Sorry for the delay in posting. Will try to get a post up to move things along tomorrow.
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Quite a few masks are available for perusal, most of which are of Athas' many vicious critters. Mabriel takes a human-like mask with a facsimile of white hair and holds it up in front of her face. "How's this look?" She asks before taking what looks like an angry-looking bear mask from the stand. "I think this suits you, by the way..."
Mabriel tentatively nods up at you before leading the way to the stall. A couple of people are already at the stall by the time you get there--a dark-haired, violet-clad patrician and an orange-eyed young woman dressed more for the desert than a party.
"Oh?" The patrician tips the mask over in confusion. "...could've sworn this was a tigone..." He shrugs and holds onto the mask. "But yes, I find that a beast of such ferocity suits a gentleman of my valour." He grins and extends a hand in your direction. "Gennardo Kendler of House Kendler, a pleasure."
"Then I daresay you're in luck!" The man grins and gestures to his many masks. The masks on display range from several facsimiles of Athasian animals and insects--you recognize wezers, kirres, tagsters, klars, pulp bees and the ever-present thri-kreen in particular--to several decorated human-like masks. A muscular, dark-haired man dressed in the proud violet chlamys of a Balician patrician steps up next to you and picks out a mask of a deep green feline with yellow-brown vertical stripes over the eyes. "I've always been a proponent of going with something that best represents you, myself." He chortles.
The interior of the tent is crowded with people, most of whom are clad in sand-logged desert garb and just looking for a place to get out of the sun. Curiously, a cursory glance across the crowd reveals that at least half of them are all wearing masks, most of them in the shape of one animal or another. There are a few people in the tent who stand out--a tall, elven woman with dark hair and pale skin, a gentleman dressed in gaudy orange and red desert robes, and a half-giant wearing a well-oiled leather armlet who looks like he's waiting for someone. The orange-clad fellow is seated behind a wooden stall with a wide array of strange masks on display--some of them of Athas' many vicious & strange animals, others of humanoid faces bearing different decorations. The elf appears to be in the process of picking out a mask to wear.
The man behind the stall points at you. "You there, young lady! Are you, perchance, seeking to attend Lady Athena's soirée?"
Mabriel nervously looks around the tent as the two of you enter. "Is this where we get masks?" She asks, shrinking further into your shadow.
Sorry for the absence. Posts will resume Monday.
Posted! A small one, but one that hopefully will get things going!
As the day continues, another tent is put up in the town square--this one made of colourful silks and rapidly becoming surrounded by people. "Ladies and gentlemen, travellers from near and far, step right up!" A gravelly male voice barks from the tent. "Lady Athena, in her boundless generosity, has extended an invitation to all who seek her company! Step right up and claim your mask for admittance!"
Mabriel looks up at you in confusion. "Masks? I wonder why we need masks?"
Sorry to have kept you all waiting, folks. I'm back. And I'm itching to get this going again.
Sorry I dropped off the radar, guys. My sleep schedule's all screwed up and I'm trying to get my motivation to post back. I'm still here, and still following.
Mabriel nods in agreement and looks around at the milling people outside the Dancing Rasclinn. "...strange. Why are they all wearing masks?" Another look at the crowd shows that many of them--from the occasional patrician to several of farmers in roughspun tunics and sandals--are wearing masks fashioned to look like a variety of Athasian animals. "What's the occasion, I wonder?"
As you get settled in the shade of the Dancing Rasclinn, a young human man in a clean, white silk tunic approaches your table. "Welcome to the Dancing Rasclinn. Shall I fetch you a drink?" He asks, putting on a customer-service smile.
As you start to settle in, you look out one of the Dancing Rasclinn's windows--and you see someone sitting on the dunes. A green-haired woman in an earthen-brown robe is glaring venomously at something beyond your field of view.
As you stake out the Dancing Rasclinn, you notice a very tall elven woman hitching a kank laden with bags to a nearby stone post. Her hair is long, black and flowing freely in the hot breeze. Her dark leathers are covered in a fine layer of grit.
Patrician Zaethus, an older gentleman dressed in a white chlamys, violet cape and well-worn sandals, starts walking up the well-beaten dirt path to the elaborate, two-story sandstone manor in the distance. He runs a hand through his greying hair as he moves. "Zelimah, keep an eye on Mabriel while I make arrangements with Lady Athena." He calls back. Mabriel, the pale-skinned, redheaded girl dressed in violet silks, stands next to you and looks up at you with bright blue eyes. Her expression is decidedly nervous.
The gameplay thread has been opened and the opening post has been made!
Day 1: High Sun, Year of Priest’s Defiance, 170th King’s Age To the north of the Road of Legions, off the main trade route of Balic and nestled within a patch of overtaxed scrubland, sits a quiet hamlet with a pristine oasis. Originally little more than a collection of half-destroyed stonework buildings, hastily-constructed hide tents and a couple of patches of arable soil, this hamlet was thought to have little of interest to the outside world. Even the patrician who purchased a claim to the land forgot about the place as soon as she left, lingering long enough to bestow her name upon it—Athena’s Oasis. But things have greatly changed for this humble hamlet. Within the past six months, Lady Athena has returned from an expedition into the desert with a mysterious treasure and commissioned the construction of a great manor carved of sandstone. No one knows what’s driven Lady Athena to take a new interest in the Oasis, but when the first of many patricians began to arrive, rumours of just what it is Lady Athena found began to swirl about like a brewing dust storm. Some claim she has found jewels; others claim a trove of iron; others still claim she has struck gold. Whatever it is she found, it is slated to be unveiled at tonight’s soirée. Today, the retinues of several patricians—and a few odder sights—gather at the hamlet’s only inn, the Dancing Rasclinn (so named for the image of a dancing rasclinn carved upon the shingle over the inn’s door). The wine here is watered down, the floor is hastily thrown together from what feels like random planks of wood, and the accommodations could only charitably be called comfortable, but as the blazing red sun rises to the peak of noon, it provides much needed shade from its hateful eye.
Working on intro post now.
I'll see about starting this tomorrow. Hopefully, CariMac will be able to join us by then.
Right... now to write up a good opening post...
I'm prepared to begin. :)
Glad to hear it. Currently trying to get my sleep schedule back into something resembling a reasonable pattern, so turns out I won't be starting today.
Just a quick check-in. How's everyone's character sheets coming along? I'm looking to start this campaign this Monday.
@CariMac: Done. Check your PMs.
I constructed a template for AD&D characters suitable for a Paizo profile. I could send it your way, if you'd like.
My assumption wound up being that anything listed for a DS Druid’s granted powers supplants and replaces anything in the PHB granted powers, so DS druids don’t get the stuff like dealing with woodland faerie charms. I was under that assumption too.
I'll put those homebrew druid kits to use too, should anyone wish to roll one up later. :)
I'm hoping to start this campaign by next week, if possible.
I'm hoping to have a mix of desert and urban adventures in this campaign, if it helps to make a decision.
If anyone needs a template for AD&D characters, I have a template created for Paizo profiles that I'll be happy to share.
SO! Here's what I understand people have so far: --A Human Ranger (Justifier) (Rysky's character; name unknown)
No filthy arcane magic to be found anywhere. :) Now, I understand that Zelimah has arrived at Athena's Oasis as part of a patrician's retinue, hoping to be shown off and boasted of in a networking opportunity. The elven water priestess is coming to see for herself if Lady Athena is a good enough 'guardian' of sorts for the hamlet's oasis. The elven ranger/thief has a vendetta against House Tomblador... ...but I'm not sure about why Tik'tik, Laurelin and the Justifier are at the oasis. What has brought them here, I wonder?
Oof. Sorry to hear that.
BTW, every ranger in AD&D 2E must also select a species enemy, much like their later incarnations.
I mean, yes, that part does work, but it doesn't really change the fact that most of the druid's class features (especially the early-level ones) are firmly tailored to be the most effective when they're 'close to home'. Compared to, say, an elemental cleric, they're going to be operating at a disadvantage unless the current adventure/encounter is taking place on their home turf. Honestly, the druid class in general was kind of a mess in AD&D 2E...
Kinda makes me wonder if the designers wanted druids to be an NPC class only... I mean, just about everything regarding a DARK SUN druid is tailored to work the most effectively when they're on a plot of land they're sworn to protect, and after a certain level they're forced to spend half their time on their guarded lands (effectively taking them out of adventures and forcing their players to use a different character). Or perhaps they didn't think the class' design through in general. 90's design and all that.
Eagerly awaiting the final results of everyone's character building!
I was planning on keeping this campaign in the southern reaches of the Tyr Region, so it's highly unlikely Mind Lords will come into play.
Laurelin's math is evidently better than mine.
For multiclass HP: Roll for each class separately, total them up and divide by the number of dice rolled (rounded down). CON bonuses are added afterward. In this instance, take max HP for both your Ranger and Thief levels, divide by 4, and add any relevant CON bonuses for each level afterward.
@CariMac: That could certainly work--of course, that's bound to cause some friction with the local druid. ;)
House Tomblador would be a great choice of enemy for that background.
Certainly. Patricians of Balic are known to employ the services of a few gladiators--some of whom aren't even slaves. ;) Off the top of my head, there's the Nauripides patrician family. Not as prominent as other patricians, but they do have their own villa and they all employ their own staff rather than rely on slavery. The head of the family, Zaethus Nauripides, is currently attending Lady Athena's soirée with his daughter Mabriel as a mix of a networking opportunity and a father-daughter bonding trip.
Here's some background information on Balic, for those of you who'd like to create a PC from there. Hopefully, it'll inspire some character ideas! BACKGROUND
The city is renowned for its democratic traditions. Balic’s nobles are seated in a Chamber of Patricians that creates and maintains the code of laws, and its templars must stand for election to 10-year terms. The various professional guilds conduct their business by taking votes and electing officers; even the dictator is, in theory, elected. Much of this democracy, however, is little more than an illusion. The office of dictator is held for life, and Andropinis has endured in his position now for centuries. Public debate and discourse is allowed, but only up to a point. Any direct criticism of the dictator or his templars is dealt with harshly, and the patricians learned long ago to pass only those laws that meet with the dictator’s approval. Balic enjoys a cultural heritage and a civic mythology dating back thousands of years, which finds expression in a public appreciation for poetry and drama. The cultural heritage is evident in the dozens of theaters throughout the city-state, which run the gamut from crowded, ramshackle stagehouses in the poorer quarters to magnificent amphitheaters in the noble districts. In Balic, talented playwrights and orators can win acclaim equal to that held by the greatest gladiators as long as they steer clear of subject matter that the dictator’s templars might find offensive. POWER STRUCTURE OF BALIC!
Andropinis routinely arranges the elections of templars he favors and directs the Chamber of Patricians to pass the laws he drafts. From time to time, he indulges idealists and reformers, allowing corrupt nobles or unsatisfactory templars to be indicted or voted out. However, the dictator retains absolute control over the city’s legions and brooks no defiance of his personal authority. Patricians: Balic’s nobles are known as patricians. The patrician class is composed of the leading landowning families; almost every family owns a slave-worked estate of grain fields, vineyards, olive groves, and pastures in the lands west of the city. Many of Balic’s most prestigious public offices, such as military command and important templar positions, can be filled only by candidates of the patrician class, so the families amass a great deal of influence by placing their sons and daughters in public service. The dictator theoretically governs with the consent of the Chamber of Patricians (a legislative body made up of representatives from each family), but in practice, the patricians rarely challenge Andropinis. A charge of treason, justified or not, is all the excuse the dictator needs to strip a patrician family of its lands and offices and redistribute them elsewhere. Praetors: Praetors are the templars of Balic. By popular vote, they are elected to their offices for 10-year terms. Once they have won their positions, Andropinis invests them with the magical power necessary to perform their duties. The dictator’s minions carefully screen candidates and arrange voting districts and slates to produce the results that Andropinis desires. On occasion, an unwanted praetor is elected despite the dictator’s arrangements; unfortunate accidents often befall such people shortly after they take office. Praetors whose terms end without reelection or who are elevated in anticipation of offices they might one day hold serve at the discretion of Andropinis. The most important praetors in Balic, the high praetors, hold no particular office but stand high in the dictator’s confidences. Merchant Houses: Trade is the lifeblood of Balic, and the great merchant companies fill the dictator’s coffers with coin. The streets surrounding the open market square known as the Agora are home to large emporiums from other city-states in the Tyr Region, including House Vordon ofTyr, House M’ke of Raam, and House Stel of Urik. The Agora is dominated by three major Balican merchant houses and a dozen or more small ones. Commoners & Slaves: Many of Balic’s common tradesfolk and artisans belong to guilds of varying power. Some guilds are strong enough to force nobles and merchants to heed their demands; for example, the Potters’ Guild enforces high standards (and high prices) on Balic’s distinctive pottery, ensuring that its members earn a good wage from selling the pieces they produce. Below the common citizens are the slaves, who make up 40 percent of the city-state’s population. Slaves enjoy basic protections under Balic’s laws, but the
EXPLORING BALIC!
Most travelers bound for the city-state follow the Road of Legions, the major passage along the spine of the peninsula. Balic’s wall cuts off the tip of the peninsula, running about two miles between the arms of the Estuary. The city-state sits on a natural harbor formed by high hills ringing a bay of silt. Many ages past, the harbor was a seaport, but the water is long gone. Where proud galleys and dromonds once rocked gently in their moorings, a great fleet of silt skimmers now takes shelter. Scores of the wheeled sailing vessels call Balic home, carrying the commerce of the local merchant houses from Altaruk and Ledopolus all the way to the distant Silt Archipelago or the shores by Raam and Draj. Within the walled harbor of the military shipyard known as the Arsenal lies the pride of the dictator’s fleet—a dozen silt dromonds, light warships fitted with psionically powered helms that levitate and can navigate silt of any depth. Balic is divided into five administrative precincts plus the Megaleneon, which is the civic center, both literally and figuratively. Arena Precinct: Travelers following the Road of Legions to Balic arrive at the Great Gate, the heavily guarded main entrance. Beyond lies the Arena Precinct, an area of artisans, workshops, and small stores. The Road of Legions cuts through the middle of the precinct and ends at the plaza surrounding the Criterion, Balic’s spectacular arena. As one ventures north or south from the main road, the streets grow more cluttered and the people grow poorer. Guilder’s Precinct: North of the Arena Precinct stretches another commoner district that reaches to the shores of the silt. This district is home to many artisans and workshops, including potters, leatherworkers, stonecutters, weavers, and limners. Balic’s professions are organized into large guilds. The crowded taverns and stagehouses of the Guilders’ Precinct are full of voices muttering against the dictator and the wealthy patricians—not to mention spies who report what they hear to the praetors. Harbor Precinct: Between the Agora and the Estuary of the Forked Tongue is Balic’s Harbor Precinct. Like the Guilders’ Precinct, it is cluttered with the dwellings and work shops of common folk, but it is also home to several large shipyards, warehouses, and a legion barracks. Market Precinct: This part of the city is dominated by emporiums and warehouses of the prevailing merchant houses. Some
Villa Precinct: The Villa Precinct, Balic’s noble district, spreads over the slopes of the cypress-dotted hills south of the Arena Precinct and the Megaleneon. High above the haze of silt that chokes the lower-lying precincts stand the palaces of the patricians, surrounded by orchards and guard barracks. The Megalaneon: The physical and political centre of Balic is the Megaleneon, a high, rocky hill overlooking the harbor. Andropinis rules from the White Palace, a majestic structure at the top of the hill. The Chamber of Patricians and the barracks of the First Legion sit farther down the slope of the Megaleneon. MERCHANT HOUSES OF BALIC! House Wavir: One of the wealthiest merchant-houses of the city-state—and also the only one with anything even resembling a conscience. House Wavir deals in all manner of goods throughout the Tyr Region, with outposts as far north as the Mekillot Mountains. They are savvy and ruthless, but nevertheless are unique on Athas in that they actively reject the institution of slavery—every single one of its employees and agents are free folk. House Tomblador: Formerly the top merchant-house of Balic, House Tomblador is House Wavir’s bitterest rival. They embrace the slave trade Wavir so fervently rejects—and supplement it with their fleet of Silt Skimmers for trade along the Estuary of the Forked Tongue and the coastline of the Silt Sea. House Rees: Another of House Wavir’s rivals, House Rees is known in Balic for its many counting houses--lending to institutions that support smaller businesses only to squeeze them brutally for years afterward. They are utterly driven by profit.
A quick heads-up regarding water clerics: one of their Sphere spells, Create Water, was nerfed for this setting. In other settings, Create Water delivered 4 gallons per level of the caster. Here, it only delivers one half-gallon per level of the caster.
Also, in case anyone missed it, the introductory Discussion post also lists several homebrewed kits we're using in this game, courtesy of Laurelin's player.
@CariMac: Welcome aboard! :D
Regarding Combat & Tactics: go right ahead.
Oh, the S-M/L categories are based on the TARGET. Some weapons suck against big targets. Some can inflict more grievous wounds if they have a bigger target to puncture or slash. Alright--I'll confess that for the longest time I didn't know that.
So the weapon costs posted are for metal, right? Also, the disparity in cost between a melee and ranged weapon is completely insane! They are.
(Why are there so many pole arms?!?) Gary Gygax.
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