I have a lot of notes that I plan to post about my RotRL campaign, which nears its end. But among those I need to mention this in particular from tonight's experience:
The Dwarf Cleric of Sarenrae cast life bubble to guard against altitude sickness and the cold. And as best as I could tell, it negates 85% of the drama in the ascent into the Kodar Mtns. Maybe more.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/l/life-bubble
I let them get away with it, because I refuse to be 'that guy' and could find no further rationalization. But they'll probably walk away from the Wendigo without further incident after this. "Oh no. A blizzard. Who cares, as long as we keep navigating north and follow the river, it doesn't matter." Since they're 12th level, it lasts 24 hours in a casting.
Well, since the campaign has progressed quite a ways and I have been diligently taking notes, how about I add my log for my current Rise of the Runelords campaign for people to pick through/condemn/enjoy?
First, a tremendous thank you to everyone who has already contributed to these boards: the resources available here made the entire experience that much better. Maps, pictures, ideas, errata, etc. I had two relative newcomers to Pathfinder and tabletop gaming in general for this campaign, so it was all of tremendous help.
Second, I will post the current log in blocks so I can provide some commentary and feedback. At this time, the group is nearing the end of Fortress of the Stone Giants, though there was plenty of additional material here and there. Some of this material and commentary may be of use to someone else. I'm glad to pass that help along.
Third, this campaign started large, with a pool of eight players and characters, and then reality and careers and a few player disagreements helped narrow down the pool of players to the five players I have now. Though there were a number of somewhat tense moments as I was afraid that I had inadvertently broken my gaming club, the experiences eventually helped form the very competent and very well coordinated team that remains. I have never in my life seen such teamwork in a tabletop game, and it has been a real pleasure and privilege to DM for this crew.
Fourth, my game is relatively treasure light, but I also had two major house rules that helped round this out. Players started at level two and fifteen point buy, but were awarded Prestige Points (no relation to PFS Prestige Points) at certain intervals for them to improve their characters in lieu of treasure handouts. This proved to be popular, as the standard point buy led to hard decisions and sacrifices but the promise of additional points later encouraged people to avoid min-maxing for pure power. I also built my own campaign trait lists (with the help of materials posted to these boards) to encourage connections between characters. I'll post both systems and relevant house rules here behind the spoiler tag, and I will post other house rules as we go.
House Rules and Setting Tweaks:
A strict and explicit division was made between 'Lower Varisia' and 'Upper Varisia', with Lower Varisia consisting of Magnimar and Korvosa and their surrounding environs while Upper Varisia is the unknown and dangerous Storval Plateau. I made it clear that there were a lot of ruins that had been resettled and explored in Lower Varisia but that Upper Varisia was still a land of barbarians, strange creatures and giants.
At start, all characters are Level 2 with a 15 point buy for ability scores. Also 300 gp for gear and equipment.
Because I favor skills, everyone receives an additional two skill ranks per level. This was mostly to let people actually get knowledge skills or things they would like to flesh out their characters. Probably the most popular house rule by far.
Core and Advanced Player's Guide allowed. The Summoner class is prohibited (due primarily to new players and a desire to avoid anything overly complicated).
The "Leadership" feat is prohibited. More than half the group had just finished an evil campaign in Greyhawk where the leadership feat and undead minions began to overwhelm things by the end. For character equality, the feat was banned and followers could only be hired or persuaded along, with no promise of plot-immunity.
"Rope Trick" spell is prohibited. For that matter, so are bags of holding and other extra-dimensional spaces. Conceptually, I loathe such things, and I often felt such spells made encounters, travel and events far simpler than they ought to be. The net result was that demiplanes and spaces, like the one that Karzoug survived in all these years, remain mysterious and highly conditional magic, and everyone seems happier for it.
Improving Ability Scores with Prestige Points (PrP)
For current ability scores ≤10, 1 PrP improves the ability score by 1
For current ability scores ≤14, 2 PrP improves the ability score by 1
For current ability scores ≤18, 4 PrP improves the ability score by 1
For current ability scores ≤22, 6 PrP improves the ability score by 1
Skill Ranks: 1 PrP buys one additional skill rank in any skill.
Feats: 5 PrP buys one additional feat.
As a good rule of thumb, no character could have more than 2*Level Prestige Points. And dying meant losing half of your prestige points. It gave rolling up a new character a little teeth. Just remember to increase the CR of appropriate encounters by one to reflect higher stats.
Fifth, and finally, a special thank you to the players. You've got a hard road ahead. I wish you the best of luck, because I'm not pulling any punches.
Alright ... introductions out of the way, let's get to the prologue. And, in case it wasn't obvious, this campaign log WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS. Seriously, this product is years old now, you have no excuse for reading this if you don't want spoilers.
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Prologue:
Session 1:
Our saga began with the crew of Captain Johne, a swiftly assembled expedition of warriors, scholars and guides lured with the promise of high pay to sail along the Lost Coast and venture inland, to the heart of Varisia, to document the ruins and wonders of ancient Thassilon for the Pathfinder Society. Each hand was promised no less than 15 platinum pieces for their service on a sixth month voyage, and though Captain Johne revealed little about himself his charismatic demeanor was sufficient to assuage most doubts.
The ship traveled first to Windsong Abbey, a campus of temples and shrines high upon the cliffs of the Lost Coast, where Johne sought to reference the libraries and reliquaries prior to departure. However, even such a simple task brought danger: while Johne and his red-skinned companion Nolt went ashore, a black-sailed ship, the Father's Bones, beset the crew during an evening storm. With fire and magic, the expedition sent dozens to their watery grave and repelled the marauders, even as both ships tossed violently about. But Captain Johne did not return, and upon investigation, his friend, Abbot Karne, Priest of Gozreh, told that he had been beset by dark figures upon his departure from the Abbey's walls. The only clue as to his whereabouts was a message, carried by crow: "I have taken refuge in the islands of Grubber's Hermitage."
Suspicions grew after the captain's disappearance. A half-elf cleric called Agrissa was revealed to be a worshipper of Lamashtu, the mother of monsters, the cold sellsword Dannik her drugged and bewitched confederate in leading the black ship to them. Wary of traps and eager to purge their crew of the assassins in their midst, the expedition stopped first in the town of Sandpoint, home to more than a few of their number and the nearest port to their rocky island destination. From the wagging tongues at the Hagfish and the Rusty Dragon, a name was finally attached to their attackers: Effram Lomak.
Commentary:
I wanted something exciting to kick things off, and I also wanted to give everyone a chance to figure out the Pathfinder rules. It wasn't clear at the time who would stay with the game out of this larger group, so I devised this prologue which has been tied into and around the larger adventure.
The Cast of Characters at this point consisted of:
Vig Bright-Thought (NG Halfling Alchemist 2)
Traits: Thassilonian Scholar, Caretaker
Jestil Bright-Thought (NG Halfling Rogue-Poisoner 2)
Traits: Riddleport Fast-Talker, Dirty Fighter
The brothers Bright-Thought (or is it Brightthought?) are from farther north along the coast, in the vicinity of Riddleport. Well meaning halflings, the both of them, Vig took more closely after their parents and became an herbalist and alchemist of some talent. Jestil's talents were less legal and quite a bit more rambunctious, though he payed attention enough when he was young to determine what was toxic, what was poisonous, and what one should never feed to the dog. Inseparable, the pair have set out in search of adventure, fortune, rare sights and a chance to meet new people. And should Vig run across more Thassilonian runes and ruins to study or Jestil find a magical trinket or twenty, so much the better!
Dornic Daystone (LG Dwarf Cleric 2)
Traits: Child of the Temple, Starchild
A dwarven orphan, Dornic fell into the care of Father Ezakien Tobyn, Priest of Desna, at a very young age. He grew up at the Sandpoint Temple, alongside another orphan, Father Tobyn's adopted aasimar daughter Nualia, and quickly learned all his adopted father had to teach him. Though of a wandering disposition and beloved by Desna, he felt the call of Sarenrae, the Dawnflower, who brings warmth and radiance to all souls who allow her in. Patient, compassionate, and always reliable, Dornic grew up in the shadow of his angelic step-sister. When the old temple burned down five years ago, however, both father Tobyn and Nualia perished. After burying Tobyn's remains and consigning Nualia's ashes to the wind, the dwarf set out to see more of the world, returning now with scimitar in hand and a righteous heart.
Esper (LG Chelish Monk 2)
Traits: Religious Pilgrimage, Fencer
Esper received training with the Guardians of Windsong Abbey. The most common sort of Guardian is a forth or fifth child of a noble family, an orphan half-breed, or an ascetic searching for a life change, and young Esper was no different in this regard. However, there comes a time when every child of the temple is turned from the walls, sent on a pilgrimage to find their faith and inner peace, and learn truths that cannot be found in scrolls and sermons. In her time away, she has become quite the innovator with the sword, taking lessons where she can find them and giving lessons when they are deserved.
Glub Deverin (N Half-Ogre Barbarian 2)
Traits: Sandpoint Nobility (Deverin), Dirty Fighter
Glub is the shame of the otherwise well regarded Deverin family. The circumstances of his birth are never spoken of, and he himself was raised, for the most part, in the field or in the basement, always away from the public eye. His mother, Cara, cared for him and shielded him from persecution, even at cost to herself. Prodigiously strong but slow of wit, it took every trick of schooling to teach him letters, and he paid for his own tutoring by dragging the plow and stirring enormous vats of barley and hops. When old enough, the family sent him away, eager to be free of the damage he left in his wake. His return, the expedition having been cut short, is less than they could have hoped, and unless he can be reigned in, managed and controlled by good people, the vicious brute may yet meet an unfortunate end.
Hakak Abakak Esq. (LN Half-Orc Sorcerer 2)
Traits: Ulfen Subtlety, Rune Theorist
Abakak, a barrister of Korvosan origins, has had peculiar magic since the hale and hearty days of his youth. Captain Johne took him on after witnessing his silver-tongued cunning, and as the man had more than a little experience finding things of value in ruins already picked clean by thousands of years of scavenging Hakak seemed like an ideal match for the expedition. Far from a northern brute or a savage of Belkzen, Abakak brings Inner Sea sensibilities to the distant frontier and lives by stern and profit-motivated principles.
Hanko (CN Chellish Ranger 2)
Traits: Lone Wolf, Dirty Fighter
An outdoorsman, guide, and hunter known across many villages and the crews of more than a few ships. When he was young, a pilgrim on his way to the Swallowtail Festival at Sandpoint found him at the side of the road and saved him from death. Today, he is a marksman of surpassing talent, with a practiced understanding of the landscape and a fondness for remaining unseen. Self-reliant almost to a fault, he prefers never to fight head on and never to trust authorities to have his best interests at heart.
Mirela Zannelli (CG Half-Elf Bard 2)
Traits: Festival Folk, Fencer
Half-elf by way of a Mierani Forest village, half-Varisian by her mother, Mirela has traveled and made coin at festivals, carnivals, religious events and caravans all her life. No matter the city, village or thorpe, she has learned the local legends, danced in the local taverns, or traveled the local roads. In all that time, she's relied on a sturdy whip and opportunistic rapier to see her through trouble, and leapt at the chance to make easy money on Captain Johne's ship.
