Dead Orcs Society Solo Adventures - Lenneth

Once again, from the Dead Orcs Campaign Files comes another solo adventure. Featured today is the solo adventure of the party's Ranger.

Lenneth is an elf Ranger that specializes in the use of the long bow. He's the group's most powerful striker. Lenneth & Lyreika go way back, as Lyreika's father use to run a trade route that included the outpost where Lenneth could often be found acting as a local guide. When this story occurs, Lenneth has been tracking the famed White Stag, a creature prominent in the local elves' legends.

As a reminder, each adventure follows a simple (but easily adaptable) formula:

Encounter one uses minions and sets the hero on the path.

Encounter two utilizes a simple skill challenge.

Encounter three uses both minions and a level appropriate "boss" figure roughly equal to the hero's strength. The difficulty of this encounter is based on how well the hero does during the skill challenge just prior. If the hero fails the skill challenge, this challenge will likely include several minions as well as the "boss" figure.

Here's what the encounter looks like (encounter created in Masterplan 11.1). Please note that when writing adventures for myself, I often leave out the minor details of certain things so that I have room to ad-lib with the player. If the notes from the adventure below do not seem polished, this is why.

You'll also note that I while Masterplan assigns XP to the various encounters, I did not track this. These adventures were designed as flashbacks. Skip to the bottom to see the followup.

DeadOrcs_Solo_Lenneth

 

An adventure for 1 character of level 1.

By Randall Walker

Chasing The White Stag

It's been a quiet morning. The woods are silent but for your footsteps and the occasional call of a bird. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you catch site of the famed White Stag, the ultimate quarry!

Lenneth, intent on proving himself a skilled hunter, sets off after the famed White Stag, only to find himself hunting down more than he bargained for.

Encounter		75 XP
Level 1
Opponents		3
Starved Dog		x3

Illumination:

Bright light (daylight).

Features of the Area:

Trees 
Several trees surround the encounter area granting cover and blocking line of sight.

Setup:

The White Stag starts at the far end of the encounter area and bounds off the map after the first round. The Starving Dogs leap out into the middle of the encounter area. The hero begins at the opposite end of the encounter area away from the White Stag.

Tactics:

The Starving Dogs were initally going to take a shot at the White Stag, but seeing it moving too quickly, decide that its hunter (the Hero) would make an easier meal. The Starving Dogs are very hungry and attack aggressively, fighting to their death.

Items Of Note:

One of the Starving Dogs is wearing a fine leather collar with silver studs. The collar is worth 10 GP.

Starved Dog  Small natural beast		Level 1 Minion  25 XP
HP 1		Initiative +2
AC 15; Fort 10; Ref 13; Will 11		Perception +1
Speed 8		low-light vision
Standard Actions
Bite ♦ At-Will (basic attack)
Attack: +6 vs AC 4 damage.
Str: 14 (+2)  Con: 13 (+1)	Dex: 15 (+2)  Int: 3 (-4)	Wis: 12 (+1)  Cha: 8 (-1)
Alignment Unaligned

The Glade Of Illusion

Chasing the White Stag, you have stumbled into a curious glade of very large purple flowers that sway to and fro. Periodically, the flowers emit a sickly looking cloud of green pollen. On the other side of the glade, stands the White Stag, taunting you.

The White Stag lures the Hero into a glade of strange flowers that emit clouds of poisonous pollen. The Hero must dodge the various flowers and get to the other side of the glade in order to continue the chase. 

However, there is a catch. Each failure during this skill challenge results in the Hero seeing an additional White Stag.

The Glade Of Illusion		200 XP
Level 1  Complexity 2 (requires 6 successes before 3 failures)
Primary Skills
Acrobatics (DC 12): Dodging the flowers, the hero easily avoids the pollen they emit. The hero may use this skill multiple times.
Success: The hero gains 1 success and progresses across the glade.
Failure: The hero takes 1d6 points of poison damage, gains 1 failure, and a copy of the White Stag appears.
Endurance (DC 19): Taking a deep breath the hero tries to prevent breathing in the poisonous pollen. The hero can only use this skill check twice.
Success: The hero gains 1 success and progresses through the glade.
Failure: The hero takes 1d6 poison damage, gains 1 failure, and another copy of the White Stag appears.
Stealth (DC 12): Moving slowly and quietly the hero attempts to move around the flowers without setting them off. The hero may use this skill check only once.
Success: The hero gains 2 successes and continues to progress across the glade.
Failure: The hero takes 1d6 points of poison damage, gains 1 failure, and another copy of the White Stag appears at the end of the glade.
Other Skills
Nature (DC 19): Before entering the glade, the hero remembers some obscure nature lore that help succeed at the challenge.
Success: The hero gains a +2 on his next Endurance check. This skill can only be used before entering the glade.
Failure: No effect.
Perception (DC 19): Eying the flowers carefully, the hero is able to perceive and predict their movement, better avoiding their poisonous pollen.
Success: The hero gains a +2 on his next Acrobatics or Stealth check. The hero can only use this skill once either before or during the challenge.
Failure: No effect.
Victory
The hero makes it through the glade relatively unharmed and only confronts one White Stag (White Stag copies that may have appeared during the challenge, fade away).
Defeat
The hero sees an additional White Stag for each failure of the skill challenge (4 in total).

Confronting The White Stag

If the hero was successful at the Glade of Illusion, read the following: You have caught up with your prey. As you take aim, the White Stag turns and speaks, "Strike me down, hunter and seal my fate". 

If the hero failed during the Glade of Illusion, read the following: Brushing the last of the poisonous pollen from you, you look up to find yourself surrounded by four identical White Stags. In unison they speak, "Foolish Hunter, do you not realize the power of the White Stag? Prepare now, to face our wrath!"

The Hero finally confronts his prey, The White Stag. Depending on how the previous skill challenge went, the Hero will either be facing the single (and true) White Stag, or the single (and true) White Stag alongside 3 other identical illusions.

Encounter		175 XP
Level 4
Opponents		4
White Stag Illusion		x3
White Stag

Illumination:

Bright light (sunlight).

Features of the Area:

Numerous trees block line of sight and provide cover.

Setup:

If the Hero faces the White Stag alone, place the White Stag anywhere in a central location on the encounter map. The Hero begins anywhere within 6 squares of the White Stag. 

If the Hero faces the White Stag and its duplicates, place the Hero in the center of the encounter map and place the 4 White Stags around the Hero anywhere within 4 squares.

Tactics:

If the Hero chooses to attack, the White Stag defends itself. It will fight to the death. 

If the Hero does not attack, see Alternative Outcome below:

Items Of Note:

Regardless of whether or not the Hero slays the White Stag, he ends up with the Pendant of the White Stag.

Alternative Outcomes:

If the Hero does not attack, the White Stag speaks: "You have chosen not to strike me down. Perhaps you are wiser than I realized." The White Stag then fades into the form of a beautiful woodland spirit. "Continue your work to preserve the forest, and keep this." The spirit then hands a pendant (shaped as a White Stag) to the Hero.

White Stag Illusion  Medium natural beast		Level 1 Minion  25 XP
HP 1		Initiative -1
AC 15; Fort 13; Ref 12; Will 11		Perception +0
Speed 8
Standard Actions
Hoof Kick ♦ At-Will (basic attack)
Range: Melee Attack: +6 vs AC 4 damage.
Str: 14 (+2)  Con: 12 (+1)	Dex: 12 (+1)  Int: 1 (-5)	Wis: 10 (+0)  Cha: 8 (-1)
Alignment Unaligned

White Stag  Medium natural beast		Level 1 Skirmisher  100 XP
HP 26; Bloodied 13		Initiative +2
AC 15; Fort 13; Ref 13; Will 13		Perception +0
Speed 6 squares		low-light
Standard Actions
Bite ♦ At-Will
Range: Melee Attack: +6 vs AC 1d8+4 damage
Antler Rake ♦ Recharges on 5-6
Attack: +4 vs Reflex 1d10 +6 damage
Str: 10 (+0)  Con: 10 (+0)	Dex: 10 (+0)  Int: 10 (+0)	Wis: 10 (+0)  Cha: 10 (+0)
Alignment Unaligned

---

The Feedback:

Russell is the youngest player in the group, and I've only been playing with him since 2008 when I re-booted the Dead Orcs Society. Of all my players, he's the one that I would tag as my "power gamer", as he genuinely enjoys building a character's stats to their greatest potential. While those skills have made him an invaluable team member (his Ranger does insane amounts of damage, even at Heroic levels), I sometimes worry that he's not getting as much as either of us would like out of the role-playing aspects of the game.

As we played through his brief solo adventure, I experience both what I expected out of Russell's character, and a total surprise. First, I had expected him to do well on the combat encounters, and this turned out to be true. However, he really breezed past the skill challenge. Acrobatics was one of the primary skills to use, and Lenneth's was pretty much maxed out. With a Dexterity of 20, Russell pretty much spammed Acrobatics, and breezed through. After seeing how the first two encounters went, I figured the third encounter would be the same. I was totally wrong. While I had written an alternative conclusion to the adventure, I really had no idea that Russell would have his character actually take this option. It was amazing to watch, and to see first hand an excellent example for why a DM shouldn't make assumptions about his players. The most amazing quote from my power gamer player during the final encounter was this (paraphrased), "I hunt for sustenance only. Why would I strike you down for the sheer thrill of it?" It was an awesome role-playing moment I won't forget.

Feel free to steal any or all the elements of the brief encounters listed above. As always, I'd love to hear your feedback regarding solo adventures, skill challenges, or anything else for that matter. In among other posts, you'll see the remaining adventures as my players schedule time with me to play.

Until next time...

Game excellently with one another.

Dead Orcs Society Solo Adventures - Zurgas

Continuing my series on solo adventures, this week, we take a look at the solo adventure our groups Paladin went through.

Zurgas is a Tiefling Paladin of Pelor. He was originally being trained as an assassin, but after he witnessed the brutal slaying of a child, he had an epiphany and a nearly 180º turn around in philosophy. Confessing his sins, Zurgas pleaded with the local church to allow him to train as a Paladin for Pelor. After some close scrutiny, they decided to put Zurgas through a series of tests to prove his worth. The adventure that follows was one of those tests.

As a reminder, each adventure follows a simple (but easily adaptable) formula:

Encounter one uses minions and sets the hero on the path.

Encounter two utilizes a simple skill challenge.

Encounter three uses both minions and a level appropriate "boss" figure roughly equal to the hero's strength. The difficulty of this encounter is based on how well the hero does during the skill challenge just prior. If the hero fails the skill challenge, this challenge will likely include several minions as well as the "boss" figure.

Here's what the encounter looks like (encounter created in Masterplan 11.1). Please note that when writing adventures for myself, I often leave out the minor details of certain things so that I have room to ad-lib with the player. If the notes from the adventure below do not seem polished, this is why.

You'll also note that I while Masterplan assigns XP to the various encounters, I did not track this. These adventures were designed as flashbacks. Skip to the bottom to see the followup.

DeadOrcs_Solo_Zurgas

An adventure for 1 character of level 1.

By Randall Walker

---

A Ghoulish Task

It seems like an ordinary day. The sun is out, there are a few clouds, and the bustling populace of Fallcrest can be heard below. Ahead of you, parishioners file into a run-down church, the looks on their faces sad and fearful. As the last one slips inside, a single scrap of paper slips from its grasp and lodges into a bush near the entrance. Now, as you stand just inside the gate of the "Church of The Everlasting Light", you have a feeling that you are being watched.

In an effort to prove his worth to Pelor, Zurgas must sanctify an abandoned church in Pelor's name. Even before he can get to the building proper, however, ghouls from the graveyard outside the church move to thwart him.

Encounter		75 XP
Level 1
Opponents		3
Ghouish Defiler		x3

Illumination:

Moderately bright light (shaded daylight).

Features of the Area:

Gravestones 
The various gravestones within the cemetery provide partial cover to anyone ducking down behind them.

Setup:

The hero begins at the gates of the cemetery surrounding the church. The ghoulish defilers begin at randomly selected gravestones.

Tactics:

The ghoulish defilers are brutal in their determination to stop the hero from entering the church, hoping their bites will slow their enemy. The creatures will attack until destroyed.

Items:

Scrap Of Paper 
The hero will note a small scrap of paper that flutters from a parishioner's prayer book and lodges in a nearby bush. On the paper are printed the words, Orcus protect us. Orcus save us from the light to be embraced in your eternal darkness. 

Just below that is scrawled in barely legible common, Someone save us!

Ghoulish Defiler  Medium natural humanoid (undead)		Level 1 Minion Soldier  25 XP
HP 1		Initiative +2
AC 15; Fort 14; Ref 16; Will 13		Perception +0
Speed 8, climb 4
Immune disease, poison; Resist 10 necrotic; Vulnerable 5 radiant
Standard Actions
Ghoulish Bite ♦ At-Will
Range: Melee Attack: +6 vs AC 4 damage and the target is slowed (save ends).
Skills Stealth +11
Str: 14 (+2)  Con: 15 (+2)	Dex: 19 (+4)  Int: 10 (+0)	Wis: 11 (+0)  Cha: 12 (+1)
Alignment Chaotic evil
Languages Common

Sanctify the Congregation

Slamming open the door, you hear a low murmuring - dark prayers to the demon Orcus. Amazingly, the priest at the head of the congregation looks up only briefly. Seeing you, he returns to his prayers, chanting louder this time.

Confronted with a congregation filled with recently converted Thralls of Orcus, Zurgas must use his holy ability to exercise members of the congregation.

Sanctify the Congregation		200 XP
Level 1  Complexity 2 (requires 6 successes before 3 failures)
Primary Skills
Heal (DC 12): Using a healing touch, the hero proves the power of his faith. The hero can use this skill any number of times to complete the challenge.
Success: The thrall is converted and sees the light of Pelor, his faith spreads to two adjacent thralls. The hero gains 1 success.
Failure: The thrall is not converted. The hero gains 1 failure and an armed parishioner appears at the pulpit next to the preacher.
Religion (DC 8): Using the power of his faith, the hero's words convert a thrall once again to a faithful of Pelor. The hero may use this ability once during the skill challenge.
Success: The hero converts a thrall to a member of the faithful of Pelor. The hero gain 2 successes, and two adjacent parishioners convert as well.
Failure: The hero fails to convert a thrall and gains 1 failure. An armed parishioner appears next to the priest at the head of the congregation.
Other Skills
Any Radiant Power (DC 12): The hero uses any power with the Radiant keyword, but does no damage. This ability can be used once during the skill challenge.
Success: The hero converts an thrall effected by the power instead of doing damage. The hero also gains 2 successes and removes 1 armed parishioner from the stage next to the priest.
Failure: Another armed parishioner is summoned to the side of the priest at the head of the congregation.
Diplomacy (DC 19): The hero attempts to convince a thrall to convert. The hero can use this ability only once during the skill challenge.
Success: The hero converts a thrall into a faithful of Pelor. The hero gains 1 success.
Failure: The hero fails to convince the thrall to convert. The hero gains 1 failure and an armed parishioner appears next to the priest at the head of the congregation.
Endurance (DC 12): Tapping his reserves of faith, the hero pushes ahead with converting the congregation. The hero may use this ability once during the skill challenge.
Success: The hero gains a +2 on his next Heal or Religion check when converting a member of the congregation.
Failure: No effect.
Lay On Hands (DC 12): The hero uses a Lay On Hands power to prove his faith to a member of the congregation. This ability can only be used twice during this skill challenge.
Success: The hero converts a thrall, and two adjacent thralls. The hero also gains 2 successes.
Failure: No effect.
Victory
If the hero succeeds in the skill challenge, the thralls all begin to shake off their condition and begin praying loudly to Pelor, sanctifying the church. They begin to leave, shuffling out of the church, leaving only the priest and one or two armed parishioners.
Defeat
The few converted thralls flee, but the rest remain, spreading out in a circle. The priest and several armed parishioners move forward to attack. The church remains defiled.
Notes

Secrets Revealed

As the priest and his minions move to confront you, you realize something shocking. You KNOW this man!

In this final confrontation, Zurgas must face an old foe, in the guise of a priest of Orcus!

Encounter		175 XP
Level 4
Opponents		4
Bludgeon, Human Assassin/Priest
Armed Parishioner		x3

Illumination:

Moderate bright light (indoors at daylight).

Features of the Area:

Pews 
The long benches (or pews) are difficult terrain. Crawling over them is easy, but the movement is treated as moving over difficult terrain. Ducking down behind a pew grants partial cover. 

Parishioner
For this encounter, it's possible that some parishioners loyal to Orcus might be standing around watching the outcome of the fight. These parishioners do not attack, but can be moved through as difficult terrain. Standing behind a parishioner grants partial cover.

Setup:

The hero begins somewhere on the floor of the sanctuary, based on the result of the skill challenge just prior to this encounter. 

Bludgeon and his faithful start at the edge of the stage at the far end of the sanctuary.

Tactics:

A hero attempting to convert followers back to Pelor will attract a great deal of attention. Bludgeon will send his minions to attack. If that fails to thwart the hero, Bludgeon will use his ranged attack until the hero closes the distance. At that point, Bludgeon will use his mace in melee combat. Bludgeon fights to the death, for he knows the Assassin's guild will kill him if he is thwarted. 

Remaining unconverted followers, will drift out of the church, dejected. Many will be greeted by brethren in an attempt to continue the work the hero started.

Items Of Note:

Hidden behind the pulpit are Peloran Bands These armbands provide a boon to followers of Pelor that don them.

Bludgeon, Human Assassin/Priest  Medium natural humanoid		Level 1 Controller 100 XP
HP 28; Bloodied 14		Initiative -1
AC 15; Fort 14; Ref 13; Will 12		Perception +0
Speed 6
Standard Actions
Mace Of Conversion (necrotic) ♦ At-Will (basic attack)
Range: Melee Attack: +6 vs AC 1d8+4 necrotic damage.
Mace of Corruption (necrotic) ♦ At-Will
Range: Ranged 10 Attack: +4 vs Fortitude 1d6+3 necrotic damage and ongoing 1 necrotic damage (save ends).
Skills Acrobatics +6, Intimidate +5
Str: 16 (+3)  Con: 12 (+1)	Dex: 12 (+1)  Int: 10 (+0)	Wis: 10 (+0)  Cha: 10 (+0)
Alignment Evil
Languages Common

Armed Parishoner  Medium natural humanoid		Level 1 Minion  25 XP
HP 1		Initiative +0
AC 14; Fort 12; Ref 10; Will 10		Perception +0
Speed 6
Standard Actions
Club (Weapon) ♦ At-Will (basic attack)
Range: Melee Attack: +6 vs AC 4 damage.
Str: 14 (+2)  Con: 12 (+1)	Dex: 10 (+0)  Int: 9 (-1)	Wis: 10 (+0)  Cha: 11 (+0)
Alignment Unaligned
Languages Common
Equipment club

Treasure Parcels

Peloran Bands

These bracers shed light in a 2 square radius, granting limited vulnerability to radiant damage to undead creatures. In addition, the bands provide a daily power that allows the wearer to regain the use of one healing surge.

The Feedback:

I've been playing with Alex for over 10 years. He's a solid gamer, but even today is a little shy about how to work out the role-playing aspects of his characters. Given some direction, though, he can lock down on something and role-play the shit out of it. Yesterday, before the adventure, I got to sit down with Alex and discuss themes (remember, I'm introducing themes) and also asked him if his Paladin, Zurgas had any quirks. He wasn't sure, but he liked the idea. I love character development so it was hard not to just throw a bucket load of ideas at him. One thing we did know, was that a pivotal moment in his youth, he witnessed a fellow member of the local assassin's guild kill a child. From that point on, he has been very protective of children. I suggested a quirk that had to do with children. Maybe he likes to make toys or candy (he's an alchemist) for the children when he comes to visit. I'm not certain what he'll decide on yet, but he was digging the direction. The nice thing about these quirks is that they have no real mechanical game impact. Giving a toy to village orphan is not going to give him a +1 to anything. It's just a quirk that brings his character to life. 

As we played through the adventure, I challenged Alex on the different ways skills & powers can be used in order to further role-playing goals. When it was all over, I think I feel safe in saying that he has a new appreciation for his character. I look forward to seeing some really cool moments from Zurgas from here on.

SIDE NOTE:  I have updated the notes on the previous solo adventure for Akumahn.  You can find that HERE.

Feel free to steal any or all the elements of the brief encounters listed above. As always, I'd love to hear your feedback regarding solo adventures, skill challenges, or anything else for that matter. In among other posts, you'll see the remaining adventures as my players schedule time with me to play.

Until next time...

Game excellently with one another.

Campaign Considerations - Mother, Jugs, & Speed

Working in the downtown region of a moderately-sized city, I hear my share of sirens. Even as I drove home, we had to pause for at least two different sets of emergency vehicles. One of these vehicles was an ambulance, and it sparked a memory of one of my favorite (non Sci-Fi or Fantasy) movies to come out of the 1970s - Mother, Jugs, & Speed.

While I doubt you could make a movie with that title these days, they did in 1976, and it starred Bill Cosby, Harvey Keitel, Raquel Welch, Larry Hagman, & Bruce Davidson (among others). Go ahead and read the Wiki about it right here before we continue.

You might be wondering how a dark comedy like this could spark the idea for an Dungeons & Dragons setting, but as I break it down, you should be able to see that the basic plot of this film could be the basis of a very dynamic and unique urban campaign.

Okay. So let's get some basics out of the way. If you linked over to the Wiki to read about the movie, you'll realize that the basic plot is about a struggling ambulance company trying to compete with a better funded organization for a city contract. The members of the struggling company all have their fair share of demons, and the realities of "life in the city" lead to dark and humorous adventures.  The members of the struggling company, "F & B Ambulance" face challenges both from their occupation as ambulance workers and the organization that employs them. 

If you're still trying to put these two things (city ambulance company and Dungeons & Dragons) together, that's okay. Let me walk you through it, piece by piece. I'll set out the main elements of the story (as presented by the movie), and then I'll discuss how I'd handle these for a fantasy setting. Ready?

Let's do this.

MJ&S: Takes place in the city.
Campaign: No problem here. Urban settings for fantasy games are popular and fun to play. Visit Lankhmar, Waterdeep, or Robert Asprin's "Thieves' World". This would be another great city. Perhaps it could be used as a city to drop into anyone's campaign. The city would probably have some of what I would call "high magic" elements, although it would work in a "low magic" environment as well.

MJ&S: Characters are employees (of varying backgrounds) who work as EMTs for a private ambulance company.
Campaign: There are several ways to take this, but why not go for a direct translation here. Characters are employees of a city healing service. If healing is the milieu of religion, then the competing groups might be different temples trying to gain followers by showing the city ruler who is best at healing (which also potentially gains them converts). Imagine is temples began to engage in a "War of Healing". What would that look like? On the other hand, if the competing groups are guilds or similar type businesses, they simply might be gunning for the most coin. Rescued people pay a fee to be assisted by the healing service. Where there's money, there's conflict.

MJ&S: The characters in the movie often arrive at an injury scene where danger is unfolding.
Campaign: Well, this situation pretty much defines the meat of an encounter, right? Healing services might arrive to rescue somebody while the encounter is in progress, the enemy blasting away. Perhaps a rival company arrives at the same time, and snipes at the characters' group, in order to gain the rescue fee.

MJ&S: Some of the more experienced characters have nicer ambulances and equipment.
Campaign: Efficiently designed wagons serve as the ambulances in this campaign. Perhaps as the characters gain levels or tiers, their wagons are given special abilities or even more equipment. Maybe the animals that pull the wagons are better (or even intelligent!).  Perhaps DMs can give their players the opportunity to "trick out" their character's wagons for different benefits.

MJ&S: The characters have EMT training which gives them first aid skills.
Campaign: Characters might be actual healers (clerics, paladins, etc.). Or, in a low magic campaign, perhaps the healers use an actual "heal" skill of some kind. In a world where alchemy is common, potions & other substances might enhance "normal" healing, and would be carried by the characters. In either case, the character's main job is that of search and rescue (which is actually a little beyond the straight-forward task of the EMT).

That's just a few of the major elements that can be easily translated from this modern story to a fantasy type environment. However, there are a few things that need to be addressed for such a campaign setting to work well.

1) In the modern world, people call for help with phones. In most fantasy settings, instant communication would almost have to be the purview of magic users. At the least, some form of device would have to enable that kind of "summoning" for help. Maybe utilization of the artificer class (as per Eberron) could fill this gap. Be prepared to have your city use this kind of communication for other uses.

2) In most fantasy settings, healing is the purview of clerics and other classes for whom faith is a power source. While "civilian" injuries could probably use an ambulance service, would adventuring parties ever have need of one? Would the current rules for some games (particularly 4e) need to have some kind of modification to the death & dying rules? Without teleportation, how do ambulance crews get to the injured party before they die?

3) A good campaign setting should really utilize all types of character classes. Healers are an obvious choice, but fighters, magic-users, thieves, and others will want to be a part of the team. What kinds of scenarios can a city generate enough of, for these classes to be a legitimate part of an ambulance crew?

Well, what do you think? This is really just a rough outline. This idea has sparked such a keen interest, I might be looking to self-publish this idea as a campaign setting. I've never done that before, but this idea is unique enough, it might drive some interest.

Oh...before I go...I want to give a special shout-out to Quinn Murphy over at At-Will. After I introduced this idea over Twitter this morning, he was really helpful at amplifying those brain microwaves to really get this idea cooking. If you haven't visited his blog, for Pelor's sake, please go do that. He's big-times. You'll find a wealth of great info over there.

Further bulletins on this project as ideas develop.

Until next time...

Game excellently with one another.

Lyrical Locations - The Paradise Steakhouse

I've made no real secret of the fact that music does a great deal to inspire me. While I don't have it playing in the background during my games (although many do indeed do that), I rely on music to keep me inspired and going when I need a lift.

The other day, it occurred to me that songs often mention locations that have no specific tie to a particular place, other than whatever is in the artist's mind at the time. As I thought of some of these places, I thought it might be fun to pick apart the lyrics of said songs and create locations that you can drop into any fantasy role-playing game.

I play 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, so the things and items described will be based on that version of the game. However, I think I can create enough "fluff" around these bits to create a location that you can use in just about any game.

The first location in this series is a place called "The Paradise Steakhouse". This location is based on the song of the same name written by Ian Anderson and performed by Jethro Tull.  Here are the lyrics to that song:


PARADISE STEAKHOUSE LYRICS*

I'd like to take you
To the edge of every morning
On a magic eiderdown
To a window chair

In the Paradise Steakhouse
Where there's a cup of silver coffee
Steaming chrome reflections
From the mist in your hair

Try not to watch me
(Try not to watch me)
Just call me after dark-fall
(Call me after dark-fall)
I'll bring a whip to sow
My seed on your land

In the Paradise Steakhouse
There's a cup of silver coffee
A sheath of steel so you may hold
My sword in your hand

I'll cut you, divide you
Into tender pieces
No wings to fly away
Upon my dear

In the Paradise Steakhouse
On a plate upon a table
I will carve your name with care
To last the years

I'd like to eat you
(I'd like to eat you)
All fire will consume you
(Fire will consume you)
Roast on the spit of love
On this arrow true

In the Paradise Steakhouse
I'll taste every finger
Baking in the ashes
Till the flames rise anew

I'd like to take you
To the edge of every morning
On a magic eiderdown
To a window chair

In the Paradise Steakhouse
Where there's a cup of silver coffee
Steaming chrome reflections
From the mist in your hair

*These lyrics have been printed here without permission.



Get the PDF for the Paradise Steak House 




Until next time...

Game excellently with one another.




P.S.  If you like this series and you are an artist that would like some practice, I'd love to see illustrations. No pressure, no requirements. Just contribute as you may. Send me an email if you're interested.

Drop And Give Me Twenty! Reasons to Buy Matt James' "Soldiers Of Fortune"

This is my sword. There are many like it, but this one is mine...


A few weeks ago, freelance RPG writer, Matt James, put a call out on Twitter. Matt was looking for 4e bloggers that might be willing to review his upcoming offering, "Soldiers Of Fortune"; a gaming supplement set in Wolfgang Baur's, Kobold Quarterly's campaign setting - Midgard. I initially jumped at the chance, because I've known Matt from Twitter and from having him on the DM Roundtable which I help host. 


Matt was quick to send me a review copy of the supplement, and then I promptly set to...well, sitting on it. There are a number of reasons for my hesitation, but most of them had to do with my lack of experience in reviewing this kind of material. While I'm eager to share my thoughts about products I actually use (usually dungeon terrain and other types of physical objects), I have much less experience reviewing written words. That lack of experience combined with a product I wouldn't necessarily immediately have use for myself (or so I thought at the time), made me drag my feet. However, I have finally shaken off that bit of writer's block, and so a little late to the party, I provide this review. Matt, I ask your forgiveness for my hesitation. Please don't assign me to KP duty.


As I stated above, this supplement is probably not one I would have initially picked up on my own. My own campaigns don't have a strong militarized element, and that is what Soldiers Of Fortune is all about. If you want to know how to incorporate guards, soldiers, mercenaries, and armies into your 4e campaigns, this is definitely the tome for you.  However, even if you (like me) don't have a strong military component to your campaigns, you can still find something useful in this supplement. In fact, there are SO MANY interesting and useful tidbits, I'm going to give you 20 reasons (in no particular order) to immediately go out and buy Soldiers Of Fortune. Free 3-Day passes to anyone doing a push-up after reading each one:

01)  Clear and well thought treatise on the reasons for going to war.

02)  Plot hooks that are specific to the subject matter of the book, but general enough to drop into any campaign setting.


03)  Clear examples on how the various races of the Midgard setting view the life of a soldier.


04)  Numerous Skill Challenge examples that work great in just about any military adventure.


05)  Clear examples (in the form of "Edicts") that show how armies work and how military campaigns are conducted in the Midgard setting.


06)  Numerous "call-outs", little boxes of extra text that help tie either real-world or campaign setting information in to the general information provided by the supplement.


07)  Interesting NPC generals and leaders suitable for use in any campaign.


08)  An entirely new background theme for military characters  - The Mercenary.


09)  An entire career's worth of new Powers: At-Wills, Encounter, & Dailies.


10)  A slew of new feats for military characters.


11)  Powers & feats specifically related to the use of siege engines.


12)  Military themed Paragon paths.


13)  A host of new magic items including War Banners and new Martial Practices.


14)  A complete adventure for five -  7th level players.


15)  New monsters. Many of the new monsters are related to the Midgard campaign setting, but could easily be re-skinned to suit any campaign.

16)  New minion & minion aura rules to facilitate large combats (but see my notes below). 


17)  A boat load of new templates for various military types.


18)  The entire supplement is laid out in an attractive way with sparse but relevant art and maps for the included adventure. 


19)  A fantastic section on siege engines and how to use them. This section (for me) is worth the price of admission alone.


20)  Clearly written by someone who has been in the military and is able to apply that knowledge to the game, without speaking down to those of us without that experience.


With all these great reasons to buy Soldiers Of Fortune, there are a couple of things I would have like to have seen that are not included. The supplement is certainly complete without them, but I think it would have floored me had they been included.


01)  Rules for large scale combats. The 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons has been lax on this point, and this book would have been a natural place for those rules. It's quite possible, though, that there's enough material on that subject to warrant a second book. Soldiers Of Fortune - The Field of Battle would be a great title for that, by the way. Just sayin'. 


02)  Clearer rules for when characters NOT of a military nature find themselves conscripted into an army. How can the Rogue, Wizard, or Druid get along if left with no other choice but to find themselves drafted?  I think that would have been a great addition.


Again, these are minor points. Overall, even though I don't run a military styled campaign, there is plenty of material in Soldiers Of Fortune to warrant its cost. Every DM needs to have these rules in their 4e arsenal.  


Soldiers of Fortune is available at the Kobold Quarterly Store in both PDF file and hard copy versions. I do suggest you pick up a copy. 


At ease, Soldier.






Until next time...


Game excellently with one another.