Warlock4Hire's page

I'm about to start a campaign of plane hopping centered on a combination of the World Serpent Inn and the Four Winds (The Book of Taverns) and I need to stock the Inn with all kinds of crazy and bizarre patrons for the PCs to interact with. I also would like brief descriptions of interesting planes for the PCs to visit. The premise of the campaign is this: Mitchifer has hired the PCs to track down a plane for planar immigrants who are crowding(?!) up the world serpent to use. All NPCs should be around CR 15 if the PCs are to fight them. Otherwise, just go nuts. Thanks!

So I already DM for some of my friends at my high school, but there are also many I don't DM for. So it turns out I'm going to run a campaign after school next year and i figured I'd start writing it this summer. I'm thinking the PCs will start around 4th or 5th level and will meet under strange conditions. I really like the free adventure on the old wizard's site, A Dark and Stormy Night and will probably run a buffed up version of it. For those who haven't read it, The PCs start, not knowing each other, and take refuge from a severe lightning storm in a tor. Lighting smashes open the doors and a dungeon crawl ensues.
However, I don't really know where to take it from there. I definitely want these things in it:
1) Negotiating with barbarian tribes and humanoids like gnolls.
2) Either elemental or undead themes showing up every once in a while.
3) An overall mystery (possibly a missing or dead god)
Start storming those brains please!

I just bought the Dragon PDF with all the commoner flaws. I loved it so much that I decided to make a character based on them:

Ashley Burnstien
Male human commoner 1
NG/CE when asleep Medium Humanoid
Init: +3; Senses: Listen +4, Spot +4
Languages: Common, Ignan
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10
Hp: 9 (1 HD)
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +0
Spd 30'
Melee: Torch +2 (1d3+1 fire)* or Unarmed Strike +2 (1d3 nonlethal +1 fire)
Ranged: Molotov Cocktail +2 (1d4 +1)* Range 30'
*DC 20 Ref save to avoid catching on fire
BAB +0; Grapple +2
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 8
SQ: Resistance to fire 5
Feats: Toughness, Pyro, Fire Heritage, Improved Elemental Heritage (Fire)
Flaws: Chicken Infested, XP Farm
Skills: Craft (Molotov Cocktail) +3, Listen +4, Profession (Arsonist) +3, Profession (Glassblower) +4, Spot +4
Possessions: Torch, 5 Molotov Cocktails, 7 Tindertwigs, Flask of Whiskey, Glassblower's Tools, Leather Apron, 9 sp, 12 cp

Ashley Burnstien has been mocked his whole life. He is grimy, ugly, and has a fairly hysterical name. During childhood, he would be humiliated when his father, a farmer asked him for a hammer and all he could find was a chicken or when local bullies inexplicably gained a level of fighter every time they knocked him out. Ashley hid away and took to glassblowing which helped to calm his nerves.However, his troubles are far from over. Ashley is actually a very, very, VERY distant relative of Inferias Deathcry, a evil sorcerer and one of the most powerful minions of the balor Shebang!. Ashley retained a bit of his fiery heritage and at times his hands sear with white hot intensity. While using these new found powers to good use (he owns a fried chicken stand which takes care of all the chickens that turn up around him) Shebang! has a more nefarious use for him. At night the balor possesses him and has him commit arson all over the city. At least that was the plan. The balor has had serious trouble getting the glassblower to do anything. When he goes into his cabinet for oil to light torches, he has pulled out bantams and once he tripped over his cat while going out the door. While he lay in unconsciousness, his cat enjoyed its new level in hexblade. The balor is at the end of his rope and is considering abandoning his whole (which, in retrospect, was kind of stupid).

This was perhaps the most fun character I've ever made and I'd strongly encourage people to make their own 1st level commoners and post them on this thread.

I recently ran an adventure about bugbears and got to thinking about just how many different humanoids there are and what an important role they play in D&D. Lots of times they're put in missions based on environment and challenge rating. If you have a mission about gnolls but want a swamp mission, switch them out for lizardfolk, etc. I'd like to know other people's takes on humanoids and humanoid giants (ogres and trolls) and which is your favorite.
I throw my support behind the hobgoblin. They're more than just smarter and oranger (yes those are related) orcs. They have a whole crazy caste based society. They could easily wipe out an entire kingdom if there were enough of them...
I think my favorite thing about humanoids is the crazy class combinations their leader's receive. Long live fighter/rouge/adepts!

So my group got bored with the mission I wrote for them (ungrateful snots) and on a whim, we rolled up some 9th level characters and i pulled out a copy of The Styes, one of my favorite missions. Now that were about a third of they way through, the group is really having fun with it. But there are two problems...
1) One of my players was studying for finals and missed the first mission.
2) Another player made an... interesting character choice that never got explained.
3) I read the sequel to The Styes and didn't think it was right for my group. Now I need to figure out what to do next.
The characters are as follows:
-Walter NG human cleric of Pelor
-Rat Goblinsplitter LG dwarf fighter
-Brogli CG changeling rogue/sorcerer
and of course...
-Tozan LE human fighter/blackguard
Why is he with these people?! To make matters worse the missing player is playing Woody, a LN warforged monk with technomagical implants.

I was thinking that since we are about to enter a combat heavy part of the mission, Woody could be sent from Mechanis to try and stop Thrazidun from gaining a powerful foot hold on the material plane. Though the PCs will foil Thrazidun, Primus or some other great being of law will decide that the continued existence of The Styes is to risky and will send some officers with war machines to destroy the city. Woody will now find himself a splinter agent and the PCs will work with the councilmen and their former enemies to take out the war machines.

All feedback is good, especially from those DMs who have run The Styes before. I'd also like ideas for war machines. I was thinking of some sort of sentient Astral ship with a modron crew and some sort of devil or inevitable as the captain.