Hello all,
I've just started a 1st level game in a campaign setting of my own...a relatively low-magic campaign, but just as much fantasy and adventure and so forth.
I've got 4 players in the game, two of them experienced D&D veterans, one of relatively moderate experience, and one a newby...who is doing VERY well for a first timer.
I shape my game in the form of chapters in a book, adding extra narrative and background info for the players in an effort to help them feel more immersed in the campaign, and aid them in remembering names, sequences of events, etc.
Prior to each game, I write a little chapter teaser for them to think about, then after each game, I write the remainder of the chapter as a summary. It's entertaining for the players to see literary interpretations of their roleplaying, and I thought maybe other folks might like to read along as well.
Any comments, suggestions on various ways to torment the players are welcome. I'll send the first chapter and the beginning of the second to this thread in seperate replies.
Here's the first chapter preview and the results of the first game session...I'm sure everyone will be bored with this, let alone the full background behind the names and places, so I'm not going to add all the details...
Chapter 1: Among the Falling Leaves
In Mid-Setting, the already beautiful lands of Relfar become all the more splendid as its numerous Elms and Maples begin to color and fall to the grass, which is lush and overgrown from the increasing rainfall. The sound of the countryside is a mix of rumbling wagons hauling in the day’s fruit crop, crackling leaves beneath the feet of hurried farmers and playful children, and the trumpeting of geese who have abandoned the south shores of Lach Dennen and the coasts of Brandsend for the still warm temperatures of southern Relfar and the north of Lyree.
In the midst of the land, just west of the rapidly cooling lake of White Pond, sits the capital city of Greer, its blackstone shaped walls ever vigilant of the bustling province on all sides. But in Greer, all is not well…
A Relfaran caravan set out from Greer and bound for the coastal city of Lorenport is one week overdue, and no trace of the 8 wagons, 12 horses, and twice that number of men has been found. While it is true the caravan was not well guarded, the route down the Easting Road was deep within Relfar’s territory, and not a dangerous one. To make matters worse, Drenethin Larn, the Elder, Elder of the Relfaran Council, received a delegation of Pandfolk (Halflings) just two days ago, and rumors already abound that they too are missing a cobbler and his son and their accompanying caravan who set north of Lyree for Lorenport recently.
The timing of these mysterious events is most unfortunate as the Relfaran Council has already been addressing the worrisome reports of increased presence of Orc tribes to the west of Relfar, and surely if danger comes from the east now as well, Relfar may be in for troubled times.
With the onset of Mid-Setting, caravans from Margov and Brandsend are arriving daily, seeking to trade in year-end metal and stone surplus, as well as freshly harvested crop, and the Elder Larn would not have his province be one of chaos and peril when hosting guests from the stronger, larger kingdoms.
To this end, Larn has asked those savvy of the wilderness and skilled with the blade report in to Greer that they might be assigned a route of investigation to discern the dangers flanking the normally peaceful province. The Greer Hall of Poll’De, God of Commerce and Fellowship has been opened by the Elder Larn on the eve of the second day of the coming week for all those willing to take up his call and join in the cause to make safe the lands of Relfar once again.
And after the game session....the conclusion of Chapter 1:
Chapter 1: Among the Falling Leaves -Conclusion
The evening of the 2nd day of Mid Setting found the streets of Greer abuzz with talk of the disappearances of two caravans, and the arrival of a great deal of adventurers, hireswords, do-gooders, and heroes who have answered Drenethin Larn the Elder’s call for aid to investigate the most troubling incidents.
Four such adventurers, perhaps given to boredom, wanderlust, the need to do right by the people of Greer, or even too-much of Barkeep Feldon’s ale found themselves sitting ‘round a table that same night, pondering what the Elder Larn may have in store for them, and finding themselves forming a most unlikely of alliances with one another, in an effort to solve the mysteries beset upon Relfar in recent nights.
Liana, a traveling Ranger of Human and Howlek Half-Elvish lineage, had arrived in Greer only nights before, and befriended a lady Halfling Druid, Phawn, on an apparent pilgrimage to the Washan Isle and advancement of her powers and faith. The pair of women soon made the acquaintance of two Margovian brothers, caravan guards of some note, who found themselves drawn to the higher purpose of aiding their neighboring land of Relfar. Julen, Guardian of Forgoth, and his elder brother Wilbur, Disciple to the same God of War opted to join the Women of the Wild to form a unique band of adventurers, united under the common cause of good.
The gathering at the Temple of Poll’De that same night saw 30 some of these adventuring bands, hailing apparently from throughout Lyree, Relfar, and even Margov, all with common purpose, but perhaps widely differing underlying motives. While largely making an effort to keep to themselves, the foursome of adventurers had the misfortune of meeting with a band of rather arrogant Margovians, apparently also Blood Faithful to the God Orlar. No names were traded and only brief chidings exchanged between the two groups.
Later in the gathering, The Elder Larn and his Captain of the Guard, Gerol, addressed those present, explaining that Caravan Master Logan the Grey, renowned for his safe travels, expert tradesmenship, and honest hand was the leader of the missing caravan bound for Lorenport. It was also revealed that a caravan of Pandfolk, led by Arding the Cobbler and his son also disappeared somewhere between the Relfaran border checkpoint and their destination city of Lorenport.
Singled out by Captain Gerol because of their wilderness skilled companions, the foursome of adventurers was asked to take on a clandestine portion of the search. It was revealed that Logan the Grey had somewhat secret dealings with the Lanor Elves of the Dallan Wood. While many in Greer know simply that Logan vanished sometime after leaving Greer and before arriving in his checkpoint city of Xyle, Gerol suspects Logan made a detour into the Dallan Wood to pick up various Elvish tradegoods to include in his cargo.
The adventurers were given the directive to question Wessen the Silkmaster, perhaps the last Greer merchant to see Logan before he left town, and then explore the Dallan Wood in an attempt to see if the Elves have any information pertinent to the investigation. The foursome was also asked to bring their investigation down the Easting Road from Greer to Xyle and check in with Telkin the Elder, governor of the city, to see if any further information may be helpful.
The visit to Wessen was brief and hostile, yielding very little useful information short of Logan carrying a great deal of the Silkmaster’s coins with the intent to purchase imported Silk in Lorenport. As Julen and Wilbur canvassed the remainder of the wealthy merchant district of Greer, Liana and Phawn visited Wessen a second time, in an attempt to persuade more information from him. Yielding little more, Wessen simply allowed the women to take along three of his Silken Scarves to trade with the Elves should they need collateral for information bargaining. After Wessen left the room, the ladies of the wilderness purloined a small crate of the scarves and headed back to their inn.
As the party reunited late that evening, their conference was cut short by the sudden and terrifying appearance of two Worgs, who savagely beset upon the adventurers and their inn. The battle was swift and furious, and Liana sustained significant wounds as she heroically stood fast in the doorway, barring the second Worg from entering the establishment and affording the Margovian brothers ample time to dispatch the first beast, and then come to her aid to finish off the second.
Screams and cries of panic from the street indicated the Worgs had caused more havoc in the town than simply within the heroes’ inn. After brief investigation, it became apparent the Worgs had also visited Wessen, tearing him and his shop limb from bloody limb, and seeming quite focused on tearing and destroying many of his imported silks. After Phawn, mischievous Halfling Druid that she is, revealed to the other adventurers that she and Liana had some of the silks back at their inn, it became clear the attacks of the Worgs were perhaps not so random.
Bruised and scarred, and now feeling their mission was going to be quite more than a simple search and rescue, the adventurers set to their beds after midnight, hoping to take ride at first light and begin unraveling the grave circumstance their mysteries had now undertaken.
Chapter 2 coming soon...
Chapter 2 pregame document and the results of the chapter two game.
Chapter 2: On the Road of Trades and Blades
The sun rises on the 3rd Day of Mid-Setting over the sober and somber City of Greer. The mysteries surrounding the disappearances, and the chilling fear of Orc threat are no longer a distant caution. This morning finds blood on Greer’s streets.
As adventurers and hireswords rise with the sun and take to the roads, answering Drenethin Larn’s call for aid and embarking on their search and recovery mission, the dark aspects of this quest way heavily on everyone’s minds. No less heavily, do they rest upon the shoulders of the very foursome of adventurers intimately involved in the details of the previous evening’s attacks.
The morning finds no further disturbances or attacks, and no evidence of additional Worgs or any sign of their masters about the city. The Greer Watch has doubled patrols in the city’s streets and surrounding countryside; an act that placed further demands on a Watch spread too thin already.
Having theories of Worgs scenting for silk, and missing caravan masters trading with Elves, the foursome break their fast to take to the trail of Logan the Grey. Their destination: the Dallan Wood, and an encounter with the Lanor Elves who dwell there. Captain Gerol of the Greer Watch has sworn the party to secrecy, believing them to be uniquely equipped to handle the tracking of the missing caravan master, and the diplomatic interaction with the Elves.
And the conclusion of the chapter, written as a result of the players' game session:
Early after sunrise on the 3rd Day of Mid-Setting, adventurers of all sorts set off in a myriad of directions, all to the aid of Drenethin Larn and the city of Greer. Some set off for the west, to investigate the troubling reports of organized Orc activity in the foothills, while others headed down the Easting Road, bound for Xyle and distant Lorenport, in search of any clues pertaining to the disappearance of Logan the Gray and Arding the Cobbler’s caravans.
The road less traveled, however, fell underfoot of the brave foursome of adventurers who seem already to be closely tied to recent events in the city of Greer. Sworn to secrecy, Liana the Ranger, Phawn the Druid, and the human brothers Wilbur and Julen of Forgoth, set for the Dallan Wood, beyond Relfar’s borders.
A day of swift travel brought the party to the outlying reaches of the dense forest, and set their task to that of searching the many copses of trees for evidence of the large caravan commanded by Logan the Gray. Thanks to the keen senses of their half-Elvish ranger, and her druidic companion, the adventurers soon located the campsite of the caravan, and the all but washed away tracks of Logan and his henchmen venturing into the woods.
A brief investigation revealed the grim reality that raiders, quite possibly of Orcish decent, had besieged the caravan and it was unlikely many of the humans, if any at all survived. The only evidence of anyone leaving the grove of trees, besides the lone footsteps of Logan and his two companions, was an eerily over-laden wagon, and motley of tracks heading south.
Following Logan’s trail into the woods proved a bit more fruitful, however, as it eventually led the foursome into the home of the Lanor Elves… the last known folk to see Logan the Gray alive. Logan’s trail ended soon after entering the Elvish wood, concealed by the magics of the forest elves, but after a half day of travel, the companions encountered the white steed of Narlel, the self-proclaimed emissary of the Elves.
Narlel, perhaps interested in the prowess and skill level of Logan’s seekers, challenged Julen to a brief duel…one that ended very much in Narlel’s favor, but seeming to please the Elf enough to speak honestly with the party. He granted them asylum in the safe grove they had entered and asked they remain his guests for the night. In exchange, he would tell them as much information as they wished to know, and escort them to Logan’s exit point the next morning.
Narlel indeed confirmed Logan’s appearance in the Dallan Wood, and also confirmed his safe exit back into the fields to the East. He advised the adventurers on his normal procedure of meeting back up with his wagons in Reflar’s territory, and explained he knew not what befell Logan once he left the sanctity of the Dallan Wood.
Further conversation with the Lanor Elf revealed that a great number of Orcs lived in the hills of the Wyverntails a couple hundred miles to the South, but seeing the Orcs so close to the Dallan Wood, and so brazenly attacking such a well-armed caravan was most unusual.
Their heads full of questions, and grave new information, the foursome made the long ride back to Greer, arriving there at nightfall, on the 5th day of Mid-Setting. After a brief conversation with Gerol, the party learned the bodies of two of the hired adventuring groups had been found to the east of the city, and the Greer Watch had extended to encompass the north-lying farmlands in their patrols as well, as the killers of the adventuring bands had not yet been found.
The party returned to their inn that evening for a restful night’s sleep, awaiting their morning conference with the Elder Larn, and new instructions.
Chapter 3 coming in about a week.