Although i don't have much time to post here anymore, I just can't help it and have to thank everybody here, whole TLG team first and foremost, but also all of you posting around here !
Since i got my copies of the game, almost a year now, i couldn't wait for my campaign to start. I started writing it way back, with AD&D 2 in ming, but C&C came in, and now i lack the words to praise the thing...
The books by themselves, and all the great discussions here one the board to do the fine tuning, now have me enjoying my time behind the CK screen more than i ever did since my teenage years !
So hail to the Trolls, and all of you !
Thus being said, i don't know if i'll find time in the future to post more detailed things about how it is going, but here's for a little sum up:
I started what i hope to become a saga, in a homebrew setting, with heavy influence from Tolkien, Tadd Williams, and every other british fantasy writer as well. Mostly low magic (although when the arcane comes down, it comes down heavy), with a technically human ruled world.
Actually, my players are as follows (using CZ multiclassing rules)
Najat "Singshadow" Ak Hash, female Half Elf, Bard/Assassin
(The young yet very able heir of a title in the north, yet she was born and raised in a southern realm ala Prince of Persia)
Trias "Ravenheart" Maeris, male human Ranger/Wizard
(youngest son of a great family from the eastern, roman like culture, a military scout who started studying the strange arts from the south)
Gruauk "Greyhound" Hemmerfell, male Half Orc Barbarian/Fighter
(Somewhat rude, and very Celtic inspired, always seeking for the greater challenge, and now leaving the party for a time, maybe to come back someday... this player likes to switch characters sometimes, having companions for the party come and go as the saga moves on)
Thorgal Berglekin, son of Ormganek, male Dwarven Fighter/Cleric
(The new character of the aforementioned player, yet to play for the first time next session, but he intends to have him surprisingly sensible, and poetic... rolled a very high Charisma and hopes to be up to it)
Breoc "The Scorched One" Thorsen, male Halfing Druid
(The last player to join us for next session, still have to see how he'll play that one, but the player is almost as fond of the same british fantasy as i am, so i'm not really worried)
We're about to play our sixth session, and i really look forward to put up more of this online, but as far as it goes, for now i will have to run a council with some NPCs and them this time (which is incidentally going to take place at a Half Elve's court, and involve representatives of more or less all races of the free world... i didn't realize until yesterday), and then give them the taste of my first official "dungeon", an abandoned Elven keep overrun by the enemy a few days ago...
Time to hand over the computer already, so this is it for now, but i will also use this opportunity to thank all of my players, even though none of them does read enough english to hang out here ever...
Maybe i'll let you know more if i have the chance !
_________________
People, i'm a German living in France, so please be forgiving about my English...
Under a Red Moon: Finally, my crusade hits cruising speed !!
-
Saarlander
- Ungern
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:00 am
-
Omote
- Battle Stag
- Posts: 11560
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 7:00 am
- Location: The fairest view in the park, Ohio.
- Contact:
Congrats! Got to love those character names.
-O
_________________
> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society
-O
_________________
> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society
@-Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society-@
VAE VICTUS!
>> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <<
VAE VICTUS!
>> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <<
Definitely some cool character names. Great to hear your having so much fun again! My switching to C&C had much the same affect on me.
_________________
The Ruby Lord, Earl of the Society
Next Con I am attending: http://www.neoncon.com/
My House Rules: http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... llordgames
_________________
The Ruby Lord, Earl of the Society
Next Con I am attending: http://www.neoncon.com/
My House Rules: http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... llordgames
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Grand Knight Commander of the Society.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael
Grand Knight Commander of the Society.
-
Saarlander
- Ungern
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:00 am
Thanks for the replies, for a start !
And yes, i guess we really all are having one great time for now, as this campaign goes....
So, sixth session came and went, and although we didn't get as far as i hoped we would, it was yet a really cool night, with my (usual) share of surprises, as players generally tend to have a go for the unexpected !
Maybe i'll be a bit of a nuisance if i keep going into details here, but hey, don't have to read it if you don't want to, and i am just really happy for now to have time posting selfishly around how things a are going here !!
So, the Story so far (1st to 5th session)
The PCs, all tied through family or cultural to the court of Arkengard (a human kingdom on the Northern shore of the Lion Sea, think something like the Mediterranean), gather around an invititation from King Godric III "Doomtongue" (a now elderly king covered in fame for past adventures, mostly because he managed to earn a durable peace between his liege empire and the southern enemy after 800 years of a more or less cold war).
They are all asked to be part of a mystical procession,along with about 2000 thousand pilgrims from around all the free world, to renew a protective elven magic of old, which the king now hopes to extend to the whole Lion Sea, thus ensuring his peace efforts will last long after his own days.
And so the PCs came to almost lead the procession, in company of the King's representative, his youngest son, Darien "Lionnet" Arkengard (a nickname he earned by surviving a fight with an Efreet-possessed Lion as a kid, when an assasination attempt on his father misfired, litterally). This 10 days long field trip had them atune their skills together first time when a band of ship-wrecked galerians disturbed a little peace along the way (southern criminals who mutineered, a detail that would come back later on... also, as i tried C&C combat for the first time, i went frantic with how easy all was to handle, having first level PCs and a bunch of simple 1HD mooks make up for a very enticing, almost epic combat. I think THERE i really fell in desperate love with the system. Plus, Najat "Singshadow" spared one of the escaped thieves and gave him a chance to repent by serving her from now on... he now is a full time NPC and ally of the whole party, all because i could make up the stats for him in a mere second...).
But the quest really started as i intended to, when the procession finally reached the hidden elven tower where the ritual would have to be done. And, of course, it had already been destroyed by an unknown force (which remains they had to fight, also... first time i used numerous, very weak enemies, sort of "Shadow Imps" with the actual stats of Kobolds in daylight, but loads of them... and everything went as easy as could be. The players themselves couldn't believe it was possible to have such epic scenes and feeling at first/second level, and neither could i....).
After meeting a dying Elf (a wondrous and sad vision, since Elves are almost as recluded in my setting as they are in the Middle Earth's Third Age) who could only speak of a dark, winged shadow and magic unknown to his kind, it took no long deliberation for the PCs to become companions in arms for the young prince when he decided to send back the pilgrims to their homes with all the guards he had, and that he would travel, almost alone, straight to the north, along the Barbarian Shores of Cossul to reach the Oracle of the Pearl, where his family was allowed to ask for answers and prophecies.
And so they went, quickly getting aboard a Cossul merchant ship to sail along the Purple Ocean up in the North, a journey under a creeping storm waiting to explode and finally confronted along the way with a whole ship of Drowned Cossul (long story short, the Cossul, a mostly human and half-Orc culture, now living in peace with their neighbors still carry a heavy dark background from the time their ancestors bargained with a force of utter evil and slaughtered the Elves on their lands... But the battle against the Drowned Undead was an incredible opportunity for us to see even more of C&C wonders at work, as a fight between two ships on a stormy sea at night calls for epic action, lots of SIEGE checks for balance, movement, and breathtaking stunts, all which the system still handles with such ease ! All my players told me they wouldn't forget this one battle soon, and neither will i, i guess).
So they finally reached Briask, last Cossul harbor before the valley of the Pearl, only to find out some of the Sea Sorcerer captains (yes, my Cossul ships are under the command of Pict-like Druids) turned over to the "Dreams of the Red Moon" and expected eagerly a dark change to come (which, as they were welcomed by arrows and hostile creatures summoned from unknown darkness, made them realize how red the moon actually was the night the Elven Tower was destroyed). Some guerilla later, they had to leave Briask in a tragic hurry at the Prince's order, while he swore to stay behind to hold of the Dark Winged Horror they now heard coming above the clounds (a very Nazgul like entrance, i know...). And they did, finding shelter an hour's march to the north, along with all the refugees of Briask who hadn't been willing to surrender to the Red Moon fanatics....
And then, only one hour later in that dark night, they decided to return to Briask to get the Prince, and they went ! (Totally unexpected to me, as i underestimated their resolve and heroism at that point ! And i silently hailed C&C once more, as i could generate their opposition as they went in, all along the way, without slowing down the pace one bit... And people, it was truly epic this time. I came down on them hard, but it went well, and i learned among other things how truly deadly a well handled Assassin can be as a PC, losing a fully loaded 2nd Level Evil Druid in 1 mere round ! Gosh, but fair is fair !).
And so they discovered the Winged Horror had taken the Prince, litterally, up into the night sky, under a moon turning as red as blood for a short time, leaving them burning with anger and guilt, but now even the more ready to leave (after a neat status quo with the enemy) right for the Pearl to get the answers the Prince had come to seek out !
At the Pearl (a sanctuary of prophetic Priests, cursed by their visions so they cannot tell about what they have seen outside the Temple's walls), they got their prophecies, about a war to come, about the Red Moon's mysterious power, and even about a far greater danger lurking in it's wake and shadow, and about how "a father's rage would burn the walls in which the voice of salvation would sing". And they only got enough time to take the shortest rest before the priests hurried them to leave "towards the east, under the fog of the Breathrot Marshes", since they have forseen the Pearl's end in the hours to come. And off they went, looking back only to see how right the prophecy was as the fog clouded sea was covering in red-flagged ships from unknown shores, the invasion force the fanatics from Briask were awaiting so soon... (and there again, the minute-NPC magic came in, as the dragged along the youngest initiate of the Pearl, to save at least one from the havoc to come, a young priest in his teens, which i had again no trouble statting out as the game went. Amazing, i tell you).
Breathrot Marshes (a rotten, corrupted part of land, tainted by the evil blood of a terrible dragon slain there ages ago) had them surprised, as they got unexpected help in form of a Gnome ranger (another extraordinary encounter, as my take on Gnomes is as fairy-like as can be, and they are said to be even rarer than Elves), which offered to lead them right throught the Marshes, to the realm of Argentir, the northern ally of Arkengard. And he did so inviting them to make the whole journey on a Shambling Mound's back. (And i went very Mononoke on this part, as much for pleasure's sake after all they went through till now, as to show them a bit of my setting they are really not ready for yet, if they ever are one day... i know what a want these marshes to be, and it's OUTRIGHT DEADLY... afoot, they wouldn't have lasted a mile, and they quickly realized it).
Finally, after this strangest of journeys (which had them cool down a bit, and RP a lot among themselves and with the ancient and wise Gnome to hand out some trivia about my setting's flavor), they reached the mountains of Argentir, last keeper of the heirloom of Elves in this part of the world, now ruled since almost a millenia by the half-Elven lineage of Argentis...
Last session:
In Argentir, at the court of King Cassiopea "The Youth", a lot went into motion... as the war begins in the West, realms and neighbors settle to send in reinforcements, and the PCs got their share of expectations from everybody as they were there when it all started, and also got a mysterious prophecy to lead them on the trail of the Red Moon's mystery. So now South again they go, back to Arkengard, with a planned waypoint at the Holmholt, an ancient Elven keep long lost to the Elder races, but where the Earth-Lords (Druids of these lands, and sort of clan leaders to the Holmen, celtic like barbarians living in the plains between Argentir and Arkengard) will now gather to hold council.
After a short but well needed rest, on they went, but now again, after a short 3 days travel, they meet up with the unexpected (to them, this time, ha ha !) as they meet a small group of Holmen and a wounded Earth-Lord, telling them the Holmholt had been taken over by a few red cladded enemies (invaders from the stranges Western fleet as it seems) who forced their way through the war front and headed straight for the keep, supported by dark magic having their horses never seem to tire, and packs of wolves mysteriously following them along and dispatching pursuiers as it went, while the Elven keep opened to them as if they belonged to it...
The PCs didn't need much more to decide they had to act, now. And ready to use the knowdlege of old about a secret entrance to the almost unshakable Holmholt, they intend to enter it now the enemy still lacks opportunity for reinforcements so deep in the Holm, and if not take them out right away, at least unveil some of the mystery shrouding these events ! (And so after a RP heavy session, the PCs again are ready to rush right into the enemy's face... which this time, is exactly what i intended them to do, ha ha !)
So, as far as it goes, this is where we are now, and if you really took the time to read all this, i can only be sooooo grateful (and apologize for wasting so much of your time !)...
Next session will probably be action heavy, as the Holmholt will trully be a Dungeon to them, and my best hopes are to get them down on their knees, and either fleeing or captured (in both cases, options for more adventure, no less)... And what they probably don't expect, will be to find out right there, in the Holmholt, what actually happend to Prince Darien of Arkengard...
_________________
People, i'm a German living in France, so please be forgiving about my English...
And yes, i guess we really all are having one great time for now, as this campaign goes....
So, sixth session came and went, and although we didn't get as far as i hoped we would, it was yet a really cool night, with my (usual) share of surprises, as players generally tend to have a go for the unexpected !
Maybe i'll be a bit of a nuisance if i keep going into details here, but hey, don't have to read it if you don't want to, and i am just really happy for now to have time posting selfishly around how things a are going here !!
So, the Story so far (1st to 5th session)
The PCs, all tied through family or cultural to the court of Arkengard (a human kingdom on the Northern shore of the Lion Sea, think something like the Mediterranean), gather around an invititation from King Godric III "Doomtongue" (a now elderly king covered in fame for past adventures, mostly because he managed to earn a durable peace between his liege empire and the southern enemy after 800 years of a more or less cold war).
They are all asked to be part of a mystical procession,along with about 2000 thousand pilgrims from around all the free world, to renew a protective elven magic of old, which the king now hopes to extend to the whole Lion Sea, thus ensuring his peace efforts will last long after his own days.
And so the PCs came to almost lead the procession, in company of the King's representative, his youngest son, Darien "Lionnet" Arkengard (a nickname he earned by surviving a fight with an Efreet-possessed Lion as a kid, when an assasination attempt on his father misfired, litterally). This 10 days long field trip had them atune their skills together first time when a band of ship-wrecked galerians disturbed a little peace along the way (southern criminals who mutineered, a detail that would come back later on... also, as i tried C&C combat for the first time, i went frantic with how easy all was to handle, having first level PCs and a bunch of simple 1HD mooks make up for a very enticing, almost epic combat. I think THERE i really fell in desperate love with the system. Plus, Najat "Singshadow" spared one of the escaped thieves and gave him a chance to repent by serving her from now on... he now is a full time NPC and ally of the whole party, all because i could make up the stats for him in a mere second...).
But the quest really started as i intended to, when the procession finally reached the hidden elven tower where the ritual would have to be done. And, of course, it had already been destroyed by an unknown force (which remains they had to fight, also... first time i used numerous, very weak enemies, sort of "Shadow Imps" with the actual stats of Kobolds in daylight, but loads of them... and everything went as easy as could be. The players themselves couldn't believe it was possible to have such epic scenes and feeling at first/second level, and neither could i....).
After meeting a dying Elf (a wondrous and sad vision, since Elves are almost as recluded in my setting as they are in the Middle Earth's Third Age) who could only speak of a dark, winged shadow and magic unknown to his kind, it took no long deliberation for the PCs to become companions in arms for the young prince when he decided to send back the pilgrims to their homes with all the guards he had, and that he would travel, almost alone, straight to the north, along the Barbarian Shores of Cossul to reach the Oracle of the Pearl, where his family was allowed to ask for answers and prophecies.
And so they went, quickly getting aboard a Cossul merchant ship to sail along the Purple Ocean up in the North, a journey under a creeping storm waiting to explode and finally confronted along the way with a whole ship of Drowned Cossul (long story short, the Cossul, a mostly human and half-Orc culture, now living in peace with their neighbors still carry a heavy dark background from the time their ancestors bargained with a force of utter evil and slaughtered the Elves on their lands... But the battle against the Drowned Undead was an incredible opportunity for us to see even more of C&C wonders at work, as a fight between two ships on a stormy sea at night calls for epic action, lots of SIEGE checks for balance, movement, and breathtaking stunts, all which the system still handles with such ease ! All my players told me they wouldn't forget this one battle soon, and neither will i, i guess).
So they finally reached Briask, last Cossul harbor before the valley of the Pearl, only to find out some of the Sea Sorcerer captains (yes, my Cossul ships are under the command of Pict-like Druids) turned over to the "Dreams of the Red Moon" and expected eagerly a dark change to come (which, as they were welcomed by arrows and hostile creatures summoned from unknown darkness, made them realize how red the moon actually was the night the Elven Tower was destroyed). Some guerilla later, they had to leave Briask in a tragic hurry at the Prince's order, while he swore to stay behind to hold of the Dark Winged Horror they now heard coming above the clounds (a very Nazgul like entrance, i know...). And they did, finding shelter an hour's march to the north, along with all the refugees of Briask who hadn't been willing to surrender to the Red Moon fanatics....
And then, only one hour later in that dark night, they decided to return to Briask to get the Prince, and they went ! (Totally unexpected to me, as i underestimated their resolve and heroism at that point ! And i silently hailed C&C once more, as i could generate their opposition as they went in, all along the way, without slowing down the pace one bit... And people, it was truly epic this time. I came down on them hard, but it went well, and i learned among other things how truly deadly a well handled Assassin can be as a PC, losing a fully loaded 2nd Level Evil Druid in 1 mere round ! Gosh, but fair is fair !).
And so they discovered the Winged Horror had taken the Prince, litterally, up into the night sky, under a moon turning as red as blood for a short time, leaving them burning with anger and guilt, but now even the more ready to leave (after a neat status quo with the enemy) right for the Pearl to get the answers the Prince had come to seek out !
At the Pearl (a sanctuary of prophetic Priests, cursed by their visions so they cannot tell about what they have seen outside the Temple's walls), they got their prophecies, about a war to come, about the Red Moon's mysterious power, and even about a far greater danger lurking in it's wake and shadow, and about how "a father's rage would burn the walls in which the voice of salvation would sing". And they only got enough time to take the shortest rest before the priests hurried them to leave "towards the east, under the fog of the Breathrot Marshes", since they have forseen the Pearl's end in the hours to come. And off they went, looking back only to see how right the prophecy was as the fog clouded sea was covering in red-flagged ships from unknown shores, the invasion force the fanatics from Briask were awaiting so soon... (and there again, the minute-NPC magic came in, as the dragged along the youngest initiate of the Pearl, to save at least one from the havoc to come, a young priest in his teens, which i had again no trouble statting out as the game went. Amazing, i tell you).
Breathrot Marshes (a rotten, corrupted part of land, tainted by the evil blood of a terrible dragon slain there ages ago) had them surprised, as they got unexpected help in form of a Gnome ranger (another extraordinary encounter, as my take on Gnomes is as fairy-like as can be, and they are said to be even rarer than Elves), which offered to lead them right throught the Marshes, to the realm of Argentir, the northern ally of Arkengard. And he did so inviting them to make the whole journey on a Shambling Mound's back. (And i went very Mononoke on this part, as much for pleasure's sake after all they went through till now, as to show them a bit of my setting they are really not ready for yet, if they ever are one day... i know what a want these marshes to be, and it's OUTRIGHT DEADLY... afoot, they wouldn't have lasted a mile, and they quickly realized it).
Finally, after this strangest of journeys (which had them cool down a bit, and RP a lot among themselves and with the ancient and wise Gnome to hand out some trivia about my setting's flavor), they reached the mountains of Argentir, last keeper of the heirloom of Elves in this part of the world, now ruled since almost a millenia by the half-Elven lineage of Argentis...
Last session:
In Argentir, at the court of King Cassiopea "The Youth", a lot went into motion... as the war begins in the West, realms and neighbors settle to send in reinforcements, and the PCs got their share of expectations from everybody as they were there when it all started, and also got a mysterious prophecy to lead them on the trail of the Red Moon's mystery. So now South again they go, back to Arkengard, with a planned waypoint at the Holmholt, an ancient Elven keep long lost to the Elder races, but where the Earth-Lords (Druids of these lands, and sort of clan leaders to the Holmen, celtic like barbarians living in the plains between Argentir and Arkengard) will now gather to hold council.
After a short but well needed rest, on they went, but now again, after a short 3 days travel, they meet up with the unexpected (to them, this time, ha ha !) as they meet a small group of Holmen and a wounded Earth-Lord, telling them the Holmholt had been taken over by a few red cladded enemies (invaders from the stranges Western fleet as it seems) who forced their way through the war front and headed straight for the keep, supported by dark magic having their horses never seem to tire, and packs of wolves mysteriously following them along and dispatching pursuiers as it went, while the Elven keep opened to them as if they belonged to it...
The PCs didn't need much more to decide they had to act, now. And ready to use the knowdlege of old about a secret entrance to the almost unshakable Holmholt, they intend to enter it now the enemy still lacks opportunity for reinforcements so deep in the Holm, and if not take them out right away, at least unveil some of the mystery shrouding these events ! (And so after a RP heavy session, the PCs again are ready to rush right into the enemy's face... which this time, is exactly what i intended them to do, ha ha !)
So, as far as it goes, this is where we are now, and if you really took the time to read all this, i can only be sooooo grateful (and apologize for wasting so much of your time !)...
Next session will probably be action heavy, as the Holmholt will trully be a Dungeon to them, and my best hopes are to get them down on their knees, and either fleeing or captured (in both cases, options for more adventure, no less)... And what they probably don't expect, will be to find out right there, in the Holmholt, what actually happend to Prince Darien of Arkengard...
_________________
People, i'm a German living in France, so please be forgiving about my English...
-
Saarlander
- Ungern
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:00 am
All right, tonight's the night, folks !
Players homing in, minus one (couldn't make it for this one), in 2 hours time i'm starting my next session.
And after 17 years of gaming, i'm going to do the one thing I actually never tried:
It's TRUE DUNGEON TIME !
Wish me luck !
_________________
People, i'm a German living in France, so please be forgiving about my English...
Players homing in, minus one (couldn't make it for this one), in 2 hours time i'm starting my next session.
And after 17 years of gaming, i'm going to do the one thing I actually never tried:
It's TRUE DUNGEON TIME !
Wish me luck !
_________________
People, i'm a German living in France, so please be forgiving about my English...
-
Omote
- Battle Stag
- Posts: 11560
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 7:00 am
- Location: The fairest view in the park, Ohio.
- Contact:
All the best! Dungeon crawls are never passe'.
-O
_________________
> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society
-O
_________________
> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society
@-Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society-@
VAE VICTUS!
>> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <<
VAE VICTUS!
>> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <<
-
Saarlander
- Ungern
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:00 am
Phew, took some me a while finding the time to post, and next session already is tomorrow !
This "Dungeon Crawl" did not go anyway how i expected, and we had a great time again !
My players manage to surprise me a lot, so here is a short sum up, and the highlights we had thanks to them:
Getting into the Holmholt
So as stated, the whole business for the party was to get into an ancient Elven Fortress taken over by the yet unknown enemy forces invading their land.
Lucky enough, they had knowledge of a secret entrance to the place, although how exactly it worked had been forgotten in the last 800 years.
So, after a quick run under the cover of night and with a little distraction provided by some allies with magic and bravery, they managed to sneak around the outer walls unchecked and made it into the ancient wood under the castle.
There the game really started.
- The entrance: the maddened Nymph: The Heroes met up in the dark, hostile woods (actually very "Ancient Forest" like) with the warden of the secret passage: an old, mad Nymph, disfigured and veiled, not very pleased to help out.
The players had to deliver some accurate roleplay, and it nearly went awry once or twice (the Druid had knowledge of how powerful a Nymph could actually be, and had to step in once or twice to save the party from certain doom), and she finally reluctantly helped them...
Highlight: Most of the party, Thorgal the Dwarf especially, were rather suspicious about the Nymph's agreement. When the party found out they had to make a 10 minutes underwater trip to get into the fortress' basement, which they couldn't make without the Nymph using her spellcasting, tension was great till they got through...
- The basement: the Satyr: Second part of my planned fun, the Nymph introduced them to her former ( and still occasional) lover, a Satyr nearly as insane as she was, keeping the other side of the passage inside the fortress. Again, roleplay was on schedule when the team realized they wouldn't get through the subterranian "garden" full of plants from the Dark Times without the Satyr's help... They managed to win him over when they found out they could ease part of his everlasting pain and repair his broken pipe, using some heavy healing magic. And fair is fair, their RP even won the Satyr over to help them out, as he promised them to use once each tune he knew...
Highlight: Not unly was i surprised to see my players use up A LOT of their healing powers willingly, the Bard even was proud to help out this broken faery when he asked her to apply the healing oils in person... and yes, the players actually is a female, and found it fun !
- The inner courtyard: After they got upstairs (a little surprised i didn't actually give them the hardcore corridor/trap etc... but i couldn't make any sense of why this part of the fortress would be trapped given the background), they finally got to see from a relative secure cover the first of the enemy: Two guards visible, some lights in the towers suggesting more people here and there... And there, everything was up to them. As i knew how the (actually very small) group of people there would be positioned and would work under attack, i left it open to them to find a way through the lines... And as i hoped, i got their *ss whoped !
For info, i had a fully fledged little commando team in there, mostly already veterans:
6 Guards: 1st level human Fighters
4 Scouts: 2nd level human Rangers (with bows)
The Captain (a 5HD humanoid with most of a Werevolf's abilities, and some Ranger thrown in)
and his 6 Wolves (as per M&T)
The Vicar (a 5th level human Cleric)
and as an option the vicious half-elf Bard/Illusionist they already had to confront once, but who couldn't make it into any fight before 6th round at best.
There my players did actually start big time, when the Najat (Bard/Assassin) used Disguise to go to a whole Elven Ghost routine to lure out the enemy. It worked fine, in a first time, and as the wolves shot out at her (being laid down in a row before reaching her, blowpipes and poison are a terrifying thing indeed), the rest of the team still hidden watched as almost all the the guards formed up, only to be laid down by the Satyr's Sleep song next round.
And then the fun began; as my beloved Captain had resisted the Sleep effect, one remaining wolf was down on the Satyr following round: no more pipes ! And as two of the players shot their bows at the animal, they got spotted by the even better hidden Scouts; hail of arrows and they couldn't get out of their cover that much.
Enter the Vicar, while the Captain (seemingly unimpressed by the "Elven Ghost" thing) was about to go at Najat, and one Sound Burst later, everyone under cover except for Thorgal were stunned and injured.
As the Captain then asked them in a strange form of one of the elder languages of their land to surrender, Thorgal tried one last desperate charge out of the cover against him; pretty heroic, as he got through the heavy fire unscathered... but got Holded by the Vicar only inches from his target (yes, cruel, but life is life)...
So things were pretty bad, and then i delivered the final blow to the last (wo)man standing:
The lost Prince they had escorted earlier in the campain showed up, FULLY CLAD IN THE ENEMY'S COLORS, begging the Heroes to drop their weapons
And they surrendered.
Highlights: The whole idea of the elven ghost disguise was just great, and i really had fun making the guards react to it accordingly, puzzled and frightened as they were, moreso when they saw the wolves go down one after another without being able to spot the cause (seeing blowdarts in the night is not an easy thing with human eyes).
Having the players go from enthusiasm to despair in a small amounts of rounds was nice, and the Darwf's final charge was well role-played... I got them just as frustrated as i wanted to.
Finally, seeing the players dropping their jaws and frowing their brows when the Prince showed up was everything i hoped for... And i just loved how naturally they dropped their weapons on his demand, unable to try to hurt a man they had learned to respect so much before losing him, and how they roleplayed their immediate feeling of guilt about it...
- Prisonners; and the way out: This part took us actually most of the rest of the game night, and was all about RP, so i will sum it up rather than go to the pages it would take to tell the whole thing.
The players managed to uncover part of the story as they got the chance to talk with the Prince (now Champion of the Red Moon), and saw how wrecked his mind was from the encoutner with the Godess's essence. He was still conscious enough to deliver them a scroll with written orders for their wardens to release them once they were out of the place, as he would demand they be brought before the Empress as soon as possible. They also witnessed the comeback of their nemesis the Half-Elf, and understood even in their enemy's ranks there was heavy dissention going on. The Prince finally asked them, once they were out and free again, to investigate the secret of the Red Moon, as he would not be able to abandon Her, and to find out why she is crying, before he would finally have to lead the Empress's army against his father's land...
When they finaly were escorted out, i was pleased to see at least one player (Najat Akash, again) had not forgotten their first motive for getting into the Holmholt: INTEL. And she managed to get a lot of it out of their wardens about the basics of their enemy's culture and background, before they were finally released and headed south under the veil of night to bring back the news to the Prince's kingdom...
Highlights: I just loved how my players roleplayed every bit of this; the Dwarf's incredulity to what was happening; the special effort Najat's player put into her character for having actually a true crush for this human prince (she almost abandoned her character willingly to stay with the Prince as his servant and protector, ready to roll up a new one for the next session); the Druid's despair as he owed his life to the Prince way back... and finally how Najat, only ready to leave and go on because the Prince asked for it, maneuvered the whole conversation with the wardens to get a load of info in no time...
So far for now, and tomorrow, time for the Heroes to find out everything about a prophecy they heard a little earlier in the campaign, and get on a race against time to find a way to save the Prince from the Red Moon's charm and discover the whereabouts of this unknown godess...
If they survive King Godric's anger for having let his favorite son fall into enemy's hands !
_________________
People, i'm a German living in France, so please be forgiving about my English...
This "Dungeon Crawl" did not go anyway how i expected, and we had a great time again !
My players manage to surprise me a lot, so here is a short sum up, and the highlights we had thanks to them:
Getting into the Holmholt
So as stated, the whole business for the party was to get into an ancient Elven Fortress taken over by the yet unknown enemy forces invading their land.
Lucky enough, they had knowledge of a secret entrance to the place, although how exactly it worked had been forgotten in the last 800 years.
So, after a quick run under the cover of night and with a little distraction provided by some allies with magic and bravery, they managed to sneak around the outer walls unchecked and made it into the ancient wood under the castle.
There the game really started.
- The entrance: the maddened Nymph: The Heroes met up in the dark, hostile woods (actually very "Ancient Forest" like) with the warden of the secret passage: an old, mad Nymph, disfigured and veiled, not very pleased to help out.
The players had to deliver some accurate roleplay, and it nearly went awry once or twice (the Druid had knowledge of how powerful a Nymph could actually be, and had to step in once or twice to save the party from certain doom), and she finally reluctantly helped them...
Highlight: Most of the party, Thorgal the Dwarf especially, were rather suspicious about the Nymph's agreement. When the party found out they had to make a 10 minutes underwater trip to get into the fortress' basement, which they couldn't make without the Nymph using her spellcasting, tension was great till they got through...
- The basement: the Satyr: Second part of my planned fun, the Nymph introduced them to her former ( and still occasional) lover, a Satyr nearly as insane as she was, keeping the other side of the passage inside the fortress. Again, roleplay was on schedule when the team realized they wouldn't get through the subterranian "garden" full of plants from the Dark Times without the Satyr's help... They managed to win him over when they found out they could ease part of his everlasting pain and repair his broken pipe, using some heavy healing magic. And fair is fair, their RP even won the Satyr over to help them out, as he promised them to use once each tune he knew...
Highlight: Not unly was i surprised to see my players use up A LOT of their healing powers willingly, the Bard even was proud to help out this broken faery when he asked her to apply the healing oils in person... and yes, the players actually is a female, and found it fun !
- The inner courtyard: After they got upstairs (a little surprised i didn't actually give them the hardcore corridor/trap etc... but i couldn't make any sense of why this part of the fortress would be trapped given the background), they finally got to see from a relative secure cover the first of the enemy: Two guards visible, some lights in the towers suggesting more people here and there... And there, everything was up to them. As i knew how the (actually very small) group of people there would be positioned and would work under attack, i left it open to them to find a way through the lines... And as i hoped, i got their *ss whoped !
For info, i had a fully fledged little commando team in there, mostly already veterans:
6 Guards: 1st level human Fighters
4 Scouts: 2nd level human Rangers (with bows)
The Captain (a 5HD humanoid with most of a Werevolf's abilities, and some Ranger thrown in)
and his 6 Wolves (as per M&T)
The Vicar (a 5th level human Cleric)
and as an option the vicious half-elf Bard/Illusionist they already had to confront once, but who couldn't make it into any fight before 6th round at best.
There my players did actually start big time, when the Najat (Bard/Assassin) used Disguise to go to a whole Elven Ghost routine to lure out the enemy. It worked fine, in a first time, and as the wolves shot out at her (being laid down in a row before reaching her, blowpipes and poison are a terrifying thing indeed), the rest of the team still hidden watched as almost all the the guards formed up, only to be laid down by the Satyr's Sleep song next round.
And then the fun began; as my beloved Captain had resisted the Sleep effect, one remaining wolf was down on the Satyr following round: no more pipes ! And as two of the players shot their bows at the animal, they got spotted by the even better hidden Scouts; hail of arrows and they couldn't get out of their cover that much.
Enter the Vicar, while the Captain (seemingly unimpressed by the "Elven Ghost" thing) was about to go at Najat, and one Sound Burst later, everyone under cover except for Thorgal were stunned and injured.
As the Captain then asked them in a strange form of one of the elder languages of their land to surrender, Thorgal tried one last desperate charge out of the cover against him; pretty heroic, as he got through the heavy fire unscathered... but got Holded by the Vicar only inches from his target (yes, cruel, but life is life)...
So things were pretty bad, and then i delivered the final blow to the last (wo)man standing:
The lost Prince they had escorted earlier in the campain showed up, FULLY CLAD IN THE ENEMY'S COLORS, begging the Heroes to drop their weapons
And they surrendered.
Highlights: The whole idea of the elven ghost disguise was just great, and i really had fun making the guards react to it accordingly, puzzled and frightened as they were, moreso when they saw the wolves go down one after another without being able to spot the cause (seeing blowdarts in the night is not an easy thing with human eyes).
Having the players go from enthusiasm to despair in a small amounts of rounds was nice, and the Darwf's final charge was well role-played... I got them just as frustrated as i wanted to.
Finally, seeing the players dropping their jaws and frowing their brows when the Prince showed up was everything i hoped for... And i just loved how naturally they dropped their weapons on his demand, unable to try to hurt a man they had learned to respect so much before losing him, and how they roleplayed their immediate feeling of guilt about it...
- Prisonners; and the way out: This part took us actually most of the rest of the game night, and was all about RP, so i will sum it up rather than go to the pages it would take to tell the whole thing.
The players managed to uncover part of the story as they got the chance to talk with the Prince (now Champion of the Red Moon), and saw how wrecked his mind was from the encoutner with the Godess's essence. He was still conscious enough to deliver them a scroll with written orders for their wardens to release them once they were out of the place, as he would demand they be brought before the Empress as soon as possible. They also witnessed the comeback of their nemesis the Half-Elf, and understood even in their enemy's ranks there was heavy dissention going on. The Prince finally asked them, once they were out and free again, to investigate the secret of the Red Moon, as he would not be able to abandon Her, and to find out why she is crying, before he would finally have to lead the Empress's army against his father's land...
When they finaly were escorted out, i was pleased to see at least one player (Najat Akash, again) had not forgotten their first motive for getting into the Holmholt: INTEL. And she managed to get a lot of it out of their wardens about the basics of their enemy's culture and background, before they were finally released and headed south under the veil of night to bring back the news to the Prince's kingdom...
Highlights: I just loved how my players roleplayed every bit of this; the Dwarf's incredulity to what was happening; the special effort Najat's player put into her character for having actually a true crush for this human prince (she almost abandoned her character willingly to stay with the Prince as his servant and protector, ready to roll up a new one for the next session); the Druid's despair as he owed his life to the Prince way back... and finally how Najat, only ready to leave and go on because the Prince asked for it, maneuvered the whole conversation with the wardens to get a load of info in no time...
So far for now, and tomorrow, time for the Heroes to find out everything about a prophecy they heard a little earlier in the campaign, and get on a race against time to find a way to save the Prince from the Red Moon's charm and discover the whereabouts of this unknown godess...
If they survive King Godric's anger for having let his favorite son fall into enemy's hands !
_________________
People, i'm a German living in France, so please be forgiving about my English...
-
Saarlander
- Ungern
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:00 am
Wow, quite some time since i had a chance to post here...
Campaign is finally over, and the PCs actually survived, so we are already carrying on with the sequel...
As i have found out, i'm a little short on time for the purpose of full reports on our gaming sessions, so unless there are really people here wanting to read though the rest of this Crusade, i think i won't write everything up...
But for my first try at "neo-retro" gaming, it was just fantastic !!! (And yeah, my players loved it too... at least so they say)
So i wanted to thank a bunch of people here:
* First and foremost the Trolls themselves, for some gamebooks i really never will regret buying !
* Everyone here on the forum, for reading the parts of the campaing i published, for each and every topic that i used to help me out or inspire me in matter of rules and ideas, and for making C&C feel so lively and fun altogether !
* And (although they don't read english and/or never come here anyway) my Players, for the fun, the sharing, the characters, the ideas, the unpredictable chaos factor, and everything that goes with !
So, now The Red Moon book has reached its end, The Dancer under the Iron Cross campaign is already going well, and hail to the Crusades !!!
_________________
People, i'm a German living in France, so please be forgiving about my English...
Campaign is finally over, and the PCs actually survived, so we are already carrying on with the sequel...
As i have found out, i'm a little short on time for the purpose of full reports on our gaming sessions, so unless there are really people here wanting to read though the rest of this Crusade, i think i won't write everything up...
But for my first try at "neo-retro" gaming, it was just fantastic !!! (And yeah, my players loved it too... at least so they say)
So i wanted to thank a bunch of people here:
* First and foremost the Trolls themselves, for some gamebooks i really never will regret buying !
* Everyone here on the forum, for reading the parts of the campaing i published, for each and every topic that i used to help me out or inspire me in matter of rules and ideas, and for making C&C feel so lively and fun altogether !
* And (although they don't read english and/or never come here anyway) my Players, for the fun, the sharing, the characters, the ideas, the unpredictable chaos factor, and everything that goes with !
So, now The Red Moon book has reached its end, The Dancer under the Iron Cross campaign is already going well, and hail to the Crusades !!!
_________________
People, i'm a German living in France, so please be forgiving about my English...
-
CKDad
- Master of the Kobold Raiders
- Posts: 1205
- Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:00 am
- Location: Somewhere in Maryland
Glad you guys had a good time! How about a snapshot of one or two really cool happenings?
_________________
"I don't wanna be remembered as the guy who died because he underestimated the threat posed by a monkey."
_________________
"I don't wanna be remembered as the guy who died because he underestimated the threat posed by a monkey."
"I don't wanna be remembered as the guy who died because he underestimated the threat posed by a monkey."
-
Saarlander
- Ungern
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:00 am
Well, since you are the only but welcoming reader of this topic as it seems, my group and i will gratefully reward you soon with some fondly-remembered highlights then !
I'm now starting to run a poll among my players to see what THEY would like to be told to the world about their ultimate kickassery, but i'm already thinkig of some tales worth to be sung:
- How the most feared Assassin-Priest of Lokyn Elecast ALMOST sent the whole party of heroes to the netherworlds, and how they finally suffered utmost defeat...
- How an almighty Troll Lord AND his most dreadful of pets were slayn right before the entire Goblin City he ruled with an iron fist...
- How, back 6000 years in ages past through the flow of time, the party confronted the ridiculously powerful servant of a sorcerer-god and his terrifying minions... and what they won and lost thus doing...
-...before participating in a battle for the change of an Age, facing immortal beings and Elemental Lords along with the mightiest army of the Northern World...
- How, on the way there, then back again, two Wyverns suffered their demise at the hands of one unfazed, heroic lady while the party hadn't even thought about daring to take them on...
So behold, as this, and much more happened in this crusade ! And praised be the Castles & Crusades game, for all this was possible while the characters stepped up from 1st... to 6th level in the end !
_________________
People, i'm a German living in France, so please be forgiving about my English...
I'm now starting to run a poll among my players to see what THEY would like to be told to the world about their ultimate kickassery, but i'm already thinkig of some tales worth to be sung:
- How the most feared Assassin-Priest of Lokyn Elecast ALMOST sent the whole party of heroes to the netherworlds, and how they finally suffered utmost defeat...
- How an almighty Troll Lord AND his most dreadful of pets were slayn right before the entire Goblin City he ruled with an iron fist...
- How, back 6000 years in ages past through the flow of time, the party confronted the ridiculously powerful servant of a sorcerer-god and his terrifying minions... and what they won and lost thus doing...
-...before participating in a battle for the change of an Age, facing immortal beings and Elemental Lords along with the mightiest army of the Northern World...
- How, on the way there, then back again, two Wyverns suffered their demise at the hands of one unfazed, heroic lady while the party hadn't even thought about daring to take them on...
So behold, as this, and much more happened in this crusade ! And praised be the Castles & Crusades game, for all this was possible while the characters stepped up from 1st... to 6th level in the end !
_________________
People, i'm a German living in France, so please be forgiving about my English...