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reynardoThree kids. One Dungeon Master. One box of dice.
Adam, also known as Ratboy, has been encouraged by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lederhosen's use of the pretty elven Calair to develop his own Elven Ranger, Aramil Amanodel.
Isaac, a schoolfriend, has played D&D before, and created a halfling rogue called (imaginatively) Isaac the Nimble-Fingered.
Jack, another schoolfriend, has not played the game before, so received special coaching from the lovely Lederhosen and created Jack the Dwarf Cleric.
Alas, Eamon couldn't play because his mother wanted him home - he lives near where the fires were. Ah well - next time.
Average age: 11 years.
And I, your narrator, threw together a small piece of countryside and a scenario that could be played in a couple of hours to give the newcomers a taste of what the game is like.
The three of them happened to be in the local town square as reports filtered in of the depredations inflicted upon local farms by a bunch of Orcs. After ten minutes of persuading them to act as the characters rather than just telling me what the characters do, (mainly because it's then easier to play back at them and see how they're reacting) we finally get the group together.
Yeah, so it's artificial. Can you think of a case where a dwarf, an elf and a halfling would naturally group up to save humans?
Then the reward is offered - 500 gold pieces for the brave soul who kills the Orc band and brings the head of the Orc Captain back to the Town Hall.
Instant group!
A short session in the Inn and the deliberate eavesdropping on three groups determines that a) the mother and child claiming Orc damage are trying to swindle some compensation money for damage actually caused by a disgruntled husband, b) the two guys claiming to have been burnt out by hundreds of Orcs are also fibbing, using it as an excuse for sympathy and not paying for their drinks and c) the remaining two, farmers who genuinely had lost their farms, could even describe the Orcs with some degree of accuracy - or so it seems. Our heroes head off at lunchtime looking for "the tall one, the short one, the ugly one, the green-haired one, and the purple-haired one. Or maybe not."
By late afternoon along the road a farmhouse is spotted with smoke starting to issue from the back of it. Discussions begin about the best way to find out who is inside. Meanwhile, a tall swarthy-looking gentleman walks out from the front of the farmhouse, looks up and down the road, then re-enters the house. Discussions take the turn of should the brave adventurers sneak up and look inside, or should they create a diversion to entice the obvious bandit away from the house.
The previously-mentioned tall swarthy gentleman re-emerges, followed by a green-haired other of the same ilk. They advance at a considerable pace towards our heroes, waving large and ugly-looking clubs. Eep! Isaac dives into the nearby bushes and manages to hide. Aramil does the same, while Jack trips over his own toes. Luckily distance has given our heroes a little advantage, and really bad dice rolling by your narrator does the rest: Heroes 2, Orcs 0. Before the three can congratulate themselves of a massacre well done, the door to the now burning freely house reopens,and three more Orcs step out.
One short, one ugly and one purple-haired Orc advance on the party, two wielding clubs and Purple-Boy with a nice-looking sword. One elf, one dwarf and one halfling fight back. The elf's bowshots kill one. The halfling's weapons kill another. The dwarf causes no damage whatsoever, and the elf has to help out. It's quite possible that in the correct hands, one of my dice is indeed cursed and renders the user unable to roll anything higher than a 7 on it.
Bodies are searched, and after a small debate ("Throw their bodies on the fire!" "No - if there are other bones inside we won't know who they belong to...") the corpses are buried. Body-searching has revealed some gold and a rather nice sword that exudes magical auras. It seems clear that the wielder of the sword (Mr Purple-Hair) was probably the captain. Searching the grounds reveals a shed out the back containing some amount of provisions, so after a hearty meal our heroes bed down for the night.
Aramil wakes to the feel of cold steel at his throat and a deep voice with bad breath demanding to know where the treasure is. Aramil decides to play dumb. Aramil receives a deep cut across the throat and Adam goes off to roll up a new character.
Isaac hears a strange gurgling choking noise and decides to play "still asleep". Isaac feels a cold steel blade and hears a deep and growly voice asking about treasure. Isaac also does the "I don't know what you mean" act, and then heads off to roll up a new character as another throat is cut.
Jack, who has failed to wake during this, is now woken by the same touch of now-slimy blood-covered blade to the throat. He, luckily, either makes the connection or at least decides to go along with it. He points to the packs, and helps the intruder search for the sword (which is the only obvious treasure). In doing so, Jack manages to take advantage of a careless moment by the Orc (bloody dice rolls!) and attacks him. The Orc runs off, unfortunately taking the sword with him.
With dawn some hours away, Jack decides to walk along the road to the next village and sleep at the Inn instead of risking the rest of the night in the shed. Arriving at the Inn at daybreak, he is treated with some suspicion by the Innkeeper (hey some stranger covered in blood turns up at dawn to your Inn claiming to have been ambushed and his companions killed - what would you do ?) but eventually let inside and allowed to wash and take a room. After all, he now has a substantial number of gold pieces (Loot the bodies!)
And thanks to the death of his companions, he also has a substantial number of XP. However, he is disappointed not to receive the reward. Your Narrator points out that he had not fulfilled the conditions of the reward - namely to bring the head of the Orc Captain back to the Town Hall.
Jack curses that they've buried the bodies.
I refrain from mentioning that bodies can always be dug back up...
Next game 23rd December, Full day. And the Main Game next Saturday. And gee, this character killing feels good!
Adam, also known as Ratboy, has been encouraged by
lederhosen's use of the pretty elven Calair to develop his own Elven Ranger, Aramil Amanodel. Isaac, a schoolfriend, has played D&D before, and created a halfling rogue called (imaginatively) Isaac the Nimble-Fingered.
Jack, another schoolfriend, has not played the game before, so received special coaching from the lovely Lederhosen and created Jack the Dwarf Cleric.
Alas, Eamon couldn't play because his mother wanted him home - he lives near where the fires were. Ah well - next time.
Average age: 11 years.
And I, your narrator, threw together a small piece of countryside and a scenario that could be played in a couple of hours to give the newcomers a taste of what the game is like.
The three of them happened to be in the local town square as reports filtered in of the depredations inflicted upon local farms by a bunch of Orcs. After ten minutes of persuading them to act as the characters rather than just telling me what the characters do, (mainly because it's then easier to play back at them and see how they're reacting) we finally get the group together.
Yeah, so it's artificial. Can you think of a case where a dwarf, an elf and a halfling would naturally group up to save humans?
Then the reward is offered - 500 gold pieces for the brave soul who kills the Orc band and brings the head of the Orc Captain back to the Town Hall.
Instant group!
A short session in the Inn and the deliberate eavesdropping on three groups determines that a) the mother and child claiming Orc damage are trying to swindle some compensation money for damage actually caused by a disgruntled husband, b) the two guys claiming to have been burnt out by hundreds of Orcs are also fibbing, using it as an excuse for sympathy and not paying for their drinks and c) the remaining two, farmers who genuinely had lost their farms, could even describe the Orcs with some degree of accuracy - or so it seems. Our heroes head off at lunchtime looking for "the tall one, the short one, the ugly one, the green-haired one, and the purple-haired one. Or maybe not."
By late afternoon along the road a farmhouse is spotted with smoke starting to issue from the back of it. Discussions begin about the best way to find out who is inside. Meanwhile, a tall swarthy-looking gentleman walks out from the front of the farmhouse, looks up and down the road, then re-enters the house. Discussions take the turn of should the brave adventurers sneak up and look inside, or should they create a diversion to entice the obvious bandit away from the house.
Rule Number 1: Don't start your arguments in full view of where the enemy are located.
The previously-mentioned tall swarthy gentleman re-emerges, followed by a green-haired other of the same ilk. They advance at a considerable pace towards our heroes, waving large and ugly-looking clubs. Eep! Isaac dives into the nearby bushes and manages to hide. Aramil does the same, while Jack trips over his own toes. Luckily distance has given our heroes a little advantage, and really bad dice rolling by your narrator does the rest: Heroes 2, Orcs 0. Before the three can congratulate themselves of a massacre well done, the door to the now burning freely house reopens,and three more Orcs step out.
One short, one ugly and one purple-haired Orc advance on the party, two wielding clubs and Purple-Boy with a nice-looking sword. One elf, one dwarf and one halfling fight back. The elf's bowshots kill one. The halfling's weapons kill another. The dwarf causes no damage whatsoever, and the elf has to help out. It's quite possible that in the correct hands, one of my dice is indeed cursed and renders the user unable to roll anything higher than a 7 on it.
Bodies are searched, and after a small debate ("Throw their bodies on the fire!" "No - if there are other bones inside we won't know who they belong to...") the corpses are buried. Body-searching has revealed some gold and a rather nice sword that exudes magical auras. It seems clear that the wielder of the sword (Mr Purple-Hair) was probably the captain. Searching the grounds reveals a shed out the back containing some amount of provisions, so after a hearty meal our heroes bed down for the night.
Rule Number 2: Always, in strange or unguarded locations, set a watch.
Aramil wakes to the feel of cold steel at his throat and a deep voice with bad breath demanding to know where the treasure is. Aramil decides to play dumb. Aramil receives a deep cut across the throat and Adam goes off to roll up a new character.
Rule Number 3: Never assume that you have disposed of the entire band of ruffians
Isaac hears a strange gurgling choking noise and decides to play "still asleep". Isaac feels a cold steel blade and hears a deep and growly voice asking about treasure. Isaac also does the "I don't know what you mean" act, and then heads off to roll up a new character as another throat is cut.
Jack, who has failed to wake during this, is now woken by the same touch of now-slimy blood-covered blade to the throat. He, luckily, either makes the connection or at least decides to go along with it. He points to the packs, and helps the intruder search for the sword (which is the only obvious treasure). In doing so, Jack manages to take advantage of a careless moment by the Orc (bloody dice rolls!) and attacks him. The Orc runs off, unfortunately taking the sword with him.
With dawn some hours away, Jack decides to walk along the road to the next village and sleep at the Inn instead of risking the rest of the night in the shed. Arriving at the Inn at daybreak, he is treated with some suspicion by the Innkeeper (hey some stranger covered in blood turns up at dawn to your Inn claiming to have been ambushed and his companions killed - what would you do ?) but eventually let inside and allowed to wash and take a room. After all, he now has a substantial number of gold pieces (Loot the bodies!)
And thanks to the death of his companions, he also has a substantial number of XP. However, he is disappointed not to receive the reward. Your Narrator points out that he had not fulfilled the conditions of the reward - namely to bring the head of the Orc Captain back to the Town Hall.
Jack curses that they've buried the bodies.
I refrain from mentioning that bodies can always be dug back up...
Next game 23rd December, Full day. And the Main Game next Saturday. And gee, this character killing feels good!
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no subject
Date: 2002-12-09 09:45 pm (UTC)Yeah, bloody Aspendale.... *mutter mutter Beginning of my problems mutter mutter
no subject
Date: 2002-12-09 11:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-12-10 04:54 am (UTC)*nervouslook*
no subject
Date: 2002-12-10 01:47 pm (UTC)*evil tailswirl*