Thorn Campaign: Difference between revisions
From DivNull RPG
imported>Wordman (Moved) |
imported>Wordman mNo edit summary |
||
| (16 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 12: | Line 12: | ||
|'''Next Session: '''||none | |'''Next Session: '''||none | ||
|- | |- | ||
|'''Gamemaster:'''||Jeff | |'''Gamemaster:'''||[[gamemaster::User:Jeff|Jeff]] | ||
|} | |} | ||
From September 1994 to April 1996, Seth Narins, Don Parsley, Rob Sama, Adam Shostack, Eva Swoboda and I played in a Second Edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign run by Jeff Herrold. One of the cooler role-playing experiences I've ever had, the campaign world and plot were extremely rich I took to building hypertext pages to keep track of it all. These pages, such as they are, are presented here. | From September 1994 to April 1996, Seth Narins, Don Parsley, Rob Sama, Adam Shostack, Eva Swoboda and I played in a Second Edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign run by Jeff Herrold. One of the cooler role-playing experiences I've ever had, the campaign world and plot were extremely rich I took to building hypertext pages to keep track of it all. These pages, such as they are, are presented here. | ||
| Line 21: | Line 19: | ||
The campaign occurred on a world created by Jeff. Fans of the [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345456327/shadowfaq Belgariad] will recognize a number of borrowed names, characters and ideas within these pages, in addition to both Greek and Egyptian mythology, historical ideas (particularly regarding alchemy), and huge amount of sweat and creativity from Jeff. | The campaign occurred on a world created by Jeff. Fans of the [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345456327/shadowfaq Belgariad] will recognize a number of borrowed names, characters and ideas within these pages, in addition to both Greek and Egyptian mythology, historical ideas (particularly regarding alchemy), and huge amount of sweat and creativity from Jeff. | ||
In a departure from standard D&D rules, the non-human races were absent from the game world. (Well, mostly. Part of the plot involved the return of elves to the world.) As a backdrop to the campaign, a large army was being gathered in the north. Known as the Red Army (due to both the color of their uniforms as well as their gold), this massive force was extremely well funded, able to literally buy towns in its path without any fighting and swelling its numbers further by giving foot soldiers very high wages. | In a departure from standard D&D rules, the non-human races were absent from the game world. (Well, mostly. Part of the plot involved the return of elves to the world.) As a backdrop to the campaign, a large army was being gathered in the north. Known as the [[Red Army]] (due to both the color of their uniforms as well as their gold), this massive force was extremely well funded, able to literally buy towns in its path without any fighting and swelling its numbers further by giving foot soldiers very high wages. | ||
As the characters were drawn into the campaign, it became clear that the characters, members of the Red Army and a number of other NPCs were all represented metaphorically on an ancient artifact: a chess board known as the Carmarthen Service. The broad arc of the campaign involved the location of the scattered pieces of this artifact, the discovery of which people represented various pieces of the service, and deciphering the secret held by the service itself. Much of the conflict revolved around keeping these same discoveries from the other people looking for them. The player characters represented white pieces (pawns at first, stronger pieces later), while most of their foes represented red pieces. | As the characters were drawn into the campaign, it became clear that the characters, members of the Red Army and a number of other NPCs were all represented metaphorically on an ancient artifact: a chess board known as the [[Carmarthen Service]]. The broad arc of the campaign involved the location of the scattered pieces of this artifact, the discovery of which people represented various pieces of the service, and deciphering the secret held by the service itself. Much of the conflict revolved around keeping these same discoveries from the other people looking for them. The player characters represented white pieces (pawns at first, stronger pieces later), while most of their foes represented red pieces. | ||
Along the way, of course, were a number of smaller plots and twists, and whole lot of really entertaining arguments between the players. | Along the way, of course, were a number of smaller plots and twists, and whole lot of really entertaining arguments between the players. | ||
| Line 36: | Line 34: | ||
|[[Bron MacLyn]]||Seth Narins||A young fighter type with the ability to tattoo magical powers into himself. | |[[Bron MacLyn]]||Seth Narins||A young fighter type with the ability to tattoo magical powers into himself. | ||
|- style="vertical-align: top" | |- style="vertical-align: top" | ||
|[[Fenris]]||[[User:Jeff | |[[Fenris]]||[[User:Jeff|Jeff]]||An NPC controlled by the GM, Fenris usually acted as the GM's voice. A great tracker, Fenris was either a fighter or ranger. As the campaign hit its stride, Fenris went native in a village. | ||
|- style="vertical-align: top" | |- style="vertical-align: top" | ||
|[[Iadra]]||Eva Swoboda||A priestess of Tyche (Greek goddess of luck) with a serious shoe fetish. Iadra joined the campaign later than the others (and was also Eva's first ever character). | |[[Iadra]]||Eva Swoboda||A priestess of Tyche (Greek goddess of luck) with a serious shoe fetish. Iadra joined the campaign later than the others (and was also Eva's first ever character). | ||
| Line 44: | Line 42: | ||
|[[Walter McBride]]||[[User:Rsama|Rob Sama]]||An ex-pirate turned philosophy student, McBride was dedicated to democracy and tried to foster it anywhere he went. | |[[Walter McBride]]||[[User:Rsama|Rob Sama]]||An ex-pirate turned philosophy student, McBride was dedicated to democracy and tried to foster it anywhere he went. | ||
|- style="vertical-align: top" | |- style="vertical-align: top" | ||
|[[ | |[[Tanador Verstand]]||[[User:Wordman|Wordman]]||A bard who managed to get thrown out of nearly every major city in the land. | ||
|- style="vertical-align: top" | |- style="vertical-align: top" | ||
|[[Zem]]||[[User:Adam|Adam]]||A surly monk who fell into tutoring aristocrats. A non-standard monk, Zem used mechanics adapted from Ars Magica to generate magical effects. | |[[Zem]]||[[User:Adam|Adam]]||A surly monk who fell into tutoring aristocrats. A non-standard monk, Zem used mechanics adapted from Ars Magica to generate magical effects. | ||
|- style="vertical-align: top" | |- style="vertical-align: top" | ||
|[[Many Things Specific]]||[[User:Jeff | |[[Many Things Specific]]||[[User:Jeff|Jeff]]||A sentient sword, used by McBride. The sword had a very sensitive ego that continually needed massaging. The sword's unusual name came from an interrogation, after being asked, "So what do people call you, specifically?" | ||
|} | |} | ||
There was also this obnoxious goat that seemed to follow us around everywhere. Anyway, as a party, we generally were effective enough to slightly inconvenience those much more powerful than us, but never so much so that they felt the need to smite us. Someone referred to us collectively as a "thorn in the side of the Red Army", and the name Thorn stuck with the group. Some [[Thorn quotes|quotes]] from the campaign may illustrate this somewhat. | There was also this obnoxious goat that seemed to follow us around everywhere. Anyway, as a party, we generally were effective enough to slightly inconvenience those much more powerful than us, but never so much so that they felt the need to smite us. Someone referred to us collectively as a "thorn in the side of the Red Army", and the name [[Thorn]] stuck with the group. Some [[Thorn quotes|quotes]] from the campaign may illustrate this somewhat. | ||
==History & Background== | ==History & Background== | ||
| Line 80: | Line 78: | ||
* The [[Guild of Revierus]] | * The [[Guild of Revierus]] | ||
* [[ | * [[Brukenbrod Thieves Guild]] | ||
* [[Shasta Thieves Guild]] | * [[Shasta Thieves Guild]] | ||
| Line 93: | Line 91: | ||
==Locations== | ==Locations== | ||
[[Image:ThornCampaignMapThumb.jpg|frame|right|300px|[[:Image:ThornCampaignMap.jpg|Full map]]]] | |||
===Countries=== | ===Countries=== | ||
* [[Asturia]] | * [[Asturia]] | ||
* [[Dalenden]] | * [[Dalenden]] | ||
* [[ | * Lands of [[Kralld]] | ||
* [[Lassadinya]] | * [[Lassadinya]] | ||
* [[Mooria]] (Qadaf Alam) | * [[Mooria]] (Qadaf Alam) | ||
| Line 108: | Line 106: | ||
* [[Anden]] | * [[Anden]] | ||
* [[Bamphf]] | * [[Bamphf]] | ||
* [[ | * [[Brukenbrod]] | ||
* [[Chrek]] | * [[Chrek]] | ||
* [[Corndell]] | * [[Corndell]] | ||
| Line 138: | Line 136: | ||
===Regions=== | ===Regions=== | ||
====Mountain Ranges==== | ====Mountain Ranges==== | ||
* Dalackshire Mountains | * [[Dalackshire Mountains]] | ||
* | * [[Harkken Mountains]] | ||
====Arborial Regions==== | ====Arborial Regions==== | ||
* Lelldonis Forest | * [[Lelldonis Forest]] | ||
* Redlen Moors | * Redlen Moors | ||
| Line 165: | Line 161: | ||
* River Al'dnes | * River Al'dnes | ||
* River Arend | * River Arend | ||
* River Bastara | * [[River Bastara]] | ||
* River Issus | * River Issus | ||
* Simbury River | * Simbury River | ||
[[Category:Thorn]] | [[Category:Campaign]] [[campaign::Thorn Campaign| ]] | ||
[[related page count::{{#ask:[[campaign::{{PAGENAME}}]]|format=count}}| ]] | |||
Latest revision as of 22:14, 16 December 2008
A second edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign based around a chess set.
| Rule set: | Dungeons & Dragons, Second Edition |
| Started: | September 1994 |
| Last Session: | April 1996 |
| Next Session: | none |
| Gamemaster: | Jeff |
From September 1994 to April 1996, Seth Narins, Don Parsley, Rob Sama, Adam Shostack, Eva Swoboda and I played in a Second Edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign run by Jeff Herrold. One of the cooler role-playing experiences I've ever had, the campaign world and plot were extremely rich I took to building hypertext pages to keep track of it all. These pages, such as they are, are presented here.
The campaign occurred on a world created by Jeff. Fans of the Belgariad will recognize a number of borrowed names, characters and ideas within these pages, in addition to both Greek and Egyptian mythology, historical ideas (particularly regarding alchemy), and huge amount of sweat and creativity from Jeff.
In a departure from standard D&D rules, the non-human races were absent from the game world. (Well, mostly. Part of the plot involved the return of elves to the world.) As a backdrop to the campaign, a large army was being gathered in the north. Known as the Red Army (due to both the color of their uniforms as well as their gold), this massive force was extremely well funded, able to literally buy towns in its path without any fighting and swelling its numbers further by giving foot soldiers very high wages.
As the characters were drawn into the campaign, it became clear that the characters, members of the Red Army and a number of other NPCs were all represented metaphorically on an ancient artifact: a chess board known as the Carmarthen Service. The broad arc of the campaign involved the location of the scattered pieces of this artifact, the discovery of which people represented various pieces of the service, and deciphering the secret held by the service itself. Much of the conflict revolved around keeping these same discoveries from the other people looking for them. The player characters represented white pieces (pawns at first, stronger pieces later), while most of their foes represented red pieces.
Along the way, of course, were a number of smaller plots and twists, and whole lot of really entertaining arguments between the players.
Principals
| Name | Player | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Bron MacLyn | Seth Narins | A young fighter type with the ability to tattoo magical powers into himself. |
| Fenris | Jeff | An NPC controlled by the GM, Fenris usually acted as the GM's voice. A great tracker, Fenris was either a fighter or ranger. As the campaign hit its stride, Fenris went native in a village. |
| Iadra | Eva Swoboda | A priestess of Tyche (Greek goddess of luck) with a serious shoe fetish. Iadra joined the campaign later than the others (and was also Eva's first ever character). |
| Kheizget | Don Parsley | A fighter/thief, K was a half-elf in a world without elves. Basically a visitor from another realm, K brought with him a foreign religious pantheon and a very heavy accent. Don moved away mid-game, so Kheizget ended up falling overboard from a ship during a really heavy storm, never to be seen again. |
| Walter McBride | Rob Sama | An ex-pirate turned philosophy student, McBride was dedicated to democracy and tried to foster it anywhere he went. |
| Tanador Verstand | Wordman | A bard who managed to get thrown out of nearly every major city in the land. |
| Zem | Adam | A surly monk who fell into tutoring aristocrats. A non-standard monk, Zem used mechanics adapted from Ars Magica to generate magical effects. |
| Many Things Specific | Jeff | A sentient sword, used by McBride. The sword had a very sensitive ego that continually needed massaging. The sword's unusual name came from an interrogation, after being asked, "So what do people call you, specifically?" |
There was also this obnoxious goat that seemed to follow us around everywhere. Anyway, as a party, we generally were effective enough to slightly inconvenience those much more powerful than us, but never so much so that they felt the need to smite us. Someone referred to us collectively as a "thorn in the side of the Red Army", and the name Thorn stuck with the group. Some quotes from the campaign may illustrate this somewhat.
History & Background
- Chronology
- Kheizget's pantheon
- Tanador's journal
- Tanador's symphony
Characters
Groups
Guilds
Objects
Locations
Countries
- Asturia
- Dalenden
- Lands of Kralld
- Lassadinya
- Mooria (Qadaf Alam)
- Nyissa
- Empire of Orrim
Cities
- Anden
- Bamphf
- Brukenbrod
- Chrek
- Corndell
- Diomeda
- Glencoe
- Gloodlen
- Kal-Midas
- Krylldak
- Lassen
- M'Bege
- Monroe
- Myrmidos
- Nessthal Lathos
- Richos
- Rosgoe
- Shasta
- Simsburg
- Slardloe
- Sthiss Tor
Towns
Localities
- Castle of Earl Grey
Regions
Mountain Ranges
Arborial Regions
- Lelldonis Forest
- Redlen Moors
Bodies of Water
- Anden Sound
- Dontrodos Sea
- Gulf of Grald
- Lake Glendven
Rivers
- Glendven River
- Kendall River
- N'Getot River
- River Al'dnes
- River Arend
- River Bastara
- River Issus
- Simbury River