Dustin's Out

Due to our disagreement, Dustin has decided to leave our group. I've removed his blog access and will be removing him from my email list. If you'd like to play with him in the future, hold onto his email.

I understand that I may have overreacted to his continued foolishness, but I do not regret a single word of what I wrote, his decision to leave, or the time he spent in our group.

I do not know if this his departure will lead to any others, which is why I'm posting this. I have no plans on reconciling with Dustin. If this means that you're out too (whomever you are), post in comments.

Pre-Game Happy Hour At Home Team?

Home Team Grill, that restaurant a block away from my apartment, has a half-off burger night on Tuesdays. Also, their Happy Hour starts runs 4-7.

Anybody interested in doing a pre-game dinner there? Their basic burger is seven bucks, so that and a draft beer would run you 5.50 + tip.

I know several of our members have classes until almost seven, so I guess this is directed at Danny, Robin, and Dustin.

James and I will be there on Tuesday, anyway.

Session 1 Recap

After finding yourselves liberated from the town's dungeon, the party walked south, so that they could wash and fish at a nearby river. In a field of wildflowers abutting the river, they hunted pig and fished for trout. They also came across some dead goblins pickling a mysterious pool of acid.

Fearing that a dragon might be nearby, the party decided to leaver, and so began walking east along the northern bank of the river. A road arced onto their path, and then arced off again. The party decided not to follow the road and stuck to the river. Then the terrain became marshy and bad for traveling, so they decided to head north and visit a friendly witch Leonor knew.

After several hours of walking, the party arrived at the Hidden Forest of Lady Tawna, the aforementioned witch. Tawna took them in, but in return they had to do her a favor: recover her favorite pipe, which had been stolen by a leprechaun a few days before.

The next day, they set off inside the forest. After an encounter with a monstrous viper and a panther, they defeated the leprechaun and returned to Tawna's hut.

That's the official report. I'd be curious to see how you guys (and your characters) remember last night's game.

Campaign Backstory

Three nights ago, the skies above the little village in which you live were thick with falling stars. It was a spectacle like nothing anyone had ever seen before. For hours, the smallfolk of the village gazed out on the heavens with a newfound sense of wonder. For a short time, everyone, those who work; those who pray; and even those who fight, were united in the reverence for Coming of the Comets.

Among the field of stars, one burned brighter and flew faster than all the rest. Unlike all the other stars, this one had a name: Junix, known in the common tongue as Kingmaker. Before he died, Norman the Prophet, the last seer of Nerath, foretold that whoever claimed that star where it fell would rule the world. And so it was not merely a star everyone looked at that night, but destiny.

The starry-eyed wonder came to a crashing halt, however, as fate sent a falling star into the village. The falling star struck and burned Moradin All-Father’s House for Wayward Youth to the ground. The place had long been a haven for the village’s most unsavory youth. While many perished in the fire, a handful escaped with their lives and a few possessions. Among these were a drug addict, a half-orc, a novice scout, a pair of orphans, and an acolyte of Moradin.

The town didn’t exactly care for these outcasts to begin with, and some whispered that the falling star was no less than divine judgment on the sinners who dwelled within, but most helped put out the fire, grieved with the survivors, and planned to rebuild.

That was when they found the Wayward House’s Secret Room.
Amid the ashes of the building’s foundation, the villagers found a dungeon, a bloodstained alter, and tiny skeletons. Their passions enflamed by this discovery, they locked up the survivors in their lord’s dungeon, and asked their lord to pass judgment on them.

For a day and a night the lord contemplated the fate of those who survived the Wayward House. It had long stood as a force for good in the community, taking in those who could find no shelter elsewhere. However, when a lynch mob formed at the castle’s gates and would not disperse the lord had no choice but to bring those accused to trial. But when the lord called his jailer to bring the accused to trial, they were no longer there. It was as though they had vanished into thin air.

When the common folk heard this, they raged, now utterly convinced of the survivors’ guilt. Some even decided to leave the village and look for them, claiming it was a holy quest to bring demon-worshipers to justice and that they would not rest until the bones of the Wayward House were avenged.
Deep in the shadows of the dungeon, a stranger came for you. He offered to get you out of the village and you reluctantly agreed. Though you did not know the man, he took you through the secret passages of the castle until you emerged, unscathed, at the village’s edge.

Your benefactor left you then. Without anything else to do or anywhere to go, you’ve all decided to strike out and claim Junix for yourself.

Character backgrounds

Here's a place to post your character's background story and other stuff. How old they are, what they look like, how they became orphaned, the reason for their vocation, why the like delivering meat so much...

Campaing Blog now available as an RSS feed

I've opened the blog so that anyone can read it now. This means that you can also click on the little RSS icon (an orange square with curved white lines inside) and subscribe to the blog as RSS feed.

Stat Gen Rules

As I mentioned to Dustin in an email earlier today, Players will use 32-point standard point buy rules to make their characters.

Here's the twist: I'll let you barter points for special abilities. As a rule, nothing that increases your ability scores (you are paying build points, after all). But other than that nothing is off the table. Nothing. Here's how these exchanges will go.

Player: I want my character to be really lucky. How many points will it take for my character to have 3 rerolls a day?

Tom: X points.

Player: How about Y?

Tom: okay...but only 2 rerolls, not 3.

Player: Deal!

First Campaign Map

You know what's AWESOME about this map? There's two versions, but you only get to see one. HAHA.

Download Map .jpg

Keep two things in mind:

1) You want to go East (right) across the map.
2) There is no right or wrong way. There are, however, easier and harder ways.

Setting the Mood

A couple of fairy tales to read, one for strength and one for wisdom.

Just putting it out there...

Would anyone be interested in rolling d6 to determine starting level? I mean individually.

I'm inspired by old squaresoft RPGs that would often feature more experienced characters fighting alongside lower level ones.

Of course, those same video games were made on the assumption of one player controlling all characters and were more easily balanced than today's D&D.

I think that if we did it, higher level characters would have responsibilities to the lower level ones, but I'm not quite certain of what those responsibilities would be.

Thoughts?

Character plans

A post for sharing character plans if anyone wants. Drop 'em in the comments.

I'll be making mine tonight, will comment when settled.

Feat Folio and Houserules now available for download

I've uploaded two versions of the feat folio (identical, but the .rtf has some fancies like a watermark) to Rapidshare. I've also uploaded this campaign's house rules, including the Bells of Fortune rules. Here are the links:

.rtf Feat Folio
.doc Feat Folio
.doc House Rules

So are we doing E6? 'cause Tall Mike mentioned that but may have just been crazy.

Also, have swashbuckler, scout, and favored soul already been approved, or just been mentioned as potentially approvable?