I going to DM the new adventure path and after reading the first couple of adventures I decided it would be best for us to have a preliminary adventure, taking place a day or so before There is No Honor, allowing the PCs’ to get to know each other and to give Lavinia a reason to have heard of them and contact them via the note handout. I might even include a scene wherein the PC’s see Lavinia’s parents ship ablaze in the harbour from a distance.
I’m having trouble thinking up a suitable getting to know you adventure, I guess it should allow the party to explore Sasserine and soak up the atmosphere, then establish the direction the path is headed in?
A spontaneous exciting chase through the city could work, by having all the characters just so happen to be in the same area when something goes down? A monkey or something takes off with a noble ladies expensive brooch or a local mages sceptre?
Whatever the scenario, it will have to be something that spurs the all the players into action immediately as a group. I like the idea of starting the game off with the words “Roll for initiative!” and think it will get the players thinking fast and working as a team right away.
To underline the exotic flavour of the Sasserine setting I could do something very OTT and have a pterodactyl fly off with some important personage or item that’s somehow central to the city (or the wormfall festival?) and then use some good old emotional blackmail (like having an NPC tell them the local petting zoo/orphanage is going to suffer now) or something worse if the party doesn’t go after it, it is rail roading a little but maybe its worth it to get things off to a cohesive start.
Going with the ideas from the other thread I started about the dangers of living in Sasserine maybe I could have the party go on a low level hunt for certain components for use in alchemical vermin repellent items or snake warding incense? A lot like one of those World of Warcraft quests you have given to you by some NPC who has this checklist of things needed from the jungle? Any ideas for a cool checklist of items?
1 piranha tooth
7 monkey toes
5 monstrous centipede legs
7 wild dwarf beard hairs
1 partridge in a pear tree etc
Any adventure hooks for a pre-path introduction adventure in which the players can’t earn too much xp are most welcome.
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Noxweather,
I too, am looking to design a prequel to Savage Tide. So far I have 3 ideas:
THE LAKEYS: The PCs are supporting a hit on a rival house, guild, or pirate group. They end up following high-level professionals, picking off small frys and gleaning a little loot here and there...
THE SCAVENGERS: Similar to above, but they PCs aren't working for anyone but themselves...
MAROONED: Being stranded on a deserted sea coast or island isn't all romance. Getting home is a shorty adventure.
What do you think?
Well the guys I game with have already wrote some brief histories for each of their PC's so I have to stick with what they already have down. Each one has made it so they are Sasserine local and have lived in the city all their lives. Three are from Shadowshore and one is from Noble. None of them know each other yet and the players dont even know what each of them are using yet when it comes to class and race, so the first game will be a suprise for everyone.
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To make the PCs meet each other (3 were coming from Gradsul, 3 were from different districts of sasserine), that's what I did :
the day my 3 players landed, posters were pinned up all over the city about a lizardmen menace, with a milice created to go defeat those lizardmen who had killed 3 seekers.
"Revenge, revenge" was the word passing through people from the city, and the Sasserine's army was recruiting mercenaries.
My PCs decided to apply (I hooked them with money, like 10 GP + 3-5 per day) and were affected in the same group, along with 3-4 NPCs that I had vaguely created (like dwarf fighter or 1/2-orc paladin...).
After a 3 days walk through the marshes, and after their fight against the lizardmen, they began to know each other a little bit (make a PC save a NPC, or another PC from a blow / a threat).
Then, after they went back to Sasserine, Lavinia sent to each of them a note saying "I have heard how well you did against the lizardmen....".
my 2 cents !
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I have promised my players a nautical, sailing game, so that's where I'm going to start them off.
They're going to be hands on board a ship that is badly damaged and heading to the city of Sasserine for repair. They will have to keep the ship afloat for a day or so just to make it into town.
Once they arive, their captain is told that it will be several months before their ship can be repaired, due to major hull damage, because he is unable to afford the faster magical repairs. The captain will then release the pc's to do whatever they want in town until re-summoned to the ship, which is when they will begin the STAP. If by the time they finish their work in the city, they wish to remain with that ship, they may, or they might be able to buy that boat from the captain, or another similar vessel for sale in Sasserine.
That's the tentative plan, anyway.
The Vanderboren's have sponsored the PC's (whom they met in each of the PC's backstories) as a team in the upcoming Challenge of Champions (the Dungeon issue prior to the start of the AP had one) being held in the Arena by Zelkarune's Horns.
The Vanderboren's of course perish before the tournament, but they are already paid up, so can still compete. Lavinia will approach the PC's the day or two before the Challenge begins so they can get the battle on the Blue Nixie out of the way then do the Challenge. Afterwards, Lavinia will approach them about her other work as she is now thoroughly impressed by how they've handled themselves (hopefully).
That's how I'm planning on starting off...
somnambulant.
Depending on how lengthy a pre-STAP adventure you want to run, I might suggest running "Mad God's Key" from Dungeon #114 if you have it. It is nominally set in Greyhawk City, but is easily adaptable to Sasserine. There is a chase across barges that is really interesting, and would fit well in Sasserine- particularly in the Azure District, and the Green Dagger Gang could be either a part of the Lotus Dragons, an affiliated faction, or a rival faction, which could help to set up events in "There Is No Honor."
Additionally, as there is an interlude of sorts in that adventure, depending on where they are xp-wise, you could take time out after the first part to get them into Savage Tide, and eventually get back to the rest of that adventure at a later time.
They're going to be hands on board a ship that is badly damaged and heading to the city of Sasserine for repair. They will have to keep the ship afloat for a day or so just to make it into town.
I'm getting a visual of Jack Sparrow's arrival in Port Royal :)
Depending on how lengthy a pre-STAP adventure you want to run, I might suggest running "Mad God's Key" from Dungeon #114 if you have it. It is nominally set in Greyhawk City, but is easily adaptable to Sasserine. There is a chase across barges that is really interesting, and would fit well in Sasserine- particularly in the Azure District, and the Green Dagger Gang could be either a part of the Lotus Dragons, an affiliated faction, or a rival faction, which could help to set up events in "There Is No Honor."
Additionally, as there is an interlude of sorts in that adventure, depending on where they are xp-wise, you could take time out after the first part to get them into Savage Tide, and eventually get back to the rest of that adventure at a later time.
I have Dungeon #114! Excellent...
"That has got to be without question the WORST pirate I've ever seen."
lol
"But you HAVE heard of me."
The PCs are walking through the city by the waterfront, when they hear a scream from the nearest alley. They investigate and see a street child being menaced by a rhagodessa. My rhagodessa had escaped from Solar Vark's hold and was wearing a collar. The characters can track down the collar's maker, who can recall selling it to Vark.
That's a pretty cool way of foreshadowing events to come. I like it.
I'm starting STAP tonight and most of the session will be intro, getting the characters into the story. I've decided to go with the tried-and-true; the characters meet up in a bar:
One of the PCs, Gerri, an itinerate rogue and gambler has recently returned to Sasserine, her place of birth. Gerri's parents, like Lavinia's were reknowned adventurers who traveled in the same social circles, and so Gerri and Lavinia were childhood friends. After arriving in Sasserine she helps Lavinia sort out the estate.
Another PC, Airen, a half-elven ranger, is an explorer and naturalist who was studying the natural history of the coastal islands in the Lhazaar Sea (Eberron setting). The ship and crew she hired for her travels were actually smugglers and they sailed away with her collection of exotic animals to sell in Sasserine, leaving her stranded on an island. She was rescued a short while later by a passing merchant ship, and she has just arrived in Sasserine with nothing but a few plant-presses she had with her when the crew abandoned her. Since her expedition was funded by the Wayfinder Foundation, she is desperate to discover something of importance to justify the trip, or her reputation may be ruined and she may never receive funding again. Larissa Vanderboren was a renowned naturalist, and Airen visits the Vanderboren estate hoping that Larissa will help identify her exotic plant species. Upon arrival Lavinia informs Airen that her parents died recently, but that she is welcome to use the books in her mother's library to identify her collection.
Later that day, Lavinia arranges for the repayment of a debt owed her family by the Meravanchi's. She is supposed to meet Avner Meravanchi and a tavern/gambling house called Olladra's Den. She asks Airen and Gerri to accompany her, as she isn't comfortable walking the streets at night with a large sum of money.
A third PC, a Kalashtar monk, who fights in the Sasserine arena by day, works evenings as security at Olladra's Den, escorting cheaters and trouble-makers from the establishment. A fourth, a half-orc bard named Angus the Dirge, plays there. After the women arrive, Avner gives Lavinia the gold his family owes her, in his characteristically boorish and arrogant way. Gerri sizes him up as a ripe mark in need of comeuppance and attempts to fleece him at some games of chance. While this is going on, three Lotus Dragons arrive and proceed to shake down Garret Goldfield. Rowyn wants the Lotus Dragons to have a piece of every gambling joint in town and sent a few goons to Olladra's Den to threaten Garret into compliance. Of course a free-for-all bar brawl breaks out.
Impressed with how the characters handled a rough situation, Lavinia asks them to check out the Blue Nixie for her. It turns out that many of the smugglers on the Nixie are the same ones who stranded Airen, and many of the caged animals on board are the ones she collected so she may be able to recoup her lost research material.
I'm using the pub model from Worldworksgames
http://worldworksgames.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&produ cts_id=18&zenid=8352d0084e06b6059bc9ace79b819aa8
FYI - "Product Not Found"
FYI - "Product Not Found"
Weird. I copied and pasted the URL from the product page. Try worldworksgames.com then select Pubs and Inns from the product catalogue. Its pretty spiffy.
Do a lot of you guys use minis and scenery during play? We do when needed to show placement of monsters, players, objects and stuff but sometimes it can detract from the game and hampers roleplay as people start to focus on the wargame aspects of the map/models in front of them. I'm in two minds whether or not to use them in my DM'ing run although probably will, mainly because I love mini painting and modelling.
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I use them, because it's important, both for me as the DM and for the player's themselves, to visualize their spatial environment. it eliminates the problems we used to have about determining range, line of sight, etc etc etc.
additionally, with 3.5, there are certain weapons and feats and so on that lose a lot of their zing without the precision that the minis enable...reach weapons, attacks of opportunity, tumbling checks, etc etc...it's a lot harder to determine when these come into play if you don't have something drawn out.
plus, as you said, i love the minis and painting. i have warhammer armies, and beyond that, a bunch of figs i bought just for rpgs and the like that really, to me at least, enhance the gaming experience. i have little gold chests that I drop into rooms when there is treasure, and you'd be surprised the difference that seems to make in the attitudes of the players. in the opposite side, i also am getting one of those garganturn black dragon figs. i'm betting that will be a good way to put some proper "dragon fear" in my players when they see their little guys face to face with that guy. i would like to have that gargantuan red, but $70 is a bit much...
anyway, i have one of those chessex mondomats, and a gaming table big enough to hold it, so the minis add a lot to our gaming experience, and it doesn't interrupt when i have to stop and clear off the mat during play.
Do a lot of you guys use minis and scenery during play? We do when needed to show placement of monsters, players, objects and stuff but sometimes it can detract from the game and hampers roleplay as people start to focus on the wargame aspects of the map/models in front of them. I'm in two minds whether or not to use them in my DM'ing run although probably will, mainly because I love mini painting and modelling.
I hear you. You're right, minis can shift the focus to tactical rather than roleplaying, and they can slow down play. For a while I minimized mini use - I also thought that substituting minis you have for whatever the encounter is (okay, this orc is actually the dragon...) destroyed the player's suspension of disbelief and pulled them out of the moment.
However, so many misunderstandings arose where every player had a totally different idea of the situation at hand that I got back into minis - big time. I love painting and modelling too, and with all the beautiful Reaper minis available, combined with lots of useful D&D plastic minis, I've got a great collection and can represent most encounters with their actual miniatures. I've also gotten big into Worldworksgames cardstock models (www.worldworksgames.com) for scenery. They have 3-D pubs, dungeons, caves, castle, even a village, and these really jazz up encounters. You download pdf kits from their website, print them out on cardstock and assemble. Its a bit more work than some people would want to go to, but I really enjoy cardstock modelling almost as much as mini painting.
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right on...the cardstock stuff is cool...the floor tilesets from WotC and Steve Jackson are cool...their "Cardboard Heroes" is nice for quick (and cheap!)fill ins as well.
at that point, it actually improves the suspension of disbelief thing, and i find that the extra time is minimal, especially when you keep in mind that it eliminates all those "can i still see the troll?" questions, and people shooting at orcs that are already dead, and so on.
like you said, reaper has a lot of great figs cheap, and in fact those figs sometimes really get my creative juices going. i bought one of those great reaper wereshark figs, and you can guarantee he'll find his way into my savage tide campaign at least a few times. :)
i started with a preliminary adventure as well. the characters were in the vicinity of an alleyway and heard screams of a damsel in distress. they went to investigate and found 4 lotus dragons trying to abduct a young girl about livinia's age. well, doing the right thing (one of my PCs is a paladin), they charged into the alley, fought off the bad guys and rescued the girl.
turns out she was kidnapped a few days prior for a ransom to be paid by her father, a wealthy noble and former business partner of the Vanderborens. She had affected her escape but they caught her and were trying to get her back when the PCs intervened. they took her back to her father, were paid 50 gp each for thier trouble, and sent on thier way.
that night they got a message from lavinia telling them about being potential hires based on that one event.
like you said, reaper has a lot of great figs cheap, and in fact those figs sometimes really get my creative juices going. i bought one of those great reaper wereshark figs, and you can guarantee he'll find his way into my savage tide campaign at least a few times. :)
Yeah, that wereshark mini is awesome. Reaper also has a really nice Demogorgon (not what they call it, but obviously what it is), and I'll definitely be picking this up for later in the campaign.
Yeah, that wereshark mini is awesome. Reaper also has a really nice Demogorgon (not what they call it, but obviously what it is), and I'll definitely be picking this up for later in the campaign.
I just won an auction for the Demogorgon D&D mini on eBay for 10 bucks... can't wait to use it!
I just won an auction for the Demogorgon D&D mini on eBay for 10 bucks... can't wait to use it!
Excellent, congratulations! I just picked up Reaper's Demogorgon this afternoon. Of course now I'll have to paint it. At least I'll have enough time to get it done before the players face him.
Cardboard minis work well if you back them with a vinyl floor tile. They’re self adhesive, less than $0.50 a square foot, and you get a pile of rugged minis. You can buy individual tiles at hardware stores.
I wanted my group to be motivated to stop the savage tide from spreading. Specifically, I wanted them to feel like the shadow pearls were somehow their fault. One party member lived in Shadowshore, and he was contacted by a gray market trader of oddities. Said he learned of a hidden chamber on Dead Man’s Roost, a rocky island 30 miles from town. Dead Man’s Roost was covered in ruins that were thought to have been picked clean years ago. Anyway, the trader gave them directions to the entrance of the chamber, key words to locate and open the exterior door, wax for the party’s ears (because the wail of the chamber guardians will kill you or drive you mad), and vials of acid to pour on the protective glyphs on the inner door (without looking at them, or you’ll get fried). Under the inner door was supposed to be a shaft to a small library, and the party was to bring back a book and keep whatever else they found.
They went to the island, plugged their ears, opened the outer door, backed up to the inner door, poured acid on the glyphs, opened the inner door (shaped like a man-hole cover), and out streamed a cloud of tiny black skulls and an awful smell. They all failed their fort saves, became nauseated, and now have arcane marks of a demonic symbol on their foreheads. There was no shaft, just a lead lined semi-spherical chamber under the cover, lined with magic glyphs of containment.
At this point, the party got suspicious, took out the wax, and heard a pleasant voice repeating “Danger! Do not enter. This is a containment area.” They looked at the back of the lid, and saw the mirror image of what was (formerly) on the top surface. Once translated, it said “Containment chamber number seven.”
I added tiny black skulls to Harliss Javell’s description of the shadow pearl exploding.
I’m hoping I can tie this together later . . .