BASIC DUNGEONS & DRAGONS - SKULL MOUNTAIN - Part II

Campaigns I Have Known

Proudly Presents...

BASIC DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
 - SKULL MOUNTAIN

Part II

Synopsis (Continued...): And now the second half of the campaign, which features the two new players/PCs entering the fray following the departure of Aaron and his recently deceased Elf.

The story thus far...After being marooned on a mysterious island by a terrible storm at sea, two old friends, a Fighter and a Cleric, join forces with an Elf they met to find shelter. They discover Skull Mountain, the former home of a giant long since dead.

Strange creatures and fantastic treasures are found within the mountain. With each level deeper our intrepid explorers descend, the foes become more dangerous, and the rewards greater!

On the next to last level, the sixth level of Skull Mountain, a terrible creature slew the Elf as he tried to help his allies.

Now, with their Elf friend gone, the Fighter and Cleric swear to find out what is at the very bottom of Skull Mountain if it's the last thing they do! Before they can make good on their plan, another dreadful storm comes through, depositing a damaged boat, and two new castaways into their midst.

Jeff's Fighter, and Josh's Wizard had arrived! David's Fighter and Matt's Cleric brought the newcomers to their campsite, gave them food, and some first aid, and learned about the brothers' need to go home.

The PCs made a deal to aid each other in their respective goals. The newcomers would help the Fighter, and Cleric explore the lowest level of Skull Mountain in exchange for some of the treasure, and their help in repairing the boat. In exchange, the brothers would take the stranded adventurers with them to The Mainland**.

Fairly quickly, things became complicated. A series of phantoms accosted the newcomers, especially Jeff's Fighter. Luckily, Matt's Cleric had the magic amulet that let him see the ghost-like figures, as well as speak with them. They turned out to be ancestors of Jeff's people and they were trying to warn the brothers to leave the island immediately.

Josh's Wizard, and Matt's Cleric consider this, while the two Fighters refuse. Jeff wants to find treasure and weapons to aid his nation. Dave wants to avenge Aaron's Elf.

Boldly pressing onward, the party uses the pit entrance in an attempt to reach the sixth level quickly. Unfortunately, slippery ledges and loose rocks make it slow, and treacherous going. Exploring the area thoroughly once they arrive, they PCs discover it to actually be the den/nest of the creature that killed Aaron's Elf. In addition, they felt that the creature had been placed there on purpose by someone, perhaps as a guardian beast.

Was it the protector of whatever, or whomever was on the bottom level?

Finally, the PCs made it to the seventh, and final level, which turned out to be a cavernous chamber filled with seawater which formed a miniature lake. In the lake was a small island, and on that island was a domed, stone structure about the size of a small keep. Several other structures were found that eventually led to the party calling it 'The Domed City'.  

The Domed City is revealed to be the home of a race of Dwarf-like beings who saw Skull Mountain as both their home, and their charge. They felt it was their 'true purpose' to protect the mountain, and the giant's treasure to the point of seeing the PCs as invaders, and criminals. Even after an attempt to explain, the Dwarves felt compelled to attack the party. Luckily, the Wizard and Cleric were able to reason out the why of this.

The small people of the Domed City were the descendants of Mountain Spirits, and Brownie-like Faeries from the giant's house. They simply could not allow the PCs to go unharmed even if they wanted to. However, if the adventurers could take the treasure, and get it out of the mountain, not only were they free to go, the Dwarves were likewise free of having to remain in the mountain to protect it.

With clever thinking, lucky rolls, and the discovery of The Giant's Heart (a magic artifact that may, or may not have actually been the heart of the giant who lived in the mountain), the party was able to defeat enough of the Dwarves, and their minion beasts to get past them, find the treasure, and escape with it to the surface!

The campaign ends with the party at sea on the brothers' repaired carrack (boat) heading for a new chapter back on The Mainland**.

Appendix N: The other players (meaning not me) brought in influences from books, movies, cartoons, and other sources that I was less familiar with. Things like The Hobbit, Lords of The Rings, Warlord and Conan comic books, and more that I couldn't tell you.

I personally sourced (in addition to the stuff I mentioned in the preface of the previous post) a lot of folklore, just as I do today. Specifically, I used British, German, and Russian folktales, as well as some Greek and Norse Mythology.

Bonus Features:

*I came up with the idea of Signature Magic Items so that I could give the PCs cool magic items without having to keep giving them items. They would find one item that would get better, and better as they (the PCs) went up in level.

Signature Magic Items start as something like a +1 Sword, or an amulet that lets you see ghosts. When you go up in level, beat some difficult challenge, or something similar, you discover a Shield that is also +1, but makes both the Sword and Shield +2 each IF they are used together. The amulet lets you speak to ghosts as well as see them. That kind of thing.

This is an idea I still use when playing my D&D-But-Not style games.

**The entire campaign took place on a single island with a skull topped mountain on it.

World building was somewhere between simple, and non-existent.

At the same time, I believe that at some point I did sketch out what we knew of the world. Story elements from both the players, and some of the NPCs gave me just enough information to get an idea of where the campaign took place (if you're very lenient about the meaning of that phrase).

The original map is long since lost. It would look something like this:

The entirety of the world besides Skull Mountain Island was either The Mainland or the mysterious  'Lands Beyond The Sea', where Dave's Fighter, Matt's Cleric, and presumably Aaron's Elf came from. It is also possible the Elf came from The Mainland and was simply exploring the Lands Beyond The Sea just as Jeff and Josh's characters were.

The Mainland consisted of several small nations including Jeff and Josh's PCs' homeland, a number of warring neighbors, and The Hidden Forest.

While I primarily used creatures found in the Basic D&D rules, I felt the need to create a few original beasties to make the setting special. The monster that slew Aaron's Elf was inspired by the Dobhar-chú, an Irish folklore creature whose name means 'Water Dog'. The Dwarves of the Domed City were based on Domovoi, a type of Slavic Brownie.

Also...

As part of a series entitled, 'Dungeon Mastering As Fine Art', the site Zenopus Archives gives considerable attention to the map of Skull Mountain and the various incarnations it has had.

James Maliszewski, on the GROGNARDIA blog, likewise gave the locale some thought.

***

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's all for this tale. It was a lot of fun reminiscing about this campaign, and I hope to do more 'firsts' in the future (my first Mekton campaign, my first Traveller campaign, etc.).

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

See you soon.

AD
Barking Alien

BASIC DUNGEONS & DRAGONS - SKULL MOUNTAIN - Part I

Barking Alien friend and frequent commenter Miguel de Rojas made mention on my last Campaigns I Have Known post that he loves this series. I'm serious! It's a quote. You can look it up. I have it in writing!

I have to thank Miguel as that seriously made my day. It also helped me to decide what this next entry would cover. I knew I wanted to shake things up and go with something Medieval Fantasy related (What?! Adam has a Medieval Fantasy campaign he remembers fondly? Yes. They're rare but they happen) but I wasn't sure which one to talk about.

Then it struck me - I owe you all something special. Something that really celebrates this series.

Welcome to the Summer of 1978 and my very first campaign of anything.

Basic (Holmes version) Dungeons & Dragons was the name and having no clue what I was doing was the game.

Now, this may require a little set up. I recommend reading this, this, and really this.

Where were we? Oh yes, 1978 - Summer Camp.

My friend David Pollack brings over the Basic D&D box set. I have to assume it was the Holmes version, the same one I started with the year before, but I recall there being something different about it. Perhaps one of the D&D aficionados who reads this can shed some light on the subject.

Because I was the only one who seemed to have prior experience playing D&D I was voted GM by default. It was Dave's suggestion but everyone seemed happy with the arrangement so it stuck. Besides, once I had tasted life on the other side of the table there was no going back. Well not literally but I was rarely happy as a player back then. Gamemastering was my jam and remains so to this day.

My very first campaign is, honestly, a very strange memory for me. I actually recall it pretty clearly. I forget the characters' names of course (a common issue for me) but I remember who they were, I recall the players, the stories we told and how it felt to have the players think I'd pulled off a great game. I don't remember some later campaigns nearly as well.

I guess it's true what they say. You never forget your first time.

***

Campaigns I Have Known

Proudly Presents...

BASIC DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
 - SKULL MOUNTAIN

Part I

Picture yourself a lower-middle class 9 year old boy living in Brooklyn, NY.

Not hard right? Ahem. OK, maybe that's just me. 

Well, If you would, try to imagine for a moment that you don't have access to the internet. It hasn't been invented yet as far as you know. No smartphones, no laptops, or desktop computers.

You're not yet very familiar with Anime or Manga. Video games consist of the Atari 2600. It will be months before Space Invaders hits the arcades in North America.

Numerous popular TV shows and cartoons are airing, some making their debuts in 1978. None of these are Medieval Fantasy related. Battlestar Galactica, Project U.F.O., Mork and Mindy, even Yogi's Space Race - all Science Fiction themed.

As far as movies go, a lot of great films were released that year. Although many of them came out that Summer, a lot more came out between October and December. Among them were Superman, Midnight Express, Dawn of the Dead, Grease, Animal House, and Watership Down. Ralph Bakshi's animated Lord of the Rings film would come out in November. As I'm starting my campaign in June, that's 6 months away. .

This is what the world was like for me at the time I came up with this campaign. Barely any clue of what Fantasy was and even less of an idea of what makes something 'Medieval'. I'd seen some old Errol Flynn films, a few cartoons with Knights and Dragons (notably Bugs Bunny), but overall I had to wing it in regard to what life was like in the default milieu of 1978 D&D.

But wait...I did have some Oz books, The Sword in The Stone movie, and...yeah. I can do this.

***

Title: [BASIC] DUNGEONS & DRAGONS - SKULL MOUNTAIN

'Skull Mountain'

Illustration by Tom Wham

From the Holmes Edition of

Basic Dungeons & Dragons

System: Basic Dungeons & Dragons, Holmes version (1977), TSR.

Circa: Summer 1978. Between June and August. There were approximately 30-32 sessions, each lasting 4-6 hours long. Three or four of the sessions were run on weekend days and those were about 6-8 hours long.

Player Base: There were five players, all male, between the ages of 8 and 11. We started with three players, lost one during a short break, then two new guys joined. Our missing member returned for a few sessions toward the end of the campaign (See more in the synopsis).

Characters:

As this campaign took place over 38 years ago I am unable to remember the characters' names. I know this has been a thing with me in some of these older campaign descriptions. I'm sorry about that, I really I am. My memory is surprisingly sharp in other areas. Promise.

An additional note: Back in those days characters didn't have elaborate backstories - heck, they rarely and barely had simple backstories - but as our campaigns progressed we added little character bits and background notes that enabled us to know something about our heroes beyond their class, level, and stats.

I think this write up will show how even early on my friends and I did things a little differently.

Human Fighter (played by David P.)

Initially serving as the party's de facto leader, David's Fighter was definitely in the vein of a Knight. He was strong, smart, and agile (Not your typical bruiser). He was an honorable fellow with a noble bearing. His personal code of ethics meant he would protect or rescue his allies as a top priority.

His primary weapon was a sword and he usually carried a shield as well. His armor was chainmail and he wore a helmet.

We learn very little of his origins except that he is from a land 'beyond the sea'. He was a warrior but made it clear he hated war, having seen 'too much bloodshed in the name of gold'.

His signature magical items* (discovered one by one throughout the campaign) were a Sword, a Shield, and a suit of Platemail. Each one was +1 to hit, damage, or armor class as appropriate but gained an additional +1 when used in unison. This means that if one person has all three items, he/she would have a +3 Sword, a +3 Shield, and a +3 suit of Armor.

Human Cleric (play by Matthew)

Matthew played our Cleric, an old friend of David's Fighter who worshipped never fully defined 'Spirits'. Matt's Cleric was very much what you'd expect from a classic Cleric - Wise, honest, faithful, and full of hope.

The Cleric's main weapon was a Mace but honestly he rarely used it unless he had no other option. Matt used his character very much in a defensive and support role, though we certainly didn't know those terms at the time. The Cleric was garbed in chainmail as well.

We learn even less about the Cleric than we do about the Fighter. There are interesting references to the Spirits that give him his powers however. He mentioned things like The Spirit of The Sea, The Spirit of The Wind, The Sun Spirit, The Spirit of Night, etc. We know that he came from the same homeland as David's Fighter.

Matthew's Cleric had a signature magic item* in the form of an amulet. This mystic necklace, known as The Amulet of Lost Souls (I think), gave the Cleric the power to see ghosts, speak with the dead, and perform other strange feats.


Elf (played by Aaron)

Oh Basic D&D, with your non-Humans as classes. Man, how I've missed...er no, actually I don't miss that at all. Always thought that was terribly silly.

While most of you are probably quite familiar with 'Race as Class', for those who aren't the Elf, Dwarf, and Halflings of Basic D&D were designed as Classes. An Elf was essentially a Fighter/Magic User, a Dwarf was a Fighter, and a Halfling was a Thief. You couldn't play a Dwarf who was by profession a Cleric for example or an Elf who was by profession a Thief. Elves were Elves, Dwarves were Dwarves, and that was that.

Aaron's Elf was someone Matt's Cleric and David's Fighter had met only recently prior to the events that began the campaign. He had met the two old friends while traveling with them on a ship heading for The Mainland**.

We learned as we went that there were few Elves left in the world. Most of the Elf's people had 'faded away' over time (we were never clear what that meant but Elves were supposedly very rarely seen in the world). Elves who didn't want to fade needed to travel to a hidden forest on The Mainland and speak with a Fae Guardian of some kind. Aaron's character was on his way there.

His main weapon was a Bow and Arrow but he also carried a short sword. His armor was leather if I remember correctly.

The Elf's signature magic item* was an Elven Gauntlet/Glove that only an Elf could wield (for most other races it did nothing special but if a goblin touched it they would receive burning damage). The Gauntlet could touch something and then bestow the key quality of that thing onto something else for one round. As an archer he mostly used it to touch things and then touch an arrow as he notched it.

Touch a burning torch, bestow fire on an arrow. Touch running water, bestow an arrow with the ability to put out a small fire. Touch the Cleric's Amulet, bestow upon an arrow the ability to cause 'physical damage' to a Ghost or evil Spirit.

Human Fighter (played by Jeff W.)

About half way through the campaign the make up of our group changed. Aaron wanted to do more camp related activities and hang out with some of his older friends following...well...that would be telling (see the Synopsis). It was cool with the rest of us and we let him know we would always save him a seat at our table.

Two new players joined up - Jeff and Josh Wolf - the Wolf Brothers (as we called them). The Wolf Brothers had been away for the first month of camp but ended up signing on for August. I didn't know them well at first but the older brother, Jeff, was a friend of a friend. The two of them had been playing for about a year already (same as me).

Jeff was tough to game with at first. I think he resented that a lot of people thought that I was a really good GM when I was two years younger than he was. Also, he had a better handle on the rule mechanics then I did and it came up from time to time. He wasn't a rules lawyer per se but he was a fellow to whom the rules mattered.

I eventually won him over with, well, a really good game I guess.

Jeff's Fighter was very different from Dave's in personality and style. He was tougher, stronger, and more physical in general. He was more headstrong, less disciplined, and more barbarian than knight, though not stupid nor completely brutish.

I don't know or remember enough Fantasy literature to make good comparisons but if Dave's fighter was Galahad, Jeff's was Fafhrd. A better comparison for me might be Captain America and Wolverine, complete with Wolverine's more layered and nuanced modern depictions.

Like Aaron's Elf, Jeff's Fighter had a bit of a history and a goal which he shared with his brother (the players decided their characters were also brothers). They had been on adventures 'far away' when they received word that there may be war brewing between their nation and a neighboring one. They were heading for The Mainland**, returning home to join their father (a chieftain or important warrior of some kind) and defend their country if need be.

Jeff's Fighter wielded axes, often carrying a large one in one hand and a smaller throwing axe in the other. He wore chainmail but we always imagined it piece-meal, with animal hides and such over it.

He gains his signature magic item a bit late in the game. It was a two handed battle axe called 'Sunder' that on a natural '20' would cleave whatever it struck in half, with any loose bits flying off in all directions. This included things an axe can't normally cut through such as a stone wall or a much larger than Human sized creature.

Human Wizard (played by Josh)

Jeff's brother Josh played Jeff's character's brother, which was great as it made it very easy to introduce them into the already existing campaign.

A fun character, the Wizard was nervous, apprehensive, and pretty much the exact opposite of the brash warrior Jeff portrayed. Fearing that his older brother would show him up, the Wizard put on an air of being wiser and more powerful than he really was.

He mainly carried a staff and a dagger, with the staff being his primary weapon. As with all classic D&D Wizards, he wore no armor.

Josh's Wizard found his signature magic item* in his second session. It was a wand that could gather magic from around him and release it as a blast of magical energy or he could add the power he absorbed to one of his spells. So for example, if an enemy wizard cast a Magic Missile at him (which normally hits automatically) and he had his wand out, he would make a sort of generic saving throw to see if he could catch the magic. If he made it, the Magic Missile would turn into swirling colored light around the tip of the wand. The wand wielder could then blast it back at the enemy or cast a Magic Missile of his own, using up a memorized spell, but causing double damage (since he now has the power of the first Magic Missile being added to his own).

I think he called it 'The Returner's Wand' or 'Wand of the Returner' or something.


Synopsis: Never having run a campaign before, I started with the idea that I needed a good reason for the party to be together and to go on an adventure. A purpose to it all.

I saw the illustration of 'Stone Mountain' in the Basic D&D book and I was suddenly inspired. The entire concept for the campaign rushed like a raging river into my head.

The PCs began the game by waking up on the beach of a fog enshrouded island. The ship they were traveling on had been headed for The Mainland** but was now dashed upon the rocks. They remembered a storm. There were no other survivors beyond the three initial PCs - Dave's Fighter, Matt's Cleric, and Aaron's Elf.

Past the short beach was a sad, desiccated looking forest and after that a huge mountain. The mountain took up the entire center of the small island. At the top of the mountain was a skull shaped formation. The PCs immediately dubbed it Skull Mountain.

The first thing they did was try to figure out their next course of action - should they build a boat and leave? There was another storm brewing in the distance so perhaps that could wait. They could explore the island and see if there were any caves to make camp in? Perhaps. A signal fire would be useless in the rain and wind. Then there was the mountain.

They reasoned that the skull on top was likely man-made and might be an ancient temple or dwelling of some kind. It could possibly serve as shelter. They decided to check it out. At some point they saw the flickering light of torches in the eyes and the mouth of the skull. It was indeed some kind of edifice! Perfect! They made haste for the skull.

What followed was a series of classic dungeon delves, with me planning what was on each level of the dungeon in the most general sense and then ad libbing the encounters. The overall idea I had was that the skull was actually the remains of a long dead giant. Other creatures had taken up residence in the mountain, the open areas of which were once either the giant's home or his innards.

Finally the PCs discovered that the giant had climbed to the top of his home, on the very tip of the mountain's peak, to avoid a flood. The water never went down (the island had once appeared much larger). He got stuck up there and eventually died.

"Why didn't the giant just swim away or at least try to?" asked the Fighter.
"Could he not build a boat?" asked the Elf.
"This was his home," said the Cleric. "No one wants to abandon their home."

The Fighter didn't believe this. This was a giant. He would save himself if he thought he would die, home or no home. Then he thought and thought and finally realized something. "If you are a giant, you long for treasure and might hide what you find in your home. He couldn't leave his treasure and died of greed in a manner of speaking. There is some great wealth or a magical secret hidden somewhere down beneath this place. Since we can't leave either, let's try to find it."

The others agreed.

Each level deeper down into the mountain was stranger and stranger and when they reached the sixth level they realized there was another way in. A pit high above could send you plummeting from the top of the mountain to the sixth level straight away.

As the Elf climbed up the pit to see if there was more to it or if it could be useful in any othere way, a foul creature came up from the seventh level; the 'bottom' as far as they knew. The monstrous beast attacked the Fighter and Cleric.

It was an epic battle and the Elf made his way back down to join them. In the end, the mighty monster was slain but the Elf lay dead as well. *Sob*

Aaron was mad but only for a bit. He handled it well. He went out a hero and the others promised to bury him and bring his gauntlet to the Fae Guardian of the Forest on The Mainland** if they ever got off the island. Aaron decided to take a break from the campaign for a bit but he returned for a few sessions towards the end, playing an NPC I created. More about that in the next installment.

Eventually the adventurers returned to their newly made camp site located at the base of the mountain. They buried their friend, swore vengeance against Skull Mountain, and planned to go to the bottom level as soon as they were rested. Unfortunately, another storm rolled it, and battered them with wind and rain.

They awoke the next morning to the sound of a distance crash! Another ship, much smaller then the one they had arrived on, had run aground on a beach slightly North of where they had awoken weeks (or was it month?) before. The new boat appeared only lightly damaged and might even be easily repaired! It was then that the Cleric and Fighter noticed two survivors has been deposited on the beach amid a handful of dead crewmembers.

To Be Continued...

(I can't believe I thought I could write up my first campaign in one post. Ha!)

AD
Barking Alien

Underseasoned and Overstuffed

The first of my Player Profile Posts is not quite ready at the time of this entry, so I'll go right into the return of one of my favorite reoccurring features - What Other GMs Do Wrong!

Now before I go ahead and accidentally offend any of my fellow Gamemasters with my snarky wit, and no-holds-barred criticism of the way they might do things, I'd just like to say 'Tough Noogies'.

Perhaps you weren't paying attention to previous entries in this series. That's kind of what it's about.

I all seriousness though, this isn't directed at any particular GM, nor is it a critique of any one particular campaign. If you feel it is - that is to say, if I know you personally and you think I am talking about you - please know I am not directing it at you. Also, you may want to listen to You're So Vain by Carly Simon [one of my all time favorite songs].

Of course, as I've noted before, if you think the comments and criticisms in this post relate to your game...maybe they do.

***

"I have this awesome setting! It's so different, and weird - it will blow away all your preconceived notions, and standards expectations of what fantasy is!

To start off though, we'll begin our campaign, and spend the next dozen session, or so here..."

This is Underseasoned.

"I have so many ideas for our campaign I'm practically bursting. I think I have it all organized though. I'll start simple..."

This is Overstuffed.

What's going on here? It's pretty simple.

Most GMs don't ^#@*ing know how to dole out content.

 

***

What Other GMs DO Wrong: Doling Out Content

I've seen this issue a lot over the past 10 years, and it manifests in two different ways. Either a GM tells you about all this amazing stuff that exists in their campaign setting, but they drip it out so slowly that even a camel would die of thirst waiting for the exciting parts to appear (Underseasoned), or the GM has the patience of hyperactive, twitch gamer and tries to shove thirty pages of world-building notes down your throat in a single 4-6 hour session (Overstuffing).

The former happens mainly with older GMs so far as I've noticed. Perhaps they've experienced one too many campaigns that got to the main plot, big bad, or climax point too quickly. To compensate, they stagger their best material out over a great length of time, hoping it will facilitate the campaign's longevity.

This is a reasonable assumption, and not even a bad plan at first glance. Look a little closer though - this is the 21st century. It's the age of twitter, snapchat, and attention spans shorter than a hair is thin. Even if that were only the case for younger gamers, we older gamers are getting old. We ain't got time to wait for you to make your game cool. Make it cool now! We have responsibilities, medication we have to take, and other such things. Our free time is limited! Make it count! Entertain us!

Do not make me sit through four, or five sessions of fighting brigands, and kobolds when before the game [to convince me to play] you talked about the roving bands of deformed, and twisted Humans with peculiar supernatural powers who'd been changed by Unseelie Fae. Where are they? Show me them!

What are you waiting for? Really? Do you think that once I see the cool stuff I'm going to expect you to top it every following session? No! Not unless you start doing that yourself. Some writers do try that. Each episode has to out awesome the last until they get into one-ups-manship arms race with themselves that there's no way to win. (See Star Trek Voyager).

As for Overstuffing...

This is much more common with novice GMs, and younger ones sometimes. I separate novice and young because they are definitely not the same. It's all about experience, and the habits you've formed, or hopefully haven't. It's much easier to adapt, and be flexible to new ideas and approaches if you aren't already set in your ways.

OK, enough life coaching...

What happens when you Overstuff your sessions is that you put in more material than the players can effectively process. Often this causes them to become confused, NPC names are forgotten, and at its worst, the process can make the climax of a story arc seem rushed. Why? Well in the GMs desperate attempt to fit every last thing into the story that they wanted to (and we're talking A LOT of material in this case) he, or she blows past the smaller details players may be interested in experiencing as their characters.

For example, if during the arc there was a subplot involving a PC, and their estranged brother, the player of that character may find that subplot pushed aside, or rectified rather quickly to accommodate the big final of an Overstuffed adventure.

An Overstuffed game is tough for the GM as well.

For one thing, the more you add, the more elements you have in play, the harder it is to juggle them all. You can easily get lost in your own attempt at awesomeness if you're not used to handling a large number of moving parts at the same time.

Obviously the idea of rushing a sequence [mentioned above] falls upon the Gamemaster first, and foremost. It is often difficult to avoid, as you work toward closing up loose threads,  making sure everyone has a moment in the spotlight (PCs and NPCs alike), and getting to the climax of the session, or the end of the arc.

Another issue is, well, a creative one. You have All These Great Ideas! What if...what if schedules conflict and the campaign is cut short. What if the players waste valuable game time investigating the broom closet instead of going to any one of the awesome locations you've so carefully designed. What happens if you create all this AMAZING content, and your group never gets to see any of it? What a waste! Better to shove it all in right now, right?

NO! WRONG! NOT GOOD! Don't worry about not getting to everything. As you'll see below, there are ways to get to the good stuff without your players, and your campaign choking on it.

What can you do about it?

Glad you asked...

#1. Build Slow from a Cool Foundation

A long ago I adopted the approach of noted Japanese Manga Writer, and Artist [and at one time big personal crush]  Rumiko Takahashi.

Takahashi, one of Anime, and Manga's most successful and influential creators, had a very particular style of introducing new characters, and concepts into her stories. Nearly every modern Anime/Manga artist/writer uses a similar approach to varying degrees of effectiveness.

As seen in her series Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, and Inu Yasha, Takahashi begins with a distinct premise and a cast of characters that either facilitate the working of that premise, or have the potential to flesh it out down the line (later in the story). She than introduces a single new character, or idea [or perhaps two related characters like a brother, and sister pair] for each new story/episode. We then follow that new element through to the end of an arc. When the next arc begins that new element is still there, now a fixture of the main plot, or the background, as we go on to meet the next, new element.

This approach means:

• There is always something new.
• However, there is only one, or two really new things at a time.
• PCs experience, and become familiar with the new thing before the next new thing.
• The new elements become regular elements, increasing the scope of your setting.
• New elements that become regular elements can be moved back to center stage when needed.

Don't forget about the Cool Foundation. Paying attention to this part alleviates the issue of Underseasoned games. You need to start, right out of the gate, with at least one element to your NPC cast, and your world setting that has real pizzazz. Something that jumps out at the players, and makes them say, "Huh, I don't think I've seen that before."

If you can't quite do that, a least give them someone, or something that lets them know that they aren't in Kansas anymore (or Gondor, or wherever is the most normal for the genre your running).

#2. Notes for Now, Notes for Later

It can be difficult, but think long term.

Keep two separate sets of notes. It could be two separate notebooks, or just two sections of the same multi-section book.

In one section, the first of the two preferably, write notes, character ideas, locations, adventure hooks, or whatever, that you are going to need and use in the short term. This doesn't necessarily mean immediately, but the notes should relate to the story arc, or adventure you are currently running, or running next.

In the second section, write the notes on long term plans. Jot down things you want to introduce at some point. They can be fully formed ideas, half-solid concepts, or perfect world pipe dreams. It doesn't matter what they are, except that the all share the same basic quality...they are not ready to be implemented into your game.

The purpose of this approach is two fold. On a very simple, practical level, it helps organize your thoughts, and it makes editing the incomplete ideas easier. The bigger benefit, and one not so obvious perhaps, is that it psychologically fools you into waiting before you just throw everything you have into the pot.

By placing plans not yet ready to roll in a separate section from those that are, it automatically makes you give those longer term ideas more consideration. You may find they don't need much work, or that they need quite a bit. You may decide not to include them in your game at all.

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They are a number of other ideas I have for remedying these specific issues, but for now I'll leave it at this since I have a lot of other subjects I want to post about. (Look for a Thorough Thursdays entry later tonight!).

As always, I'd like to know what you think. Please leave a comment if you have experienced underseasoning, overstuffing, think I'm way off base, or anything related to the post.

Talk to you soon,

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Barking Alien

WORLD OF DARKNESS - THE LIGHT BRINGER

I've been wanting to get back to Campaigns I Have Know for a long time now. I find it a lot of fun, and it seems to have been pretty popular among my viewership (you five know who you are. Thanks for stopping by).

I promised around the time of my last entry in this series that the next few would be a bit different. Mainly, I wanted to focus on successful campaigns I've run that were set in genres, or settings that may seem atypical for me. While I'd like to say I cover a wide range of RPG topics, I can't deny that I swing back to my favorites fairly often. Star Trek, Star Wars, General Sci-Fi, Superheroes, Anime and Manga related games, and comedic games certainly get more attention than anything else.

I am complex however. A many layered renaissance man as it were. OK, maybe just a guy who likes to stretch his creative muscles, and try new games. Either way, I've run some campaigns that certainly don't fit the genres listed above, and some may even use games you wouldn't think I'd like.

One such example is...

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Campaigns I Have Known

Proudly Presents...

 

WORLD OF DARKNESS - THE LIGHT BRINGER

The key element to this campaign was that I didn't want to run Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, or Wraith: The Oblivion*, nor did any of my players want to play in a campaign limited to any one of those titles. We wanted to run and play 'The World of Darkness'.

As such, I made some minor adjustments to both the established settings canon, and the rules to allow all of the various supernatural types to coexist without any one type having an unfair advantage in all situations.

True, Mages eventually had the upper hand in terms of rare power, but even they were held in check somewhat by the laws of the universe (not the laws of nature, or the law of physics mind you. They could slap those around if they wanted to), and by the collective conscious of Humanity.

Title: WORLD OF DARKNESS - THE LIGHT BRINGER

System: World of Darkness (White Wolf), 1st Edition - Some House Rules.

Circa: 1993-1994. There were roughly a dozen sessions, each lasting 6-12 hours. The game took a hiatus in the middle due to the December-January Holiday to New Year season.

Player Base: There were five players, four male and one female, ages 22-25. All the players were present for all the sessions, and unlike a lot of my other games, there were no guest players, or characters.

Characters: Sadly, I don't recall the characters' names. I don't know why I don't remember them, since it wasn't that long ago. It's possible the relatively short 'run time' of the series, only about twelve episodes, made it more challenging for me to imprint the names into my noggin. As with other campaigns I've posted in the past, I do remember the characters themselves quite well, as well as who played them.

If any of the original players read this and can remember the names of the characters, please let me know, and I'll update this post.

Human Mage - Non-Traditional (played by Adam T.)

Our story begins, and largely centers on, a young man trying to find himself in the world. A brilliant dreamer, an artist, a poet, and an unconventional thinker, he parties too hard, and thinks too much in a desperate attempt to make sense out of our senseless existances.

After a particularly wild night at an exclusive underground party in New York City, he wakes up on the roof of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, not know how he got there.

Following this bizarre occurrence, he begins to stumble upon, and be confronted by increasingly strange people, and events that lead him to discover he is part of a fantastic legacy. He is a Mage, gifted with the innate ability to alter the vary fabric of time, and space.

Numerous forces wish to sway him to their cause, as the end of the world is coming, and what follows is really up to him. If he can be convinced to see things the way a given faction sees them, he could make them the masters of the Earth, and beyond.

Werewolf of The Get of Fenris (play by Aris)

A Werewolf of mixed Scandinavian descent, this character is hinted as being the last of the Get of Fenris, or at least the last of his particular pack, and its extended family. He is acutely aware of the coming Apocalypse as he, and his tribe have been charged since the dawn of time with protecting the Avatar of the Ascension, the person who will bring about the new, post End-of-Days world.

Opponents of the PCs claimed the Get of Fenris Werewolf was lying. The Get is descended from the Fenris Wolf and as such, are charged with bringing about the destruction of all things according to some. They are said to be the ushers of Ragnarok.


Vampire of the Clan Tremere (played by Jason N.)

Vampire and Blood Sorceror of the Clan Tremere, this fellow claimed to be an ancestral blood relative of our young Mage. He tried to sway the newly emerging Avatar towards the world view of the Tremere, and their ruling Elders until he found out more about his own origins, and what the Tremere truly intended to do with the 'World After'.

Turning on his own Clan, he sought allies in the Magus community, but found very few willing to trust him. Luckily, our Tremere finally found an ally in the most unlikely of people - the ghost of a former mortal lover who knew a few things about the young Mage and his destiny. 

Ghost/Angel* (played by Angie)

*Perhaps the most unusual of the characters, our Ghost was born from our utter disappointment with Wraith: The Oblivion.

When Wraith was first announced, it had another subtitle instead of 'The Oblivion'. Rumors from convention playtests described a very different game from what we eventually got, and a far superior concept IMHO.

Wraith suffered from being separated from the World of Darkness, taking place in a bizarre, extremely esoteric Afterlife dimension. What it didn't do was give us what we all imagined it would, tragic characters caught between the mortal world, and an afterlife. We didn't wanted to be Ghosts in Ghost Land. We wanted to be Ghosts haunting the world of the living - The World of Darkness.

With a bit of work, and some creative GMing and playing, I think we got what we wanted. Later supplements to Wraith would come close, but the game never really did the job we were hoping it would do. Wraith's failure to be a game about playing spirits of the dead walking among the non-departed was a major contributing factor to my development of my own game Unfinished Business.

Sometime in the late 1930's or early forties, our Tremere Vampire had been romantically involved with an African American nightclub singer who packed the halls wherever and whenever she crooned in New York's various Harlem hotspots.

Sadly, the lovely lady met an unfortunate end when caught in the crossfire of organized crime gangs. In truth, these 'gangs' were agents of the Technocracy, an authoritarian organization of Magi looking to rule the world by suppressing the understanding and belief in magic among normal, mundane Humans, and introducing it through technology and science that they alone would have domain over.

Learning many secrets that lie in the lands beyond this mortal coil, our haunting heroine discovered much about the prophesized Apocalypse and what could be done about it. She lent her unique knowledge and abilities to our group in hopes of saving the world, finding peace, and passing on once and for all.

Human Hunter of The Supernatural** (played by Keith)

**So here's another example of wrestling something out of a system it wasn't really designed to accommodate.

Hunter: The Reckoning, the World of Darkness game that enables you to play a 'normal' person fighting the supernatural beings of the setting, wouldn't be out for another five years or so when we began this campaign. We had to make this character up from scratch, developing a number of different concepts and rules to enable him to stand up to the obviously far superior physical abilities, and superhuman powers of his would-be opponents.

What we ended up with would be woefully weak compared to the Hunter: The Reckoning PCs you would later be able to build in that game. As such, I think Keith's character was infinitely cooler. He was a normal person. He had reasonable gear, and weapons. He was considerably out of his league. He was therefore far more interesting than the Buffy-like super soldiers one plays in Hunter.

Keith couldn't decide what to play at first, then envisioned a CIA, or FBI agent who had learned that the World of Darkness actually existed. With no proof and well on his way to being fired, if not committed to a mental institution, the agent went rogue.

He became a one man army, protecting the oblivious mortal world from the darker denizens of the supernatural. However, it was clear early on that the character had no real understanding of the World of Darkness, it's exact make up, or it's politics. The true nature of the various groups (Mages, Vampires, Werewolves) were unknown to him.

Eventually hooking up with the group and learning that not all supernatural beings exist simply to prey on Humanity, the Agent/Hunter lent his much needed expertise, intelligence, firepower, not to mention his pure willpower and guts to the cause.

Like many of Keith's characters, a personal favorite PC of mine. The normal person in the World of Darkness on the eve of Armageddon. Awesome.

Synopsis: As noted, the campaign mainly revolved around a young man discovering both he, and the world he lived in, were not what they seemed. Almost overnight he goes from hedonistic, philosophical drifter to the driven, responsible Chosen One, and really the transition isn't all that smooth.

Rebelling against fate at first, he soon decides to grab the reigns of destiny tightly with both hands, and find out how to steer the thing so he can make the best possible choice for the people of the Earth.

A multitude of factions seek to gain control of the young man and his power. Their goal is to place themselves in the role of deciding factor for what the world after the Apocalypse will be like.

Interestingly, many of the other PCs start with their own ideas, and agendas, but eventually back the Mage on his play, whatever it's going to be. Turning on their own kind, and even their own ideals to some extent, the group realizes that in the end, the world is not here solely for their supernatural minorities. The greater good is what is good for all Humanity. Each of them is, in a fashion, still Human whether they are cursed with feeding on the blood of the living, charged with protecting the Earth as shapeshifters, or gifted with the powers, and responsibilities of magic.

The world they end up choosing, is a world without their kind. A world in balance.

After twelve sessions of The World of Darkness, the darkness was removed. The world of White Wolf's setting was no more.

Appendix N: Aside from the multitude of books in the World of Darkness line, other contributing inspirations included The Lost Boys, Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire and related books, comic books such as I, Vampire, Swamp Thing, Hellraiser, Books of Magic (All DC Comics), and a variety of comics and short stories in the modern, gothic horror genre.

Bonus Features:

I owned all of the main books, and dozens of supplements for World of Darkness across all the various lines. This campaign was created before Changeling: The Dreaming was released, which is actually my favorite White Wolf game. It is my favorite for the exact same reason I dislike Wraith - it doesn't really deal with the World of Darkness.

For Changeling that makes sense. For Wraith it doesn't.

This was one of only three World of Darkness campaigns I ever ran (not including Changeling campaigns). It was the longest, and definitely the most successful (other than ones for Changeling). I eventually sold all my World of Darkness stuff (except Changeling of course).

This particular gaming group is what I sometimes refer to as a transitional group. Some of the players were new friends, or were friends I had not yet gamed with who later became part of a long term group. Some were friends who came and went, thanks to the universe's strange way of moving people through your life.

Next time...Something medieval fantasy I think...Heheh

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Barking Alien

Theme A Little Theme Of Me

Theme Addict

I like the idea of themed months on my blog.

Giving myself a set of parameters, much like I would in a genre-heavy RPG campaign, helps me to focus my creativity. It inspires me, but also keeps me in check, so to speak. I can easily bounce all over the place subject wise. A theme, should all go as planned, helps wrangle the various thoughts into something that can be useful not just to me, but to my readers.


Thematic Stress Disorder

The problem is...

I invest a bit too much of myself in these silly projects. As a result, when things conspire to prevent me from completely a month's theme, I get really down. I get bummed and disappointed when I am unable to share all the ideas I might have rolling around in my skull. I also get disappointed in myself. I always feel like a failure. I know I shouldn't, but I do.

I get myself worked up. I put too much importance on the endeavor. I see this awesome, perfect product, and very often (especially lately) I either don't have the time to see it through, or I lose interest at some point. The end result is I feel like poo for promising, and not delivering.


All I Have To Do Is Theme

This month, I want to get myself back into the habit of posting again regularly. It's important to me. It's therapeutic. It helps me to post here so that I have no excuse for not posting for my business.

Unfortunately, I know myself too well. I need an additional motivator.

I need to fool myself into doing it.

I need to light a fire.

I need a theme...crap.

Wait.

I've got an idea...

Actually, it's not one idea, not two, or even three...but FOUR!

That's right Barkers, it's four - four - four - four-ideas-in-one!

For a while now I've wanting to bring back some of my favorite reoccurring post ideas. Why not do that now? For the month of June, in addition to whatever else comes to mind, I'm going to revisit...

Campaigns I Have Known

Thorough Thursdays (Starting Next Week)

What Other GMs Do Wrong

and my newest entry,

Player Profiles, in which I pay tribute to some of the greatest gamers I've ever had the please to GM for.

Join me won't you? Oh, and wish me luck.

Remember, it's me.

(Fingers Crossed)


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Barking Alien