DM's Notebook: Meet the Party

Warning: This blog post is a behind the DM screen journal for my campaign set in a homebrewed campaign setting. If you are participating in this campaign and read further than this your character's life is forfeit. You have been warned.

This campaign has been going on in one for or another for a couple of years now, ever since the 5e playtest. So what do you as a reader need to know coming into the campaign?

1. The setting is a quasi-medieval fantasy world, but gunpowder weapons do exist, specifically single shot pistols and old-timey grenades. A few lawmen carry six-shooters.
2. Every 1000 years the barriers that protect the Material Plane from the Infernal and Celestial Planes weakens. During this time the deities turn mortal and fight each other for domains. The last campaign took place during this time.
3. The Campaign is done online, so most of combat and interactions are done in the "Theater of the Mind" style.

Current World Overview

It has been over a hundred years since the world nearly ended. In the wake of the battles between the Divines and Damned the world was reshaped. The ocean receded and land long since lost has returned. In a bid for power several countries were conquered by dragons and thus began the Dragon War. An uneasy truce was created, but it can only last for so long before the dragons do battle yet again.

Meet the Party

Paladin Jourmond Dal(Connor)
Half-Elf, Paladin, La

wful Neutral

Paladin of the Divine of War, Duo, this man has set his eyes on becoming an Assassin in the City-State of San. His deity is one of my previous player's characters who was one of the last guild assassins left when the previous campaign ended.

My plan right now is to let the assassin's guild to eventually show themselves to the party in some way. That way he can get a feel for them before 

Ranger Nym(Liz)
Half-Elf, Hunter Ranger, Chaotic Neutral

Nym was the product of the love between two star crossed lovers who worshipped different deities. After her father died, Nym was exiled from her tribe due to her ability to use magic. When she tried to return she found out that the tribe was wiped out by giants and has been on a quest for vengeance ever since.

I've already started introducing elements of this story in the campaign sessions.There are some elements that I have carried over from my previous campaign.

Nicolai "Scar" Ironscale(Travis)
Black Dragonborn, Barbarian, Lawful Evil

Barbarians known as the Iron Circle killed his family and he was kept as a slave. Eventually he used his intellect to convince the Iron Circle that he was more useful as a soldier. When the moment was right he helped start a coupe resulting in him taking over, naming himself leader in the process. Eventually disgruntled people under his rule tried to have him killed and he was forced into exile. Now he is looking for a way to return.

This storyline gives me a bit of troubles with the idea of how my world works, but I accept the challenge. A few locations on the map I've made haven't been flushed out. Adding an antagonistic new nation to take on the party will be interesting to say the least.

Sawyer(Steve) Red Dragonborn, Eldritch Knight, Neutral Evil

From the volcano city Vula, Sawyer's family were allied with Inferno, the Red Dragon that created their race. In order to prove himself to his family that he can be a great warrior he has decided to go on a quest to prove himself.

Most open of the four storylines, which makes it the most challenging to work with. Though storylines about warriors gaining a name for themselves is a classic tale going all the way back to Beowulf.

Conclusion

This party is going to be something to watch out for. The world of Celestine might not be ready for them and they might not for it, but it cannot be said that they won't leave their mark on it.

See you next time where we'll talk about the Broken Hammer Arsonists.

Dark Sunday: Kalak's Death and D&D Novels

This weekend I participated in a Malifaux tournament so today's Dark Sunday will be more about finding inspiration for your Dark Sun games. But instead I leave you with the pictures from 2nd and 4th edition showing how Sorcerer-King Kalak died.

Kalak really likes those green and blue leggings. - 2nd Edition

Anyone who has read the Troy Denning Dark Sun novels will know that Kalak was the leader of Tyr. In his growing madness he put his entire City-State in danger for his lust for power.

Kalak, this is why you stay outside of threat range.

There haven't been to many books in recent memory set in Dark Sun. For 4th Edition there was Death Mark, City Under the Sand, and the critically panned Under the Crimson Sun. I've only read the first two books and both are standalone novels that take place immediately after the first novel in the Troy Denning series. 

Death Mark was the second Dark Sun Novel I read and was more of a show off piece for Tyr. There are Templars still loyal to Kalak, Veiled Alliance take a bit more of a role, and how grand scale conflict in Tyr can be. One character's perspective takes place as part of a war party heading to retake Tyr for a would-be Sorcerer-King.

City Under the Sand takes place in the City-State of Nibenay which reveals a lot about Sorcerer-King Nibenay and his family. It probably shows how best to setup a party in Dark Sun. Players are forced to help the King, Templar politics screw over everything, and the dangers of the wastes.

If you can take away one thing from these novels though it is this, it doesn't matter how it ends its the journey that matters. As I continue reading more and more RPG novels this becomes more and more apparent.

Dark Sunday: Travelling through the Desert

Dungeons and Dragons likes to present itself with two basic concepts Dragons and Dungeons. One thing I can say about Athas is that you do not need a dungeon to run it. Well technically neither does D&D, but that is a bit besides the point.

While running Dark Sun I found that travel was a necessity for the game. Getting from point A to B should actually matter as opposed to just happening instantaneously. That is why whenever the players were travelling I always had something prepared for them on the road. Typically this was a group of raiders or an exotic local, but most of the time these played in to a major part of the storylines.

4th Edition Map of Athas

Possible Story Hooks while in the Desert:

• Bounty Hunters looking for a particular party member.
• The remains of travellers long dead whose possessions may be more than meets the eye.
• A shrine to an ancient elemental looking to destroy a rival.
• A village destroyed by a creature that isn't too far behind.

For instance, when my players decided to flee the city of Balic they were already being pursued by the son of a noble they had killed. While fleeing across the desert they came across the full might of the Gulg army looking to attack Tyr while it was having its revolution. These were not merely sidequests these storylines involved all of the players and made them forget they were hundreds of miles away from reaching their goal. Typically I like to let my players stew for a bit before they encounter a new enemy. They'll first find the remains of those who crossed its path, either get a warning from the survivors or try to scavenge for clues before it comes back.

Dark Sun is meant to be tough and deadly, where players do not know if they will make it to see the next sun rise. So I ask that you make travel meaningful don't just handwave it away. It took my players over 4 months out of game to get halfway to Tyr and they were itching to complete the journey.

Think about the last time your party travelled across vast expanses. Did you zip through it or was it an open air dungeon waiting for them to explore?

The End

Ever get that feeling that you just want to start something, but never get around to it? I get that feeling plenty of times. Awkward GM originally started back when I was still in college at the start of my addiction to tabletop games. Since then I've branched to a lot more systems and have found myself looking for an outlet to express myself.

Let me get to the point, this blog is mainly going to be covering the following:

• Tabletop RPGs - Ranging from the new to the old to the obscure to the weird. Unlike most people my first RPG was based off of the Red Dwarf game, my current game of choice is Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. 
• Wargaming - Specifically Malifaux and Warhammer 40k. Though I dabble in other systems from time to time.
• Video Games - I'm a PC gamer by most accounts, but have been playing Playstation and Nintendo for as long as I can remember.

Typically you'll see homebrew rules, rules debates, tactics analysis, and the occasional game design tidbit. You probably won't see much news, leaks, or reviews here. Other sites have been doing those for a long time.

I hope that this is not the first of my blogposts you read. There should be many more to come later down the line.