The Sunless Citadel - 5th Edition (Inactive)

Game Master spinningdice

Have good memories of running this back in the early days of 3rd Ed. Quite happy to see it re-emerging through the Tales from the Yawning Portal - so I thought I'd give it a run on here (even though you don't get to hear my silly voices in PbP, which may have been a large part of the appeal first time around...)

A quick question first up:
I can either run this straight (as in new characters - from 1st level) or run it as part of Adventurers League play (in which case it's Tier 1 - 1st- 4th level)

If running via AL since the adventure is designed for 1st level I'd be inclined to prioritise characters from the lower end of the spectrum, though if there's less than 6 submissions, I'll just take whoever signs up. Although if I understand correctly if you manage to exceed Tier 1 during the adventure you have to drop out at that stage.

If I'm not running as an AL game, then I'd be running with standard D&D 5 point buy for attributes. 1st Level characters. I have access to all the official books (incl. EE Players Guide) for options and provisionally accept UA article rules, though reserve the right to force you to rebuild if any of them prove problematic down the line.

I would be interested in playing an AL game.

Submitting Raina for the AL version if we're going with that. Level 3.

But if she doesn't work, I can change her up to be a primarily buffing and support character as to not steal the scene from the rest of the PCs.

I would have to do a 1st level character. Is there a site that helps to put together a 5th edition character?

You can download the basic rules for free, here.

There's also D&D Beyond, which is a program for making PCs. It's in Beta right now, so I don't know if you'll be able to access it.

Basic Rules are as Raina linked. D&D Beyond is currently an alternate view of the Basic Rules, at least until Beta Phase 2 comes along which has a character generator. Though it is a completely open beta, though you need to sign in with a Twitch account for some strange reason...

Please note that while the basic rules are enough to get playing they don't have all the options that the players handbook has (iirc each class only has one archetype available, and feats just aren't used). ...But if you're not human you don't even have the option of a feat at 1st level and most of the archetypes don't start until 3rd. So they are pretty complete for the first couple of levels.

Looking around for actual character generators: I've found
www.orcpub.com Which appears to be mostly a fancy editible character sheet that auto-calcs and presents you with options.

...

Alternatively, there's a selection of pre-gens up at dndadventurers league' though they're only for convenience not 'official' as far as I can see. You do get the option to completely respec between adventures if up until you hit level 5, so it's an option to get a feel for it.

If we're looking at doing it AL style, I have this character (a now 2nd level rogue who I need to level up) or a 3rd level druid.

If we're going to do it the "normal" way, I would probably want to make a tanky type.

Are drow available?

I have but cant seem to find the 5th Edition Player's Handbook and the Sword Coast book, would it be possible to make a spelldancer using those two books?

Love to play this adventure as I never got to in 3.? Edition. Would prefer regular play and not AL. I was thinking of a human archer going to arcane archer. Will work him up for submission.

A sword dancer of Eilistraee would be fun.

I'm intrigued, but I'd also prefer regular play over AL. I've got a human druid and a wood-elf monk both half worked up. I'm looking over the UA archetypes for both to see if anything interesting jumps out at me.

What what the creation guidelines be like if it's not an Al module

If we do go for standard play, How do you feel about the artificer or mystic?

I'd submit a monk for standard play over AL

A day and half in (admittedly over the the weekend) we seem to have:

2 votes AL

4 non-AL

+ Shoun who seems happy either way.

So unless there's a flood of support for AL coming in, looks like we're going standard play. So with that in mind...

Character Creation

1st Level

Standard point buy from PHB

Any background, including custom within guidelines in DMG.(2 skills, 2 tools/languages + 1 feature).

Any WotC Race/subrace (PHB, DMG, EE Players Guide, Sword Coast, UA, Volo's)

Any WotC Class: Will accept Artificer and Mystic. You can use either version of the Ranger (I believe the UA version is generally better).

Any WotC Archetype (including PHB, SCAG, UA)

Wealth - you can either take the standard gear provided, or roll wealth. Can use any source as a trinket. I'm happy for you to take standard gear but swap something out for something similar effect/cost (i.e. cleric can pick a different weapon)

Background - Given this is pretty much a dungeon crawl, I'm not too concerned about backgrounds, I'll put up another post with the 'opening paragraph' so you can write yourself into the area.

- - - - -

UA: Anything UA is 'playtest' material, if anything is updated I will expect you to update to the latest version, if it's very minor immediately, if it needs some changes to your character then at the next rest. If it significantly changes your character we may need to discuss it if it comes up. Also if I feel down the line that it is too far outside balance, I may ask you to change it.

3rd Party: I'm not familiar with much 3rd party, so am cautious on this one, if there's anything you really want, run it by me. I won't dismiss it out of hand. As with UA material if I feel down the line that it is too far unbalanced I may ask you to change it.

- - - - -

Continuation: I may carry on and do the Forbidden Fortress afterwards, if all goes well and people want to continue and nothing else comes up. So bear that in mind. If we carry on beyond that point I'd have to either run the rest of the adventures from this sequence (I believe Speaker in Dreams is next), as I still have the set from my 3rd ed days, or continue with the Yawning Portal adventures...

A little background

For convenience this is set in Greyhawk, as that's where the original was located and I am actually more familiar with it than FR, this shouldn't really matter, as the world at large won't impact much

This is mostly to give you something to link your backgrounds to

You find yourselves in Oakhurst, a fortnight before Midsummer, it is a village of some 900 folk, including outlying farms. The people here are mostly human, though have a sizable halfling population, other races are scattered among them. There is little here of note, an Inn (the Ol' Boar) for travellers to rest in, a general store, a blacksmith, a shrine to Pelor, the Village Hall and a small sheriff's office. Beyond that, merely houses and farms.

The landscape outside is rolling hills, broken by copses of trees. The idyllic countryside marred only by a scarred region, known as the ashen a few miles out to the west, and a deep ravine cutting across the land to the south. The New Road through town heads from a westerly direction (slightly north to avoid the Ashen Plain) to a east, while the 'Old' road, heads down to towards the ravine, and skirts the edge along it, though this road has fallen to disuse.

Reason for being here
Feel free to select one of the reason's below, or create your own reason for being here.

Tales of Adventure
There are local stories about the 'Sunless Citadel' a fortress that collapsed into the nearby ravine when the ground was torn asunder, surely glory (and treasure) awaits therein!

Quite the Mercenary
The local Hucrele family offer reward for the return of either two of the scions, or their signet rings and tales of their deaths. The two in question are Talgen and Sharwyn Hucrele. Talgen was a trained warrior and Sharwyn had studied spellcraft, they went to the Sunless Citadel with companions a month ago and have not been heard from since. The family offer 125gp per person for each of the signet rings, and will double the reward should they be returned alive.

The Mystery of the Magic Trees
Twice a year, on midsummer and midwinter, the Goblins from the Ravine trade a magical apple to the villages, this apple cures the one who eats it of any disease or ailment. Each time the villages try to plant the seeds in hopes of growing their own magic tree, but each time the twiggy saplings vanish in the night after reaching about 2 feet high. The villagers assume the goblins steal them to keep away competitors.

Being set in Greyhawk is better!

My copy of PHB is on the way and IIRC the blade singer is a mage archetype (not sure if that is what it is called) correct?

I would definitely be interested in joining, if there is still room.

Bladesinger is a Mage Archetype in the Sword Coast Adventurers's Guide, limited to elves/half-elves. Mages don't get their Archtype (sorry 'Arcane Tradition') until 2nd level, so you'd be a 'normal' mage for the 1st level. Though there's nothing stopping you calling yourself a Bladesinger and using a blade before then (I think Elves all get proficiency in some type of sword as part of their racial package).

Spectrevk: Recruitment is open, but there's a healthy interest, so I'll keep it short to reduce applications (I hate rejecting folk). I'm out tomorrow evening, so I'll close recruitment and review applications Wednesday evening (around 20:00 GMT).

I'm a 'soft' GM, so I don't require finished characters at that point, but a solid concept would be good (and in honesty it takes about 15-20 minutes to make a D&D 5e character at 1st level, so shouldn't be too much of a pain to get stats down).

Ok, Raina is withdrawn.

I'll be working on a new PC.

Since I've never played a paladin, I'd like to run one of those. However, I've seen a devotion and Vengeance Paladin in play. But I've never seen an ancients paladin in play before.

I'll go ancients paladin.

I have never played 5e, but this looks interesting enough for me to come up with a concept....

Dotting :)

Ok, well I am going to build an archer character going the fighter (Arcane Archer) route, rather than the ranger way. I will have him up ASAP.

I started this PC wanting to play an ancients paladin, but I didn't know anything else about him.

So I asked my D&D buddies to pick a race and background for me. Those jerks chose goblin criminal. Alright, let's work with that. When I don't know what to do with a PC, I usually roll on the trinket table and generate a backstory from that. I rolled, "tiny portrait of a goblin." How fitting.

Then I saw the DM's "Reason for Bring Here" and saw The Mystery of the Magic Trees. Oh my is that perfect for this PC.

So here we have our little goblin. He found himself in prison after a life of thievery, doing hard labor on a local farm. He has a son, but he hasn't seen him since he was captured a year ago. All he has is a small portrait of him. He keeps it close to his heart. He writes letters when he can, and when the caravans show up to bring in goods or haul off product, he tries to convince one of the caravanners to deliver it. He has never learned whether they arrive.

While working the farm, the ground beneath him collapsed and he found himself in an old abandoned chamber underneath the farmland. It seemed to be a temple of some sort, dedicated to some old forgotten hero. He explored a bit, and found an odd orb, which when touched, imparted visions into his head. After the first vision, he quickly scampered out to resume his labors, praying he wasn't caught; he didn't know how long he was gone. He wasn't missed, his absence wasn't even noticed. It turned out, the farm owner couldn't tell one goblin from the next. So with a combination of safety in obscurity and a bit of curiosity, he snuck back in to experience it more. And he continued to do so every day he could. Not every day, mind you, sometimes not for weeks at a time, but when he could slip away, he did.

Over time, he learned that goblins weren't always the nasty little creatures everyone considers them - him - to be, but were actually one of the great races, respected by all others. They were the heroes of the land, the warriors of justice and light, protectors of the natural world. But this was a long time ago, so long it's been forgotten by everyone, even his own people, even the elven historians. This place, this Temple, was the home to one of those ancient and respected warriors.

Seasons passed, and then came the day he heard word of his son. A strange illness had befallen him; his son was dying and no one could cure him. He knew he had to escape. He knew he had to make his way to the fabled apples of the Goblins of the Ravine to save his son. But he couldn't go as himself. He would have to adopt a disguise, change his name, be someone he was not.

So he rushed to his secret place and grabbed the weapons and armor from the ancient heroic warrior. He would become that ancient warrior; mimick the ways of the the Goblin's anceint ancestors who once served the Light. And he would go by their old forgotten name for such great heroes: the Ngko Bei Len.

I can get behind that. I presume, given your mention of disguise, the intention is to keep race hidden?

Within Oakhurst at least they trade with Goblins twice a year for magical apples so they probably wouldn't kill you on sight, however I wouldn't expect a warm welcome.

If it wasn't obvious from what I've given you so far, there will be a fair few goblins in the adventure...

I noticed the trade with goblins, so with that, I don't see a need to keep his race hidden. He's not really worried about being identified by sight. Just by name and occupation.

As for fighting other goblins, that's ok. It's no different than humans fighting other humans.

Monk. Elf. Immaculate. Haughty. Way of the Open Hand.
The Mystery of the Magic Trees
As part of his personal training, when not employing a weapon, his hands are clasped behind his back, and not used. This close to Midsummer, he has heard the rumors, and intends to sit with the trees, to see if he can witness their disappearance or removal. Inadvertently an Entertainer, he is surprised and bemused to find that it is something that he enjoys, though his performances are more exhibitions and demonstrations.

I'm really trying not to picture a condescending Elrond but I think it's stuck.

Kenzi is a 16 year old girl who loves to invent things. Her father was the blacksmith of her village, and by the time she was 5 she was helping out around the smithy. by 10, she had automated a great deal of his smithy, allowing him to work less. by 15, she realized that her calling was not in her home village, a place so small that it didn't even have a proper name.

Packing her two sketchbooks, some spare clothes, and a short sword she made for defense, she has headed out into the world to make her fortunes.

Kenzi is irrepressible. She is truly happy to be going new places and see new things, and she looks forward to whatever is around the bend.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

going to work on her tonight and hopefully get her posted tomorrow.

PC is just about done. Just have to get some equipment.

Female Gnome Fighter (Archer)

Portia is a young gnome woman who decided to fight back against the tyrannical ruler who holds her people in virtual slavery. Her people have been driven to poverty by the taxes of their grasping ruler. He has hired bandits and brigands to "protect and motivate" his gnomish citizens.
Portia decided to fight back when her own parents were thrown out of their home and left to die. She was lucky to be able to save them, but in the process killed a number of the ruler's enforcers. Others in the community helped her to hide, and ultimately escape the lands. She has vowed to return and free her people, but little does she know that the ruler is seeking her...wanting to make an example of her to the others.

She heard of the Sunless Citadel while looking for work in a nearby town. The stories of wealth are what has originally drawn her to the site, but also the need to help people in trouble drives her to assist those who are in trouble.

Will get the alias and crunch up next...hope this sounds good.

Here is the basic crunch...will be adding class and ratial abilities soon

Roll for da phat lewts: 5d4 ⇒ (1, 3, 4, 4, 2) = 14

Here is my submission.

Hi there! =D

Character submission from Atlas2112!

Jack is...quite the mercenary. Displaced from his family of farmers when his clan was killed in a land dispute, he's wandered the road, in search of gold...and perhaps revenge, or salvation. Stories of the Hucrele family have reached his ears, and he aims to cash in on their wayward scions, by hook or by crook.

Of note, this is the UA Ranger. I've never played a Ranger, and I've never played a UA class, so this is intriguing.

Also of note, I realize that starting out I'd be similar to Mr. Stewart's archer, but I see that as a plus and not a minus. Dan and I know each other, so at bare minimum a Gimli/Legolas-esque friendly rivalry complete with wacky hijinks would ensue. Possible promotion to full-on drama is likely.
Also, Bookrat and I always have epic good times. ;)

Also also, I'm going Crossbow-master...so I can shoot in melee. ^_^

Also also also, rolling for t3h phAt StaXorZ!: 5d4 ⇒ (3, 4, 2, 1, 4) = 14 so I can buy a crossbow and thieves tools.

That reminds me, gotta roll for gold.

5d4 ⇒ (1, 3, 4, 1, 3) = 12

120 gold, plus the 15 from his background. That gives me 135 gold to work with. I can do that. :)

Looking forward to playing with all of you (I hope!). No problem with Jack and Portia...they could really play off each other. Also, loved your background bookrat! Was thinking of making a bugbear companion for you...a squire for your knight...lol

A little under 24 hours until I close this, so just doing a quick rundown...

More or less complete:

Jack (Atlas2112) - Human Ranger (UA) (x-bow)
Kenzi (Vrog Skyreaver) - Human Artificer (Alchemist)
Portia (Daniel Stewart) - Gnome Fighter (Archer)
Ngko (bookrat) - Goblin Paladin/Criminal

Concept:
Me'Mori - Elven Monk.
Terevalis - Drow Bladesinger Mage
TPJ - Human Druid or Woodelf Monk

Interest:
Spectrevk
Arknight

- - - - -

Somewhat interestingly if we do end up going forward with the 4 completed characters, there's no 1st level spellcasters. Not that it's a particular issue, magic will be available at 3rd level for a lot of the party (subject to any multi-classing etc).

Ok, working on an idea here......

Half-Elf Mystic (Order of the Nomad)

TPJ here. I got to thinking and came up with a Gnome Wizard/Charlatan in lieu of a Druid or Monk. Crunch and background are in my profile, minus equipment.

Gimble Frug here is a foul mouthed con-artist who peddles fake magic items to unsuspecting folks, his demonstrations augmented by his own spellcasting abilities.

His older brother was an Arcane Trickster who taught him about magic and running a good game, then disappeared when some angry people showed up inquiring about gambling debts. Gimble's been on his own since, moving from town to town peddling his wares.

He's recently heard about this great con involving apples that he had to see for himself.

I'm all right Jack keep your hands off of my stack: 4d4 ⇒ (4, 2, 1, 3) = 10

100 GP. Looks like Gimble should dial back the partying a bit.

Ok, my PC is complete. I do have a request: can I change out his class proficiencies?

Instead of Atheltics, I'd like him to have acrobatics.

Also, in case anyone was curious, Ngko is pronounced with a click sound that's between a g and a k; the English language doesn't have alerted for it, nor are native English speakers very adept at speaking it. The N is silent.

I believe that clicking sound is represented by an exclamation mark (!). I have done some study of the !Kung people of the Kalahari Desert and that is how they denote clicks in their language. Seems like we maybe took the same anthro classs bookrat! Did you ever read a book called !Nisa by Marjorie Shostak.
Sorry to take this off the game topic...

Oh God, the last anthro class I took was in 1999, back when that was my major and before I dropped out of college (joined the army, then went back to college in 06 getting a degree in toxicology).

It was a class on world religions past and present, and then a second class on physical anthro focusing on anatomy.

However, I've remained an anthro enthusiast all my life, and continue to read anthro articles like those in archeology mags. Even had a subscription when I was in the army, to the delight of my fellow soldiers when we were deployed in Iraq.

So while I knew the existence of that sound, I didn't know you denote it with an ! symbol. That's pretty cool.

So would my goblin's name be !Ko Bei Len?

Yup..lol..that is how it would be done with the "!" marking where the "click" should would be.
Anthropology was one of my minors, along with classics. Love those classes!!

Was looking over our sbmissions and was thinking I might explore the idea of a Bugbear fighter...maybe to go with bookrat's goblin, or on his own. We do not really have a front line fighter, so I think he would fit well. Will get up crunch ASAP, and wait to see if Bookrat is interested in sharing a common background.

A little under 24 hours until I close this, so just doing a quick rundown...

...Somewhat interestingly if we do end up going forward with the 4 completed characters, there's no 1st level spellcasters.

I was under the impression that you were looking for a concept since character creation is remarkably brief with 5e? Should I have a completed sheet for the application?

This is Arknight's concept.

The crunch is still a WIP, but the backstory and other details are pretty set...

Concept is fine, as long as your confident you can be ready to go in fairly short order.

Yup..lol..that is how it would be done with the "!" marking where the "click" should would be.

Anthropology was one of my minors, along with classics. Love those classes!!

Was looking over our sbmissions and was thinking I might explore the idea of a Bugbear fighter...maybe to go with bookrat's goblin, or on his own. We do not really have a front line fighter, so I think he would fit well. Will get up crunch ASAP, and wait to see if Bookrat is interested in sharing a common background.

Let's do it!

Ok, here is Gregek the bugbear fighter and friend of !Ko.

Concept is fine, as long as your confident you can be ready to go in fairly short order.

Quite confident. I'll have the crunch up in under a half-hour of seeing the post.

Okay, closing time.

Submissions Are (in no particular order):

Jack (Atlas2112) - Human Ranger (UA) (x-bow)
Kenzi (Vrog Skyreaver) - Human Artificer (Alchemist)
Gregek(Daniel Stewart) - Bugbear Fighter (I assume Portia's been retracted, in favor of Gregek?)
Ngko/!ko (bookrat) - Goblin Paladin/Criminal
Me'Mori - Elven Monk.
Soval (Arknight) - Human Mystic
Gimble (TPJ) - Gnome Wizard
Terevalis - Drow Bladesinger Mage

Okay, first up - no-one's missing off this list who's submitted?