Post/Author/DateTime	Post
The Quarterling 05-12-04, 05:59 PM	I don't know if this is the right forum for this but... I'm working on a campaign right now and I'm looking for some ideas for encounters. Here's a little background info. The character is a witch of Rashemen. A Blethran to be precise. She is leading a small group of ethrans and berserkers (who are all teenagers, the blethran is in her thirties) on their dajemma to keep them out of trouble. They will be heading to The North from Rashemen. I am going to have them use a crossroads from Cormyr to Waterdeep and travel overland from Rashemen to Cormyr and from Waterdeep to Silverymoon. What I am looking for are some encounters within Rashemen, first and foremost some city encounter in Immilmar. The idea is that these teenagers will be getting themselves into trouble and the Blethran will have to keep them on a short leash. Eventually when they get to The North they will be trying to stop the Red Wizards from setting up enclaves in the North. Specifically the town of Deadsnows. Anyways, any help would be appreciated. I have a busy school schedule this quarter and my time for campaign planning is very short. I know some of you creative types can give me a hand. So, plot away!
Autosponge 05-12-04, 08:13 PM	Teenagers have two things on their minds. Sex and sex with another person. I'd have them constantly involved with suitors, prostitutes, and slave traders (who lure them with sex).
The Quarterling 05-12-04, 10:36 PM	That's it? Have the teenagers screw slavers? Come on, twenty of you have looked at this thread noone has any ideas? I don't need specifics just some general ideas. How bout what route would you take to get to Cormyr from Rashemen? Where would you catch a ship from and where would you land?
Sarta 05-13-04, 04:40 AM	Ok, Immilmar will probably be their first encounter with outlanders. They will probably look funny, talk funny, dress funny, and have strange customs -- all designed to lure the youngsters away from their mission and way of life. At least according to the Blethran. Perhaps if they are not watched over carefully enough they will be introduced to gambling. It would be fairly easy for these kids to be tricked into getting pretty drunk and gambling away what little savings they have. Of course this could (and probably should) lead to a fun non-lethal bar fight. Being that she is a female, the Blethran may not feel completely comfortable about going into detail with the boys about how they should comport themselves when outside of Rashemen. With this in mind, have her drop them off with the Old Ones for a few hours where the Old Ones can give them a stern lecture on the correct way Rashemi men should behave outside of Rashemen. Give them the traditional speech about the evils of foreign women, alcohol, gambling, strange gods, and strange ways. Needless to say, being teenagers, this will of course be nothing but a giant encouragement to become "seduced by foreign ways". In the meantime, the Blethran and possibly some other Blethran from Immilmar will be giving a similar speech to the ethran. This one will be more geared to the opinion that foreign men are dogs and their women are harlots and worse. That they need to comport themselves with dignity at all times and never stoop to the level of these foreign devils. Once they get out of Rashemen, you'd nearly be remiss in overlooking an opportunity for the party to come across a spell-casting male Rashemen who accepted banishment rather than becoming an Old One himself. Depending on the moral tone of the story he can have become highly successful and a very interesting blend of the old ways and new ways -- an inspiration for the berserkers in the party. Or he can be a complete disgrace, having dove head first into the moral decay of the outside world (perhaps he owns several female slaves that he degrades regularly). Will they be traveling over land all the way to Cormyr or hiring passage on a boat? Sarta
Autosponge 05-13-04, 07:41 AM	Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was writting your campaign for you. You specifically asked about the first encounters and I gave you some ideas that incorporated your thinking of the teenagers getting into trouble. So if you don't like it--tough. However, here's a little advice: stop scripting so much of your campaign. If *YOU* as DM are plotting out the entire path from one side of Toril to the other, you're making assumptions about the characters and the campaign, you might as well be a railroad conductor. PS 20 people read your description and were baffeled as to what the hell you were talking about, myself included, but I feel compelled to post anyway.
Mystery Man 05-13-04, 08:37 AM	Originally posted by Autosponge Teenagers have two things on their minds. Sex and sex with another person. I'd have them constantly involved with suitors, prostitutes, and slave traders (who lure them with sex). !:rofl:!
Boz Shulun 05-13-04, 10:22 AM	DM styles vary from person to person dependant on personal interest, creativity and the needs of the game. I have found that a very linear campaign can be good for players who need structure to have fun. There are others who thrive on open campaigns that include a lot of improvisation. It’s all a matter of taste. As for ideas for your campaign, I like the idea of threatening their personal values and temptation away from their task. As a change from the lure of sex and physical debauchery, how about a corrupt Sembian merchant lord who takes a shining to them and tries to take them under his wing for a series of ‘jobs’ that turn out to be bettering the merchant’s financial means and suppressing a weaker or lesser influenced merchant (or even better the corrupt merchant is of lower standing and is looking to move up). Perhaps the group is misled into thinking that the good, hard-working family is really bad. I tend to favor political intrigue campaigns and think that bringing a group of rustic outsiders into the realm of Sembian politics would be fun. I also like testing players and seeing where their since of values and character direction are.
The Quarterling 05-13-04, 04:36 PM	Thanks guys these are really good. I am definitely gonna take Sarta's advice in Immilmar. I also like the idea of some intrigue in Sembia, especially with a possible Thayan enclave mixed in. The Blethran is secretly (from the teenagers) on a mission to reduce the influence of Thayan enclaves in the North, so I am sure she would be interested in making a mark in Sembia along the way. Given that the voyage would require sea travel to get to Sembia, what do you think is the best port in the east to leave from? Velprinalar? Should they go through Thesk? Great Dale? Also what should be the sea voyage? Across the deep sea? Along the coasts? Thanks everybody this is really helping. As for Autosponge, get a hobby. Every forum I see you in you're a self-righteous twit who offers little advice and just likes to troll. I do let the PC's lead the action. I'm not looking for a railroad but just some encounters along the way. Just some more background info for you helpers. The Blethran is the PC, the teenagers are her henchmen. The blethran is 8th level. I would definitely like this campaign to be politics heavy. Which is why I like the idea of using Sembia a little. But I don't know much about sembia.
Mystery Man 05-13-04, 04:43 PM	Well we all have our disagreements but I've found Autosponge to usually be pretty helpful and well...stuff. Not that I take it as my personaly crusade to champion people but this is a pretty neat thread. Auto's Silverymoon NPC's (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=181845) Check around there's a lot of good stuff already talked about on the boards if you do a search. I pretty much let your thread go as I got the impression that you wanted everyone to write your campaign for you. Try coming up with some encounters on your own that the rest of us can build on, or tell you why it won't work. ;) Spongy, I know you wanna. Just let it goooooo.
The Quarterling 05-13-04, 04:51 PM	Yeah you're right Mystery Man, Autosponge does have some good threads of his own. I just mean he's super argumentative in general and never misses an opportunity to belittle someone else. As for writing my campaign for me, well not exactly. I just want some ideas to build on. Like I said, I'm busy this quarter with school. I've been DMing for years and usually I like to wing it and just improvise and let the PCs run me rampant. But right now I need a little more structure. Did I mention this campaign is actually a playtest for a Witch core class I created. If you guys wanna critique that I'd be happy to share it. Although its mostly the crunchy stuff and not the fluff,a nd the spell list is only been filled out to 6th level since the blethran can only use 4th level spells right now.
Autosponge 05-13-04, 09:00 PM	If they make it to Silverymoon let me know or post another thread I'll be glad to help. My post was short and lacked any substance because I'm not familiar with the location you're starting in (I over spec'd in knowledge Silver Marches). But when I offer honest help, even if it sucks, I don't like to hear about it--no one does. So if you think the idea sucks, I'm not surprised, like I said I know nothing about the region and was only basing my opinion on the fact that you wanted to get teenagers into trouble. Knocking up a local lordess would be big time funny to me, but maybe not your style. But when I have a strong opinion about something, I defend it to the death (or until I see a better one). If you have any more personal problems with me, feel free to notify the mods, everyone else does :(
aravilar_holistacia 05-13-04, 09:05 PM	Originally posted by Autosponge Teenagers have two things on their minds. Sex and sex with another person. I'd have them constantly involved with suitors, prostitutes, and slave traders (who lure them with sex). :rofl: Seriously though, this is a good point that is quite close to the truth. I've used sex in campaigns before. It's shockingly good for increasing player involvement in your campaign. And I'm going to shut up right about now...
Nimzz 05-13-04, 09:09 PM	Personally I think that the threads should be used for asking campain advice among other things. I did not get the impression that the Quaterling wanted us to write his campain for him. I know that alot of my adventures are similar to each other. Quaterling I if your looking for an enconter you could throw in the Red Wizards acting as slaves. Possably they could kidnap one of the teenagers or somthing. You could then have that lead into an anti-thayan campain. If you want politics then you could throw in the PC gaining some small piece of land or political power from "saving the town from a Red Wizard menace." These are only suggestcions.
Sarta 05-13-04, 09:25 PM	Originally posted by The Quarterling Just some more background info for you helpers. The Blethran is the PC, the teenagers are her henchmen. The blethran is 8th level. I would definitely like this campaign to be politics heavy. Which is why I like the idea of using Sembia a little. But I don't know much about sembia. Ahh, this tidbit changes everything. For some reason I was thinking the Blethran was the npc and the gaming group was playing the berserkers. Think of cat-herding here. She's going to be very thankful to get on a ship -- means that short of falling overboard she'll have a decent idea where her helpers have gone to. When on land, I'd have them getting distracted by anything shiny and either taking offense to it or getting suckered into doing something stupid. If I were planning the ocean voyage for my PC, I'd head straight for Suzail in a ship and make a bee-line for the King's Forest where that crossroads is located. However, what one plans to do doesn't necessarily add up to what happens. You may want to have her sailing with Sembian merchants who plan to disembark in Saerloon. When the ship gets there to take on supplies they are warned that the red dragon Nevalarich has been on the rampage attacking nearly every ship passing through the neck into Cormyr (it is the right year for it and all). The captain decides to cut his journey short, forcing the Blethran and her party to travel on foot into Cormyr. With regard to Auto, I always enjoy his posts. He's either incredibly informative or very terse. Usually both sorts of responses are merited. However, occasionally I've seen him light up a few people because they misrepresented their initial position. In this particular case, he bristled when he read that you don't have time to plan anything out and expect us to do so. I myself bristled at this, but swallowed my pride and tossed out something I hoped would be helpful, but at the same time not too time consuming for me to work up. Now if I could just get him to come over to www.candlekeep.com and join in some of the threads there -- we could use his expertise on the silver marches. Sarta
Herr Doktor 05-13-04, 09:44 PM	Originally posted by Autosponge But when I have a strong opinion about something, I defend it to the death (or until I see a better one). If you have any more personal problems with me, feel free to notify the mods, everyone else does :( Aww, hush! Everyone knows you're the hero!
Autosponge 05-13-04, 11:26 PM	Originally posted by Sarta Now if I could just get him to come over to www.candlekeep.com and join in some of the threads there -- we could use his expertise on the silver marches. Sarta There's an idea. I might make an account there tomorrow. I was waiting until I got banned here and make that my fallback forum but why wait?! :)
The Quarterling 05-14-04, 04:12 PM	I'm really digging the idea of dealing with a dragon from on deck of a ship. What port would you sail to Saerloon from? I'm thinking they will leave Rashemen via either Thesk or the Great Dale and find a port in one of these countries. Sail along the coast and then head towards Sembia. Perhaps even sail along towards the Vast maybe dock in Raven's Bluff for a tenday and have to deal with the local Thayan enclave/embassy there. Then off the Scarsdale and finally Saerloon. Does this sound to extracted? Or is this a viable (read quick) enough sea route? Also here's the Witch class I've been using. Let me know what you guys think. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game Rule Information Abilities: Spellcasting primary ability is Wisdom Alignment: Witches are at least partially neutral. (LN, NG, N, NE, CN) Hit Die: d4 Class Skills Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), *Dreaming (Wis), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge-Local, Religion, Spirits, or Nature (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis); Skill Points at 1st Level: (4+Int modifier) x4 Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4+ Int Modifier *As per the skill in Manual of the Planes. The Witch Lvl BAB F R W Special Spells Per Day 0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 1st +0 0 0 2 Familiar, Tutor 3 1 2nd +1 0 0 3 4 2 3rd +1 1 1 3 Detect Spirits 4 2 1 4th +2 1 1 4 Spirit Empathy 5 3 2 5th +2 1 1 4 5 3 2 1 6th +3 2 2 5 5 3 3 2 7th +3 2 2 5 Wild Shape (1/day) 6 4 3 2 1 8th +4 2 2 6 6 4 3 3 2 9th +4 3 3 6 6 4 4 3 2 1 10th +5 3 3 7 Full Witch 6 4 4 3 3 2 11th +5 3 3 7 Wild Shape (2/day) 6 5 4 4 3 2 1 12th +6/+1 4 4 8 6 5 4 4 3 3 2 13th +6/+1 4 4 8 6 5 5 4 4 3 2 1 14th +7/+2 4 4 9 Thousand Faces 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 15th +7/+2 5 5 9 Wild Shape (3/day) 6 5 5 5 4 4 3 2 1 16th +8/+3 5 5 10 6 5 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 17th +8/+3 5 5 10 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 3 2 1 18th +9/+4 6 6 11 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 19th +9/+4 6 6 11 6 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 3 3 20th +10/+5 6 6 12 Timeless Body 6 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 Class Features Weapons and Armor Proficiencies: All simple weapons. No armor proficiencies. Spells: A Witch casts arcane spells which are drawn from the Witch Spell List. A Witch must choose and prepare her spells ahead of time. To learn, prepare, or cast a spell a witch must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. Unlike wizards, a Witch does not acquire her spells from books or scrolls. Instead they must be tutored by a Witch at least 2 levels above them until they reach the rank of maturity of the Full Witch (Level 10). Prestige classes that increase spell casting ability count towards this requirement. Each Witch must choose a time at which she must spend 1 hour each day in quiet meditation pottering around either doing housework or gardening called a Walk-about. A Witch can prepare and cast any spell on the Witch spell list, provided they she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily Walk-about. Familiar: A Witch gains a familiar exactly as a Wizard or Sorcerer does. It costs 100gp in material components. Tutor: A witch must train with a tutor two levels higher in order to learn spells of a new level. She must spend one day training for every class level. For example, a 4th level Witch who gains enough experience to become 5th level must train with a 7th level Witch for five days in order to gain access to the 3rd level Witch spell list. Detect Spirits: At 3rd level a witch can detect spirits at will as per the spell. Spirit Empathy: A witch can use this ability to improve the attitude of a spirit (such as a ghost or Telthor). This ability functions like a diplomacy check made to improve the attitude of a person. The witch rolls a 1d20 and adds her witch level and her Charisma modifier to determine the spirit empathy check result. Wild Shape: This ability functions just like the druid ability of the same name. Thousand Faces: See above. Timeless Body: See above. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I'll post the spell list seperately.
The Quarterling 05-14-04, 04:22 PM	Ugggh! That table looks dreadful. Oh well. I hope its understandable. Here's the spell list. Cantrips Arcane Mark Cure Minor Wounds Dancing Lights Daze Detect Crossroads Detect Magic Detect Poison Flare Ghost Sound Know Direction Light Mage Hand Mending Message Open/Close Prestidigitation Purify Food and Drink Read magic Resistance Sobriety 1st Level Spells Alarm Cause Fear Charm Person Comprehend Languages Cure Light Wounds Detect Secret Doors Detect Spirits Detect Curse/Taboo Disguise Self Endure Elements Entangle Expeditious Retreat Feather Fall Hideous Laughter Hypnotism Identify Lesser Confusion Magic Aura Mount Protection from Spirits Obscuring Mist Remove Fear Silent Image Sleep Snilloc’s Snowball Speak With Animals Summon Monster I Undetectable Alignment Unseen Servant Ventriloquism 2nd Level Spells Animal Messenger Animal Trance Bear's Endurance Bull's Strength Blindness/Deafness Blur Calm Emotions Cat’s Grace Chill Metal Cloudburst Continual Flame Cure Moderate Wounds Darkness Darkvision Daze Monster Delay Poison Detect Thoughts Eagle’s Splendor Enthrall Fox’s Cunning Heat Metal Hold Person Hypnotic Pattern Invisibility Locate Object Magic Mouth Minor Image Mirror Image Misdirection Owl's Wisdom Protection from Arrows Rage Scare Silence Soften Earth and Stone Spider Climb Spirit Claws Suggestion Summon Monster II Summon Swarm Tongues Tree Shape Whispering Wind 3rd Level Spells Arcane Sight Bestow Curse Call Lightning Charm Monster Confusion Create Food and Water Cure Serious Wounds Deep Slumber Dispel Magic Fear Fly Geas, Lesser Glibness Haste Healing Sting Invisibility Sphere Magic Circle Against Spirits Major Image Plant Growth Poison Remove Blindness/Deafness Remove Curse Remove Disease Scent Scrying See Invisibility Slow Speak With Dead Summon Monster III 4th Level Spells Animate Dead Arcane Eye Blight Break Enchantment Contagion Cure Critical Wounds Detect Scrying Dimension Door Discern Lies Dominate Person Ethereal Projection Freedom of Movement Giant Vermin Hallucinatory Terrain Hold Monster Ice Storm Invisibility, Greater Locate Creature Minor Creation Modify Memory Neutralize Poison Polymorph Rainbow Pattern Repel Vermin Secret Chest Secure Shelter Speak with Plants Steal Youth 5th Level Spells Animal Growth Awaken Baleful Polymorph Call Lightning Storm Contact Other Plane Dispel Magic, Greater Eternal Charm Person Eternal Sleep False Vision Feeblemind Insect Plague Magic Jar Major Creation Mirage Arcana Mislead Nightmare Overland Flight Persistent Image Phantasmal Killer Reincarnate Scrying, Greater Seeming Sending Shadow Evocation Shadow Walk Summon Monster V Private Sanctum Wall of Thorns These draw upon various sources: Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting Magic of Faerun, Unapproachable East, The Witch’s Handbook (Green Ronin), and The Shaman’s Handbook (Green Ronin).
Sarta 05-14-04, 09:50 PM	Originally posted by The Quarterling I'm really digging the idea of dealing with a dragon from on deck of a ship. What port would you sail to Saerloon from? I'm thinking they will leave Rashemen via either Thesk or the Great Dale and find a port in one of these countries. Sail along the coast and then head towards Sembia. Perhaps even sail along towards the Vast maybe dock in Raven's Bluff for a tenday and have to deal with the local Thayan enclave/embassy there. Then off the Scarsdale and finally Saerloon. Does this sound to extracted? Or is this a viable (read quick) enough sea route? Personally, I'd think she'd want to head through Thesk and sail out of Telflamm. The Golden Way offers a bit of safety in numbers and she can probably hook up with a caravan in Mulsantir. Telflamm is such a busy port that the party wouldn't have to wait too long to find a ship sailing west. I'd think a ship heading to Cormyr from Telflamm would likely head North and work its way around the coast of Sembia. I'd picture it stopping and restocking in Lyrabar, Procampur, Yhaunn, Selgaunt, Saerloon, Marsember, and finally Suzail. However, you can do what you'd like in terms of the ship's agenda. Sarta
The Quarterling 05-14-04, 10:33 PM	Yeah i think that sounds like a good route to take except I think i will insert Raven's bluff and Scarsdale between Yhaun and Procampur. What do you think of the witch class? Any comments? Critiques?
The Quarterling 05-18-04, 12:35 AM	Where is everyone? Has the well gone dry? oh and :bump: