wizard's other daughter is missing. Some investigation will turn up a townsperson who claims to have seen a local shopowner having dealings with 'shadowy figures' on the evening prior to the girl's dissapearance. This leads them to a demonic cultist who lives in Dagger Falls. They will find out from the cultist about a nearby dungeon where the girl was taken for as part of a ritual. This is a small Fiendish Gnoll lair that the character's will have to fight their way through, only to find a magical portal to another location. If the character's take the portal, they end up in a set of icy caverns (they won't know this, but it's in the Silver Marches near Dark Arrow Keep). After exploring the caverns, they will have to confront an evil sorceror who needed 'the blood of an innocent elf' (and thought the half-elf woman would do) to summon a demon to aid the Zhent's attack on Dagger Falls. Once this is completed, they will have to find their way back to the dales....By the time they return, I'm hoping to have them at or near 10th level so I can spring City of the Spider Queen on them.... From there, I'm going to make all of Faerun at war. Like I said, I don't know the Realms very well, and I haven't DM'd in a very long time. Any advice or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.
Mumakil 07-31-03, 02:27 PM	Noone has any advice to offer ?
TempistRane 07-31-03, 02:47 PM	I would say somthing but thats a damn good story. i sounds fun and i think it gave me the jump start to get me working on my campaign. I have been stalling but all in all its a damn good story man
Azzadar 07-31-03, 03:21 PM	Man, this sounds great. I wish I could play in it. Just remember to give enough information so the players have a good feel of areas, but don't make secrets too obvious. Another thing I do is descride what monsters look like and how they act instead of simply saying their name. Encountering a slimy man sized slug with flailing tenticles and a tooth filled maw is scarier than running across a carrion crawler.
Astanphaeus 07-31-03, 07:29 PM	Originally posted by Mumakil Male Human Cleric Cleric of...? Male Dwarven Paladin Paladin of...? The Wizard sent the Cleric to live with friends in Ashabenford to avoid being found by the Zhents, and he spent his youth and early childhood studying to be a Ceric. Why did the wizard send off the cleric and not his own daughters? The Dwarven Paladin is a Shield Dwarf who wanders from place to place spreading word of his god. I'd suggest that he's instead pursuing some type of quest. He doesn't actually know what the quest is, but he has dreams and sees signs that keep leading him on this journey (more below). He has heard of an ancient Dwarven shrine near Dagger Falls, and has stopped in Ashabenford on the way to the shrine. What if he's instead following the clues in a vision he's had? What if the cleric has had similar dreams? If the character's take the portal, they end up in a set of icy caverns (they won't know this, but it's in the Silver Marches near Dark Arrow Keep). The caverns and Dark Arrow Keep could be foreshadowed in the dreams and visions of the dwarf and/or cleric. After exploring the caverns, they will have to confront an evil sorceror who needed 'the blood of an innocent elf' (and thought the half-elf woman would do) I think this is a pretty weak story element. There's certainly no shortage of elves and half elves out there, so why go through all this trouble for this particular girl? I'd suggest that there is some sort of background connection between the wizard and the evil sorcerer, and that the blood requirement for the ritual was a tad more complicated. For example, say the ritual required "the blood of your blood"... which means the sorcerer would have to sacrifice someone related to him. Perhaps he and the wizard are cousins (sibling parents, maybe), which would make the daughters his cousins as well. His hatred of the wizard makes the choice all the more appropriate... it's personal. Once this is completed, they will have to find their way back to the dales... What happened to the portal? Where does the gnome wizard come into this? -- A.
Mumakil 08-01-03, 11:59 PM	Astanpheus - Thanks, that's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for, Originally posted by Astanphaeus Cleric of...? Unknown as of yet (Character isn't finished), but he is Lawful Good, so that will limit the choices. Paladin of...? The Dwarf is a Paladin of Gorm. Why did the wizard send off the cleric and not his own daughters? As I had imagined it, the kid who will become the cleric was 'wanted' by the Zhents because of his paren't sabotage...a 'kill not just the offender, but his whole family' affair by the Zhents. The Wizard wasn't in trouble with the Zhents, he was just trying to raise his family, after his wife died - he knew how his daughters fealt about the cleric boy - so he stuck his neck out to help him. Best I could come up with - Any advice ? I'd suggest that he's instead pursuing some type of quest. He doesn't actually know what the quest is, but he has dreams and sees signs that keep leading him on this journey (more below). What if he's instead following the clues in a vision he's had? What if the cleric has had similar dreams? The caverns and Dark Arrow Keep could be foreshadowed in the dreams and visions of the dwarf and/or cleric. What would the visions be 'all about' ? It would be neat to write down a dream sequence or flashback on a 3x5 card and hand it to the player during the game as foreshadowing, but I have no idea what I would do with it.... I think this is a pretty weak story element. There's certainly no shortage of elves and half elves out there, so why go through all this trouble for this particular girl? I'd suggest that there is some sort of background connection between the wizard and the evil sorcerer, and that the blood requirement for the ritual was a tad more complicated. For example, say the ritual required "the blood of your blood"... which means the sorcerer would have to sacrifice someone related to him. Perhaps he and the wizard are cousins (sibling parents, maybe), which would make the daughters his cousins as well. His hatred of the wizard makes the choice all the more appropriate... it's personal. This is a great idea. What happened to the portal? I had planned for it to dissapear once the characters stepped through. I didn't want them 'running back to town' whenever they wanted to pick up help. I wanted them to feel isolated, to probably be ill-prepared for the cold (so that finding a sacks full of grain in the caverns that they could wrap themselves in to avoid the cold would be a treasure), and to have to travel their way back to Ashabenford/Dagger Falls on foot to witness other 'stirrings of war' happening throughout the realms. Where does the gnome wizard come into this? Character change, he is now playing a Half Elf Fighter/Wizard instead of the Gnome. I haven't tied him in yet. I still have a couple of weeks to finish planning. Thanks again for the advice. Like I said, I haven't DM'd in years, and I've never run a Realms game.
Astanphaeus 08-02-03, 06:24 AM	Originally posted by Mumakil Astanpheus - Thanks, that's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. Happy to help. :) Unknown as of yet (Character isn't finished), but he is Lawful Good, so that will limit the choices. Well, that's good. Puts him on the same general wavelength with the dwarf. The Dwarf is a Paladin of Gorm. Quite the dwarven-centric choice. That should be a hook. As I had imagined it, the kid who will become the cleric was 'wanted' by the Zhents because of his parent sabotage...a 'kill not just the offender, but his whole family' affair by the Zhents. The Wizard wasn't in trouble with the Zhents, he was just trying to raise his family, after his wife died - he knew how his daughters fealt about the cleric boy - so he stuck his neck out to help him. Best I could come up with - Any advice ? Nope. Sounds fairly solid to me, now that you've given the details. What would the visions be 'all about' ? It would be neat to write down a dream sequence or flashback on a 3x5 card and hand it to the player during the game as foreshadowing, but I have no idea what I would do with it... The visions would be about The Adventure, or course. ;) Here's an idea: the dwarf is being led towards a path that'll take him to the Silver Marches... because there's some specific dwarven interest up there that Gorm wants him to be defending/retrieving. Perhaps it's tied into the sorcerer... maybe something he's stolen from a dwarven crypt... or maybe the sorcerer is in a long forgotten dwarven holy place of some sort, and Gorm's sending our paladin to oust him. So, the paladin has dreams of Ashabanford... the symbol of the cleric's god (newly made, signifying the young cleric)... two deer hunted by wild dogs (the girls and the gnolls respectively)... then a falling dagger, and beyond it the entrance to some sort of dungeon... then an ice cave... things like that. As he moves through the adventure, he'll recognize stuff from his dreams/visions, and he'll know the group's on the right track. The reason why I suggest this is because I think it'd all be more meaningful to the dwarf this way. He's doing something important. If the cleric is having similar visions as well, it'll tie the whole thing together and probably also strengthen the bonds between the characters. In the Realms, gods tend to be a little more participatory than what might be considered the norm. All their butts still sting from being spanked by Ao. ;) So the "signs and portents" thing is in keeping with the setting. I had planned for it to dissapear once the characters stepped through. Okay, but why does it disappear? I assume this portal is how the sorcerer gets from point A to point B... why does it choose this moment to collapse? Is only the sorcerer able to open it? If so, how? And why was it open to begin with? Were the gnolls using it? If so, for what? Supplies? Obviously, you don't want anyone to have a way to open it that the PCs can get their hands on... maybe it's triggered by a key word? I'm just trying to plug up the loopholes with the situation. ;) Character change, he is now playing a Half Elf Fighter/Wizard instead of the Gnome. I haven't tied him in yet. I still have a couple of weeks to finish planning. Having him introduced in Dagger Falls might be cool... if you can get away with it. Might be to much idle time for that player, though. -- A.
Dargoth 08-02-03, 09:40 AM	I few ideas for encounters while there coming back 1) Try and get the PCs to cross the Anauroch desert, it is after all the shortest route from the Silver MArches back to Dagger Dale. 2) On the way they come across the NEtherese outpost found in Lords of Darkness 3) and once there out of the desert they come across the Zhentrium living in the top level of the Mines of Tethyrmar (This is an old dwarven city that is not over run with devils and lots of creatures with the Fiendish and Half Fiend templates. If your willing to rework CIty of the Spider queen you could turn it into a campaign to clear the Old Dwarven stronghold while its armys off in Maerimydra
The_Sleeper 08-02-03, 03:36 PM	...Sounds great to me, lol! :OMG! :bow: