Returning DM - Silver Marches / Deadsnows campaign [Archive] - Wizards Community

Returning DM - Silver Marches / Deadsnows campaign [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Nightchill
11-12-06, 01:58 PM It's been a while since I've DMd D&D and, with the urge to get a new campaign going, I've picked up the Silver Marches sourcebook. The book itself is an excellent read and I like the idea of a frontier type campaign so... Deadsnows.

Reading through Blood & Gold I can see the church of Shar being the BBEGs behind several of the bad things happening (or soon to be happening) to Deadsnows. I'll likely be starting the players at 1st level (still a fuddy duddy like that) but scaling the Blood & Gold adventures shouldn't be a big problem.

Still, I don't have much concrete in mind and wondered (in that idle DM way) if I could possibly poach (and pick) a few ideas of the kind souls here.

So.. any comments on the following thoughts are appreciated:

[possible spoilers]

The church of Shar as BBEG:

1) construes various deals with the small orc bands in the region to make periodic attacks on Deadsnows that weaken, annoy and dishearten but don't destroy (yet).

2) removes the initial source of food for various monsters that then have to look to more dangerous pastures (namely, the town's).

3) sabotages the gold rush that's just starting to get into full swing. When the gold dries up, or the bullies/claimers get too powerful, the church stops the gold seekers returning west (possibly through aggravating local monsters/trolls in the area) forcing them to remain poor, disheartened in Deadsnows.

[end of possible spoilers]

Any hints/tips on running a campaign in that part of the Silver Marches (at least 4 days from the nearest decent sized town) and, more specifically, Deadsnows are more than welcome. Likewise any advice on portraying vividly and accurately the church of Shar would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all!
Lawfire
11-12-06, 10:49 PM The 3E Lords of Darkness book has a lot of good information on the Church of Shar. It has a section on the Monks of the Dark Moon as well as a section on the church itself.

As for the anything else helpful, I'll have to get back to you.
j_gunder
11-13-06, 12:11 AM I've actually launched three different campaigns using the little Deadsnows adventure...and I think each one was better than the last. By the end, I had developed all of the NPCs' personalities to the extent that I felt like I knew them for ages...and many times. There's lots of depth there, especially if you are good at taking one-liners and developing them into plot arcs.

The first time, I ran it pretty standard, by-the-book. Players started at second level, as many of them were seasoned gamers and were bored with first-level games. Lady Icespear and her captain, Mannock, were the benefactors, along with allies from the church of Marhammor (sp?) nearby...they encountered the bandits (scaled down a bit), a few orc patrols, some random mountain/wilderness encounters...and then took on the orc camp. I had an NPC Monk of the Dark Moon (ally of the church of Shar) at the orc camp dealing with the leader of the orcs (using them to distract the town's meagre guard so that the church could continue to act freely)...the PCs witnessed a key conversation between Ulgreth (sp?) and the monk, and then prepped for the assault. By the time they took on the orc camp, the monk had split...but left the seed of doubt in the players, exposing that there may be deeper evils at work. It ended quite well, and lasted about four sessions before they got sick of Deadsnows...in the end, they investigated the underground temple but were sloppy in their questioning and poking about...enough so that the Sharrans uprooted and relocated. All in all, a half-success for the PCs...but it led into a wider-reaching Shar-based campaign that took them into Silverymoon and beyond.

The second time, I wanted a switch...and I involved Snow Town and Vandar a lot more. It started off with the PCs being outsiders, with a definite prejudice against the claimers taking up camp outside of the city. The PCs were helping guard a dwarven group of claimers against orc attacks and human bandits...that put them in good graces with the dwarves, who had befriended Mannock and earned the PCs entrance to the city. They figured Vandar, of the Vandarhouse, was behind orchestrating the raids (due to some unsavory half-orcs running around claiming as much in Snow Town), and investigated it heavily...it ended up with her easily detecting the PCs attempts to spy on her (they didn't know she was an assassin).

Eventually, she became a benefactor (hiring the PCs to dispose of the half-orcs), but that plot arc exposed documents that led everyone to believe Lady Icespear was the true evil behind the raids...all the time lining her pockets, once with taxes on the gold coming into the city, twice by what she could win by raiding the claiming camps and such. The PCs, with Vandar's aid, enlisted Mannock to their cause...uncovered that Lady Icespear was secretly dealing with the Sharrans...I even went so far as to hint that Lady Icespear was the lover of one of the priestesses of Shar involved with the underground temple. Eventually, the PCs defeated the orc camp and stormed the underground temple...the second Deadsnows adventure lasted a good seven or eight sessions, and was entertaining throughout, as allegiances were discovered and twisted. That was probably my favorite.

The last time I ran it, PCs were level 5 or 6...they were mercenaries hired out of Everlund, actually hired as extensions of the Argent Legion or whatever the Silver Marches military was called, to keep the peace in Deadsnows due to escalating violence. Shortly after arriving, a plague broke out (due to the poor living conditions outside of Deadsnows), which the PCs easily solved with gratuitous use of remove disease and the aid of the priests of the dwarf temple. They slew the wyverns outside of the city, easily demolished the orcs...to beef up the Sharrans, I allied them with a wing of Kir-Lanan and some drow, and threw a "spark" I think it was called (a magical anomoly from Magic of Faerun) into the depths under the mountains that the Sharrans planned to use for a ritual of some sorts. I never actually had to figure out what, exactly, as after thrice attempting to seige the temple (and thrice being repelled), the campaign fizzled due to me moving away.

I hope you get a few ideas from that...I've had a lot of success and a lot of fun gaming in the region...even just using the limited information given by the SM book. I used the Sharran NPCs out of the Lords of Darkness book, as well...it was a great help in fleshing out the church.

That's all for now!
Nightchill
11-13-06, 08:54 AM Lawfire: Thanks for the tip, looks like I'm going to have to get hold of LoD..

j_gunder: Excellent suggestions and a great help. The second campaign (shifting allegiances) sounds intriguing - certainly an avenue I'd (and the players would with their playstyles) enjoy taking my campaign down. Now to the fiendish planning stage.. ;)
summerstar
11-27-06, 01:03 PM I love Deadsnows and the Silver Marches setting in general.

j_gunder, thanks for your campaign notes. Well done!

Regards,
Summerstar
Faraer
11-27-06, 01:08 PM The clearest and most detailed picture we have of the operation of Shar's priesthood is in the latter parts of The Temptation of Elminster. Faiths & Avatars is also a must, if you don't have it.
Alurvelve
11-27-06, 02:00 PM A ruined and battle worn Deadsnows leaves little left for rebuilding, only thing stopping this fomr happening is my pcs.

In the current campaign i am haveing the orcs are numnerous in the region evne more so than they have been in the last few year. Pc's investigate the areas, I used all the hooks fomr the silver marches book, replaceing the 2 wyverns with a white dragon though, and also dropped the Sons of Gruumsh adventure near there which is what they are currently about go through. With a few more sessions and a trip passed or around dead orc pass the pcs have ****** the orcs off killing several commanders(who are also his sones) of King Obould. He decides to take revenge on the pcs attacking the town they live in which in this case is Deadsnows.
Rude
12-03-06, 03:48 AM Where was Deadsnows featured? In a novel or Silver Marches book? It sounds very familiar, just can't remember where its from
Alurvelve
12-03-06, 04:38 AM Silver Marches booklet.
The Heretic
12-04-06, 11:25 PM I love the Deadsnows campaign and have run it twice myself. The way that I liked it best was...

The characters all begin at 1st level, and a Ranger is a must. They are members of a hamlet @50 miles east of Deadsnows. At the on set of winter orcish raiders sweep down sieging the hamlet. The local militia volunteers to buy the characters time to escort the women and children to Deadsnows, the nearest safe city.

You hit them with the harsh natural environment early, and then The North looks like a very dangerous place.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nightchill 11-12-06, 01:58 PM	It's been a while since I've DMd D&D and, with the urge to get a new campaign going, I've picked up the Silver Marches sourcebook. The book itself is an excellent read and I like the idea of a frontier type campaign so... Deadsnows. Reading through Blood & Gold I can see the church of Shar being the BBEGs behind several of the bad things happening (or soon to be happening) to Deadsnows. I'll likely be starting the players at 1st level (still a fuddy duddy like that) but scaling the Blood & Gold adventures shouldn't be a big problem. Still, I don't have much concrete in mind and wondered (in that idle DM way) if I could possibly poach (and pick) a few ideas of the kind souls here. So.. any comments on the following thoughts are appreciated: [possible spoilers] The church of Shar as BBEG: 1) construes various deals with the small orc bands in the region to make periodic attacks on Deadsnows that weaken, annoy and dishearten but don't destroy (yet). 2) removes the initial source of food for various monsters that then have to look to more dangerous pastures (namely, the town's). 3) sabotages the gold rush that's just starting to get into full swing. When the gold dries up, or the bullies/claimers get too powerful, the church stops the gold seekers returning west (possibly through aggravating local monsters/trolls in the area) forcing them to remain poor, disheartened in Deadsnows. [end of possible spoilers] Any hints/tips on running a campaign in that part of the Silver Marches (at least 4 days from the nearest decent sized town) and, more specifically, Deadsnows are more than welcome. Likewise any advice on portraying vividly and accurately the church of Shar would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!
Lawfire 11-12-06, 10:49 PM	The 3E Lords of Darkness book has a lot of good information on the Church of Shar. It has a section on the Monks of the Dark Moon as well as a section on the church itself. As for the anything else helpful, I'll have to get back to you.
j_gunder 11-13-06, 12:11 AM	I've actually launched three different campaigns using the little Deadsnows adventure...and I think each one was better than the last. By the end, I had developed all of the NPCs' personalities to the extent that I felt like I knew them for ages...and many times. There's lots of depth there, especially if you are good at taking one-liners and developing them into plot arcs. The first time, I ran it pretty standard, by-the-book. Players started at second level, as many of them were seasoned gamers and were bored with first-level games. Lady Icespear and her captain, Mannock, were the benefactors, along with allies from the church of Marhammor (sp?) nearby...they encountered the bandits (scaled down a bit), a few orc patrols, some random mountain/wilderness encounters...and then took on the orc camp. I had an NPC Monk of the Dark Moon (ally of the church of Shar) at the orc camp dealing with the leader of the orcs (using them to distract the town's meagre guard so that the church could continue to act freely)...the PCs witnessed a key conversation between Ulgreth (sp?) and the monk, and then prepped for the assault. By the time they took on the orc camp, the monk had split...but left the seed of doubt in the players, exposing that there may be deeper evils at work. It ended quite well, and lasted about four sessions before they got sick of Deadsnows...in the end, they investigated the underground temple but were sloppy in their questioning and poking about...enough so that the Sharrans uprooted and relocated. All in all, a half-success for the PCs...but it led into a wider-reaching Shar-based campaign that took them into Silverymoon and beyond. The second time, I wanted a switch...and I involved Snow Town and Vandar a lot more. It started off with the PCs being outsiders, with a definite prejudice against the claimers taking up camp outside of the city. The PCs were helping guard a dwarven group of claimers against orc attacks and human bandits...that put them in good graces with the dwarves, who had befriended Mannock and earned the PCs entrance to the city. They figured Vandar, of the Vandarhouse, was behind orchestrating the raids (due to some unsavory half-orcs running around claiming as much in Snow Town), and investigated it heavily...it ended up with her easily detecting the PCs attempts to spy on her (they didn't know she was an assassin). Eventually, she became a benefactor (hiring the PCs to dispose of the half-orcs), but that plot arc exposed documents that led everyone to believe Lady Icespear was the true evil behind the raids...all the time lining her pockets, once with taxes on the gold coming into the city, twice by what she could win by raiding the claiming camps and such. The PCs, with Vandar's aid, enlisted Mannock to their cause...uncovered that Lady Icespear was secretly dealing with the Sharrans...I even went so far as to hint that Lady Icespear was the lover of one of the priestesses of Shar involved with the underground temple. Eventually, the PCs defeated the orc camp and stormed the underground temple...the second Deadsnows adventure lasted a good seven or eight sessions, and was entertaining throughout, as allegiances were discovered and twisted. That was probably my favorite. The last time I ran it, PCs were level 5 or 6...they were mercenaries hired out of Everlund, actually hired as extensions of the Argent Legion or whatever the Silver Marches military was called, to keep the peace in Deadsnows due to escalating violence. Shortly after arriving, a plague broke out (due to the poor living conditions outside of Deadsnows), which the PCs easily solved with gratuitous use of remove disease and the aid of the priests of the dwarf temple. They slew the wyverns outside of the city, easily demolished the orcs...to beef up the Sharrans, I allied them with a wing of Kir-Lanan and some drow, and threw a "spark" I think it was called (a magical anomoly from Magic of Faerun) into the depths under the mountains that the Sharrans planned to use for a ritual of some sorts. I never actually had to figure out what, exactly, as after thrice attempting to seige the temple (and thrice being repelled), the campaign fizzled due to me moving away. I hope you get a few ideas from that...I've had a lot of success and a lot of fun gaming in the region...even just using the limited information given by the SM book. I used the Sharran NPCs out of the Lords of Darkness book, as well...it was a great help in fleshing out the church. That's all for now!
Nightchill 11-13-06, 08:54 AM	Lawfire: Thanks for the tip, looks like I'm going to have to get hold of LoD.. j_gunder: Excellent suggestions and a great help. The second campaign (shifting allegiances) sounds intriguing - certainly an avenue I'd (and the players would with their playstyles) enjoy taking my campaign down. Now to the fiendish planning stage.. ;)
summerstar 11-27-06, 01:03 PM	I love Deadsnows and the Silver Marches setting in general. j_gunder, thanks for your campaign notes. Well done! Regards, Summerstar
Faraer 11-27-06, 01:08 PM	The clearest and most detailed picture we have of the operation of Shar's priesthood is in the latter parts of The Temptation of Elminster. Faiths & Avatars is also a must, if you don't have it.
Alurvelve 11-27-06, 02:00 PM	A ruined and battle worn Deadsnows leaves little left for rebuilding, only thing stopping this fomr happening is my pcs. In the current campaign i am haveing the orcs are numnerous in the region evne more so than they have been in the last few year. Pc's investigate the areas, I used all the hooks fomr the silver marches book, replaceing the 2 wyverns with a white dragon though, and also dropped the Sons of Gruumsh adventure near there which is what they are currently about go through. With a few more sessions and a trip passed or around dead orc pass the pcs have ****** the orcs off killing several commanders(who are also his sones) of King Obould. He decides to take revenge on the pcs attacking the town they live in which in this case is Deadsnows.
Rude 12-03-06, 03:48 AM	Where was Deadsnows featured? In a novel or Silver Marches book? It sounds very familiar, just can't remember where its from
Alurvelve 12-03-06, 04:38 AM	Silver Marches booklet.
The Heretic 12-04-06, 11:25 PM	I love the Deadsnows campaign and have run it twice myself. The way that I liked it best was... The characters all begin at 1st level, and a Ranger is a must. They are members of a hamlet @50 miles east of Deadsnows. At the on set of winter orcish raiders sweep down sieging the hamlet. The local militia volunteers to buy the characters time to escort the women and children to Deadsnows, the nearest safe city. You hit them with the harsh natural environment early, and then The North looks like a very dangerous place.