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Hi all, my group has been playing through Kingmaker and I've been writing small interludes for the group to read, giving them insight into their prisoner, Kressle, and their adversary the Stag Lord. I thought I might share this entry and crosspost it in the Campaign Journal forum, although it is not strictly speaking a campaign journal. Full credit of course to the brilliant Tim Hitchcock for giving these characters so much depth and to Alexander Kilcoyne for his excellent additions to the Fort in a 6-player group.
Fair Warning: the journal contains some brief adult language, themes, and all that you might expect from a bandit fort. There are no real spoilers if players wish to read it.
I can read it and I found it quite interesting- especially the Stag Lord's rejoinder to Dovan... I actually felt some respect for the Stag Lord's somewhat twisted and insane way to demonstrate leadership;
but you might want to note that nothing else on your site is public to view. (Not sure if you wanted it to be that way or not).
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I can read it and I found it quite interesting- especially the Stag Lord's rejoinder to Dovan... I actually felt some respect for the Stag Lord's somewhat twisted and insane way to demonstrate leadership;
but you might want to note that nothing else on your site is public to view. (Not sure if you wanted it to be that way or not).
Thanks, Light Dragon. In our campaign, the cleric of Erastil has taken it upon himself to try redeeming Kressle, which has been a very complicated exercise in roleplay since she has an almost unwavering faith in the Stag Lord. I thought it was important for the group to get some glimpse at what it is about him that makes him so easy to follow. Yes, he is twisted, damaged and in all likelihood, insane, but why have people always respected him?
I'd be very interested in seeing other people's takes on the Stag Lord because as Tim Hitchcock wrote him, he is one of the most memorable antagonists I've seen in a long time.
And yes, most of the site is set to private, largely because our group's wiki contains Paizo material that isn't cleared for public use. I might open up the rest of the campaign journal to the public if the group allows it, but for the moment it's just what I posted for them.
I can read it and I found it quite interesting- especially the Stag Lord's rejoinder to Dovan... I actually felt some respect for the Stag Lord's somewhat twisted and insane way to demonstrate leadership;
but you might want to note that nothing else on your site is public to view. (Not sure if you wanted it to be that way or not).
Thanks, Light Dragon. In our campaign, the cleric of Erastil has taken it upon himself to try redeeming Kressle, which has been a very complicated exercise in roleplay since she has an almost unwavering faith in the Stag Lord. I thought it was important for the group to get some glimpse at what it is about him that makes him so easy to follow. Yes, he is twisted, damaged and in all likelihood, insane, but why have people always respected him?
I'd be very interested in seeing other people's takes on the Stag Lord because as Tim Hitchcock wrote him, he is one of the most memorable antagonists I've seen in a long time.
And yes, most of the site is set to private, largely because our group's wiki contains Paizo material that isn't cleared for public use. I might open up the rest of the campaign journal to the public if the group allows it, but for the moment it's just what I posted for them.
Friend, this is very, very, very good. I just started reading the beginning and I'm taking a break now to thank and compliment the author because I don't know if I'll remember afterwards. This is EXACTLY the type of writing and themes I need for my homebrew. I could learn/am learning a lot from this.
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Read the whole thing; I highly recommend Kingmaker DM's get a read of this, as Gardener has done a really ace job bringing life to the character's statblocks and brief descriptions.
I also love that you tied in one of my extra character's Gardener, thanks for the tribute. This is really good reading, and i'll certainly link it to my players.
Have you written anything else Gardener? I really, really like your style.
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Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:
Read the whole thing; I highly recommend Kingmaker DM's get a read of this, as Gardener has done a really ace job bringing life to the character's statblocks and brief descriptions.
I also love that you tied in one of my extra character's Gardener, thanks for the tribute. This is really good reading, and i'll certainly link it to my players.
Freehold DM wrote:
Have you written anything else Gardener? I really, really like your style.
I agree completely! Excellent depth! Makes me regret that the barbarian PC has already killed Kressle. But there are several other ways to get deeper into this best of adventure paths, too.
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Thanks, everyone for the kind words. I'm glad this is going to help some DM's and players. Even for a group that tends to execute the bandits on sight, getting a little perspective on your enemies can make for a richer combat experience(our cleric, for example, spent most of the fight at Thorn River Camp bantering with Kressle, which was a huge factor in sparing her life and keeping her prisoner).
Have you written anything else Gardener? I really, really like your style.
Nothing makes a writer smile like asking about their other stuff. :) I have one other Kingmaker post(Kressle) that takes place after Kressle's capture and provides some insight into her past and thinking, along with a lot of non-RPG writing including a novel I wrote last year but haven't tried to publish yet(lots of conflicting advice from a lot of people and a big ole case of stage fright). If I write anything else for Kingmaker, I will definitely share it based on the response I've gotten so far.
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I'm sad my party killed Kressle. So many RP opportunities lost, I enjoy your take on the character by the by.
Thanks. I know there is a really great Campaign Journal(Six Out of Restov, I think) that has a similar take on the character, though both groups took very different paths.
Warforged Gardener,
Amazing, absolutely amazing writing!
Thanks,
Evan
Thanks, everyone for the kind words. I'm glad this is going to help some DM's and players. Even for a group that tends to execute the bandits on sight, getting a little perspective on your enemies can make for a richer combat experience(our cleric, for example, spent most of the fight at Thorn River Camp bantering with Kressle, which was a huge factor in sparing her life and keeping her prisoner).
Have you written anything else Gardener? I really, really like your style.Nothing makes a writer smile like asking about their other stuff. :) I have one other Kingmaker post(Kressle) that takes place after Kressle's capture and provides some insight into her past and thinking, along with a lot of non-RPG writing including a novel I wrote last year but haven't tried to publish yet(lots of conflicting advice from a lot of people and a big ole case of stage fright). If I write anything else for Kingmaker, I will definitely share it based on the response I've gotten so far.
Noone ever asks about my stuff...
This is a good story. I might have to import this. I might also start having one redeemable villain.
A very different view of Akiros from that which is running around in our campaign. He and my priestess are lovers now, I'm currently mulling over the idea of making some manner of political union between them so that they can make an effective team within government (our ruler's player has a OOC charisma of about 6 and our spy master and magister basically run the show), but have to have a long, hard think about it considering his back story.
Just read it.
absolutely AWESOME!
Makes me wish I could run two APs at the same time. (Myu group is almost through SSM...)
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Have you written anything else Gardener? I really, really like your style.
I posted some new links in the Campaign Journal forum in the sister thread to this one. Odd that this one got archived but the other, with far less replies, was not archived after all this time. Anyway, hope people enjoy them. The two posts are a Stag Lord/Davik Nettles reunion and my take on what Grigori is up to while our group of PCs was off exploring.
I have to chime in with the others here :) A really good read!
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I'll add my voice to the chorus! Very nicely done! Any chance we'll see any others you've written? Maybe compile them... sell them? ;)
Seriously, kudos to you!
Cheers
Well, I'd love to sell things I've written professionally, but these I write for the love of the characters and Pathfinder in general. I am giving some thought to combining the two Stag Lord-centric stories into a single story for the Wayfinder fanfic contest. Fingers crossed.
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I am giving some thought to combining the two Stag Lord-centric stories into a single story for the Wayfinder fanfic contest. Fingers crossed.
Heh, when I first read about the contest, I thought, "Cooooool!" The second thing I thought was, "Aww, man. If that dude who wrote the stuff about the Kingmaker bandits is entering, I don't really stand much chance, now do I?"
Not griping, by any means. Just letting you know I thought of you. ;)
My group HATED Happs, but has adopted two of the generic bandits (Who are totally Those Two Guys), and they are finally staging their attack on the Thorn River Camp this week. Sooo curious to see how they react to Kressle. I'm even more excited about the group going to the Stag Lord's Fort, since they're really wanting to disguise themselves as bandits and sneak in, which is my most favorite, hijink-laden possibility of all. :D
The player of the halfling ex-bandit Nico saw the pic and paper mini of Dovan, and was so creeped out and intrigued by such a slimy-looking person that he decided Dovan is part of the reason he abandoned banditry in the first place. I'm having fun thinking of ways to horrify, entertain, and generally squick out the party with the bandits' antics, Dovan's in particular. Nico is, after all, a blond... OTOH, I don't want to necessarily push all the Lieutenants and named extras over the moral event horizon, because then the PCs might just slay them outright, instead of keeping them around to be "redeemed." We have a couple of starry-eyed idealistic do-gooders alongside a couple extreme pragmatists in the party, so the dynamic is already fun. Toss in a divisive corruptor, and who knows what will happen?
So, um, I know that was kind of all over the place, but, advice? Thoughts?
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I want to thank everyone that read and supported my Pathfinder writing. Everyone's comments and thoughtful remarks helped nudge me toward submission. Fingers crossed.
The links above won't work anymore since I wasn't sure if having part of my submission posted online was kosher. I know that some of the writers in past fan fiction contests had to remove their stories from public websites in advance of entering, so I wanted to be safe. If I don't win, I'll make the complete story available for public consumption.
@Courtney! The best advice I can give(belatedly) is to emphasize that the bandit fort is a little like summer camp. Everyone gets along most of the time, but they're not family and in many cases, aren't even friends. No matter how despicable one of them is, the rest need not condemn them in order to not condone. I tend to think of the Stag Lord's crew as the sort of people who have no where else to go. There's a strong incentive to get along if the only alternative is leaving. Just my two bits.
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I am giving some thought to combining the two Stag Lord-centric stories into a single story for the Wayfinder fanfic contest. Fingers crossed.Heh, when I first read about the contest, I thought, "Cooooool!" The second thing I thought was, "Aww, man. If that dude who wrote the stuff about the Kingmaker bandits is entering, I don't really stand much chance, now do I?"
Not griping, by any means. Just letting you know I thought of you. ;
Alas, your fears were totally unfounded. That'll teach me to reuse material. If I wasn't such a lazy hack, I would have written something new and original.
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Hi all, my group has been playing through Kingmaker and I've been writing small interludes for the group to read, giving them insight into their prisoner, Kressle, and their adversary the Stag Lord. I thought I might share this entry and crosspost it in the Campaign Journal forum, although it is not strictly speaking a campaign journal. Full credit of course to the brilliant Tim Hitchcock for giving these characters so much depth and to Alexander Kilcoyne for his excellent additions to the Fort in a 6-player group.
Fair Warning: the journal contains some brief adult language, themes, and all that you might expect from a bandit fort. There are no real spoilers if players wish to read it.
Bump, I can't seem to find your post on the site anymore. Care to repost? My player's finally finished the module and I would like to share this with them.
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Not my site, but my players finally conquered the Stag Lord's Fort (in a combination of infiltration and an exceedingly EPIC battle worthy of movie action scenes) and I had to track this down again to share with them. I've told them it's not necessarily canon in my game, but, I still feel like it captures the bandits' personalities PERFECTLY.
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Courtney! - Thanks a bajillion! :)Not my site, but my players finally conquered the Stag Lord's Fort (in a combination of infiltration and an exceedingly EPIC battle worthy of movie action scenes) and I had to track this down again to share with them. I've told them it's not necessarily canon in my game, but, I still feel like it captures the bandits' personalities PERFECTLY.
No prob! This story helped me so so so much to find the right "voice" for the bandits. I wish I could find that other story Warforged Gardener wrote with Kressle reminiscing on her childhood as a bandit, too. I love how my players thrive on back story as much as I do.
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There's more...? OMG - I gotta find it. If I do - I'll post!
I feel slightly humbled that people still wanted to read these. I'll post the consolidated copy that includes Kressle, the Fort, and the Stag Lord's encounter with a certain vengeful river Wraith. It was a submission to a Pathfinder fiction contest with segments to bridge the different vignettes. I was pretty bummed it came in like 90th after all the honorable mentions, but I love the characters and if it helps others running the Kingmaker AP, I'm pleased to repost it.
EDIT: You can find it here: "What You Hold"
Excellent writing, a wonderful feel for these nasties. I'm sharing this with my own players now that they've taken care of the Staglord. Wonderful writing, keep up the great work!
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Nicely done! I normally don't read FanFics, but this one I really liked. Is there something more for the rest of the series?There's more...? OMG - I gotta find it. If I do - I'll post!I feel slightly humbled that people still wanted to read these. I'll post the consolidated copy that includes Kressle, the Fort, and the Stag Lord's encounter with a certain vengeful river Wraith. It was a submission to a Pathfinder fiction contest with segments to bridge the different vignettes. I was pretty bummed it came in like 90th after all the honorable mentions, but I love the characters and if it helps others running the Kingmaker AP, I'm pleased to repost it.
EDIT: You can find it here: "What You Hold"
I haven't written much in the setting in a long while, mostly due to player attrition in the third chapter of the campaign. Broke my heart after all the work the group put into their kingdom, but nobody could make time for the sessions any more.