Tabletop RPG Podcast and Roleplaying Resources

Month: October 2016 (Page 1 of 2)

Land Ho!

voyage-to-virginiaThey volunteered for their own reasons.  As word spread throughout the Gothic Empire of the discovery of a vast and new land, the Emperor’s aides quickly assembled the first year of cadets in the Imperial War Academy.  For various reasons, the party volunteered to leave hearth and home, maybe to never return to the shores of the Gothic Empire, to family, to all they knew. But volunteer they did.

The party journeyed on a thirty day coach trip to Krugersport, in the Western March, and met with Baron Manfred von Kruger (thirteenth of his line).  There, the party took the generous offerings of the Baron and the Emperor, and outfitted their Carrack, the Baron’s Revenge.  They also purchased a second Carrack, and named it Beric’s Blessing (after the prophet Berric).  The party screened settlers, and stocked the ship with provisions, livestock, and settlers.

Finally, before departure, the party tracked down one of the few survivors of the discovery voyage.  Rustig Tannor was laying in bed, sick with the Bloody Pox, a disease he claimed came from touching a new type of bird in the New World.  They didn’t find out much from Rustig, except that the passage was arduous and stormy, and that they had only stayed on shore for a few hours before rushing back to the Empire and safety.

Finally stocked and ready, the two Carracks sailed out of Krugersport to a ticker tape departure, with thousands cheering the two intrepid ships.  May 25, TYOTE (the year of the empire) 1149. From information gathered, the party estimated a three month journey to the new lands. At first, the seas were calm, and the ships made good time (150 miles a day).  Then a bracket of small storms slowed the two ships down.  On August 15, the skies on the south, west, and north turned dark and tumultuous.  The first band of storms hit the two ships that evening, with 120 mph winds.  One mast of Berric’s Blessing snapped even as the sails had been taken down.  As the first band passed, the crew prayed to the One God through Beric that they were through the worst part.  Beric could not hear.  The next wave hit the ships, with 150 mph winds, and lasted almost a day.  Several passengers died from the unheard of tossing and cresting of the ships.  Then, an unnatural calm.  The ships had sailed into the eye of the cyclone.  For hours, the crew tended to the wounded, and butressed the masts. Then the eye passed, and the storm, with a growl, hit the two ships again, with the back side of the eye of the storm.  For another day, the ships were hit by a maximum of 188 mph winds.  Two more masts of Beric’s Blessing were snapped, as were two of the Baron’s Revenge. Three more passengers died, including Doctor Paltos.  With Beric’s Blessing down to one mast, and the Baron’s Revenge down to two, the ships made much slower goings.

On September 15, the crew spotted seagulls and shoals.  On September 18th, the crew spotted a small reef island, and named it Constantine’s Concern.  Finally, on September 26, 1149, the crew spotted a distant shore, with mountain peaks and forests.  Land Ho! was cried, and excitement rippled through the weary passengers and crew. A New World.

The Captive of Dardrin’s Deep 02: The Secret of Sky Elves

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See the full photo album.

Had a great conclusion to the adventure! The heroes ventured into a subterranean shrine, had some interesting conversations with a giant Coy fish, and ended up fighting the ghost of the previous shrine-priest. See below for the map I never got around to showing you!

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Final conflict took place in the valley of Dardrin’s Deep where it turns out taking the ring off the elf-maid was NOT what she wanted. It broke an enchantment she had placed to banish the Sky Elves to another dimension. Well, it all worked out in the end but not before the bard Chester showed up his rival 🙂

 

 

Middle-earth in TA 1640

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Heroes of Arnor

Our new ‘B’ campaign is ‘Heroes of Arnor’. Check out the trailer!:

Was doing some research in preparation for a potential Middle-earth campaign. Here are my notes.

A Brief History of Middle-earth & Arnor

In twelve minutes, you can learn just about all you need to know! Watch these two videos if you have time:

Middle-earth in TA 1640

This adventure is set in Arnor, over a thousand years before the events of The Hobbit. Here is some background on Middle-earth in that region at the time of Third Age 1640:

  • Durin’s Folk still inhabit Moria; Erebor won’t be founded until the year 1999. The colony in the Iron Hills won’t be established until 2590.
  • In Mirkwood, around TA 1,000, a dark sorcerer known as the Necromancer took residence at the stronghold of Dol Guldur, though none will know until nearly a millennium later that this is the spirit of Sauron.
  • Also around TA 1,000, the Valar sent the five Wizards, or Istari, including Gandalf, to oppose Sauron and rally the free peoples of Middle-Earth against him.
  • The Ringwraiths reappeared in the year TA 1300, and began steadily assaulting Arnor (the Numenorian kingdoms in exile). Whether the Witch King (the head Ringwraith, or Nazgul) was acting on his own, or was being guided by Sauron, is not known.
  • The Beorning culture won’t come into existence until after the year 2941.
  • Arthedain is the only remaining North-kingdom; the current ruler is Argeleb II, tenth King of Arthedain (1589-1670).
  • Rhudaur is controlled by Hill-men allied with Angmar.
  • The Shire was ceded to the Hobbits less than forty years ago; the Stoors arrived only ten years ago.
  • The Great Plague swept through Middle-earth in 1636 to 1637. Hobbits wandering back east should be very rare (if at all).
  • Dale would be thriving, but the inhabitants would not be known as Bardings, but simply as ‘men of Dale’ or ‘Dale folk’.
  • The current Esgaroth would be the old town that had fallen into ruin long before the coming of Thorin and Company.
  • The present ruler of Gondor is Tarondor, twenty-seventh King of Gondor (1636-1798).His predecessor Telemnar (who ruled 1634-1636) died in the Great Plague with all his children. The capital is Minas Anor, Osgiliath having burned during the Kin-strife (1432-1448) and then having been abandoned following the Great Plague. Minas Anor will be renamed Minas Tirith after the fall of Minas Ithil in 2002.

Pregen Characters

You can use the pregens in the book (except for the Beorning).

Custom Characters

If you create your own custom character:

Abilities: Use the stat array method from the D&D Player’s Handbook.

Cultures: All cultures are allowed except Beornings (Beornings don’t exist in T.A. 1640). Note the following modifications or additions to cultures.

  • Bardings — Bardings at this time are simply known as Men of Dale or Dale Folk.
  • Dwarves — Use background as-is, but your origin has you be from Moria (or Khazad-dûm), which at this time is still alive and well with Dwarves. Only in T.A. 1980 do they dig too deep and encounter the Balrog. Erebor won’t be founded until the year 1999. The colony in the Iron Hills won’t be established until 2590.
  • Men of Arnor — This is a new culture which is simply a renamed Dúnedain, Man of Minas Tirith, or Riders of Rohan cultures.
  • NPC Races — Hillmen, Elves of Rivendell and Elves of Lindon, and Noldor Elves are not in the Adventures in Middle-earth book nor are they playable races (although you’ll be seeing them as NPCs).

Starting Equipment: Use the standard starting equipment and money appropriate to your class and culture, and standard of living (I’m still deciphering these rules).

Character Names: Names are an amazingly important part of keeping the tone of Middle-earth. Don’t make up a name; rather, select a name from the Adventures in Middle-earth book appropriate to your race and culture. Alternatively, select a name from this page:
http://merp.wikia.com/wiki/Names. I would ideally like all characters to have unique first letters to their names to avoid confusion. Lastly, please review all character names past the GM for approval (to make sure you selected the right culture, etc.). 🙂

Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion — Episode 12

Evading a swarm of TIE fighters, the rebels escape from Tatooine with Adar Tallon. Twi’lek Rebel Agent Lu’Nimah then sends the rebel heroes on a mission to the jungle planet Najiba.

Sed Hargo and Lanissa Trag are two wildlife activists who promise information vital to the Alliance but only after they rescue an endangered species: a mated pair of Koalitas impounded by the Empire.

The party gets inside the Empire’s customs office where the Koalitas are held inside a stasis chamber. A few blaster shots and an explosion later, the heroes are frantically escaping from to their waiting ship, Koalitas in tow.

Aboard the Tyrannus, late in the night, Lanissa screams. The heroes find the Koalitas have evolved into deadly creatures!

After one Koalita is down but two of the heroes are incapacitated, Cornelius jumps into a exoskeloton workloader and subdues the remaining Koalita.

The heroes are then given a summons to meet Adar Tallon at a hidden rebel base. The location? The planet Alderaan. What could go wrong?…

The Captive of Dardrin’s Deep 01: The Spire of Gold

After a vision with clues to saving a spell-slumbering elvish maid, the heroes ventured into the dangerous territory of the Red Centaurs to brave the perils of the Spire of Gold. After some adept thinking the party’s druid used a vine whip to fasten rope to the towers top. Scaling the outside of the tower, the heroes were attacked by dire pelicans! Finding the magic gauntlets, the heroes now begin their journey to Byrðincel Abregdan (or, ‘Burden’s Lift’) where the fable Soul-Blade is rumored to rest.

(Everyone levels up to 2nd Level for the next game).

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