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Some highlights of my two campaigns...

Work Party -
- They had to stop a cult from raising a demon on this island
- They had all kinds of mischief moving around the temple
- They did coax the Kobolds into joining them in a revolt (since they had overheard the Kobold voicing their displeasure with the cultists; the Kobolds wanted to raise their dragon god)
- They did successfully stop the cultist, and when the island sank bank into the ocean, they managed to grab onto the wreckage of the boat
- And after 4 days they were rescued (took some damage, lost their armor)

Anita's Campaign -
- The cleric got a message from an angel to save a dryad in the Jade Forest
- Party found out it's 3 days away - on horse back - two weeks on foot
- They opted not to buy horses
- Had a random encounter with brigands
- Decided to find where the brigand fort was to get money (to pay for horses)
- Killed the brigands
- Leader had a cursed gauntlet, which then became attached to the Cleric when she put it on
- They went back to the Ivory Vale (main seaport city)
- Bought horses, rode to the Jade Forest
- Got there too late;
- Dryad was killed, a unicorn was killed and the fallen angel imprisoned in the tree was released
- - When the dryad was in danger, the Unicorn sensed it
- - Angel broke the unicorn's horn and pierced it's heart
- - Syponed it's soul and created a Nightmare, to which it escaped upon
- The Jade Forest is now decimated with hundreds of faye dead (Sprites, Brownies, Centaurs, etc) and the land is spoiled
- Cleric, and party, learned their lesson that the world does not wait for them.

Whoops - I missed this thread. *blush*

Hmmm... I haven't watched True Blood so I've never heard of Deborah, but I'm not surprised that someone in the creative industries (acting, music etc.) likes D&D.

I always liked playing either rogues or paladins, strangely enough. Two sides of the same coin. Either a class that must be LG (some would say lawful stupid) or a class that CAN'T be LG - NG at best, CE at worst. (Incidentally, it's fun but challenging for me to find ways to play evil characters. I don't like confrontations or intimidating people, so it's a challenge to think "evil").

On the other hand...

"Sir, a group of starving waifs knock at your door to request alms-"

"I pour boiling oil on them! Hey, just playing my alignment..." twisted:
-----------------------------------------
Love the Work Party! But, awww... poor kobolds. All they wanted to do was be left alone to worship their dragon. (A bit of "Shadows of Undrentide", I fancy?)

I liked Anita's campaign. Some highlights...

Uh-oh. Party don't buy horses? OK, throw brigands at them. "Skyrim belongs to the Nords!!!"

Oh, dear... I love it how a random brigand attack suddenly becomes its own story. "Hold on - weren't we supposed to save the dryad?!"

"Shut up! We got bigger problems now!"

Alas, poor dryad. Alas, poor unicorn. Now the cleric has a cursed gauntlet, and the whole forest is haunted. Nice job breaking it, heroes!

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sat Dec 22, 2018 5:19 pm Whoops - I missed this thread. *blush*

Hah! You didn't miss it - I just posted.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sat Dec 22, 2018 5:19 pm Hmmm... I haven't watched True Blood so I've never heard of Deborah, but I'm not surprised that someone in the creative industries (acting, music etc.) likes D&D.

Ironically, two people from True Blood are avid D&D players. Deborah and Joe Manganiello.
As well as Stephen Colbert (talk show host)... which this was pretty cool. You can tell Stephen Colbert is hardcore into it.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sat Dec 22, 2018 5:19 pm I always liked playing either rogues or paladins, strangely enough. Two sides of the same coin. Either a class that must be LG (some would say lawful stupid) or a class that CAN'T be LG - NG at best, CE at worst. (Incidentally, it's fun but challenging for me to find ways to play evil characters. I don't like confrontations or intimidating people, so it's a challenge to think "evil").

So I've never liked the idea that a Paladin HAS to be Lawful Good. When I DM, I treat Paladins as "Holy Warriors." So they are the same alignment as their god. Because why would a Cleric be ANY Alignment (a priest to a god/goddess), but not a Paladin? Paladins are "Holy Warriors" of their god/goddess, in my world.

So as long as a Paladin is true to their god/goddess, that's all the matters.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sat Dec 22, 2018 5:19 pm Love the Work Party! But, awww... poor kobolds. All they wanted to do was be left alone to worship their dragon. (A bit of "Shadows of Undrentide", I fancy?)

Well, Kobolds by nature are dragon worshipers, in D&D.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sat Dec 22, 2018 5:19 pm I liked Anita's campaign. Some highlights...
Uh-oh. Party don't buy horses? OK, throw brigands at them. "Skyrim belongs to the Nords!!!"
Oh, dear... I love it how a random brigand attack suddenly becomes its own story. "Hold on - weren't we supposed to save the dryad?!"
"Shut up! We got bigger problems now!"
Alas, poor dryad. Alas, poor unicorn. Now the cleric has a cursed gauntlet, and the whole forest is haunted. Nice job breaking it, heroes!

Yeah; Anita's group is more inclined to actually "roleplay" than the work group. I am hoping to get the workgroup there.
But Anita's group is more likely to wander, than the workgroup - which is fine. I always plan a campaign for the night; but I never railroad the campaign to force the party to do it.
This allows me to be creative and spontaneous on the spot - and be very creative.
As you said, the "brigand sidequest" they decided to do now became a much bigger storyline; and the consequences will be felt in any game session I do.
So for example, if the workgroup ever goes to the Jade Forest, they will find it in ruins.
Similar to Anita's group went to a town that was rebuilding after a dragon attack. That dragon attack came from another gaming session I had done.
I feel like this makes my world feel alive, that whatever the party does may impact the game for my other games.

Anita's group summary of 4th and 5th sessions:
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... e-notes-04
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... e-notes-05

And Workgroup 1st and 2nd sessions:
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... nturers-01
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... nturers-02

Fun session of D&D!

In Paul Crowder's game (formerly my boss' boss)...

He managed to DM 12 people.

There was...
Me = Varus (Human Fighter)
Leah = Freya (Tiefling Warlock)
Steve = Orannsi (Goliath Cleric)
Andy = Ralmavek (Assmair Paladin)
Vernoca = Nova (Human Ranger)
Mark = Tarn (Half-Orc Barbarian)
Grant = Augstome (Water Gensai Ranger)
Collin (Grant's son) = Iron Hedgeway (Dwarf Fighter)
Collin (Paul's son) = Del Mar (Elf Rogue)
Bruce = Ootruk (Dragon Born Monk)
Rune = Chaz (Not pictured when the pictures were taken, Elf Bladesinger)
Rich (playing virtually, seen in one of my photos) = Girandole (Tiefling Wizard)

Pretty amazing; despite getting better armor (Plate Mail, AC18) - my character still managed to get the most damage (nearly dying; reduced to 11 HP from 58), and got 32 HP healed back - only to be charmed by the vampire we were fighting, and turned and attacked the cleric. No one in that group - and I mean NO ONE - ever takes as much damage as I do - every. single. time. that we play!
lol

Serves you right for playing a tank.

I can't see you in the pictures, by the way. Is that you there next to the bag of Doritos?
============================
By the way - and to change the subject - I have a question about D&D Dragons. I've noticed that they're always LG, CG, LE or CE. Aren't there any neutral dragons? I wrote a red dragon into my story who, I think, is True Neutral. Can that happen? If not, can any dragon be TN?

Just wondering...

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jan 14, 2019 10:56 pm Serves you right for playing a tank.
I can't see you in the pictures, by the way. Is that you there next to the bag of Doritos?

The first two photos I took (thus not in it) - in the panoramic photo - I am in it. Center photo, sitting next to the blond (Leah).

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jan 14, 2019 10:56 pm By the way - and to change the subject - I have a question about D&D Dragons. I've noticed that they're always LG, CG, LE or CE. Aren't there any neutral dragons? I wrote a red dragon into my story who, I think, is True Neutral. Can that happen? If not, can any dragon be TN?
Just wondering...

I treat every Monster Manual entry as the "generic" version.
Think of (if you're familiar) of Drizz't Do'Urben (probably spelling it wrong) - the Dark Elf, from R.A. Salvatore's stories, who isn't Lawful Evil, but actually, pretty neutral to neutral good.

In my D&D sessions - you can potentially encounter a Lawful Good Orc, who has rebelled against the traditional orcish ways.

So yes, long story short, there can be alternate alignments for monsters.

Tawmis wrote: ↑Tue Jan 15, 2019 1:41 pm

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jan 14, 2019 10:56 pm Serves you right for playing a tank.
I can't see you in the pictures, by the way. Is that you there next to the bag of Doritos?

The first two photos I took (thus not in it) - in the panoramic photo - I am in it. Center photo, sitting next to the blond (Leah).

Oh, right - with the blue bottle, yes?

Tawmis wrote: ↑Tue Jan 15, 2019 1:41 pm

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jan 14, 2019 10:56 pm By the way - and to change the subject - I have a question about D&D Dragons. I've noticed that they're always LG, CG, LE or CE. Aren't there any neutral dragons? I wrote a red dragon into my story who, I think, is True Neutral. Can that happen? If not, can any dragon be TN?
Just wondering...

I treat every Monster Manual entry as the "generic" version.
Think of (if you're familiar) of Drizz't Do'Urben (probably spelling it wrong) - the Dark Elf, from R.A. Salvatore's stories, who isn't Lawful Evil, but actually, pretty neutral to neutral good.

In my D&D sessions - you can potentially encounter a Lawful Good Orc, who has rebelled against the traditional orcish ways.

So yes, long story short, there can be alternate alignments for monsters.

OK! I just thought that Red Dragons are always CE - at least, that's the way they always behave in every D&D session I've been to, and every game too (e.g. NWN1, NWN2 etc.)

Then again, kobolds are supposed to be evil, but that's not always the case. Look at Deekin. "Doom! Doom doomity doom! We is aaaall doomed!"

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:08 pm Oh, right - with the blue bottle, yes?

Aye! Although the blue bottle is technically Leah's! Leah and I always sit together, because we have a mutual love of puns that we deliver during the campaign!

For example, in this last session - there was a Necrotric Tree that would raise the undead (all tied to the vampire) - but before we encountered the vampire we thought this unusual tree was responsible, so I drew a picture of a tree, with a bunch of ghouls around it and captioned it, "Root of all Evil."

She laughed, and I said, "See, I knew you WOOD love it."

She looked at me and said, "I have a retort, but I will just LEAF it alone."

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:08 pm OK! I just thought that Red Dragons are always CE - at least, that's the way they always behave in every D&D session I've been to, and every game too (e.g. NWN1, NWN2 etc.)
Then again, kobolds are supposed to be evil, but that's not always the case. Look at Deekin. "Doom! Doom doomity doom! We is aaaall doomed!"

Exactly. To me the Monster Manual portrays how races and monsters typically behave. But there is always exceptions to the rule.

Tawmis wrote: ↑Wed Jan 16, 2019 12:58 pm

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:08 pm Oh, right - with the blue bottle, yes?

Aye! Although the blue bottle is technically Leah's! Leah and I always sit together, because we have a mutual love of puns that we deliver during the campaign!

For example, in this last session - there was a Necrotric Tree that would raise the undead (all tied to the vampire) - but before we encountered the vampire we thought this unusual tree was responsible, so I drew a picture of a tree, with a bunch of ghouls around it and captioned it, "Root of all Evil."

She laughed, and I said, "See, I knew you WOOD love it."

She looked at me and said, "I have a retort, but I will just LEAF it alone."

Groan!

I'm at a loss fir words, and I wooden believe it. Those puns give me a world of pine. But I'll be in your conifer for all the fun of the fir, as good luck wood have it. It's a new leaf on life! Now I'm off to sleep like a log. Wake me up in Septimber.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 12:27 am Groan!
I'm at a loss fir words, and I wooden believe it. Those puns give me a world of pine. But I'll be in your conifer for all the fun of the fir, as good luck wood have it. It's a new leaf on life! Now I'm off to sleep like a log. Wake me up in Septimber.

Randomly Absurd D&D Party Scene

This one happened a long time ago (early 2nd edition) so I don't remember the whole thing or the actual game we were playing, but I remember the details of this particular incident.

We were fighting a giant next to a temple. One of our players was playing a minotaur. Big character. I had the bright idea that if you cast an enlarging spell on a character, cast on the one who is already the biggest to make him ridiculously large and powerful. So we now have a sixteen foot tall minotaur who goes into a charge attack. With the boosts and all, the only way he could miss is if he rolled a 1.

Guess what he rolled? So, in the middle of his charge, he trips, goes stumbling by and crashes head first into the side of the temple, collapsing the wall on top of him.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri Jan 18, 2019 10:42 pm Randomly Absurd D&D Party Scene

This one happened a long time ago (early 2nd edition) so I don't remember the whole thing or the actual game we were playing, but I remember the details of this particular incident.

We were fighting a giant next to a temple. One of our players was playing a minotaur. Big character. I had the bright idea that if you cast an enlarging spell on a character, cast on the one who is already the biggest to make him ridiculously large and powerful. So we now have a sixteen foot tall minotaur who goes into a charge attack. With the boosts and all, the only way he could miss is if he rolled a 1.

Guess what he rolled? So, in the middle of his charge, he trips, goes stumbling by and crashes head first into the side of the temple, collapsing the wall on top of him.

Those Natural Fumbles are sometimes the most memorable things to come out of playing D&D.

I have another D&D Session to DM this Saturday (with Anita's group) - and because one of our players is pregnant (in real life) and due to give birth on 2/2, and might miss the game (she's the cleric!) if the baby decides for a slightly early entrance, so I've devised an epic escort mission for the party (where they need to go anyway - and in the game world, it is a really far location - so this all worked out splendidly, so that she won't miss anything major - ideally, according to her - she would be back in the game within a month - and since we do our sessions once a month, if she misses the next few, she won't miss much pertaining to the actual overarching story) - anyway (I am rambling!) - I was sitting there thinking of the party's first stop (at the ravage village of Spire's Edge) where I would need a quest for the party - and as I sat there - it was like the sun rising over the horizon... slowly it came to me, warming my body, filling me with brilliance! I think I came up with a pretty cool quest for the party - just need to finish planning it before the next 2 days!)

Yay! Sudden inspirations are the best. Fingers crossed for you to finish writing it before the Saturday session.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri Jan 25, 2019 1:31 am Yay! Sudden inspirations are the best. Fingers crossed for you to finish writing it before the Saturday session.

I did manage to finish it last night. Wanted to make it long enough that it could (hopefully) be played in one session. But with this group, they tend to wander around in unexpected ways.