Campaign Journal: Session 1
Over the course of running this campaign I will be summarizing the night's events in journals on my LJ. This is both for my own chronicling sake (I can look at these journal entries for experience calculation) and for the sake of the players' reference, and if it provides anyone else some mild amusement along the way then I assure you that was solely unintentional.
I will summarize in brief the pre-session antics: Pork Cracklins are disgusting.
Now within the campaign proper, we have our heroes, who have traveled to the bustling northern trade city of Gronwood (of the country Amannerrach) for fame and glory. I allowed them to make up their backstory in most parts, writing in new cities and towns as the need arises, as the creation of this milieu is in part a group effort. Long after this campaign is over, perhaps when these characters are retired, I'll expect one of them to take up the DM position and build the world from there. Hopefully we can flesh this out into something great.
Gator Brokenstone, a CN Dwarf fighter of the northern bog who, many years ago, sold off the family heirloom the Blackstone and acquired the name of shame, and somehow in a night of drunken antics shortly before the campaign's start burned down his house. Together, with his beloved dog Swampy, he has traveled to Gronwood solely for lack of anything better to do. Per my rules of non-coincidental meetup, he's the only character who did not travel within the party proper to the start of the campaign.
Rafael Crumb, a LN Human Cleric of the war deity Leg, who lived with his cousin Festus in the city of Crumberg, populated entirely by the noble family, serfs, and bastards of the family Crumb. Following this family's recent decent into financial ruin, he is traveling with Redblade to seek a better life.
Festus Crumb, a CN Human Magic-user living with Rafael in the city of Crumberg. The tower in which he was studying, long dilapidated, finally collapsed one day and Festus found himself both without a master and without solid ground to stand on. When Redblade passed through town searching for traveling companions he jumped on the chance and dragged his cousin along with him.
Redblade The Lucky, a CE Elf Assassin hailing from parts unknown. By dint of fate he has left his hometown seeking glory, desirous of finding a proper guild to join in which to practice his trade. Passing through Crumberg, he picks up the hapless heirs to the broken family and the three set off.
Note that this is all backstory and the campaign doesn't start until Gronwood.
A brief note about alignment: There's a trend up there and some of the more critical of you may be asking why I am allowing an evil campaign. What actually transpired at character creation is that everyone's rolls were so low they were consigned to a fate of lawlessness. Note that the powerful and specifically evil class, the Assassin, has extremely low requirements all across the board, while the powerful and specifically good class, the Paladin, has nothing but high requirements. And yet, Gygax was right: the world is designed for good characters, which I will point out would typically need to roll on the high end.
We begin the Campaign in Gronwood. As the party has spent all its money on "advent'rous equipment" and left none for traveling and provisions thereof, the Crumb Cousins offered to muck the stables in return for lodging. There they met Gator, literally waist deep in shit (he's little over 3 feet tall) forced to do the same. Redblade, meanwhile, bought himself a room and went off on his own.
As the Crumbs entertained the new dwarf friend everyone generally found that being covered in shit did not help boost their ratings with the waitresses. The magic-user masked a bowl of slop with a flavor spell in a desperate bid to save some face for the night and with the help of the Cleric they barely avoided fostering a crippling disease among the three of them as they ate with manure-covered hands.
Redblade, meanwhile, searched throughout town for a place to find employment. After noisily snooping around a small shanty within the walls he was assaulted and held at sword point and brought to some dark building where he learned he was being pressganged into doing a job. He was then knocked unconscious.
Gator awakens with a hangover from the night before after downing five beers all at once out of rage for his newfound lowlife situation and the three of them clean up and go about searching for a means of employment themselves. They reach the merchant's square, where Festus was tricked into thinking that a merchant of magical wares really did believe that a pebble was a great magical soup and cast his flavor spell on it to make it taste better, amusing the merchant greatly. That same merchant hired them to do a job spying on the giant in the square, and the giant pretended to be an idiot to get rid of the dwarf before he got to really talking. Festus promised to somehow make the turnips he was selling worth more, but he was out of spells for the day and so he must thus return with his magicks replenish'd. And that's pretty much all he did for that day.
At this point Mike (Rafael) has to leave. If not for the fact that Dave (Redblade) is already on a solo quest I wouldn't have continued the session.
Redblade awakens at a campfire and is told of the mission he must accomplish. He is to travel in plain sight in the middle of the day across town to a noble's house and tell him not to mess with the Red Sunshine Society ever again. He does so, traveling across town with little incident, hopping the chainlink fence into the wealthy district, and makes his way across the district disguised as an old lady, botching several move silently and hide in shadows attempts and thus being trailed by beings curious and of ill-intent. For the time being he holes up in a church to shake the potential heat.
Meanwhile, Gator is at the edge of town playing fetch with Swampy. Before he even knows what's happening two unsavories who were planning to mug him get torn to shreds by the dog and the incident frightens no less than seven different townsfolk, alerting the city guard. Gator books it.
Now that it's night, Redblade steps out of the church and begins casing the house. He hides in the shadows to avoid detection and loops a rope around the pipe chimney on the roof three stories up. Attempting to climb it, his weight causes the chimney to buckle inward with a loud metallic shriek, and a passal of guards standing behind him reveal themselves and tell him to stop. He elects to climb the rest of the way onto the roof and a crossbow quarrel shatters a window next to him. Now on the roof, he tosses the rope over the other side of the building, where he sees a balcony on the second floor and a large glass window.
I gave Dave a 10% chance to succeed at what he was about to do. That means he had to roll 10 or under on a d100 to do so. He rolled a 97.
Redblade takes a running start and leaps over the roof, rope in hand, intending to bravely swing downward and through the picture window. The rope slips out of his hand but he catches it just barely, and he swings downward bashing into the balcony and falling to the ground on his back where he knocks his head.
Down here is a wooden shutter window latched. To trick the guards he breaks it open and then runs off to hide next to the corner of the house. But suddenly there are guards running from every direction after him. Making a mad dash toward the fence Redblade vaults it with ease... and is caught in a tight bearhug by an armored man he hadn't seen, and passes out.
He wakes up with his hands tied in some nondescript alley. There are two armored men standing above him and one becloaked armored man standing off to one side. He gets kicked and screamed at as they ask him who he works for, but he refuses to talk; "I work only for myself."
Calmly, the cloaked man motions the other two to leave the alley. He kneels down and speaks. Surrender, he says. Redblade feels so compelled to obey that he admits he is working for someone. Speak, he says. Again, so compelled is he to obey, Redblade attempts to make some cryptic reference to his employers. The cloaked man smirks, and suddenly there's a screaming pain in his ankle and Redblade cries out in agony loudly, thrashing about and admitting that he is telling the truth. The pain stops, and the man leaves.
Redblade finds that he is naked. When he escapes the ropes, he limps and staggers, his ankle injured beyond his ability to deal with. He heads toward a shanty to find some clothes. After scaring up some locals he puts on a dress.
End of Session.
I will summarize in brief the pre-session antics: Pork Cracklins are disgusting.
Now within the campaign proper, we have our heroes, who have traveled to the bustling northern trade city of Gronwood (of the country Amannerrach) for fame and glory. I allowed them to make up their backstory in most parts, writing in new cities and towns as the need arises, as the creation of this milieu is in part a group effort. Long after this campaign is over, perhaps when these characters are retired, I'll expect one of them to take up the DM position and build the world from there. Hopefully we can flesh this out into something great.
Gator Brokenstone, a CN Dwarf fighter of the northern bog who, many years ago, sold off the family heirloom the Blackstone and acquired the name of shame, and somehow in a night of drunken antics shortly before the campaign's start burned down his house. Together, with his beloved dog Swampy, he has traveled to Gronwood solely for lack of anything better to do. Per my rules of non-coincidental meetup, he's the only character who did not travel within the party proper to the start of the campaign.
Rafael Crumb, a LN Human Cleric of the war deity Leg, who lived with his cousin Festus in the city of Crumberg, populated entirely by the noble family, serfs, and bastards of the family Crumb. Following this family's recent decent into financial ruin, he is traveling with Redblade to seek a better life.
Festus Crumb, a CN Human Magic-user living with Rafael in the city of Crumberg. The tower in which he was studying, long dilapidated, finally collapsed one day and Festus found himself both without a master and without solid ground to stand on. When Redblade passed through town searching for traveling companions he jumped on the chance and dragged his cousin along with him.
Redblade The Lucky, a CE Elf Assassin hailing from parts unknown. By dint of fate he has left his hometown seeking glory, desirous of finding a proper guild to join in which to practice his trade. Passing through Crumberg, he picks up the hapless heirs to the broken family and the three set off.
Note that this is all backstory and the campaign doesn't start until Gronwood.
A brief note about alignment: There's a trend up there and some of the more critical of you may be asking why I am allowing an evil campaign. What actually transpired at character creation is that everyone's rolls were so low they were consigned to a fate of lawlessness. Note that the powerful and specifically evil class, the Assassin, has extremely low requirements all across the board, while the powerful and specifically good class, the Paladin, has nothing but high requirements. And yet, Gygax was right: the world is designed for good characters, which I will point out would typically need to roll on the high end.
We begin the Campaign in Gronwood. As the party has spent all its money on "advent'rous equipment" and left none for traveling and provisions thereof, the Crumb Cousins offered to muck the stables in return for lodging. There they met Gator, literally waist deep in shit (he's little over 3 feet tall) forced to do the same. Redblade, meanwhile, bought himself a room and went off on his own.
As the Crumbs entertained the new dwarf friend everyone generally found that being covered in shit did not help boost their ratings with the waitresses. The magic-user masked a bowl of slop with a flavor spell in a desperate bid to save some face for the night and with the help of the Cleric they barely avoided fostering a crippling disease among the three of them as they ate with manure-covered hands.
Redblade, meanwhile, searched throughout town for a place to find employment. After noisily snooping around a small shanty within the walls he was assaulted and held at sword point and brought to some dark building where he learned he was being pressganged into doing a job. He was then knocked unconscious.
Gator awakens with a hangover from the night before after downing five beers all at once out of rage for his newfound lowlife situation and the three of them clean up and go about searching for a means of employment themselves. They reach the merchant's square, where Festus was tricked into thinking that a merchant of magical wares really did believe that a pebble was a great magical soup and cast his flavor spell on it to make it taste better, amusing the merchant greatly. That same merchant hired them to do a job spying on the giant in the square, and the giant pretended to be an idiot to get rid of the dwarf before he got to really talking. Festus promised to somehow make the turnips he was selling worth more, but he was out of spells for the day and so he must thus return with his magicks replenish'd. And that's pretty much all he did for that day.
At this point Mike (Rafael) has to leave. If not for the fact that Dave (Redblade) is already on a solo quest I wouldn't have continued the session.
Redblade awakens at a campfire and is told of the mission he must accomplish. He is to travel in plain sight in the middle of the day across town to a noble's house and tell him not to mess with the Red Sunshine Society ever again. He does so, traveling across town with little incident, hopping the chainlink fence into the wealthy district, and makes his way across the district disguised as an old lady, botching several move silently and hide in shadows attempts and thus being trailed by beings curious and of ill-intent. For the time being he holes up in a church to shake the potential heat.
Meanwhile, Gator is at the edge of town playing fetch with Swampy. Before he even knows what's happening two unsavories who were planning to mug him get torn to shreds by the dog and the incident frightens no less than seven different townsfolk, alerting the city guard. Gator books it.
Now that it's night, Redblade steps out of the church and begins casing the house. He hides in the shadows to avoid detection and loops a rope around the pipe chimney on the roof three stories up. Attempting to climb it, his weight causes the chimney to buckle inward with a loud metallic shriek, and a passal of guards standing behind him reveal themselves and tell him to stop. He elects to climb the rest of the way onto the roof and a crossbow quarrel shatters a window next to him. Now on the roof, he tosses the rope over the other side of the building, where he sees a balcony on the second floor and a large glass window.
I gave Dave a 10% chance to succeed at what he was about to do. That means he had to roll 10 or under on a d100 to do so. He rolled a 97.
Redblade takes a running start and leaps over the roof, rope in hand, intending to bravely swing downward and through the picture window. The rope slips out of his hand but he catches it just barely, and he swings downward bashing into the balcony and falling to the ground on his back where he knocks his head.
Down here is a wooden shutter window latched. To trick the guards he breaks it open and then runs off to hide next to the corner of the house. But suddenly there are guards running from every direction after him. Making a mad dash toward the fence Redblade vaults it with ease... and is caught in a tight bearhug by an armored man he hadn't seen, and passes out.
He wakes up with his hands tied in some nondescript alley. There are two armored men standing above him and one becloaked armored man standing off to one side. He gets kicked and screamed at as they ask him who he works for, but he refuses to talk; "I work only for myself."
Calmly, the cloaked man motions the other two to leave the alley. He kneels down and speaks. Surrender, he says. Redblade feels so compelled to obey that he admits he is working for someone. Speak, he says. Again, so compelled is he to obey, Redblade attempts to make some cryptic reference to his employers. The cloaked man smirks, and suddenly there's a screaming pain in his ankle and Redblade cries out in agony loudly, thrashing about and admitting that he is telling the truth. The pain stops, and the man leaves.
Redblade finds that he is naked. When he escapes the ropes, he limps and staggers, his ankle injured beyond his ability to deal with. He heads toward a shanty to find some clothes. After scaring up some locals he puts on a dress.
End of Session.