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Reign of the High Queen
All hail Queen Fionna "Brighthelm"! Of the house of Lanternis. Daughter of Arahan, the first High King of the Irios. Who conquered and united the disparate petty kingdoms of the eastern Isle of Irios. Who felled beasts and tyrants in order to bring honour and chivalry to our lands. Who wed the fair fey princess Erinia, from whom beget our Queen Fiona. Whom he brought back to the mortal world. It was she who took up her father's banner and blade when he fell facing a barbarian horde, and scattered them in his name.
Now the Young Queen gathers Knights and heroes to her court. To bear the flame of her reign to all the shadowed corners of Irios.
On the return of the Fey
Tir Na n'Og: "The Land of the Young". From where all magic is born, now come the noble Elf Lords, the capricious Forest Elves, the lighthearted Haflings and Gnomes, and the dignified Dwarves. Some were banished from the land of dreams centuries ago, others chose to leave, and make their way with us in the mortal realm. Either way, their customs and magical traditions are becoming more and more a part of our world.
On the Ancient World
Millennia ago, when some say only the eldest dragon can all to memory. Irios was just a far flung colony of a vast empire. An empire of men who walked like Titans, and omniscient spellbinders who bent the world to their commands. Their nation spanned myriad lands and peoples. But in the end legends say, they reached past their ambitions and brought their empire to ruin. Other legends also say that the various tribes of the Irios were refuges from this powerful shattered empire. Led by their noble clans to claim this verdant isle for their descendants. You can still see some of their grand structures in our own cities. Along with the countless ruins that travelers discover throughout our fair island.
Numerous kingdoms have arisen since our ancestors arrived, led by Noble chieftains and tyrants alike, you can also tell by their history by the monuments they left behind, along with the legends and stories of their great deeds. But it wasn't until Arahan and his child Fionna, that Irios was united under one noble cause.
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OK, so that was the intro to my campaign. Basically what I'm doing is adapting Sword & Sorcery's "Excalibur" setting to my campaign.
Before I elaborate I should state that I'm basically a newbie DM. Hell, I haven't really played D&D since the late 90's (but I always made sure to get my Dragon & Dungeons subscriptions, just so I could get my fix:) I played an odd game of M&M with my friends sometimes. But real life and an overseas job got in the way of any long term gaming. That and my last group were hardcore 2nd edition fanatics.
Then Connecticon & Gencon wetted my appetite for more. A few friends responded to my enthusiasm... and then roped me into being the DM. That's ok, thanks to years of Dungeon magazine and Paizo fandom I think I've got some idea of what I am doing. The kicker was that Map of Mystery I found in issue #84. (although I admit I mostly bought it for the hot drow chick on the cover) This became Irios, the English/Irish/Norse styled setting for my campaign.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v227/Tikon2000/High%20Queen%20Campaign/?a ction=view¤t=IriosPlayerCopy.jpg
Mostly I am adapting published adventures, from Dungeon Magazine, Pendragon, and the stories of Jirel of Joiry ("Black Go's Kiss" I hope to use her descriptions of the magical realms for parts of Tir Nan N'og).
I began with "A Dark and Stormy Knight", which I found on the official D&D site. Getting my players to meet each other while seeking shelter from a fierce storm inside a nice safe dungeon. But "Hollow's Last Hope" is where things really start to swing. I read the blurb on this site and just had to have it. The plague scenario seemed more interesting that just "kill the monsters!" After this I hope to continue using "Borrow of the Forgotten King" (I know I could use "Crown of the Kobold King" but that one seemed more in sync with my campaign. Ancient Kings, legacy weapons, etc.) Although the tactical layout is rather annoying. After that I'm hoping to have a more social scenario by having the PC's participate in a tournament, where they'll finally meet the High Queen. I plan on her being the primary quest giver after that. Sort of like Lavinia in Savage Tide. (Should I use her stats? I'm sort of interested in running a Savage Tide campaign after this one though)Anyone have any suggestions, Dungeon articles, adventures for running a tournament?
Dungeon #133 has an adventure I'm really looking forward to, The Viking Funeral. I plan on it being part of a diplomatic mission the PC's get sent on. After that I hope to use "Red Hand of Doom" written by James Jacobs. Helping a remote part of the Wild Kingdoms repel a monstrous horde would be an awesome cap to the campaign. But if I want to go further than that I hope to send them into the wastes of the Ancient's Empire as well. I was going to use Xen'drik, but I think Paizo's updating of the Darksun setting would be more interesting. Using Dungeon Issue #122 "Root of Evil" would be a better bang to end my campaign with, with a Mad Druid Witch trying to destroy the capital. Although I'd level it down to 14th-15th level. It's been mentioned before that anything above that does get complicated to keep track off. (I could also use that "Ring of Storms" Xen'drik adventure from that issue as well).
I realize that alot of this seems like railroading. I would appreciate any suggestions people might have. In case players change directions, or how to better incorporate them into the plot. Are there any other chivalry based adventures from Dungeon I could use? Feel free to critize and comment. Like I said I'm a relative newbie and could use the criticism.
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Game 1: The Bard Jimmy Shakes and the Ranger Walter Albright met while both traveling the Titan Road. They formed a fast friendship while defeating goblinoid robbers assaulting a merchant.
Game 2: A fierce storm breaks out, running from hail & thunder the party seeks shelter inside a tor topped by a broken watchtower. There they met Talen, a rouge halfling from Valishire. After resting they decided to explore the tor and found it to be full of rats, hobgoblins, and hobgoblin zombies.
Game 3: While recovering from their battle with the undead hobgolin king. Talen and Walter managed to persuade the much maligned merchant to lend a healing hand to Jimmy. After resting the night our travelers were joined by a brother/sister team of noble warriors: Rommulus & Britney. Who then confronted the rest of the tor's denizens together. A monstrous spider's nest and sarcophougus dwellling vargoile. Just as things started to die down, a new player joined the group (Das'Tard the gnome sorceror).... followed by 3 angry hobgoblins. Whose lair the party happened to be in :) Which touched off one fierce battle, handilly won by our heros.
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One of my players was kind enough to write a couple of stanzas, inspired by our latest adventure :)
"The Journey Continues" by Jimmy Shakes, bard, poet, singer extraordinaire, and author of "The Girl From Binyer Blade"
--> -->
We all survived the dungeon, and we found the town with ease,
but townsfolk hacked and caughed and choked on some unknown disease,
so we were hired by an alchemist to track some items down,
so she could mix some magic up and save her dying town.
We were given healing potions and a promise of some gold
in exchange for us obtaining some very precious eldermold,
which grows on the side of a barkish hide of the forest's eldest tree,
and so we set off on adventure, brave heroes that we be.
Yes we're off on an adventure, brave heroes are all we.
We came upon a wyvern flying high up in the air,
and though it did not threaten us, it gave us quite a scare.
Then Britney found some glowmoss, not the eldermoss we sought,
but she put it in her pack, for heaven's sake, why nought?
That night as we lay slumbering in a snooze restful and deep,
a lizard-zombie-skeleton-dog man attacked us in our sleep.
But bold, brave Britney fought it off, and wasn't even vexed
when her oblivious companions did not know 'til morning next.
Then we rescued a fox from a fiendish trap that was really meant for bears,
but it was all an ambush, catching our poor heroes unawares.
Arrows flew from foliage from assailtants cruel, unseen,
and crows attacked from up above, dangerous and mean.
We killed the crows and Rom stood firm under the arrow fire
as Britney Spears and Jimmy Shakes decided to conspire.
The unseen archers fired away, but their plans were quickly grounded
as Britney, Shakes, and Romulus soon had them both surrounded.
The fight was fierce, the monsters mean, but one goblin soon lay dead,
as Romulus swung his mighty sword and cut off the monster's head.
The other saw his comrade die and ran off with no delay,
with Walter running close behind, to chase the cad away,
and that's the last we've seen of Walter, since our comrade ran away.
We miss our Walter Albright, last seen chasing it away.
Oh where is Walter, where have you gone, are you chasing goblins still?
Or were you bested, lost in the woods, or strung up on a hill?
Yes, we're brave and carry on, but next time, Walter – chill!
We found the tree
that could only be
the oldest of them all,
for there it stood,
all made of wood,
majestic, strong, and tall.
Before we could collect our prize
(the precious eldermoss)
before our very startled eyes,
we almost had a loss.
A giant, poison-breathing snake wrapped Britney in its coils!
Just the type of fiendish foe a hero often foils!
The fight was messy, and few blows fell,
as the snake squeezed poor Britney,
did we fight the snake to save our friend, or from pure jealousy?
We killed the snake, and got our moss, and then our quest did switch
to find Ugly Uliz Mila, the wicked woodland witch.
For only she knows where will be
the rat's tail roots are found,
needed by the alchemist who hired us back in town.
Oh Uliz Mila, we all do beg, shower mercy on each one,
for though the eldermoss is ours, the journey's just begun.
I remember that map! How did you create the player copy? (it's quite spiffy!)
Lots of customifications ahead of you - sounds like an interesting campaign though, to be sure. :)
Barrow of the Forgotten King, should you take a bit of time in advance as 'twould seem is going to be the case, does have two sequels published for it as well, although it most certainly stands alone on its own 'as is'. If you have all 3 modules, however, you could certainly have the other 3 legacy items in thier as well, awarded by thier former owners along with Merthuvial itself.
Please, keep us all current on your campaign's events!
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Well basically I just scanned the map, then wrote in my own info. Mostly making it up as I go. What's a good name for that lake high up in the mountains? Something along the lines of the hidden kingdom.
Yeah alot of customization. Mostly I'm just cherry picking items while I'm playing the adventures. I'm using "Barrow of the Forgotten King" by itself. then winging it till that Viking Funeral "Dungeon adventure, after that I'll be using the "Red Hand of Doom". Though "Pathfinder #3" sounds interesting.
Sorry it's taken me awhile to reply. We usually play on Sundays when we can. Anyways, I am looking forward to tomorrow's game, but I wonder if I'm doing it right. Someone wrote this on their use of the Tatzlwyrm:
"That tatzlwyrm is devastating enough, but more so with its mammoth Hide check, pounce, and constantly rolling 16-19s on attack rolls, and doing 8-9 dmg with bites. BTW, is that poisonous breath damage supposed to be equal to his Con modifier? Can you imagine a templated/advanced/elite one of these buggers?"
But when I ran that encounter it didn't seem all that challenging. I fear I am missing out on the right way to use the rules. I just bought the Rules Compendium, but still had a tough time figuring out grapple. How does Con damage immediately affect them? Other than reducing fortitude saves. How about HP? I managed to get one player in it's coils for awhile, she was it it's coils for half the encounter. Another dispatched it when the Tatzlwyrm fumbled. I ruled that it shot past his character, allowing him to turn around and score a critical. But I was surprised at how well they handled the ambush against the hobgoblins (I added another one to the encounter) They got real tactical, having the tank advance with his shield up while the archer fired from behind him. Then the other 2 players pincered them from both sides. I also had the same grapple woes with the cauldron in Uzmilla's hut. I had 2 players in and out of it's gullet during the encounter, Which was comical. I did notice that it was taking a lot of time. Most of it was due to the player's trying alternative tactics like; "I put the Rat's Tail back! Maybe it will stop attacking?" or "I'll grab it to see if I can immobilize it!". I told them that they were probably over thinking things and should just hit it till it dropped. Then I realized that they were forgetting to add all their to hit and damage modifiers to their attack rolls! (Well, we are mostly a bunch of newbies)A friend of mine who knows the rules real well said not to worry about it, and fudge the rules if it seems appropriate. Just make sure the game is fun. My players seem to be enjoying themselves so far.
After that I had them do a role playing encounter with a forest elf ranger, I had her lead the PC's through the fringes of her territory to the Dwarven Monestary. That and I dropped hints of goblin raiding parties running about. I described the forest elves lands as sort of a fey demi-plane.
I am happy I received a few tidbits from Paizo today. The new "Pathfiner" of course, and "Tales of Chivalry and Romance" from Pendragon games. I plan on having more chivalrous adventures once the PC's get out of the "Barrow of the Forgotten King". While using the Honor & Glory rules from that and the "Excalibur" setting.
So that's basically it, I have plenty of ideas, but a little hazy on the mechanics. Thanks for listening to my rants guys :)
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Mu ha ha ha!
As you can tell from my mood I've had a good run so far. I've gotten my players good, and they loved it :)
Anyways, since my last post I've had them run through the Dwarven monastery. Coming at it late at night. The agile Kobold was fun to throw at them, although I think the Darkmantles should have been more effective. (I know I probably wasn't playing their strengths right) The main event of course was the fight with the Big Bad Wolf. Now I was set for an epic battle when the bard player (Now at 2nd level) decides to use Hypnotism, convince the wolf they're friendly, grab the Ironbloom mushrooms, and get the hell outta there. Now I was kinda stunned when this happened. Not because I was taken off guard, I could have questioned if the spell was that effective, and if he could get away with it. But I decided that it was an ingenious idea. That and I rolled badly for Graypelt's Will save. (We all roll badly most of the time, especially the bard player, which is partly why I let him get away with his good idea.)
The kicker is that the bard player wanted to get more use out of Graypelt. Now throughout the adventure I've added a subplot involving Goblinoid raiding parties running around (ala Burnt Offerings and as foreshadowing for Red Hand of Doom). When they ran into the Forest Elf Ranger, he wanted to arrange an alliance with them, the (missing) Dwarves, and Falcon's Hollow. Here's the letter he wrote me;
" my "Peace on Earth" alliance plan
Here's the thing with the "message" spell, which I copied down from
the player's book: "You can whisper messages and receive whispered
replies with little chance of being overheard. When you whisper, the
whispered message is audible to all targeted creatures within range.
Magical silence, 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal (or a thin
sheet of lead), or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks the spell." Now all
of that would seem to imply that the superwolf is too far away for the
spell to work, but note: "The message does not have to travel in a
straight line. It can circumvent a barrier if there is an open path
between you and the subject, and the path's entire length lies within
the spell's range." That's what's so cool about the spell; with all
those doors that were knocked down in the dungeon, there is no barrier
that is completely blocking the spell's path, and as the spell
description notes, "the path's entire length lies within the spell's
range." And to answer your other question, "The creatures that
receive the message can whisper a reply that you hear. The spell
transmits sound, not meaning. It doesn't transcend language barriers."
But that last bit shouldn't be a problem, because I'm still wearing
the translator ring.
So here is my multi-step proposal:
1. Spread the word that the wolf let us take the mushrooms. I would
use all my bardic skills to play up the idea that the wolf was
generous and helpful. (There will, of course, be no mention of
hypnosis.)
2. Send a magical message of the type described to the wolf, telling
him that the town is in his debt, and explaining to him the threat of
the goblins and kobolds who've been killing both animals and people
left and right in his part of the woods. I will remind him of all the
dungeon creatures we killed, as per his request, but I will also
strongly imply (while trying to avoid outright lying) that while we
did most of the dungeon exterminating, it was the goblins who killed
the other two wolves (just in case they were on "his side"). This bit
of misleading information is actually quite plausible, since we have a
ranger in our party, and rangers are known for their love of wildlife.
3. Propose, both to the town and to the wolf, a major alliance
against the goblins and kobolds. I will tell them that an elf
representative has already agreed to this alliance ahead of time,
which is true -- but I will also admit that I don't know how much
political power that elf has (since I don't want to be accused of
lying if the elves don't follow through). I will also point out, both
to the townsfolk and the wolf, that dwarves and pixies may also join
this alliance once they find out that their monks and fellow pixies
have been slaughtered. I will attempt to use my bardic skills to make
this dwarf/elf/human/pixie/wolf alliance sound grand but NOT
impossibly ambitious. The point to make over and over again is "A
Dangerous, Common Enemy."
4. This may come in handy in the future whenever an NPC or a PC
encounters against goblins or kobolds. But the other part of the plan
is that our party is on our way to pay tribute to the Queen, so it
would really put us in her favor if we had the formation of this
alliance to point to as proof of our dedication and worth to the
queendom.
Now, I know all of this seems wildly ambitious, but I don't think it's
really an example of me abusing the message spell; I've had it all
this time, and I haven't overused it by any means. I've just been
waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it to our best advantage.
However, if you still think I'm trying to get away with too much with
the message spell, I can always hire a messenger and maybe one or two
bodyguards to protect him (maybe with help from the alchemist or some
of the other grateful townspeople, if the cost is prohibitive.) I'd
really like to use the message spell, though. It would be just
cooler. Also, I think this is the first real chance to play with the
fact that my character is a bard. So far, my identity as a bard has
been limited to which spells he can use, and jokes about songs he
sings at various odd occasions. But this is a great opportunity to
really explore the true power of being a bard: the story-telling, the
emotion-stirring. Plus, it plays into the story, since the townsfolk
already consider us heroes, and we have already made semi-alliances
with the elf (who is, after all, attracted to my character) and the
wolf. True, those alliances were shaky and temporary, but they're
something to build on. I think this is a great way to expand the
potential of the overall story beyond what the original campaign
writers had in mind, and the best part is, most of the work actually
happens behind the scenes, so it doesn't distract us too much from
whatever you and the campaign have planned for us. It just adds
another dimension that enriches the political realities of the land.
The more I think about this idea, the more I love it! You should love
it too. Love the idea. Love it! Start loving it now, dammit!! I
said LOVE!!!!"
The best part of course, is that he has no idea that at this point I'd decided that Graypelt was in fact the leader of the goblins :)
After coming back with the cure's ingredients, they were well on their way to Herodom. Having just watched Beowulf I had them gather in the town's Meadhall, and propose this plan to the town's lord. Who flamboyantly agreed, and decided that he should go with them. Then he messaged Graypelt, convincing him (As far as he knew) to join them. Then I suggested they travel to the elves enclave. I had them meet the Ranger while they were camped for the night Tried to scare them with perception checks, before seeing it was her, and playing up that the lord, (Who was on watch) was hitting on her (Competition!) Then I had more roleplaying encounters inside the Elven village, convincing them to agree. Contacting Graypelt again, he suggested they meet at a menhir in a clearing close to the monastery. Arriving there I had Greypelt stand magnificently atop the rock, and ask why he should join their alliance. The Bard went into his spiel. Then I had Graypelt ask a few questions:
GP: "So you propose we eradicate these malicious vermin together?"
B: "Yes."
GP: "Like the ones that killed my consorts?"
B: Looking nervous. "Uh yeah, exactly."
GP: "Interesting, Ruklo come up here!" Followed by the sounds of padded feet, a wolf walks up, with a goblin warrior riding atop it. "Did you murder my wives?"
RK: "No BOSS, why would I do that?"
(The look on all my player's faces at this point was so worth it:)
GP:"By the way human, what language were we speaking when we first met?" (Goblin of course, which he totally didn't pick up on, that and the Paladin didn't bother to Detect Evil)
And this is the point where I threw 8 goblins, 4 wolf riders, and a Bugbear at them.
Awesome "D'oh!!!" moment there at the end, good going!
Although having also seen the theatrical release of Beowulf, I admit to the temptation of having a major antagonist boot in the door in the middle of the night and butcher them all hideously was a tempting suggestion. (Especially for 2nd level characters...)
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Ooooh! ... but no, they've all seen it by now and would be expecting it :P
That and a TPK (or close) while fun, would probably be only appreciated by me.
Although I still think that I should start getting more dangerous to my PC's. That last encounter was fun, but the goblins firing javelins from the hedges, rolled abyssaly on to hit rolls. That and the Bard kept trying to Hyptonize them into "Attack Goblins!". They rolled bad on Will Saves too. (Someone tell me if that's how you're supposed to use that spell, he tries to use that on all our opponents now) Then I had Graypelt and his Bugbear bodyguard charge into the fray. With the Goblin Wolf Riders charging into their flank. Our Paladin and new fighter (played by our Bard's Romanian cousin) took on the wolf riders. While the Paladin's sister (played by the only girl in our group, who's character also happens to be the strongest Fighter in the group, a fact we tease her brother all the time about), The Ranger, The Bard, and the Lord of Falcon's Hollow NPC took on Graypelt & Co. I had the Elven Ranger NPC jump off to the side and fire arrows into the goblin position. The Ranger had a great idea and broke away from the main fight in order to climb up the menhir and start shooting down into the hedges from there. Along with taking some shots into the main melee.
(Music playing in the background: Matrix Reloaded fight music)
The Heroes defeated the trickster wolf and it's allies of course. Although I had regrets about getting rid off what had become an interesting villain. So when they went to search his body all they found was his pelt (wink), which the Paladin now wears. I thought it might be cool to somehow bring him back as undead skinless horror, or escape artist who sheds his skin to disappear.
It occurs to me I should explain the cast of characters in our campaign. I'll do that next posting.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/hypnotism.htm
Ahhh, players... it doesn't matter what a spell or skill actually says, they will make it mean what they want it to mean. Hypnotism can make request seem more reasonable, and I'm not sure "Attack your friends!" is ever going to be a reasonable request; it's not "Charm Person". It makes the creature two steps more friendly. Thus I'm assuming hostile goblins would be become indifferent - there is really no way that the bard can turn them into kamikaze traitor goblins.
Ooooh! ... but no, they've all seen it by now and would be expecting it :P
That and a TPK (or close) while fun, would probably be only appreciated by me.
Although I still think that I should start getting more dangerous to my PC's. That last encounter was fun, but the goblins firing javelins from the hedges, rolled abyssaly on to hit rolls. That and the Bard kept trying to Hyptonize them into "Attack Goblins!". They rolled bad on Will Saves too. (Someone tell me if that's how you're supposed to use that spell, he tries to use that on all our opponents now) Then I had Graypelt and his Bugbear bodyguard charge into the fray. With the Goblin Wolf Riders charging into their flank. Our Paladin and new fighter (played by our Bard's Romanian cousin) took on the wolf riders. While the Paladin's sister (played by the only girl in our group, who's character also happens to be the strongest Fighter in the group, a fact we tease her brother all the time about), The Ranger, The Bard, and the Lord of Falcon's Hollow NPC took on Graypelt & Co. I had the Elven Ranger NPC jump off to the side and fire arrows into the goblin position. The Ranger had a great idea and broke away from the main fight in order to climb up the menhir and start shooting down into the hedges from there. Along with taking some shots into the main melee.
(Music playing in the background: Matrix Reloaded fight music)
The Heroes defeated the trickster wolf and it's allies of course. Although I had regrets about getting rid off what had become an interesting villain. So when they went to search his body all they found was his pelt (wink), which the Paladin now wears. I thought it might be cool to somehow bring him back as undead skinless horror, or escape artist who sheds his skin to disappear.It occurs to me I should explain the cast of characters in our campaign. I'll do that next posting.
A dire wolf skinwalker ... oh yes, he strikes me as too entertaining an antagonist to let die easily ...
" Whaddya mean my fur coat claws half of my face off?! "
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I keep meaning to update. I did say I was going to describe our cast, which I will, But for now I thought I'd show everyone the pics I uploaded of our actual gaming group, their characters (try to guess which loon belongs to what character), and some cool flavor backgrounds.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v227/Tikon2000/High%20Queen%20Campaign/
Every time I try to link a site it just brings it back to this page
You need to put '[url=' and [/url] at the beginning and end respectively to create a link. Don't include the quote marks.
Not a problem! Great illustrations, where are they from on the whole?
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Mostly they're "Excalibur" (from Sword & Sorcery Studios), type stuff I found on the net. That and Elfwood is awesome :)
Anyways here's the cast of characters, at first it began with only 3 people;
Jimmy Shakes: my brother's best friend, who like me was bemoaning the long lack of D&D in his life. He opted to play the charisma using Bard. Yes he can spin quite a tale. As you can tell he likes to try and get away with a lot of stuff. I let him think he is, till the inevitable betrayal :)
Walter Albright: another friend who also needed his fix, although he was only clean for like 3 years. The Ranger was his choice. Him and Walter compete as to who can be the most charismatic, and somehow always fumble their rolls. Said he wanted to play a Ranger, who's secretly fascinated by cities. Also a bit of a goofball.
Rommulus: Paladin supreme and resident hit point monkey. Quickly becoming the resident bad ass, although he should start sticking to the code of conduct more, maybe I should stop throwing grateful damsels in distress at him. Friends with Walter, who brought him into the game at the start.
Britney "Spears": Yup, played by our newest newbie. Had her borrow a copy of "Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress—A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game". And like yeah, like totally fit her :) Seeing less and less of her since she turned 21... don't know why... Anyways she plays our half elf fighter, who kicks even more ass than Rommulus.
That's my core group so far, there have been other players flitting in and out of the campaign:
Talen: Italian class was where I found my Halfling Rouge. I had to name roads and plazas in a fictious Italian town. He noticed that my map came from the D&D website:) Anyways he came for the beginning arc of the campaign, but got a little tired of our little group's newbieness. He also brought in a friend to play who made up a character in like 5 minutes (Gnome illusionist), he only played one day though.
Fenris/Dorm/??? Brought in by Walter as well. You could call him a professional roleplayer. As he regularly plays with the people who run ConnectiCon. Kind of threw me off every game, cause when he didn't have his character, he'd just swap him out for any character of the right level he had in his huge black binder. Also a bit off putting with his proffesional status.
We also had Jimmy's Roommate try a game, as well as a youngling friend of Rommulus try it out.
OK, time to play catch up. Next time I'll detail the group's effort to save the town when they returned from their diplomatic mission. The Paladin's getting drunk and skinnydipping in an elven village (hint: he was drunk in real life at the time), confronting minions of my main enemy, and trying to make it through The Barrow of the Forgotten King without constantly falling into every body of water.