Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 milkducks Jul 22, 2009 9:51:46	We're about to start a game using the 4e rules, set in 3e Forgotten Realms because, frankly, none of us like the "new" Faerun at all. I'm typically the DM for this group, but my wife has stepped forward and offered to run the game so I can play instead. This is her first time behind the DM screen, so I'm helping out as much as possible with the story, dungeon design and encounters (trying my best not to be invasive). We're pretty happy with what we've come up with, but we'd like some advice on how it could be better. So, here's what we've got - let us know what you think. The party: Dragonborn Warlord from the Dalelands (Inspiring Presence) * Goliath Warden (Earthstrength) Human Wizard from Silver Marches (Orbizard) Razorclaw Shifter Rogue from the Silver Marches (Artful Dodger) * The Dragonborn is my character, and I had a little trouble designing him; there's no information on "Dragonborn" characters in 3e, but there's plenty on Dragonkin and Half-Dragons, which isn't exactly what I want. I spoke with my wife, and she said it'd be okay to say that he's an elf (from Myth Drannor), born in the year of the Wandering Wyrm 1317, descended from a union between the people of Cormanthor and a great green dragon. He was born an elf, but as he matured, he essentially transformed into a 4e Dragonborn. I know it might be kinda weak, but I think it fits. I swapped out the Draconic language for Elvish, and we had talked about maybe counting him as an Elf for the purposes of Paragon Paths and whatnot, but I thought that might be too powerful and/or cheesy. At any rate, if there's a way to improve that character's storyline, I'm all ears. The story is set in the Dalelands and begins in the Year of Wild Magic, 1372. The characters will all basically know one another when the story begins: the Dragonborn is trying to muster forces to push into Cormanthor and retake the forest from the Drow; his old friend, the Wizard, has come from far away Silverymoon to assist in that fight, and has brought along a Rogue ally of his; the Warden was hired by the pair to protect them as they passed through the desert of Anauroch, under the shadow of a newly-arrived floating city. This party will be on their way to Scarsdale when the story begins, to atttend a Dalesmeet and hopefully gather allies. Before the adventure actually begins, however, the PCs will have already been set upon by thieves in the night, who were able to make off with a fair amount of their property. When the party makes it to a nearby town (any suggestions as to which Dale they're in or what town they're at would be awesome), and will need to stop to resupply and rest. Inevitably, they'll tell their tale to someone, probably an Innkeeper, and learn that Kobolds are responsible for all kinds of mischief in the area: they commonly set upon travelers in the night and steal their possessions; they raid trade caravans on their way to and from the town; they wreak havoc on the local farms, stealing or slaughtering small livestock; and they grow more and more bold by the day because their population is swelling. The Innkeeper believes that the Kobolds are left-overs from the recent Goblin Wars; Kobolds from all over, he says, gathered to worship and serve the will of Nalavara, the Elf-Dragon, and many of them never left the crude warrens they dug out of the Dalelands. Upon realizing that the PCs are adventurers, he'll certainly offer some kind of reward if they're willing to head out into the nearby Dales to deal with this threat. If the party decides to accept his quest (and why wouldn't they, really? I mean, aside from anything else, those kobolds stole some of their stuff too), the Innkeeper tells them he's heard stories that indicate the kobolds have made a lair of an old (possibly Dwarven, if that fits any area you guys can think of) mine in the nearby forest / hills, and that it's probably the best place to go. The mine itself is the big bad dungeon of this level 1 adventure; the PCs will have to locate the entrance to the mine, which has been overgrown by thick plants and thorny vines (the kobolds bypass this entrance and enter the mine through a network of tiny tunnels), and navigate through utter-darkness deep into the lower halls, where devious traps and a small army of kobolds await. The dungeon will feature kobold ambushes from behind arrowslits, cave-ins (both the "trap kind" and the "watch where you're firing that Scorching Burst" kind), trapped and locked doors, and a generous amount of complete darkness (personal light sources mandatory). Portions of the mine will have been cleared in the past using explosives, and some of those explosives will still be laying around in crates, waiting to be used. The adventure will sort of culminate at the end when the PCs discover the central hatchery, full of kobold eggs and home to a few, very large and distinctly different eggs. Successful nature checks will reveal these eggs to be actual Dragon eggs. One of these eggs will have already hatched, but there's no dragon anywhere in the mine, which means it's already left the nest; could it be in another nearby warren? Did it leave on its own? Or was it taken? Sold to Sembians, Zhents or Drow? There are plenty of wicked forces at work in the Dales, and if any of them were able to get their hands on a dragon hatchling, the results could be horrible. So the PCs will have to figure out what they want to do with the remaining eggs: keep them for themselves; bring them to the Dalesmeet and present them to people with the best interests of the Dales in their hearts; sell them to Sembians, Zhents or Drow; or destroy them outright. I figure we'll likely smash all the kobold eggs without even thinking about it (or better yet, use the explosives we find throughout the mine to collapse the whole chamber so it can't be used by other kobold tribes), but I really have no idea what we'll do with the dragon eggs. Our choice, however, will determine the next leg of the story, so it'll have to be something we think hard about. Also, we played around with the idea that the kindly Innkeeper is actually a Zhent operative. The local inn might have been run-down and disused after the death of the previous owner several years ago, and this new Zhent came to town only just recently and bought the place out. The locals wouldn't know that he's a Zhent, but they'd be able to tell the party if questioned that he's relatively new in town. At any rate, it just adds a bit more depth to the story if the party decides to come back to the Inn and tell the guy that they found some dragon eggs down there. You never know what he'd do with that information, you know? Anyways, thanks for reading. We'd love to know what you think. Any ideas on how we can improve this story would be greatly appreciated. Cheers! - ducks.
#2 Mr_Miscellany Jul 22, 2009 21:08:04	Hello milkducks! First off, thank you for sharing your adventure summary and ideas. I enjoyed reading it and in particular thought your idea behind the Dragonborn's origin is a great one. The fact that he comes from Myth Drannor fits, since that place has seen more than its share of odd-seeming unions in the past. Here are some thoughts and ideas that came to mind as I read your summary: If the koboIds really fled Cormyr after the War, then they likely made their way through Shadow Gap, past the Stonelands and onward to the foothills of the Desertsmouth Mountains, as this puts them well away from Cormyrean patrols coming out of the Purple Dragon encampments at the ruins of Tilverton. Whenever I think Desertsmouth, the Mines of Tethyamar and any number of countless outlying ruins (such as the abandoned dwarven mine your kobolds have taken over) come to mind, so that fits I think. Since the Desertsmouth runs roughly north and south, you have some choices. If the players followed the Black Road, they would come into Daggerdale and so you could base your adventure out of Dagger Falls and have nearby several areas along the northern tip of the Desertsmouth in which to place the mine. If the players opted to head further south and bypass the heart of Anourach, then you could say they crossed into the Stonelands where it meets the southernmost tip of the Desertsmouth Mountains and then they pushed onward toward the Moonsea Ride, which they could then follow to Rauthauvyr's Road and thus to Scardale. Then you could place them in Mistledale, within the town of Peldan's Helm (see the 3E Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, page 135; the map page 117 shows the town is along the Moonsea Ride), noting this is the first civilization they've seen since they were robbed in the shadow of the Desertsmouth Mountains a tenday ago. Start your adventure from there. How deep a plot? Well, if your innkeeper is to be a Zhent, could he know about the true Dragon Eggs (or at least expect them) and hint if anything such were found that he'd be willing to pay handsomely for a clutch of those eggs? Maybe his masters want to blackmail the dragon into doing their bidding (or draw it out so they can slay it). Note Manshoon himself has hired adventurers (through intermediaries) to brave a dragon's lair to weaken it and draw it out, so he could slay both fleeing adventurers and wounded dragon in one fell swoop, so this is something of a regular Zhent-style plot. Also, if your players were thoroughly robbed, then perhaps the scheming inkeeper appears to take pity on them and offers to equip the players in exchange for a promise to strike forth against the kobolds and take back all that's been stolen (which would include those eggs). You could even roleplay the innkeeper as someone who rants about, "Cormyr's failure to bring those ruddy beasts low!" And there'd be some ring of truth to that, if the kobold's efforts were cutting into the Zhentarim profit margin. All in all, an excellent adventure idea you and your wife have come up with. I hope you'll share events with us as they unfold.
#3 milkducks Jul 22, 2009 22:09:08	Wow, thank you for the comments and the information. I'll have to go grab my map and have a look through the area a bit further. I really appreciate your help, so again, thank you. We'll certainly keep everyone posted. - ducks.
#4 davesaunders Jul 26, 2009 19:34:31	You could use the 4E rules for dragonborn, but the original 3E dragonborn background story... someone of any race that was so devoted to Bahamut that the great dragon transformed them. Just a fun thought. that is what i do in my game.
#5 LordManshoon Jul 26, 2009 21:23:35	You could also take the 3E explanation and tweak it. There was an aspect of Hlal (begins with an "A", maybe Lord Karsus or someone else can help me here) which was an ally of the Seldarine. Perhaps it was this draconic deity which blessed your elf (unless your character has ties to Bahamut). EDIT: Found it. Avachel. Funny enough, this aspect is male while Hlal is female.
#6 lord_karsus Jul 27, 2009 0:09:42	-Avachel, as Mercury Wyrm, is often considered a companion and friend of Erevan Ilesere, where the two go off and make mischief. More about him (and Erevan Ilesere) can be found in Elves of Faerûn