The Thirsty Dragon Pub

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Rasmus

Here is an in-game location I made up prior to starting the current adventure, Orcs of Stonefang Pass. I needed a place where the road could split off onto an old, forgotten pass, and doulbe as a place where the heroes could get the quests for the adventure ahead. They were already on the road, heading into the mountains, so this was my solution.

The Thirsty Dragon Pub is an inn in the middle of nowhere. A place for traveling merchants, pioneers and other restless souls to find a bed and a moment of comfort. And some of the best and most exquisite drinks gold pieces can buy. Alongside the inn itself is a combined guard house and jail, also known as the barracks and outside, you’ll find the wagons and tents of passers through without the luck or means necessary to secure a room. Continue reading →

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The Overflow Campaign

Posted on October 16, 2010 by Rasmus

Above is a 5×5 video from my Monday night game. I also call it the “overflow campaign”. My regular group, gaming every two weeks, just isn’t enough to satisfy my D&D cravings, so I got inspired by D&D Encounters to set up a short once-a-week session. We play for just a couple of hours, but because it’s a smaller group the action is also a lot faster. The day we shot the video above, we got through two encounters in two hours – it’s fast, fun and totally satisfies my itch to play.

Currently, we’re playing through the adventure in the Red Box. I make sure to adjust the encounters to match the lower number of characters. It’s all about minimal prep, trying ideas and new material (such as the Essential line). It’s a completely different experience than the regular game, which only makes me appreciate that there are different ways to play. Part of it is playing in public, which just adds a different vibe to the game. You can’t play in coffee shops if you’re shy because people will stare. I don’t mind it though; I’m no closet geek.

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Campfire Stories

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Rasmus

As mentioned in an earlier post, I give my players homework and reward them with experience points. This is partly to speed up leveling a little, partly to have more roleplay and less fighting without slowing down the game.

A while back, I gave them a simple form to fill out about their character. I asked them to describe the first impression they believe they leave on others. I gave them some multiple choice options for opinions on Morals, Religion and Wilderness vs. Civilization, and finally asked for a few keywords relating to their fears and leisure activities. It sounds like a lot (and it is), but the form only took a few minutes to fill out. Continue reading →

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Going to Stonefang Pass

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Rasmus

I’m trying something different in the campaign: adding a published adventure to the mix. It wasn’t really planned, I just happened to be browsing the D&D shelf and spotted “Orcs of Stonefang Pass” on the shelf. It claimed to be an adventure for 5th level characters, which happened to be where the party was.

There are minor spoilers in the following material. Nothing my players don’t already know (we’re a couple of encounters in so far), but if you’ve never played Orcs of Stonefang Pass and would like to some day, you should stop reading now. Continue reading →

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Campaign Recap 1 (levels 1-5)

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Rasmus

Getting Ready for Confrontation
It’s time I post the first campaign recap, so both players, myself and readers who aren’t playing can keep up. Obviously, a lot of detail is lost when you compress many hours of gaming like this, but you should still get a good idea of what’s going on.

The campaign began when the heroes went to Mirrorwood and discovered a potentially dangerous organization called The Divine Order (TDO). Religious fanatics blaming studies of the Arcane for everything that is bad in the world, and therefore seek to eradicate it. Reporting on what they had found, the heroes were recruited by Queen Amaphina II of Arathor to find out more about TDO. Continue reading →

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Adventure Setting: Guyarde

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Rasmus

I have already introduced the town of Guyarde, but because I had way more info in my notes, I put together a downloadable feature. Hopefully, there will be something of use for other DMs as well.

In short, Guyarde is a small coastal town with a nearby copper mine and good cotton. Until recently, Guyarde was ruled by its founding family – the Guyarde clan. During the recent battle of Espoir, both the ruling prince and his only son were killed, leaving the town without a lord. There’s nearby orcs with a gripe of their own, there are squabbling merchants, ambitious criminals and lots of quest hooks to go with it all.

The setting is available for free as a 9-page pdf file. Feel free to use it in your own game, as you see fit. If you do, I would love to hear about it.

Download: D&D Location – Guyarde (pdf)

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