CLOSED: New Elmwood on the Far Shores (Old School D&D)

[OldSchoolGamer]

We're rolling back the gaming clock to the early 1980s.  Back when paper and pencil Dungeons and Dragons ruled.  No one had heard of World of Warcraft.  Back when DMs made their own house rules and creating a D&D character wasn't more complicated than filing your income taxes.

I'll even do you one better: I'll keep track of all the stats and shit behind the counter so you don't have to worry about it.  If you're an old school gamer like me, and want to concern yourself with the mechanics of making your character, you can go to
http://www.knights-n-knaves.com/osric/downloads/OSRIC.pdf
and download the ruleset we'll be playing by (basically First Edition D&D with the serial numbers filed off).  Not that I'm going to go religiously by the ruleset, but it will serve as a framework for this campaign and for character advancement.  I have the following house rules:

1) Characters will begin at first level
2) Because first level characters have high mortality, I've put in the following elements to make the game a little less lethal:
     a) Characters get maximum hit points for the first two levels, best of three rolls for 3rd level, and best of two for 4th and 5th
     b) Characters also get an "emergency buffer" of hit points equal to their starting hit points.  Players may tap into this buffer at any time they choose to add to their character's hit points.  The buffer is a one-off; once it is used up, it's gone.  (Example: your warrior goes into battle with 10 hit points.  He is slashed by an orc for 6 points, shot by an evil human henchman's crossbow for 3 points, and then hit with another arrow for 3 points, taking him to -2 points, which would be unconscious.  You have 10 hit points in the emergency buffer, and you choose to withdraw 5 of them to get your warrior up to 3 hit points so he can go on fighting.)  Hit points may be taken from the buffer at any time, and when they are applied, the application is instantaneous.
     c) Each character also begins with three lifetime mulligans.  This means that, three times during the life of your character, you may re-roll ANY di(c)e roll (yours or mine, but not that of another player) and re-roll the di(c)e.  You choose which roll you want to have apply to the situation at hand, and that roll stands while the other is voided.  In order for you to use a mulligan, you must declare it before the next round of combat (or turn in the game) begins.
3) As I am a fan of gritty realism, there will be blood.  And, this being Elliquiy, there will be sex.  Probably all kinds of sex, including NC, monster on maiden, and so forth.

For those not familiar with First Edition D&D, the short, short version is that your character can be a human, elf, dwarf, halfling, gnome or half-orc.  The character can be a warrior, cleric, paladin, rogue or wizard.  Note that I am importing the Second Edition concept of specialty priests rather then the generic (can't used edged weapons, walking Band-Aid) concept of a cleric that (in my mind at least) was one of the deficiencies of First Edition.  Deities available include the Greek, Norse and Egyptian pantheons (if there's another deity you're particularly attached to, we can work something out).

4) Characters may be of any alignment, including evil.

But enough administrivia already.  On to the good stuff.

Your character hails from the land of Gondivia, which is the home of an old, increasingly corrupt and ossified empire.  The society has become almost caste-like, and if you aren't born into the upper classes, you are condemned to an ordinary life, under the blue-nosed rule of the decrepit upper classes.  There is more and more talk that the best days of the Empire are behind it, but in the meantime, it's an insufferable nuisance to anyone who actually wants to rise to a level determined by his or her ability rather than social class.

Fortunately, there are other lands, and sailing-ships to get there.  The Colonies, as the outposts of Gondivian civilization are called.  And in the Colonies, no one really cares about where you came from.  There are a few ways to get to the Colonies: buy your passage, get exiled to the Colonies for crimes, work on one of the ships sailing out there, or be shipped out as a Gondivian soldier to join the garrison there.  Quite a few soldiers have been known to go AWOL upon arrival...

The Colonies are on a continent inhabited by several human and humanoid races: the Yorubi (a dark-skinned race of humans), orcs, lizard-men, and goblins.  And these are just the races known about.  Only a tiny amount of the continent has been explored.  There are ruins, and legends, and fortune, and death...

So why have you come to the Colonies?  Post your character description (don't worry about the gaming system, just be mindful that at first level your character doesn't have much experience adventuring).

The Cast Thus Far:

Polymorph: A paladin of Athena
schnookums: Half-elven ranger/cleric
Tackyhillbilly: Elven thief
Meliai: Thief (?)
Muse: specialty priest TBA
AdmiralJ: TBA
Jobe352: TBA


I'm probably going to cap this at 6 players for now.

[Meliai]

Oooooooh this sounds fun! It's been a couple years since I've gotten to play a good D&D game and I've never tried the original flavor

I won't have time to finish writing her up until tomorrow, but I've got a snarky superstitious thief girl in the works for you :-)

[schnookums]

I know I'm probably being a pain, but I'm to take it then that there are no druids, rangers, illusions, assassins then? I really really want to join this but I'd like to get a handle on my options here. :)

[Polymorph]

Yes I'd be interested in an old fashioned DnD game. I've mostly played 2nd ed. I fancy playing a paladin, since greek gods are on the approved list the god that fits best would probably be Athena.

Pallas Athena (Παλλάς Αθηνά; pronounced /ˈpæləs/), is the goddess of war, civilization, wisdom, strength, strategy, crafts, justice and skill in Greek mythology. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes.[4] Athena is also a shrewd companion of heroes and the goddess of heroic endeavour.



Name:Shona Ronsdottir
Race:Human
Gender:Female
Class:Paladin
Deity:Athena
Alignment:Lawfull Good
Level:1

Bio: Shona has been despatched to the newly settled continent by her order to spread the word of Athena amongst the barbarians and bring justice to the new world. She wields a longsword and wears chainmail armour and a shield.

[OldSchoolGamer]

I know I'm probably being a pain, but I'm to take it then that there are no druids, rangers, illusions, assassins then? I really really want to join this but I'd like to get a handle on my options here. :)

Those would be fine; I'm pretty sure the online resource guide I linked to has those.

[OldSchoolGamer]

Yes I'd be interested in an old fashioned DnD game. I've mostly played 2nd ed. I fancy playing a paladin, since greek gods are on the approved list the god that fits best would probably be Athena.

Pallas Athena (Παλλάς Αθηνά; pronounced /ˈpæləs/), is the goddess of war, civilization, wisdom, strength, strategy, crafts, justice and skill in Greek mythology. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes.[4] Athena is also a shrewd companion of heroes and the goddess of heroic endeavour.

Works nicely for me.  I would probably tweak the list of paladin abilities just a bit to fit Athena.

[OldSchoolGamer]

Some more information on the milieu:

New Elmwood is a settlement of approximately 50,000 souls, on the east coast of the continent of Swaha.  It was begun as a penal colony, and to a large extent that remains its main purpose.  The town definitely is a frontier town, rough and uncultured.  However, TPTB in Gondivia have discovered deposits of copper, iron and silver there, so New Elmwood has taken on added strategic significance beyond merely being a dumping ground for individuals deemed undesirable.  Some mutter that this has been a factor behind the increasing repression in Gondivian law: coming up with a rationale to drum up indentured labor to send to New Elmwood and certain other colonies for natural resource extraction plays.

At the present time, not too terribly much is known by the colonial administrators of New Elmwood about the geography of the continent of Swaha, or its inhabitants.  Thus far, the "footprint" occupied by New Elmwood isn't large enough to seriously gain the attention of the various human and non-human civilizations on the continent.  Significant contact has occurred with only two civilizations: orcs, and the Yorubi.  The Gondivians enjoy a significant technological advantage over the Yorubi, which they have exploited.  However, rumors are circulating--denied by TPTB in New Elmwood--that the Yorubi tribe is actually a backwater spin-off from a considerably more numerous and advanced Yorubi civilization on the other side of a range of high hills.

So far, the policy of New Elmwood has been to turn the Yorubi into a client state and use them to keep the orcs at bay.  This has at least substantially been a success...so far.  But pretty much everyone knows that the continent of Swaha still holds many secrets, and other, far more dangerous creatures and peoples remain undiscovered, beyond the horizon.

[schnookums]

Hrm...torn now between Elven Fighter/Mage or Half-Elven Cleric/Ranger

[OldSchoolGamer]

Oh, another point (just an FYI): this is an open campaign.  I'm not going to lead you by the hand, nor set out your course of action.  You're free to chart your own path and have your own effect on the world--for good or evil.  You're free to work to build a temple to your deity, help TPTB in New Elmwood subdue the natives and expand the Empire, set out on your own to pit yourself against the landscape, or join the natives and help try and bring down New Elmwood.  Totally up to you what you want to do, unlike a video game where you have to perform a specified set of actions or defeat a pre-generated boss to unlock an achievement and progress to the next level of gameplay.

[schnookums]

Okay, think I'll go with 1/2 Elven Ranger/Cleric...and while it's not quite as sexy as Polymorph's pic I just really liked this one:




Still stuck on what deity to worship. While Artemis seems like an obvious choice she also tends to be fussy about her cleric's sexuality normally.

[Tackyhillbilly]

Elven Thief for me.

[OldSchoolGamer]

Okay, think I'll go with 1/2 Elven Ranger/Cleric...

Fighter/cleric, modern interpretation:

Still stuck on what deity to worship. While Artemis seems like an obvious choice she also tends to be fussy about her cleric's sexuality normally.

Yeah, with Artemis you'd probably be looking at a chastity requirement.

For a (largely complete) Greek pantheon, look here: http://www.theoi.com/Pantheon.html

[schnookums]

Well, I could worship Zeus, god of getting into the pants of everything he can get his hands on, the freak. ;) But seriously, if the Norse Pantheon is an option then Freya actually makes a lot of sense as a patron deity (as does her brother Freyr, but definitely leaning towards Freya)

[OldSchoolGamer]

Well, I could worship Zeus, god of getting into the pants of everything he can get his hands on, the freak. ;) But seriously, if the Norse Pantheon is an option then Freya actually makes a lot of sense as a patron deity (as does her brother Freyr, but definitely leaning towards Freya)

Yeah, Zeus did get around.  But either Freya or Freyr would be perfectly acceptable.

[schnookums]

Freya it is then...no vow of chastity required...after all I'd at least want the option of intimate scenes that weren't NC (as much as I DO enjoy NC scenes, mind you)

[Muse]

Meep!  Don't start without me! 

(I expressed interest in a private note so far.) 

[OldSchoolGamer]

Meep!  Don't start without me! 

(I expressed interest in a private note so far.)

Don't worry, you're in, duly added to the roster.  :)

[Meliai]

I've got my bio about done, but since we've got two thieves lined up and no wizard would it help if I swap classes? I don't mind, it actually might work a little better with the background I've got worked out

[jobe352]

I've only played D&D once, though I really want to give this a go! :-)

What character/gender slots need to be filled?

[OldSchoolGamer]

I've only played D&D once, though I really want to give this a go! :-)

What character/gender slots need to be filled?

Well, so far there are no straight-up warriors on the roster.

Do bear in mind the group probably won't be adventuring as a unit, so the party balance consideration is probably irrelevant.  Bring whatever you like to the table.

[Meliai]

Awesome! I'll stick with my thief then.

..........

Name: Kera Ross Class: Thief Race: Human Age: 18 Height: 5'6” Weight: 125lbs Sex: Female Bio: Kera would have had a decent life, had her father and mother not passed away when she was young. The daughter of two minor nobles, she would have been comfortable, if bored. With no close relations, after illness took her parents Kera was passed off into the care of a well-off local merchant, an old friend of her father's. He provided for her and made sure she was well educated, but seemed content to go about his business as if she didn't exist, letting the servants and her tutors more or less raise her. Gradually, she became restless. She couldn't leave the estate without a chaperone and guard for fear of of kidnapping and ransom, but her title and family fortune weren't impressive enough to earn her a place in the local nobles' social circle. She began setting little challenges for herself about the estate - sneaking through the kitchens without the cook spotting her, secreting some book or memento out of her guardian's study - just things to pass the time. Gradually the compulsion grew. She liked the thrill and the danger and began setting more complex and difficult trials for herself. A few years later, when she'd become a young woman, Kera found her adoptive guardian's attention on her for the first time in ten years. Though his shops kept him wealthy enough, he was still a peasant so his social status remained stagnant. Now that she was of marriageable age, his ward offered an easy solution to his problem and plans for the wedding were set in motion. Kera wasn't told; she overheard a pair of maids gossiping about the scandal and decided to put her skills to the test. She slipped out in the night, pilfering just enough money to buy her a ticket to the colonies and hoped that abandoning her inheritance and quietly leaving would be enough to buy her freedom. Personality: Kera tends to be somewhat secretive about her personal life for obvious reasons, but is none the less rather social. She doesn't bother lying, just deflects the questions with sarcasm and flippant jokes. She is perpetually curious, and has a bit of a thrill seeking streak. Having been raised by an ever-changing stream of servants and tutors Kera picked up an odd assemblage of beliefs and superstitions. Though primarily a follower of Hermes, she also carries the symbols of Thoth, Loki, and countless minor, obscure deities and spirits. She collects lucky charms, the vast majority of which have no worth beyond the peace of mind they give her. She isn't exactly naive, but she has a somewhat glamorous, idealized view of the colonies and no experience living on her own. I've always been pretty terrible with D&D's alignments. I think she's true neutral, leaning slightly towards chaotic, but since this is the first time she's really been out in the world I imagine whoever she ends up traveling with will have a lot of influence on her. I also haven't managed to find a picture I like for her yet so you're just going to have to put up with my shoddy manga doodles :P I've only ever played 3.x so I'll leave the stats to you Mr. DM!

[OldSchoolGamer]

I also haven't managed to find a picture I like for her yet so you're just going to have to put up with my shoddy manga doodles :P

I've only ever played 3.x so I'll leave the stats to you Mr. DM!

Well done.  I'll generate a character sheet for her.  She will also gain the following trait:

Quiet.  (level I)
Kera took the "children should be seen and not heard" advice to heart.  This has its advantages.  +5% to chance to move silently, +5% chance to hear noise.

[Admiral J]

Is that sixth slot still open?  I've been looking for an old-school D&D PbP game.

[OldSchoolGamer]

Is that sixth slot still open?  I've been looking for an old-school D&D PbP game.

Sure.  Well, actually we may end up with seven, but that works fine for me.

And that'll be the end of this thread.  If you're a participant or interested spectator, please Bookmark:
https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=86315.0

and also if you want to be on the waiting list.