Re: Noobie Sartar campaign: Need adventure ideas

From: bryan_thx <bethexton_at_ajd5hc5YHaU4xtjZAsJ37sjQsVxQy-vU8p_tGDCkz8e5VeWUwCxcfwlGNVtc_dQHgt>
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:02:44 -0000


Well, step one would surely be to read the campaign you are thinking of running....amongst other things, I think it runs much more smoothly/with less modification if at least one player worships Orlanth!

Unfortunately I don't know of any on-line adventures to point out to you (there may be some, hopefully someone else will point any out).

Off the top of my head (and inspired by the King of Dragon Pass video/IPhone game), one way to help introduce the rules, setting, and characters could be something like this:

A clan moot (meeting of all adults) is called. The chief wants the clan's opinion on an issue. A hunter from a neighbor clan is hear, he claims that a great black wyrm ate three of his clan's sheep. He then tracked it back...to the player's clan tula (lands). He insists that the clan either deal with it, or let his clan deal with it--but in the latter case they would be owed a favour.

The player's clan law speaker gets up and reminds everyone: "We should avoid entanglement with dragonkind. Once the dragon worshippers clouded even great Orlanth, and became so evil that a horde from all the surrounding lands marched here to put them down. Then dragons descended from every direction, darkening the sky, and once they were done only ten people escaped alive. Our ancestors were wise enough to have moved away to avoid all things dragon, the only reason we are here now. We should not touch this wyrm."

Then the Plowthane (chief farmer) gets up and says "But these wyrms, I've heard about them, they are more like a beast, longer than a boar, deadlier than a wolf, but they are animal in appetite and mind, with no dragon cunning. It will surely eat our sheep, if not also our cattle or even children, if left unchecked. If we ask our neighbours to deal with it, we'll owe them a favour which will probably mean giving up cattle or grain, the fruits of our labours. We have brave warriors who we feed and arm, surely it is time for them to show their mettle?"

Then others get up to speak, either for going after the wyrm or against it. The players should choose a side, give a short speech, and find some abilities on their character sheet that they can roll against, in order to try and persuade the clan. Things are well balanced, so depending on their position and their success, the clan will adopt their position.

Afterward, the leaders of the two sides come up to them, telling them thanks them for their support (whoever they supported) and that they are fools and will be sorry.

Either way, it is decided that the clan needs to track down the lair of the worm. While the actual attack is being arranged and the prime warriors are guarding herds and steads, could the characters try to find it?

The hunter from the neighboring clan can show them where it crossed over. The players include a hunter who could track it, a sage who may have ideas on where it may lair, and I'm sure the other players can be worked in. Do a group simple contest, setting the resistance not too high, and they should find its lair (perhaps the classic cave?) and know it for the lair due to the distinctive spoor (still containing fleece from the sheep it ate). If they do manage to fail, let the hunter from the neighboring clan help them out.

But the wyrm is not there, AND pretty clear tracks head off....towards what they realize is nearby summer pastures, where clan youths will be out tending herds. Now they are in a contest to get warning to the herders before the wyrm attacks. They can figure out how they will try to do this based on their abilities. If they succeed they get there in time to organize an evacuation or defense, if they fail they get there as the wyrm is ravaging the herds, but perhaps they can still rally the herders to drive it off.

How they deal with the wyrm is up to them.

They know that it can't be easily killed--speakers back at the moot talked about how spears and arrows typically bounce from a wyrm's scales, and the hunter from the neighboring clan reported how it bit sheep in half. So a stand up fight is probably not a great idea.

But they have been told it has essentially animal intelligence. They may be able to lure it away, scare it with fires or noises or a bluff of something bigger, or come up with some totally different way of getting rid of it for now.

Whatever it is, let them try, against a reasonable resistance. The Wyrm has a couple of mastery in combat, but much lower resistancesin other areas (follow the guildelines in the HQ2 rules about setting resistances). Remind the players that they can use HP to bump, if they want. Possibly play this out as an extended contest if you think you can narrate it interestingly (depending on their strategy) or it could be another group simple contest.

After this, one clan or another hunts down the wyrm. The players information about it is no doubt useful here. They are treated as minor heroes for having saved the young herders. Give them a directed HP to raise their relationship with the clan, and a chance to buy a herder as a follower--they are about to undergo their initiation and become adults, after which they could be just about any profession key word (pretty much everyone spends time herding as a youth).

This will have shown them how the rules can deal with different types of contests, shown them how they can come up with all sorts of ways to try and solve problems without breaking the rules, given them some people in the clan who like them and who don't like them, introduced a neighboring clan, and shown a little bit of clan life.

(alternatively, if you can get your paws on a copy of the original HQ rules, there were three introductory scenarios in there, all of which I liked, personally).

I hope that this was of some help!

-Bryan

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