First time DM, would appreciate some feed back... - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

First time DM, would appreciate some feed back...

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Blizz509
Dec 15, 2010 19:47:23 So I just started playing for the first time a few months ago. The group I play with runs a session every other week, I thought I'd give DMing a try on our off weeks. Durring one of our sessions Spelljammer came up, and I thought it sounded like a great setting and a lot of fun. Since I'm new to the whole DM thing, and there is no 4e Spelljammer material, I figured my own homebrew story would be fun.

Basically, the gods are dead, and it's up to the adventurers to travel the stars to find artifacts that hold the power to resurect the fallen gods, or give them the power of gods themselves. The story will start with them finding a living space ship(basically a gigantic space whale that they can live inside...think FarScape), fighting their way through til they free it from agents of an evil ruler who wants the ship for his artifact collecting fleet.

Here's what I've got so far... oh, and this will start at lvl 5, with 4-6 players

-----------------------------------------

Story of the Great War: It has been nearly 1000 years since the Great War. A war not fought by mortal men, but by the Gods themselves. The conflict nearly destroyed the universe. The forces of nature were thrown into turmoil, as the Gods fell, their clerics lost the powers they had, until finally all the Gods were dead. Legends tell of powerful artifacts(shards of the Gods themselves) spread throughout the stars, artifacts powerful enough to resurrect the Gods, or transform their owner into a God.

----------------------------

You are on the world of Sellador, where 500 years ago a massive meteorite crashed into the planet. The, then noble, kingdom of Gansor discovered that the meteorite put of a strong anti-magic aura. They named the crater Starfall, and began using it as a prison for evil mages. As generations passed, it became a prison for all mages. As more time passed the Kingdom of Gansor began to expand, violently. Eventually Starfell became a slave camp. It's inhabitants forced to farm the fields outside of the crater and to mine in the obsidian mines. The food and obsidian are used to fuel the war machine of the Gansor Empire.

The last thing you remember was a Gansor war party attacking your town. Buildings on fire, people running and screaming, children crying. Then everything goes black. When you wake up an elderly gnome is running between you all, poking you, and mumbling to himself. “Yep, looks like this lot's all alive, I'll take care of them Fanin,” the gnome says. A large, but starving looking goliath grunts in satisfaction and walks off. As you shake off the haze in your head, and see what looks like a giant stone squid protruding several hundred feet out of the ground, and the jagged stone walls of the canyon you are in, you realize you are in the Starfell.

Apparently realizing the same thing, a stout looking dwarf runs off to what appears to be the mouth of the canyon, and where a small caravan is heading. As he nears the caravan a rain of arrows showers down, ten to twenty arrows hit him, and then explode. The area around the dwarf is engulfed in flames as he collapses.

“Shouldn't have tried to escape, it never goes as well as planned. Well his bad idea means more food for you all, so are you hungry? Cold? I've got a spot right over there in the shadow of the space rock. If you're hungry or want to warm on up, come on over. But if you want to explore a little bit and get your bearings I can understand, just don't go where that dwarf went, else you'll be lit up like a barbeque, and explode, and die. If you get lost just ask for Fritz, people will point you in my direction. I'm used to getting newcomers situated”

At this point players are free to explore, they'll find several hundred of starving looking slaves huddled around various scattered fires. None of them are willing to talk to the players, by looking in their eyes they can see there are no signs of hope. As night falls extreme cold sets in, players must make an endurance check (DC 15) if they are away from the warmth of a fire for more then a few minutes. A failed check means the loss of a healing surge.

When players return to Fritz he will offer them food, and let them sit around his campfire. He will offer to tell the story of the Great War, players with a passive insight of 15 will notice he knows more about artifacts then he is letting on. He will not reveal any actual information though. While the players are eating Fritz will hear a sound, a perception check (DC 18) will reveal four people entering Fritz's tent(located 25 feet from the camp fire, right where the meteorite meets the ground).

---------------------------------

This is where I'm stuck. I'd like to do some sort of skill challenge here to break into the meteorite(the ship).

I've got basically 4 combat encounters pretty much planned out. First one being a Rat King(modified Hive Queen), 2 Giant Rats(modified Giant Ants), and a few Corpse Rat Swarms.

Second encounter- Xandra Nastre'san and 4 Fire Bats, I'll reflavor them to be mechanical bat pets.

Third encounter- Glork(reflavored as a gnome), a Gnome Mistwalker, a Shadow Walker(reflavored as a gnome as well), and 3 Decrepit Warforged. The warforged will be flavored as mech like suits for heavy lifting until combat starts, then they'll be a clockwork skeleton.

Final encounter- Jelia, Jelia's Iron Cobra, and 3 Iron Cobras.

From there they can take off, and where they go from there would be up to them. With a setup like this, I think it would be easy to reflavor a Dungeon Delve or other module to fit into the story. Also, would I be making things too hard on myself by not allowing Devine classes? Any feedback or advice would be great.

Thanks for any advice you all can give...
#2
mathius78
Dec 16, 2010 12:30:18 This sounds highly like a difficult game to run, but if you pull it off then it will be great fun. As for Divine classed, I would let a player play one, it is his faith in (whatever) that gives him strenth not the divine entity itself. Lot of RP potential for the first cleric to surface in many many years. For the ship, you need to let the group know that thier is something special about the ship ICly. Actually you should give them three clues that the asteroid is the way to go. A dream sent to devine class, overhere something from a different prisinor camp, and careful observation of the asteroid itself could al reveal this info. I would use stealth, dungeneering, aracana, religion, steetwise, and athletics as primary skills to find an entrance to the space whale.

mathius
#3
AdmiralRanger
Dec 18, 2010 14:14:25 Sounds good but why do all the gods need to be dead? If you want devine classes just add a hidden god who nobody knows is still alive. He arranged both the great war and the quest for the shards as part of his xantos gambit to take complete control of the multiuniverse. The space whale meteor thing is a weakened god who helps the pcs by guiding them into him so he can use them to regain his power. That he is a god might be revealed early if the pc's are likely to restore him to power or late as part of a xantos gambit again. As for the meteor raid. Listen checks on the guards will reveal that they know their is something valuable in the meteor and they are trying to get it open to no succsess. The pc's might be ordered to dig it open but think their way inside instead.
#4
Drecon84
Dec 20, 2010 7:12:14 Wow, awesome set-up.
A few things:

1: why do you start at 5th level? Is it a 3.5 campaign? I remember that it was better then to start at higher levels... not so much in 4e...

2: I agree that disallowing divine classes is a bad idea. It is usual consensus that the divine power source is not directly linked to the gods themselves. This would generally lead to all classes still being playable. Besides, do the players even know at the start that the gods are dead or are they going to find out bit by bit.
Maybe the angels are still working to try to fill in for the gods but are missing ever more beats. The cover-up might start to fail ever more.

3: You have to decide on whether the characters are actually in control of the living space ship or if they're just along for the ride. Maybe they need to learn how to operate it first.

4: Do you already know what worlds the players will go to? It might be a good idea to script everything out world by world.
#5
calm
Dec 20, 2010 20:00:38 If you're in 4E (or really even if you're not), you might get some good material from the plane above for traversing the astral sea to the various dominions (though now they'd be fallen of course) in search of artifacts. There are astral ships in there you could use, plus some skill challenges for sailing them. Also, gith pirates as well as devils and other astral types of enemies that would totally work for this.
#6
Blizz509
Dec 21, 2010 20:16:39 Thank you everyone that has responded so far. Due to some unforseen circumstances I wound up running the game last friday. We only made it through the first two battles, and two skill challenges. Though it worked out well because I didn't have maps drawn out for the last three battles(I was able to use my map for the first area for the second battle.

I plan on leaving the Gods dead as it opens up a few entertaining story points. For example: Lord Sathos is a dragonborn warlord hunting for the shards. He's found two already. First he found Moradin's shard, giving him the desire to spread his peoples empire throughout the stars. He wanted the shards to resurect the fallen gods, thus leaving a lasting legacy in the universe. Then he found the shard of Vecna, and it poisoned his soul. Now he secretly plans on destroying all the shards but the shard of Vecna.

Sathos has been searching for Elena(the space whale/meteorite) ever since she escaped and crashed on Sellador. The anti-magic aura she puts off is actually draining surrounding magical energies to heal her. The aura has shielded her from being detected from space. Sathos has teams scouring the universe for her, one such team finds her and breaks in a few hours after the players arrive in the starfell.

Drecon84: 1: This group has done two campaigns and level 5 is the furthest we've gotten, so we decided to start at 5.

2: I decided to let them play divine classes, but on the condition they were reflavored to more scientific kind of classes. Oddly enough the only person that chose divine is an artificer/cleric hybrid so healing word becomes healing salve/injection. I've gone with the gods all being dead and the players major campaign goal will be to resurect, kill, or become the gods. I explained things to the players that it was the gods will that gave clerics and paladins their powers.

3: I plan on giving them full control of the ship, but I don't plan on developing a system for ship based combat, so Elena will be unarmed. Initially Fritz will act as captian... there is a room with a deva suspended in mid-air, the deva is the humanized representation of Elena that the players will be able to interact with for navigation and such.

4: I have a few ideas for worlds in my mind, but some of them will be already established worlds(Forgotten Realms, Eberon, Dark Sun, etc), some of them will be more thematic such as a gnome world or a reptilian world. I also picked up the Dungeon Delves book, so I can use a few of those dungeons and work them into my story. I'm also going to be working with my players to find out what kind of worlds they would like to see, basically I'd like to make it as much fun for them as possible.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Blizz509 Dec 15, 2010 19:47:23	So I just started playing for the first time a few months ago. The group I play with runs a session every other week, I thought I'd give DMing a try on our off weeks. Durring one of our sessions Spelljammer came up, and I thought it sounded like a great setting and a lot of fun. Since I'm new to the whole DM thing, and there is no 4e Spelljammer material, I figured my own homebrew story would be fun. Basically, the gods are dead, and it's up to the adventurers to travel the stars to find artifacts that hold the power to resurect the fallen gods, or give them the power of gods themselves. The story will start with them finding a living space ship(basically a gigantic space whale that they can live inside...think FarScape), fighting their way through til they free it from agents of an evil ruler who wants the ship for his artifact collecting fleet. Here's what I've got so far... oh, and this will start at lvl 5, with 4-6 players ----------------------------------------- Story of the Great War: It has been nearly 1000 years since the Great War. A war not fought by mortal men, but by the Gods themselves. The conflict nearly destroyed the universe. The forces of nature were thrown into turmoil, as the Gods fell, their clerics lost the powers they had, until finally all the Gods were dead. Legends tell of powerful artifacts(shards of the Gods themselves) spread throughout the stars, artifacts powerful enough to resurrect the Gods, or transform their owner into a God. ---------------------------- You are on the world of Sellador, where 500 years ago a massive meteorite crashed into the planet. The, then noble, kingdom of Gansor discovered that the meteorite put of a strong anti-magic aura. They named the crater Starfall, and began using it as a prison for evil mages. As generations passed, it became a prison for all mages. As more time passed the Kingdom of Gansor began to expand, violently. Eventually Starfell became a slave camp. It's inhabitants forced to farm the fields outside of the crater and to mine in the obsidian mines. The food and obsidian are used to fuel the war machine of the Gansor Empire. The last thing you remember was a Gansor war party attacking your town. Buildings on fire, people running and screaming, children crying. Then everything goes black. When you wake up an elderly gnome is running between you all, poking you, and mumbling to himself. “Yep, looks like this lot's all alive, I'll take care of them Fanin,” the gnome says. A large, but starving looking goliath grunts in satisfaction and walks off. As you shake off the haze in your head, and see what looks like a giant stone squid protruding several hundred feet out of the ground, and the jagged stone walls of the canyon you are in, you realize you are in the Starfell. Apparently realizing the same thing, a stout looking dwarf runs off to what appears to be the mouth of the canyon, and where a small caravan is heading. As he nears the caravan a rain of arrows showers down, ten to twenty arrows hit him, and then explode. The area around the dwarf is engulfed in flames as he collapses. “Shouldn't have tried to escape, it never goes as well as planned. Well his bad idea means more food for you all, so are you hungry? Cold? I've got a spot right over there in the shadow of the space rock. If you're hungry or want to warm on up, come on over. But if you want to explore a little bit and get your bearings I can understand, just don't go where that dwarf went, else you'll be lit up like a barbeque, and explode, and die. If you get lost just ask for Fritz, people will point you in my direction. I'm used to getting newcomers situated” At this point players are free to explore, they'll find several hundred of starving looking slaves huddled around various scattered fires. None of them are willing to talk to the players, by looking in their eyes they can see there are no signs of hope. As night falls extreme cold sets in, players must make an endurance check (DC 15) if they are away from the warmth of a fire for more then a few minutes. A failed check means the loss of a healing surge. When players return to Fritz he will offer them food, and let them sit around his campfire. He will offer to tell the story of the Great War, players with a passive insight of 15 will notice he knows more about artifacts then he is letting on. He will not reveal any actual information though. While the players are eating Fritz will hear a sound, a perception check (DC 18) will reveal four people entering Fritz's tent(located 25 feet from the camp fire, right where the meteorite meets the ground). --------------------------------- This is where I'm stuck. I'd like to do some sort of skill challenge here to break into the meteorite(the ship). I've got basically 4 combat encounters pretty much planned out. First one being a Rat King(modified Hive Queen), 2 Giant Rats(modified Giant Ants), and a few Corpse Rat Swarms. Second encounter- Xandra Nastre'san and 4 Fire Bats, I'll reflavor them to be mechanical bat pets. Third encounter- Glork(reflavored as a gnome), a Gnome Mistwalker, a Shadow Walker(reflavored as a gnome as well), and 3 Decrepit Warforged. The warforged will be flavored as mech like suits for heavy lifting until combat starts, then they'll be a clockwork skeleton. Final encounter- Jelia, Jelia's Iron Cobra, and 3 Iron Cobras. From there they can take off, and where they go from there would be up to them. With a setup like this, I think it would be easy to reflavor a Dungeon Delve or other module to fit into the story. Also, would I be making things too hard on myself by not allowing Devine classes? Any feedback or advice would be great. Thanks for any advice you all can give...
#2 mathius78 Dec 16, 2010 12:30:18	This sounds highly like a difficult game to run, but if you pull it off then it will be great fun. As for Divine classed, I would let a player play one, it is his faith in (whatever) that gives him strenth not the divine entity itself. Lot of RP potential for the first cleric to surface in many many years. For the ship, you need to let the group know that thier is something special about the ship ICly. Actually you should give them three clues that the asteroid is the way to go. A dream sent to devine class, overhere something from a different prisinor camp, and careful observation of the asteroid itself could al reveal this info. I would use stealth, dungeneering, aracana, religion, steetwise, and athletics as primary skills to find an entrance to the space whale. mathius
#3 AdmiralRanger Dec 18, 2010 14:14:25	Sounds good but why do all the gods need to be dead? If you want devine classes just add a hidden god who nobody knows is still alive. He arranged both the great war and the quest for the shards as part of his xantos gambit to take complete control of the multiuniverse. The space whale meteor thing is a weakened god who helps the pcs by guiding them into him so he can use them to regain his power. That he is a god might be revealed early if the pc's are likely to restore him to power or late as part of a xantos gambit again. As for the meteor raid. Listen checks on the guards will reveal that they know their is something valuable in the meteor and they are trying to get it open to no succsess. The pc's might be ordered to dig it open but think their way inside instead.
#4 Drecon84 Dec 20, 2010 7:12:14	Wow, awesome set-up. A few things: 1: why do you start at 5th level? Is it a 3.5 campaign? I remember that it was better then to start at higher levels... not so much in 4e... 2: I agree that disallowing divine classes is a bad idea. It is usual consensus that the divine power source is not directly linked to the gods themselves. This would generally lead to all classes still being playable. Besides, do the players even know at the start that the gods are dead or are they going to find out bit by bit. Maybe the angels are still working to try to fill in for the gods but are missing ever more beats. The cover-up might start to fail ever more. 3: You have to decide on whether the characters are actually in control of the living space ship or if they're just along for the ride. Maybe they need to learn how to operate it first. 4: Do you already know what worlds the players will go to? It might be a good idea to script everything out world by world.
#5 calm Dec 20, 2010 20:00:38	If you're in 4E (or really even if you're not), you might get some good material from the plane above for traversing the astral sea to the various dominions (though now they'd be fallen of course) in search of artifacts. There are astral ships in there you could use, plus some skill challenges for sailing them. Also, gith pirates as well as devils and other astral types of enemies that would totally work for this.
#6 Blizz509 Dec 21, 2010 20:16:39	Thank you everyone that has responded so far. Due to some unforseen circumstances I wound up running the game last friday. We only made it through the first two battles, and two skill challenges. Though it worked out well because I didn't have maps drawn out for the last three battles(I was able to use my map for the first area for the second battle. I plan on leaving the Gods dead as it opens up a few entertaining story points. For example: Lord Sathos is a dragonborn warlord hunting for the shards. He's found two already. First he found Moradin's shard, giving him the desire to spread his peoples empire throughout the stars. He wanted the shards to resurect the fallen gods, thus leaving a lasting legacy in the universe. Then he found the shard of Vecna, and it poisoned his soul. Now he secretly plans on destroying all the shards but the shard of Vecna. Sathos has been searching for Elena(the space whale/meteorite) ever since she escaped and crashed on Sellador. The anti-magic aura she puts off is actually draining surrounding magical energies to heal her. The aura has shielded her from being detected from space. Sathos has teams scouring the universe for her, one such team finds her and breaks in a few hours after the players arrive in the starfell. Drecon84: 1: This group has done two campaigns and level 5 is the furthest we've gotten, so we decided to start at 5. 2: I decided to let them play divine classes, but on the condition they were reflavored to more scientific kind of classes. Oddly enough the only person that chose divine is an artificer/cleric hybrid so healing word becomes healing salve/injection. I've gone with the gods all being dead and the players major campaign goal will be to resurect, kill, or become the gods. I explained things to the players that it was the gods will that gave clerics and paladins their powers. 3: I plan on giving them full control of the ship, but I don't plan on developing a system for ship based combat, so Elena will be unarmed. Initially Fritz will act as captian... there is a room with a deva suspended in mid-air, the deva is the humanized representation of Elena that the players will be able to interact with for navigation and such. 4: I have a few ideas for worlds in my mind, but some of them will be already established worlds(Forgotten Realms, Eberon, Dark Sun, etc), some of them will be more thematic such as a gnome world or a reptilian world. I also picked up the Dungeon Delves book, so I can use a few of those dungeons and work them into my story. I'm also going to be working with my players to find out what kind of worlds they would like to see, basically I'd like to make it as much fun for them as possible.