Blog: The Repurposing

Okay, so my Noir Game stopped a little while back. We told some good stories, but the DM of our old FR game decided not to continue the game after our missing player returned, so we decided to do something else after giving the Noir game 1 story-arc as a Trio of PCs. Wimbert Garwinkle, Morgrave Professor, was a fun addition to the group, but after his case was solved, moving forward with the campaign seemed a little hard to do with all three PCs. It just didn't feel right in the Detective Noir genre.

That's not to say we'll never come back to Sharn...just not for now.

So now we are doing something else, and if I do say so myself, as DM, I am doing some pretty neat things and I think I want to share. Harbinger of Doom urged me to do this, and I will try and do it.

Origins of the new Game:
We have 3 players and 1 DM. 4ed is not designed for this, but we are adapting. Also, one of our players has a job that involves heavy travel for 4-5 months, divided into two big chunks, over the course of the year. This is a killer for campaign momentum, and we've come up with schemes to survive this absence in the past, but it isn't easy. Many of my choices for this campaign were influenced by these circumstances.

Every year, I assign myself themed summer reading. A few years ago, I read as many interpretations of Arthurian Legend as I could. Somewhere late in the Once and Future King or in the middle of The Mists of Avalon, I don't remember which, it occurred to me that this could be some seriously interesting campaign material: a story of a young ruler (and his closest friends) trying to get his feet under himself, navigate a rapidly changing world, and become the king his country needs. I immediately connected this concept to the hinted at story of Prince Oargev of Cyre in Eberron. According to the campaign book, he has the fortune of being out of the country when The Mourning happens, leaving him a king without a country. He is, at start of the default campaign, governing the remnants of Cyre from the town of New Cyre in Breland.

So that's the campaign I have been working on, innovating with, and (finally) running.

I started the game on Prince Oargev's 18th birthday, a handful of years before The Last War ends. Heroic Tier will take place during the Last War. The PCs will hit level 11 when their nation blows up. Paragon and Epic tiers will, hopefully, follow the restablishment of Cyre, either in the reclaimed Mournland, or carved out of one of the remaining nations.

The PCs:
-Prince Oargev ir'Wynarn: A young, sheltered, idealistic Prince. He's a dedicate of the Soverign Host and has trained in their mysteries along with combat (Human Paladin).
-Istav ir'Somme: Prince Oargev's cousin. He has recently returned from Aundair, where he attended Arcanix. He intends to serve as Oargev's chief advisor. (Half-elf Bard)
-Art: Marten ir'Dallis was Istav's best friend at court. Carter, the steward's assistant, was always underfoot, running errands and messages. The Amazing Bartholomew was always fun to watch on Feast Days. On Oargev's 18th birthday, he learned that all of these people (and more) were actually the changeling named Art, trained from birth to serve as the true heir of Galifar's protector, confidant, spy, and if need be, replacement. (Changeling e-Rogue)

Next time: We'll look at how I moved past backgrounds towards something I called "archetypes."

Welcome to the Seedy Underbelly of Sharn

Due to a lack of players in the 4ed Dungeons and Dragons game I've been participating in, we decided to go a different direction. I am now running a 4ed game set in the city of Sharn in Eberron. The premise is that the two regular PCs will play partners in an inquisitive firm cracking cases in Sharn. Our 3rd, seasonal player, will play a recurring aid who will help on certain types of cases whenever his player is in town.

This means I get to write mysteries every week, which is fun, if a little stressful. It also means that I get to try and balance encounters for 2 PCs, which isn't what 4ed is exactly designed to do well, but I think I can do a good job.

This blog will have two types of posts:
1. Story Posts. I try and recapture what my PCs did each session.
2. Mechanics posts. I will write about things I'm trying in order to make 2-3 PC parties work, skill challenges that don't rip PCs out of the setting and story, or interesting monsters I've designed.

I will label each post clearly by type, so if you just like one or the other, you can choose which to read.
I hope you enjoy!