Umgar's Request
This is a High Fantasy campaign set on our existing continent in the realm known as Durkin (Map #5).
Character Creation
From Fantasy book:
In low fantasy, and in fantasy based on folklore and fairy tales, point values below 100 often work well. An ordinary man thrown into adventure can be a 50-point character. In higher fantasy, characters built on 100-200 points work better; the added points can represent the Rank, Status, and Wealth of aristocrats, or the skills of veteran adventurers such as the heroes of sword and sorcery. In a dark fantasy setting, PCs may need the added points just for survival! Still higher point values are possible, but move the campaign to the level of epic, with heroes who can contend with the gods or challenge fate. This chapter assumes that the base for typical characters is 100 or 150 points, with up to 50 or 75 points in disadvantages.
Characters should have diverse but realistic skill sets. That is if you've been a baker's assistant your whole life, you're probably not an expert rider and swordsman, but you may have high manual dexterity, a good cooking skill, some herb lore, and perhaps be strong from lugging around bags of flour and making deliveries or such. In that example you may also be overweight for gorging on your own tasty sweet specialties.
There will need to be a reason the NPC Umgar will invite you on the first mission.
I expect role-playing, not just hack'n slash dice rolling. I will be awarding extra character points for playing your character and for good role-playing.
The starting location will be Ghaines.
You are likely a novice adventurer, or perhaps a veteran adventurer whose career is in decline. At 120 points you are not likely complete rookies. Possible character ideas would be former/current sailors or pirates from any of a multitude of places as Ghaines is near the coast, smiths or thugs from nearby Zareph, devout religious followers, wandering gypsys or mercenaries. Back stories are a bonus and often enhance the campaign. It's possible you are not an experienced adventurer, but then it would be unlikely that you have a 15 riding skill and a 18 broadsword skill, for example. Your points might be invested into trade skills or "book learning".
As you can see in the description of Ghaines, if you desire to be another race, it's possible, but most of the city is human.
Characters will have 120 points to start with and up to -30 points in disadvantages with an optional additional -10 points to be used specifically for Enemies, Reputation or Debt disadvantages, but these must be a tangible part of your back story and your character during role-play.
Characters will be illiterate by default. Being semi-literate (B p24) in the Common tongue will cost 1 pt, literate 2 pts.
Equipment
- Characters will start with the TL3 starting wealth of $1000.00 which in Gurth recently has been one-thousand silver pieces. This can be modified by choosing the Wealth advantage or disadvantage accordingly. Clothing, weapons, armor and gear should be purchased at base cost in the Characters book from starting wealth. If you have $1000.00, you have nothing and are naked walking the streets of Gurth. A gold piece is ten silver pieces.
Specialized adventure gear and magical items from Dungeon Fantasy - Adventurers are fine. Magic items must be purchased with character points, at a cost of 1 point per $1000 cost.
* You may buy power stone(s) by spending 2 character points per power level, with a maximum of 15 power level total in all stones/items. Spending 20 points gets you a single 10 point powerstone, or two 5-point stones, etc.
Character outlines must be presented to the GM before the first session in order to be in the outset of the campaign.
Party
Introduction
Archdeacon Cecil Umgar, an elderly cleric of Sharif, the Peacekeeper has gathered a small group of youth whom he thinks fit to serve their city in an uncommon way. He brings you together to ask your aid in serving Sharif and keeping the peace. He assures you the best way to keep the peace within the 4 foot tall city wall is to go beyond that very wall and do good, but he will not send you blindly into the wilderness. He has specifics for you, but not until the others arrive...
The city of Ghaines lies on the main road between the great smithies of Zareph and the repopulating seaside city of Serenton. Ghaines is generally a quiet and safe city primarily populated with simple people who each serve their role to the community. There are fishermen who travel the two miles to the shore and fish the sea, there are farmers and ranchers who work the lands surrounding the city. There are cobblers who shoe the citizens butchers who prepare the pigs and sheep and cows, and smiths of various trades. Magic is a rarity in Ghaines, at least in the public eye. It is not unlikely that there are races other than human in Ghaines, but they are very likely limited. While there may be a family of dwarves or a lone dwarven smith, there will not be a clan.
Umgar has summoned you because he knows you for some reason (you can help define) and has reason to believe you will be of value on this mission.
I intend this to be a short campaign or series of one-offs, perhaps three or four sessions with the potential to continue with some/all characters if there is interest. I am planning on trying to level-up characters in a more D&D fashion. I know I’ve tried this before, but I have some new ideas and am sort of looking forward to stepping back a bit into the spell-slinging, sword-swinging of yore and a bit less of the politics of late. However, that being said, I occasionally have a tendency toward the grandiose, so there will likely be ties into something bigger. Don’t be surprised if some old faces and personalities pop up occasionally.