So I’ve decided to start posting about the STAP I’m running for a group of co-worker friends that insisted I start a campaign for them. Having read the first three issues and liking what I saw, I decided to just start it off and see how it goes. There are 4 players in the game, all of them with less than 1 year combined total d&d experience, so I figured I would take it easy on them for the first few levels and start them off slow.
The PCs are the following:
Nayro—grey elf wizard, specializing in illusion spells, recently released from a gnome illusionist in Sasserine
Garvin Thresk—Elven rogue, who grew up in Sasserine living on the streets after his parents died.
Druss Huskarlsson, champion of the Fenris tribe, an outcast from Vostland, who came to Sassering to regain his lost honor in the arena of the city. Fighter
Rel Astaar, Wood Elf druid, who came to the city to find his missing father who was last seen in this area.
The party started as a simple pick up game one night, showing the players how to make up characters, roll dice, make skill checks, and general basic rules. The game started with no one knowing each other, or having met. Druss was coming out of the Tinted Tankard Tavern when he heard a scream from a nearby alley. Opposite the inn stood an apothecary/herbalist shop where Nayro bought supplies. As he was leaving that area, he heard the same scream. Garvin, behind the tavern, relieved himself and heard the scream, as well as guttural shouts from a half orc. “Get in the bag, ya saucy harlot!”
Druss, ever a lover of violence, drew his greataxe and charged into the alleyway. Three men, and one half orc, were stuffing someone into a bag, and punching that someone to make her stop screaming. This angered Druss, and he charged one, slashing high in order to take his head off. He was successful.
Nayro came into the alley, cast a color spray and knocked one man unconscious, while Garvin shot another man with an arrow at close range and knocked him out of the fray. The only one left was the half orc. He fought with Druss for a moment, but at the end of it, the barbarian slashed open his gullet and took him down. The half or pleaded for mercy, surrendering, all the while reaching behind his back for a dagger. Garvin saw this, and placed an arrow in the half orc’s temple before he could draw the weapon.
Nayro asked, “Why did you do that?” to Garvin, to which the rogue responded, “look.” And revealed the hand still clutched on the dagger.
Then, they opened up the bag, and revealed a young girl, perhaps in her late teens, with blonde hair, a ravishing beauty and grace, wearing a wealthy noblewomans gown that left little to the imagination but covered all the delicate spots on a woman. She introduced herself as Marguritte, the daughter of a wealthy noble in Sasserine. She would take the party back to her father’s estate for a reward. The thieves were from a group called the Lotus Dragons, and there were rumours of a grand conspiracy that may be coming soon. Her father, Danton Monforque, held stock in various shipping concerns and perhaps they would have held her for ransom, “and something else.” She shuddered at the thought.
That night, they received a reward of 50 gp and a free stay and meal at the monforque house. They also met with a ravishing beauty, Lavinia Vanderboren, who joined the Monforques at dinner. After hearing of their tale, she was impressed, and hired them to do a job, locate the blue nixie, and bring back a signet ring left on the boat. To this they agreed.
Continued later.
So I’ve decided to start posting about the STAP I’m running for a group of co-worker friends that insisted I start a campaign for them. Having read the first three issues and liking what I saw, I decided to just start it off and see how it goes. There are 4 players in the game, all of them with less than 1 year combined total d&d experience, so I figured I would take it easy on them for the first few levels and start them off slow.
The PCs are the following:
Nayro—grey elf wizard, specializing in illusion spells, recently released from a gnome illusionist in SasserineGarvin Thresk—Elven rogue, who grew up in Sasserine living on the streets after his parents died.
Druss Huskarlsson, champion of the Fenris tribe, an outcast from Vostland, who came to Sassering to regain his lost honor in the arena of the city. Fighter
Rel Astaar, Wood Elf druid, who came to the city to find his missing father who was last seen in this area.
The party started as a simple pick up game one night, showing the players how to make up characters, roll dice, make skill checks, and general basic rules. The game started with no one knowing each other, or having met. Druss was coming out of the Tinted Tankard Tavern when he heard a scream from a nearby alley. Opposite the inn stood an apothecary/herbalist shop where Nayro bought supplies. As he was leaving that area, he heard the same scream. Garvin, behind the tavern, relieved himself and heard the scream, as well as guttural shouts from a half orc. “Get in the bag, ya saucy harlot!”
Druss, ever a lover of violence, drew his greataxe and charged into the alleyway. Three men, and one half orc, were stuffing someone into a bag, and punching that someone to make her stop screaming. This angered Druss, and he charged one, slashing high in order to take his head off. He was successful.
Nayro came into the alley, cast a color spray and knocked one man unconscious, while Garvin shot another man with an arrow at close range and knocked him out of the fray. The only one left was...
hahahahaha. oh jp....
knights of the dinner table eh?
okay, so it's been a while so here's an update.
so the PCs have been through a lot since we've been playing and here's a synopsis of what they've been through.
TINH-- fought through the parrot island caves, then went to see the taxidermist. he negotiated for them to release him and was promptly killed by an arrow through the chest as he tried to leave. the party fought some thugs, went down into the lotus dragon hideout, and then killed a bunch more thieves there. found rowyn kilani and negotiated with her, before the whole thing got messed up and broke out into a fight.
Double critical on her pet, arrow through the eye by the druid and the resulting damage pretty much meant the arrow exploded bits of lizard brain matter all over the room. (i do a version of critical hits with mulitple 20s. the druid player, Robbie, rolled a nat 20 to hit, then a nat 20 to critical, then rolled another nat 20 to do 4x damage. then he rolled 2 away from max damage. this guy is hot on the dice.)
that was the end of that adventure. Rowyn got away.
Bullywug Gambit
All i can say, is savage monkeys RAWK! the PCs went out to kraken's cove, fought some monkeys on the way, and picked up a freind, named Robert Franco, or Bob as they call him. Hes a grizzled old navy man with a game leg and a penchant for pretty women and bottles of rum. Bob is now thier captain, as he fights with the strength of a lion. he's a twin cutlas wielding madman in combat.
so the party fights through the caves with the savage pirates and meets up with the pirate captain Jarviss harvel (sp?) they negotiate with her, she tells them about the assault on vanderboren mansion and then they head off to go rescue lavinia.
When they get to sasserine, they meet all kinds of unusual characters during the Wyrmfall festival. (i never ran the age of worms, and i'm using the mythology of my world. thus the name change. this is an anual festival in my lands that happens on the year the the first king of Drakkengard, Angus the Dragon King, died fighting Tiamat and her consorts at the battle of Firestorm Peak over 100 years ago.)
So the PCs meet up with a beligerent gnome and Druss gets in a fight with him. at first he feels pity on the little guy and tells him to go away. the gnome just keeps pushing, calling Druss a hairy ape, questioning his masculinity, and finally tries to bite Druss' leg. well that's when he just had it, drew his great axe and was about to start swinging when the rest of the party grappled him and dragged him away. Then a half orc came out, get into the middle of things and dragged his gnome freind away.
"Was that guy a boss or something?" Will (the player of Druss) asked me. "he had some cajones for a 0 level gnome."
The party also fought the stilt walker assassins and dispatched them with relative ease. then on to the vanderboren mansion.
They went directly to the bedroom, got in a fight with a bunch of guards, and finally with the big bullywug cleric who proved a bit more difficult than most normal pirates. they rescued lavinia, the jade ravens, and killed all of the rest of the pirates and bullywugs that were there.
This whole adventure further solidified thier hatred of vanthus.
SWW-
So the party then goes to the arena and has a fight with a bunch of different goons, monsters, and such. everyone thinks Druss is a great warrior and he's been wanting to get back to the arena so he goes in. everyone bets on him. the first few matches go alright, with a wyvern and some other beasties. Then, druss goes up against one of the arena champions that has been undefeated.
An ogre spiked chain fighter. well.....
this one didn't go so well for Druss. he got pummeled for massive damage every time he tried to get inside the ogre's reach. finally, he looks on his character sheet and says, "oh yeah, i have a spear. i'll throw that at him." for the record, this is the one and only time druss has ever used his spear.
so, he throws the spear.
nat 20.
confirmed.
the spear goes through the ogre's neck, and as he's flailing around, Druss goes up to him and starts hacking away. the ogre is still up, he tries deperately to get reach, but Druss never lets up and keeps on him. moving and hacking, and never lets up until the ogre finally falls.
they made a bunch of money that night.
After the arena, they went back to lavinia's mansion and she told them about going to the isle of dread. they decided to join in. she asked them if they had another boat and they told her about coming back in the Wyvern. after a couple of weeks of downtime, they loaded up the boats for a 3 month tour...
During the two week downtime, the party rogue met Mr. Merivanchi, who was buying last minute items for a grand going away feast. the rouge was out looking for a mark, found one and promptly did a pick pocket roll (nat 20) then fled into the crowd. Avner never knew what hit him. an easy mark...
So, imagine the hilarity that ensued when they finally found out the guest list and who they were going to be travelling with.
i think some have already read what the rogue did to merivanchi so there's no need to go into details. just suffice it to say he has made it a point to make Avner's life a living hell.
So they set off, have a few adventures along the coastline, the cleric of heironeous had a bug in his stomach they had to fight, then crew memebers kept falling overboard for some mysterious reason. riggin lines were being cut, there were no suspects. food poisoned in the night, and all other misfortunes hounded the PCs for about 3 weeks until they found the stowaway. rowyn kilani.
after a quick battle, which left Druss in the water hanging on for dear life, they killed her finally.
At the lsot ruins of tomoachan they went into the caves, fought the displacer beast, then the gibbering mouther, and then the will-o-wisp creature. they negotiated with it to kill whatever monster was in there, (i don't want to give anything away, because this is a plot point others may not know about.) suffice it to say they found a bat idol that seemed out of place there. but they took it anyway and left.
then, they went back to the ship, continued on thier voyage and had more fights with pirates druing the trip. there was a storm of epic proportions that got them to the island in ruins. they lost thier precious gold and other treasures, washed up on shore, and then were promptly attacked by a gigantic lizard creature. again, don't want to give away spoilers here.