Brave New World

I started out this column writing purely about creating a world on paper. The column has evolved into much more than that. Now, it is more about using world creation to attempt to create a successful and long-lasting campaign. The challenge to both build a world and use it in a successful campaign becomes more of a struggle the older I get and the more responsibilities I take on. But it's fun and it's worth the effort to me.

One thing I have come to realize, however, is that it has been too long since I stepped out from behind the screen and played a character of my own. I have worked out a deal (or scheme perhaps is more accurate) with one of my players. A fellow DM, he has agreed to run an adventure path series for our group once in a while and I'll run the World of Krarvell the rest of the time.

Not only will this take some of the time crunching pressure off of me, but it will also let me get back in touch with my player side. I'm interested to see how I do with a character of my own after all these years as a DM.

I plan on dual posting here. In addition to the world building I'll continue to be doing, I'll also share anything pertinent I learn as a player. If my PC dies in a spectularly gruesome way, for instance, I'll share that here.

Current Direction of the Campaign

I am an instinctual DM rather than a logical DM. In other words, I go with my gut not my brain a lot.

Which is how I ended up with seven full-time players. It just felt right to let certain players join and so I had them join. We'll have to see how it works out with so many bodies.

Our newest player has always enjoyed playing paladins. In our current group, however, playing a paladin would be like playing a hunk of meat in a group of piranhas. My players' characters play rough.

I suggested a knight (from the Player's Handbook II) but that class didn't seem to click for him. On my own time I picked up the Book of Nine Swords. I planned to use the swordsage as an NPC sometime. And I wanted to play a warblade in my friend's new campaign.

And I find the crusader. A fighter basically, but without the feats and with maneuvers. Maneuvers being small magical effects the crusader uses in melee combat.

Hmmm. Could an act of kindness like offering this player the chance to playtest this class lead to another psionics debacle?

The problem with psionics is the lack of checks and balances. Psions can spend lots and lots of points boosting powers well beyond the equivalent spell power of a wizard or cleric. At high levels, with min-maxing, it destroys balance and can ruin a campaign.

Unlike psionics, maneuvers can't be boosted. And they are balanced just like spells. Nine levels, with each maneuver unavailable until the right level is reached (the same level a wizard needs to get spells levels two through nine).

Hmmm. This class might work. I go with gut and let the player know about the option. He likes it a lot. And that's how I changed my mind already on what is going to be allowed in the campaign. Stay tuned to see if I come to regret it!

Gnome Love

Bards and gnomes get no love in my game. With seven testosterone driven players and a liked minded DM we have little compassion for the lute player in tights or the little guy who likes to talk to fuzzy animals. The last bard we had tried for a heavy metal theme, but even he eventually multiclassed as a fighter to try to earn some respect (his PC never did get any. Um, respect that is).

So when I saw the stonehunter gnome in Dragon Magic, I was quite happy. Knowing that the gnome gets the gnome hooked hammer as a martial weapon but has bard as the favored class never made sense to me. And needing a 15 Dex to get Two Weapon Fighting to use the martial gnome hooked hammer is no picnic either even if a gnome isn't a bard. So why not make ranger the favored class for gnomes? Give the bulbous nosed little guys some love and let 'em use the hooked hammer with the ranger class feature if they want. And give them a reason to talk to little fuzzy animals.

The stonehunter gnome does all that along with focusing the gnome on sneaking more and using illusion less. Along with tying in a great backstory about how stonehunter gnomes are close allies with copper dragons. All great mechanics and ideas.

I lured a former player back. He had once played the great gnome paladin Finbek and now he would play a stonehunter gnome ranger.

Or not. So far, he hasn't joined in due to the number of players in the group. However, I still got some use out of the stonehunter gnomes.

World Building Continues

The Stonehunter Gnomes have planted a colony in the Anvil. The Anvil is a tough little piece of real estate comprised mostly of badlands and stark desolate hills. However, the local Deepearth (the somewhat hospitable area above the Underdark where dwarves and gnomes live) is rich in minerals. So the gnomes came.

But now some surly tieflings are menacing them. And the gnomes need some heroes to help defeat the tieflings. With glowing beetles.

These ideas came from Dungeon Magazine, not me, I swear it. Anyway, I started detailing the new area of Deepearth and the Underdark for the World of Krarvell.

And then I came across the new and improved beholder on Wizard's website. He will definitely see the dark of night in an upcoming Underdark adventure. I even have the mini for it.

World Building So Far

At the end of the gnome love adventure, the PCs had a great choice. They had learned about five different adventures scattered around their local area. They got to choose which one to go on for their next adventure (or come up with their own).

For some groups, this option is not too unusual. However with my group I haven't always had success with allowing them to roam freely and do as they wish. Cities get burned down that way, kings are assassinated, and whole worlds fall into chaos. I thought this idea was a good compromise. Now that I think about it, though, letting chaos reign might be a nice way to go too. I'll have to think more about it.

Next Month

The PCs set off on a quest of their choosing. And I prepare for them to break south and meet up with some tough spawn of Tiamat competition.

May Bahamut guard your heart and hoard,
Charlie

Following the writing of this article, Charlie had a crisis of faith which resulted in a complete overhaul of his gaming. An article discussing that will appear in just two weeks, on 12/11, and then Brave, New World will be back with a brand new campaign in its regular spot, on 12/27. -ed