ArborDale Campaign II

Some time ago I mentioned the new 5e campaign I'm running, which was designed as sort of me foray into what might be called "old school" 5e. Another time I'll wax philosophical about why 5e really isn't a game to be played "old school", but for now I wanted to follow up on a request to post some of the initial encounters of the adventure, and my attempts to play the game with a "classical" element woven in. So I'll be publishing some of my homemade maps and notes to give you an idea of what I threw together as well as how play went through each phase of the campaign.

First, you may or may not recall, I'm playing with my two older teenage daughter and son, my ten year old daughter and a family friend in his mid twenties. We play each Sunday afternoon for about a three to four hour session at the kitchen table. All players have played before except our family friend, who is now of course hooked for life on D&D, and gaming generally. The campaign started with a fifth player, teenage nephew, but he lives in California, so can only join us When he's visiting. The roster of characters were:

Rogar, Dragonborn Ranger from the Western Outlands.

Calie a female Tiefling Monk struggling to bring her chaotic urges under control

Bones SkullSplitter, the Dwarven fighter

Kiedis the half-org bard who made his way through life compensating for his looks and parentage by way of entertainment and storytelling

And, Adrya the half elven Sorceress of Copper Dragon bloodline

Arbor Dale

Before we can get quite underway, we have to step back a bit and frame the campaign against its backdrop. In fact, an understanding of the realms round about is critical to the overarching direction of the campaign as a whole. And the immediate backdrop is the Kingdom of ArborDale.

The Idyllic and romantic gem of the outer provinces is the small but legendary kingdom of ArborDale. The Legends say ArborDale was blessed by the goodwill of the Gods and tended by the Druids, like a garden of solace from the world. The actual city of ArborDale hosts legendary Castle ArborDale and is presided over by the beneficent Fawn King and his beautiful Queen Serienne. The most noteworthy natural feature in ArborDale is the vast and kingly Oakwood roughly divided into the Upper and Lower Oakwood separated by the wide blue EverRun River. The Amber Wood embraces the kingdom’s eastern borders, filled with the beautiful amber trees, their golden green leaves making the large wood glisten like a jewel of Amber. The Amberwood is said to be the home of the Golden Dragon Hedrimyr in legend, and is tended by his followers, the golden skin Dawn Elves though none of seen such a creature, let alone the legendary wyrm itself.

To the south lie the cooler and wet lands of The Bogs. A vast swampy area, more like a sprawling shallow lake filled with ancient Cypress trees. These massive trees fill the northern portion of the area and the give the name Featherwood to that region, a token to the feathery like needles of those giant trees. Further south yet, the Feather Wood gives way to the WetWood, aptly named for its almost constant presence of dark green waters that carpet the forest floor. Drapery Moss hangs heavy throughout the forest here and though the sight is one of striking if strange beauty, weird and fell creatures are said to make their homes here. The Cat River and its thousand tributaries feed this huge area and is home to the legendary giant CatFish that some brave fisherman hunt for a living.

In the heart of the Dale hidden within these forested regions as if by an arbor lies the city of ArborDale. More like a large town, ArborDale boasts almost 20,000 citizens if the surrounding farms and landholdings are included in the population count. Mostly forest folk, lumbermen, foresters, farmers, hunters, and fishermen the Dale is a rich and bountiful area. Though over 90% human some  2,000 or so demi-humans make their homes here as well. The majority are halflings that live in the rolling plains to the northeast of ArborDale along the HighRoad Shires.

My first sketch of ArborDale, long before the Campaign came together

Now, what the characters don't know alot about is the more ancient history of the times before ArborDale. Most of the citizens of the Kingdom of Arbor Dale doesn't know the long ago histories as anything more than fairy tale legends, more distant than the fanciful tales of Herimyr the Golden Dragon of the East, or the Silver-Maned Unicorn said to be protector of the great Western OakWood. The Kingdom of ArborDale is one of the western-most kingdoms of what are commonly called The Outlands. 

The Outland Kingdoms are what remains from the frontier of a great Empire that defined the height of human civilization long ago. The Empire long ago fell apart and several kingdoms arose in its stead. The Empire had established a peace and prosperity that had not existed previously in these once wild regions at the borders of civilization and so these lands now had enough stability and peace to arise and establish themselves in the wake of the waning Empire. The originally benign Emperor had established an extensive chivalric court, an extensive network of monasteries that in turn established a collegiate system for the education of the masses and generally raised the literacy and wealth of the common folk as well as allow for the development of a thriving middle class.

A subsequent sketch roughing in the Outland Kingdoms

Upon this structure and order rose the basis of many subsequent kingdoms, the focus on our campaign being the Outland Kingdoms and specifically ArborDale. Most of the above ancient history (circa 500 years before present) is remembered as the Golden Age, and the Empire as the Golden Empire or at times the Eastern Empire. It is thought to be a time of great political, philosophical, religious and magical wonders and advancement. Most of what is good, noble and worthy of trying to achieve again is, in the Outland Kingdoms, generally seen reflected in the long ago history of the Golden Age of Empire. It was a time seen when the Gods routinely talked to their priests and priestesses directly guiding the path of the world's history; a time when the ArchMages walked the earth, immortal, cosmically powerful and almost Gods themselves. The truth of the matter is lost to the knowledge of men, and the little sage historians know seems to tell a far stranger tale.

But these tales live far in the past. As does the dim, dark memory of a sinister figure called The Skull King, Prophet of Death. History has done much to obscure the tale, but the Skull King is rumored to have been a rebel prince who broke from the Empire, pursuing dark magics to attempt to kill the Emporer and overthrow the Empire. His evil was seen to be so great and deep that he did not desire to simply take over the Empire, but abolish it utterly. The legends speak of a Champion of the Emperor, some say the Emperor himself, who faced and defeated the Necromancer, chasing him deep into the belly of the World and through it to other worlds and dimensions of Time. The myths, for they are seen as such by many, and some say the Skull King was a long ago fallen God of Evil conquered by the Golden Light of the Empire, and a metaphor for men to conquer the evil in themselves in order to bring about the Golden Age again. 

Just how these ancient tales fit into our day and the current Campaign of ArborDale remains a mystery to our characters and most within the current story-arch. As are lands beyond ArborDale, which I continue to detail, but do not pertain directly to the current campaign.

The adventure map of ArborDale

To keep these entries manageable, I'll detail the encounter areas and adventure hook along with initial NPCs next time. This first part of the adventure went quite well, something I can't say for the second leg. 

O.K. Paizo May be Getting Some of My Money Again Soon

Paizo's Starfinder RPG

I'll admit right up front, my experience with science fiction gaming is limited to a few games of Traveler, a little more Star Frontiers, one foray into Shadowrun, creating characters in Space Opera and after that, mostly Gamma World. This is despite being an avid Star Trek fan in all its incarnations, a lover of Star Wars, Babylon 5, BattleStar Galactica, Dr. Who, Firefly, Stargate SG1, Arthur C Clarke, Larry Niven, Asimov, Bradbury, Poul, Bova, and well ... you get the idea. Why I could never get a long term Sci Fi game going with my gaming buddies is a mystery to me, since we all loved Sci Fi and spent as much time arguing about that as we did D&D.

Then the other day I ran across the ad for Paizo's Starfinder Sci Fi RPG and my heart skipped a beat. Just like when I saw all those other Sci Fi games I mentioned sitting on the game store shelf all those years ago. Would this be the one? Could this game recreate for me the kinds of adventures Kirk, Spock and Bones had on my little black and white TV all those years ago? Would this be my gateway into world spanning rebel alliances? I envisioned all the colorful scenarios I could play out with my own kiddos who consumed Clone Wars episodes as fast as they came out, and could quote Dr. Who dialogue and dressed up as Enterprise red shirts for halloween? Certainly they would be as excited as I felt when I saw this new Paizo offering.

So, to summarize what we know so far: As Charlie Hall's Polygon article states, the game seeks to capture a swords and planets type of space fantasy ethos. And goes one to describe the setting as one in which magic coexists to some degree or other beside technology. The Starfinder universe is also the universe of Golarion, except that Golarion has gone missing and the entire known population of the Universe has amnesia about its past and their current trajectories. Shades of SyFy series Dark Matter?

Dark Matter

Well, probably to some degree, only on a much larger scale ... intriguing? Evidently trhe "Starfinders" are those amnesiac inhabitants of Golarion who make up the heroes of the StarFinder Universe. They are called Starfinders because they are out to "find" in the stars, the answers to the mysterious roots of their past, and the still unknown destiny of their futures. And then there is the novel idea of hyperlight travel through what is evidently called The Drift in StarFinder. Not sure of the details, but the idea of hyperlight travel ripping off huge swaths of Heaven or Hell and adding it to the Drift is enough to make my spec fic heart go flutter!

Space Demon by Pumpkin Pie 92

If you were to press me for my favorite sci fi series of all time, it would be a difficult choice. I am a Star Trek fanboy through and through, but if I could only have one, and one only. I might choose Babylon 5. And what do we hear about StarFinder's main "city" Absalom? Well, here I quote directly from the article itself, "It's a kind of a Babylon 5-style place," Sutter said. "You could play an entire campaign there and never leave Absolom Station, if you wanted to." Well, if you had just gone out and made the perfect Sci Fi game for me it would look an awfully lot like Starfinder is starting to look.

New races are planned as well, so the game is not just a mashup of Pathfinder and Sci Fi. Androids are present as are the ever required and iconic space battles. This is where I hold out hope and am inspired by their design goals. The basic concepts the designers sketch out in the article point out that combat will be based on the highly successful Battletech system, though I'm unsure how much they can even say that. I thought BT was sold by Wizards some time back, but I suppose the basic idea is fairly universal. But the danger of course is to not lose focus on the roleplaying aspect of the game. Here Paizo says the aim is to keep each role in combat important and actively involved in space battles. It's a tall order, but I'm hopeful for them.

At any rate, I'm excited and whether or not a get a long term game up and running, Paizo is likely to get another couple hundred bucks from me within the next year. And that my friends is not a bad thing in this case.

On Being Magnanimous as a Gamer

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Okay, this entry is going to be a sort of fan-boy geek-out essay, so if you don't like that sort of thing, you just might want to go sit in a corner and suck on some persimmons. But one of the most valuable lessons I have been taught over the past decade in my gaming career has been from my current living gaming hero: Jolly Blackburn. He probably would be thoroughly embarrassed by the following ode, but because I think he stands as a shining example of what it means to be magnanimous in a hobby that has more than its share of grognards and grumbling grannies he deserve this nonetheless.

Now, the thing is, I count myself as one of those erstwhile grognards of the more irritatingly vocal type. Hell, my entire blog has been a tribute to critiquing the current wave of gaming as a nostalgic clarion for the preservation of the gaming past. And I have not always been magnanimous in my efforts. Thus Jolly and his character and personality have served as a good example for me to more carefully consider my words about gaming and how they might make others feel; and more importantly how they might negatively effect the hobby as a whole.

Jolly's example, however, is less about pontificating this fact than living the life of what I would consider a gamer who lives by and honors the old guard while eagerly and openly embracing the new media, movies, books, games and talent that serves the industry we love so much. In other words Jolly is old school. About as old school as it gets. But Jolly is also on the cutting edge, enjoying, celebrating and reveling in all the new talent and creativity that is serving the speculative fiction industry has to offer. So in him I have a role model that I can identify with as having come from the same old school roots as myself -- AD&D 1e and 2e, while boldly championing the evolution of gaming and its offshoots in all directions.

When I first came to KODT, and later Hackmaster--my preferred in-print game--Jolly struck a chord with me because he was so clearly steeped in an old school ethos. However, one cannot read KODT or the current iteration of Hackmaster and not appreciate how he and his fellow designers at KenzerCo also are keenly aware of and sensitive to the new wave of gaming as well. I know Jolly gets a lot of the lime-light in regards to Hackmaster and KODT, but he is quite clear that Dave Kenzer, Brian Jelke, Steve Johansen and his wife Barbara and others deserve much of the credit, power and creativity behind both products. Another sign of his magnanimity; and, I'm sure, of his much more public profile in social media circles. Jolly is immanently approachable in that sense.

In addition, having listened to numerous podcast interviews and video segments, Jolly is always self deprecating, humble, and refuses to be drawn into edition wars and criticism of other companies, other games, and especially other designers. He is just a nice guy. I have also watched as he interacts and listens to others on his Facebook page, on KCo's, now somewhat quieter, forums, and other outlets where he is willing to engage old friends and new comers alike with the same open, honest and welcoming attitude that endears him to so many. In this way, and I am not sure he has simply taken this role because he is a natural at it, if he really likes it, or he drew the short straw at KCo, Jolly has become the "face" of KCo to the public. When one thinks of Hackmaster and KODT, one cannot help but have Jolly spring to mind. Though I know the other designers are as every bit as involved as he is. And this in no way is meant to steal any of their thunder, skill or importance as I have watched interviews with them and video snippets of their play as a group as well. I also greatly admire Dave Kenzer for different reasons, but this post is meant to communicate how inspiring and important it is to be magnanimous as a gamer in today's world. I hold Jolly in that esteem.

And while we're on the subject of Jolly, if there's anyone who knows gamers, gaming culture, tropes or gaming psychology any better they are certainly not making it known like Jolly and the KODT crew. I simply can't communicate how important KODT is to me. I'm not going to say it's more important than gaming, but KODT has kept me going when there has been no gaming in my life. In a world where my gaming past seems to hold itself up as a golden age that cannot be reclaimed, KODT is there for me, like a breath of rarefied air of an age of gaming that, to me, represents the Camelot of the gaming world. It makes me laugh, smile, nod knowingly and hang on every cursed cliff-hanger each issue. I don't know how Jolly does it, but he captures something for me that is the very essence of gaming. Something rooted not altogether in the games, but the gestalt of the games, and the unique and priceless gaming community of which we are all a part. My hat goes off to him, my heart goes out to him and I pray the magic never ends.

But Jolly's magnanimity doesn't just end at gaming. I have seen him be a proud champion of movies, books, TV series and the like which sometimes get too much negative press and add a bit of positivity, humor, practicality and support. The most recent Ghostbusters re-make was a prime example. Before it was even out, fan-boy haters were griping because it wasn't the original cast, it wasn't funny enough, they were all women, and one actress in particular singled out for being "wrong" in even more ways. The fact is, many of the critical comments were misogynistic, racist and just plain bull-headed. But Jolly not only defended the film as a reaction to those prejudicial negativities, he championed the film to give it a chance. And he did. And he was in a camp of numerous distinguished critics who also found the film funny and engaging. Was it different from the original, yes. But a good film re-make or update does not have to be a copy of the original in tone or detail. I'm a fan of the new ST movies. I don't quite like it as much as TOS or TNG, but I did enjoy them. And by all critical accounts the second was worse than the first but I liked it better! I think, and this is just my take, that magnanimity requires that we extend to new efforts in speculative fiction of all types, games, and entertainment that caters to what could be called the nerd-geek-gamer culture a benefit of the doubt and a fresh open mind and perspective. The fact is we live in a world awash in superhero/heroine movies, Sci Fi, games, tabletop and video, and even comics are seeing a resurgence, or at least coming back. We should rejoice that what started long ago with Tolkien, Stan Lee, R.E. Howard, Carter, Lovecraft, and yes Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson has become the de facto entertainment industry of the world. It is a good time to be a gamer. And if we become too bitter, critical beyond reason, or just plain nasty we not only hurt people, we hurt the industry and ultimately ourselves. I think Jolly does a good job of modelling how to be a positive force in teh gaming world.

So, is my reason for posting this just to point out how awesome Jolly is? Well, maybe a little. But truthfully the reason for this post is that I'm sharing a bit of a vision for myself and my blog. What I would hope to do is be excited about all gaming, all facets of it. D&D has spawned so much of the current interest in and products of the current spec-fic craze. It is not alone of course, Comics, literature, and film all synergistically work towards the present day. I hope to do so with graciousness, with serious discussion, with humor and with magnanimity. I say we sit back and enjoy it some. As my brother said, it is a good time to be gamer. Let's all complain less and be a little more magnanimous. I'm certainly going to try.

~Important end-note: The above post in no way represents the opinion of the owners of this blog or the gamers it represents. That one "weak-kneed", mamby-pamby, pansy dice caresser can't buck up and own what real gaming is, and denounce the rest is not our problem. Sure he may deserve some kudos for being all soft and friendly with those imitators and wannabes that are gaming diceless and playing inferior systems, but we certainly know where the truth lies. And, if he really is such a devoted fan of KODT, as he claims to be, then he would realize the magazine itself makes known in no uncertain terms that anyone who is out there suffering through Pathgrinder, wasting their time behind a screen playing World of Hackcraft, or challenging other gamers to tournament sessions of DAWG the roleplaying game should cash in their dice bag and go take up shuffleboard. Respectable gamers everywhere have a duty to be the gatekeepers of quality and true old school gaming ethos in film, in literature and at the gaming table. And we all know what that means--if you don't play Hackmaster, you're not gaming. And if you aren't using officially licensed product, your not playing it right. We are sure this Jolly fellow is a nice guy in as far as that goes, but don't let yourself get all fuzzy over some guy who can't tell the difference between diceless roleplaying and superior Hard Eight products. And yeah, the new Ghostbusters wasn't all that bad, but H8's upcoming SpookHackers the RPG will give you a much closer experience to the original, classics films. 

-- The management

The Man Himself
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