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I have dusted off the old books and the group is getting back together. All of us have been playing MMORPG's for some time now and it dawned on me(after 10 hours of endless ganking) that we haven't seen each other face to face in ages. I also noticed that all the stuff that we liked in the on-line games was the stuff we were comparing to D&D. So I called up the crew and everyone was just as hyped to get back to the dice and do some "real" adventuring again. I decided to go to the hobby shop to see if D&D was even available now. I was so happy to see that D&D was going stronger than ever before with a wealth of new material available. A few bills later(ack!) and I have the new version 3.5 core books, Forgotten Realms campaign setting, City of Splendors, and minis that I never should have started to look at. Then I spotted a Dungeon magazine on the shelf. I remembered the magazine from years ago, but I really didn't read it back then :( I bought it and when I got home I was amazed to see how much quality material is in the magazine. The whole idea of running an adventure path as big as this through 12 issues is great. I am bummed I missed out on "The Shackled City". Our group has always enjoyed epic plots with the combat so I was thinking "AoW" would be a great place for us to start fresh again. Since it has been awhile for all of us, do you think that we should start with a side quest that would tie in to the start of "AoW"? Just so everyone gets the rust out of their rolls? Any suggestions for the tie-in? It sure feels good to be back :)
P.S.
I can't believe how much positive information is being given out by fellow DM's on this messageboard! Thanks a lot for the time and help that you give to the new DM's and those of us who need our skills refreshed.
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Welcome back to the table! Now that you've made the financial commitment, the rest is easy.
I'm sure you've already found this site, but check it out for little goodies to give out as you play the game. Of course nab the free downloads from Paizo.
There was a short scenario another DM had written as a "warm-up" scenario for Diamond Lake. The original post has been pruned and my electronic version is at work. Perhaps someone can post the details here or at the RPGenius site (I will Monday if nothing else). The scenario boils down to tracking down some "teens" out on the town and a concerned father wanting them found in one piece. A fun encounter with stirges, tracking the quarry through town and the final encounter in the "Dead Hole" makes for a memorable first session. It also get's the PCs close to 1st level (well, at least my party of three that took in one of the "bad guys" to make the full party of four). Having that rogue hitting second level early will be helpful in the Whispering Cairn.
Welcome back. There's plenty of helpful folks here along with numerous other RPG niches on the web so don't be hestitant to ask questions. The 3.xE rules can be intimidating and simple all at the same time.
Welcome back to the table! Now that you've made the financial commitment, the rest is easy.
Yes. Once you've got the financial obligations taken care of, it's time for the fun to begin! ;)
But, on a more serious note, welcome back to the game. As Rexx said, there are plenty of helpful people on the boards who will strive to answer any questions you may have and ensure the game is as enjoyable as possible for you!
Good luck, and happy gaming!
WaterdhavianFlapjack
Welcome back...3.5 rocks! You can get the Shackled City as a hardcover through Paizo if you're still in the money spending mood.
Welcome back to D&D, and IMHO you couldn't have chosen a better place to start your group's new adventures than the Age of Worms. Personally, I think The Whispering Cairn is an excellent first adventure for your group. It has a wide range of challenges, from combat to puzzle-solving to social maneuvering and lots of RP potential.It'll be tough starting out for new players if you aren't familiar with things like Swarms, so I'd really recommend researching them and even consider replacing them with just more of the larger beetles (they're much less deadly to a poorly prepared, low-level party). Beyond that challenge... it seems like an excellent way to kick off your new D&D experience. Happy Gaming!
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Thanks to all of you for the info! I am almost prepared for the 1st session and I must say that I am having a blast reading all the new rules and getting familiar with this campaign. I will definately check out "swarms" because this is the 1st I have heard of them and I don't want a TPK to kick off the group's 1st journey in ages. Maybe the players can do some asking around in town and find out a little more info on swarms so they can still experience something fresh and new right off the bat :)
My feeling is that Whispering Cairne is pretty hard. If you have a large group so much the better. If not then I can think of a couple of ways to go about this.
One would be to encourage players to pick up races with a +1 level adjustment.
Another option is to run a number of introductory modules. The one posted on these boards is excellent. Also just a couple of warm up fights against goblinoids or something while your players are working for the garrison will give you and your players a chance to get to know the basics of the combat rules before they have to start dealing with beetle swarms and give them bonus XP at the same time.
Finally you could have your players gathered by a mentor or something and given a major bonus of cash and magic at start. Divide 5 cure light poitions and/or 1000 gp split among your party and their ability to survive jumps significantly.
I'd leave the beetle swarms in as this will really throw your new players for a loop and should seem like a really interesting if very scary encounter for vets that have never had to deal thwi this stuff before.
Normally I'd not worry so much about keeping your players alive but with a new group thats just getting back into the game I think some help is in order - especially with such a hard Dungeon as this one.
The absolute last thing you want happening is a TPK just as their new characters are about to make 2nd level. It will totally take the wind out of their sails. You need to save your TPK until after you have gotten them back into the habit of showing up for the game. Lots of magic potions will usually allow them to make it through one encounter that should have been a TPK - they'll realize how close things came as well in all probability, that should serve as a warning and focus their thinking on keeping their characters alive. After that the gloves can come off.