Dungeons & Dragons Through the Versions - Part 17

Well, technically, that should be Pathfinder, but it's just a D&D clone anyway....

Last weekend was the first installment of our latest attempt to figure out Pathfinder. We all sat down and finalized things with the characters for the first hour, including a name change for our rogue (I refuse to call a girl "Frank"....). The role call for this adventure included the following:

• Elania (corrected spelling from last post), female elven cleric 1
• Ludo, male half-orc barbarian 1
• Axel Pine, male half-elf fey sorcerer 1
• Nicky, female human rogue 1
• Kruhnk, male half-orc barbarian 1

As you can see, the party is mostly elven spellcasters and half-orc battleragers, with a sneaky human thief in the mix. I opted to go with the adventure "Citadel by the Sea" by Sid Fisher from DRAGON Magazine #78 since I know this scenario inside and out and it showcases a lot of the stuff I wanted to test in the system (humanoids with classes, unique magic items, traps, poison, undead, and dungeon hazards). There's plenty for the party to do in a relatively compact dungeon environment.

My prep for the game was doubled on Saturday afternoon when I inadvertently erased the map I made the previous week in Game Table! I had to hastily remedy this before the game and skipped dinner as a result. The lack of blood sugar probably affected my DMing a bit....

I had the module set along the coast east of Sandpoint. Kruhnk was working as a longshoreman at the docks and hung out a lot at the local tavern with his drinking buddy Ludo, an out-of work mercenary from the area. Kruhnk himself was from out of town, having rowed into port in a dinghy from a shipwreck offshore. Kruhnk spent his money like water and when he needed healing for an injury, he would always visit Elania's shrine where she performed healing for the sick and injured. Meanwhile, Nicky was trying to get out of town after a few heists in the marketplace went badly. She was living in an abandoned home in town and spent most of her free time chumming around with the "dreamy" sorcerer, Axel Pine. All of the party members were aware of each other and all applied for a job as caravan guards heading east along the coast road.

The party was 5 of 8 guards hired and they set out in the middle of the week to a fishing community known as Awad. There they were to reprovision before heading inland to the next largest town. However, they encountered a number of refugees in wagons on the route, all claiming to have come from Awad where an elven curse had descended upon the village in the form of a plague! The caravan master, put out by having to let the refugees pass along the narrow road, eventually came to see that something was clearly wrong. He decided to head back to Sandpoint and find another way to the inland markets. However, Elania had already promised some of the refugees to seek out the source of the elven curse (being an elf, she felt it was her duty to do so). So the party left the caravan and got paid 25 gp each for their services. The caravan followed the refugees back to the west while the party continued on eastward to Awad, making it there by evening.

In the village they found a mob in the process of accosting an old man. While Nicky snuck around investigating the mostly abandoned village, the others made a beeline for the center of the community. Elania and Axel moved into the crowd and showed that they were elves - this caused an uproar of panic and pleading among the people. The old man, Crommard the Sage, pleaded for them to save him. The half-orcs took up defensive positions at Elania's side and the group moved forward to discuss things with the lead guard. Negotiations went decently, and Crommard was released into their care, but they were told to leave the village as the guards would not guarantee their safety during the night. So the party took to making camp outside the village to the east. Luckily no one accosted them during that time.

The next morning, after some scrounging for sea bird eggs for breakfast and some scouting in the village by the rogue, the party made a hasty advance towards the ruins on the eastern cliff. These ruins, they learned from the sage, were the site of an archaeological investigation by Crommard, his associate Sethus, and their work crew. Sethus had apparently contracted some form of plague and stumbled back to the village to warn the others before staggering off to die in the wilderness. Crommard hoped he was still alive and that he could be saved. The trip there was mostly uneventful except for a run-in with a mamma skunk and her kits. Luckily, Axel was able to identify the threat and steered the party clear. They arrived near the ruins by late afternoon and Axel noticed there was a humanoid standing outside the entrance to the place.

Nicky stealthed over to the wall and hid by a dead tree. There she saw a warty large orc with immense arms and stunted legs dressed in furs but otherwise unarmed (an ogrillon). He was apparently casually watching along the western cliff approach, alternately cracking his huge knuckles or picking his nose. Nicky returned to the others to report.

Ludo, acting as a drunken decoy (they had bought a bottle of fine wine from one of the refugees earlier), wandered off towards the cliff in a stagger, and stopped near the edge to relieve himself. The rest of the party used the distraction to run for the wall and the dead trees. The humanoid at the entrance noticed Ludo and hid partially behind the ruined gate wall to see what was happening.

* * * * *

We ended here at around 12:30 am Sunday morning. The players seemed entertained by the scenario although it did drag a bit when individual characters tried to hog the spotlight. The problem with a 'sandbox' approach is that sometimes the players wander about aimlessly. The system is a bit different from our usual D&D fare and the scenario was only hastily explained, so I guess that's partly my fault. I hate railroading, but sometimes it's necessary to drive the module on. Such a device will be used in the dungeons below (written into the module) to keep the players from dilly-dallying at every empty room (bad air may cause characters to lose Str/Con every 30 minutes). The barbarians have not yet been tested in combat so I'm not sure how two great-axe-wielding, raging half-orcs are gonna work here (the dungeons are very tight space-wise). I'm hoping to build some sort of 'party rapport' for when the 'bad stuff' starts happening. The half-orcs are going to be challenged the deeper this goes, and the elves are going to be taxed magically. Even the rogue will have her hands full with all the traps involved. I just hope they remain a GROUP and don't go all 'bazinga' on me.

If played to its conclusion, the adventure can be very rewarding (or very deadly), depending on how cautious and smart the players are. My greatest fear is that one of the half-orcs will turn evil and kill one of the elves with the treasure found (an intelligent evil weapon whose purpose is to slay elves). At this level of experience they may not have the magical means to do away with some of the conditions they will encounter (disease, poison, mental compulsion, etc.). Since this is a one-shot adventure I'm not too concerned with the outcome and they can make new characters as required on their own time. My concern is with running the system as designed and exposing the players to all the rules in order to compare and contrast with the other editions. The players are very enthusiastic about these rules and I see that they are very robust. My only complaint thus far is a lack of carrying capacities listed for containers. Cubic feet listings are useless if one has no conversion data and some of the items have even less info! The GM guide is very informative on running games and all the tools used to make things work. However, I would have preferred to have the magic item information in the GM Guide, not the Core Rules. If players want to make such things, they should have to research established formulae, not automatically know how to do something because they leveled up and took a feat....

Possible Solution to Energy Drain

This ability has always vexed me. It never made any sense the way it is presented. It's one of the few deadly attacks that gets no saving throw! A lowly 3 HD wight can decimate a party with this one ability. None of the methods of level draining presented in any of the rule systems seems correct as described.

So I keep searching for a rationale to keep this in the game other than avoiding creatures who have this ability. My player character's are deathly afraid of the level-draining undead. The druid in the party actually wished for immunity to undead level-drain after losing two levels to wraiths! They've faced vampires and (wisely) fled from the encounter after one hit on the ranger. Of course, by then I was using my house rule of Constitution drain instead. But even this seems rather lacking.

How does level equate with Hit Dice? Monsters are traditionally expressed as having Hit Dice and characters are stated as having levels. ALL monster Hit Dice are listed as being d8, while character Hit Dice range from d4 to d10 (or d12 if barbarians are an option). Some classes even start the game with an extra HD (rangers and monks). Witchdoctors and shamans can have levels in magic-user and/or cleric but this does not actually change their base HD which are calculated differently. So, as far as 1st edition goes, HD are NOT fully equivalent to Level.

So, Level is a measure of character POWER; Hit Dice are a measure of life energy. All creatures have Hit Dice; not all creatures have Levels. So it is safe to assume that Energy Drain, an attack that drains away one's life force, should not actually affect Level (which is gained through experience). Hit Dice are tied to character levels for advancement purposes but do not simply reflect physical health, but also luck, divine assistance, and expert skill. In essence, all player characters really are 1 HD creatures (as evidenced by the fact that animate dead treats all humanoids as 1 HD for purposes of creating skeletons and zombies). They achieve higher Hit Dice through life experience, but they are essentially 1 HD creatures no matter their actual level.

So it makes sense that the undead feed on Hit Dice instead of Levels. For example, a wight that hits a third level fighter causes him to face doubts, shakes his soul to its core, and strips away a bit of that divinity, luck, or confidence that gives him the edge he needs in combat. It should NOT take away the hard earned experience he achieved through his actions over those 3 levels.

Imagine a 9th level fighter facing off against a vampire. While the rest of his party is dealing with the undead minions and summoned wolves, the fighter is handling the vampire's powerful attacks. During the combat the fighter is struck a total of 3 times, each blow causing 2 levels of energy drain. Under the old system, the fighter is now 3rd level and will likely die in this combat. If instead, the vampire drains away his Hit Dice, then he is now a 9th level fighter with only 3 HD. All the fighter's "to hit" rolls, saves, and other level dependent abilities remain intact (as do his XP). The only difference is that his hit points are now reduced back to 3rd level maximums. So, he might be a 9th level Lord with only 25 hit points! Restoration spells would be able to restore lost Hit Dice as if they were levels, but obviously no higher than the character's Level. Also, if the character cannot afford a Restoration, he is forevermore a 9th level fighter with 3 HD. When he makes 10th level, he will have 4 HD. In fact, if he makes it to 20th level without losing any more Hit Dice to level draining, he would only have 9 HD +15 hp. A regular 20th level Lord would have 9 HD + 30 hp.

In this method, as with the old method of level loss, hit points gained for each level should be recorded on the character sheet. If the character is multiclassed, the Hit Die drain will occur to EACH class since Hit Dice are averaged over a level. So a 2nd/2nd/3rd level elven fighter/magic-user/thief will lose 1/3 HD from each class on the first hit, and 1/3 HD from each class on the second hit. He will be left acting as a 3rd level thief thereafter with 1-2 hp until restored. When he makes next level in each of his classes he will have the average of a d10, d4, and d6 added to this total as a 3rd/3rd/4th level character. If the undead hit him a third time before being restored, he would be dead.

This does provide a reason for early retirement of some characters. Imagine a poor 7th level paladin locked in a pitched battle with a wraith. If the paladin is struck about 4 times, he is now a 3 HD 7th level paladin. He is too weak to join his companions facing a dragon in another dungeon and may be relegated to a henchman status or retired from play. It would be interesting to play such a character, in my opinion, but other players see weakness as a detriment to their fun. The role-playing possibilities are very intriguing, however. Imagine that this paladin character decides that he would be better off serving as a cleric, seeing that direct conflict is not the path he wishes to continue. If his wisdom is high enough, he could opt to dual class as a cleric, perhaps one of a peaceful deity, and forego use of the sword and armor in favor of tending the wounded in the rear of a conflict. Such a character would be most welcome at my table! It gives the character an interesting background and progresses his story without starting over with a new character. Such a character would have a healthy fear of the undead to be sure!

Now, one might ask "what happens when a character slain by an energy-draining undead is raised from the dead?" The question is pretty much moot, however, since energy-draining undead who slay a character cause it to rise as the same type of undead (at half strength). Therefore, death to energy drain is permanent! There are no hit dice left to raise - the soul has essentially been consumed. What remains (or replaces) is a husk or a shadow of the character which is filled with the same hunger for life force.

This version of energy drain is less time-consuming and less fidgety than previous versions. The only stat being affected in combat is hit points (which are tied to Hit Dice). Attacks, saves, and other abilities dependent on LEVEL are not affected until all hit dice are consumed in that class (at which time the character is either dead or acting as only his or her remaining classes if multiclassed).

The last example one has to consider is that of the dual classed character. In this case, I believe that the current class Hit Dice would be drained first, then the previous class Hit Dice. Note that unlike multi-class characters, dual-classed characters keep their full Hit Dice over all their levels - they are not averaged across levels. To use the example above, the former 7th level paladin (3 HD) turned cleric is now as high as 4th level in cleric when he encounters another wraith. He fails to turn the creature and ends up in pitched battle against it. If he is drained, he will first lose 4 HD of cleric before losing his abilities to function as that class (although he doesn't LOSE the class). He will then be drained of his remaining paladin HD until dead. If he is drained 4 HD, he is currently acting as a 0-level character. If he gains another level in cleric through experience, he is restored to a 5th level cleric/7th level paladin status. However, prior to that time frame he is unable to turn undead or cast cleric spells. He is also unable to function as a paladin since his cleric class does not exceed his paladin class as of yet. He will also have only 3 paladin HD and 1 Cleric HD unless he can get the other HD restored. I would allow him to still fight but as a 0-level character. So adventuring might be very difficult for such a character, but not impossible. A Restoration would allow him to function as a cleric again, since I assume that it would only restore a HD in his current class, not his former class. Thus, if he were drained lower than his 4 cleric HD, his paladin HD would be even lower and are probably not recoverable until he is able to restore all his current cleric HD.

Dungeons & Dragons Through the Versions - Part 16.5

Well, after making new Pathfinder characters last weekend, I learned that two of the players would be away at a wedding. The other players didn't want to skip a week so we ran a one-shot using the basic box adventure and the characters I converted for them from our 1st edition AD&D campaign. Therefore we had the following party members

• Falim ibn Adbul Akbar, NG human ranger 1
• Chow-Lin, CG human wizard 1
• Eraergon Patheney, N half-elf druid 1
• Hamlin Hoefurrow, NG halfling fighter 1

The number of characters was spot on for Pathfinder and the wizard's player took control of the halfling fighter (since in 1st edition he is her henchman anyway). The roles were familiar if the stats were not.

We started after tweaking and correcting some small mistakes made by the players for their feat selections and characters' abilities. The wizard chose to arcane bind to her beloved's betrothal ring and went with the Universalist school. The druid selected Nature Bond to the Fire domain since that is his favorite element. The ranger player selected Quick Draw and Weapon Focus (scimitar) for his feats.

After about an hour of talking and converting characters we jumped right into the adventure. The background has the players starting right outside the dungeon and giving them one action apiece to explore before ambushing them with two goblins. I gave the party a chance of surprise but the keen-eyed druid spotted the ambush almost immediately and warned the others before the goblins could attack. They liked the fact that the goblins didn't have like 30 hp apiece - in other words, normal goblins. The attacks worked fine, we remembered all the rules and all the bonuses. The combat went well and was resolved quickly. They looted the bodies and proceeded into the cave.

Once inside they quickly located a locked chest. They searched around and found a key to open the locked chest. They took stock of what they had and continued on, leaving the chest but taking the treasure inside. They found a gem and some coin as well as a potion vial.

They headed north into a room containing a glowing fountain of golden water. The ranger sampled the water and it damaged him for 1 point. They listened at a closed door but heard nothing. Voices from an open passage to the northwest caused them to stealthily approach but their light tipped off the goblins therein. Two goblins were sent to investigate the intrusion. One was slain by the ranger's javelin while the other retreated to warn his companions. The party moved into the room to face three goblin warriors and "King Fatmouth," a goblin witchdoctor (Wiz 3?). Fatmouth had three spells (2 magic missiles and a cause fear). He managed to target the ranger and made him "shaken" for 1 round. He also blasted the wizard with a dose of her own medicine (1 magic missile). The goblins were proving problematic because the halfling fighter kept missing. The druid was injured severely (down to 3 hp) so he withdrew to heal himself with cure light wounds. He then proceeded to use his fire bolt spell-like ability from the Fire domain. The ranger was doing well during the combat, slaying goblins (which he had taken as his favored enemy - who knew?) with his scimitar. After the party finished off Fatmouth, and the wizard was reduced to 1 hp, the last goblin was slain seconds after he tried to surrender (unfortunately, the halfling was the only one who did not speak Goblin).

The party decided to loot the chest in the room and took what they could from the goblin bodies. They got a lot of gold pieces, a wand, a ring, and some pearls. A nice haul and more than they had gotten in the last few editions! They looked around a bit before deciding it was too dangerous to continue with the wizard as injured as she was and no healing left for the day. The party took their loot and left for town. Each character earned 301 xp.

We ended here since it was 12:30 pm. The players all had fun and felt that the system was infinitely more playable than 4th edition (which has since become known as "the game which will not be mentioned by name"). I could tell that we switched rule sets too often because the players were getting confused with some of the terminology and when and how certain things worked. Despite having to repeat myself more than 3 times for each ruling, the session was fun for everyone! I'm looking forward to running the larger group next weekend. Also, the players said that they would like to continue playing THESE characters at a later time, when the other players are not available.... Seems like the session went very well indeed!

I now see that we should have stuck to using these characters through ALL the versions of the game. The familiarity of the characters' personalities and quirks would serve as a familiar touchstone in the changing morass of rules that we've been wading through. I did convert these characters initially, but I also wanted the players to experience new classes and races that they don't normally get to play. We played the original campaign for almost 15 years straight before doing this experiment, so they were due for a change. Now they are talking about possibly converting the campaign to a new system! Imagine that! Now, I prefer to stick with what I started, but the players see the 1st edition version as limiting now. The druid player in particular is not fond of tying himself to the druid organization. The ranger sees some of the followers as cool but doesn't want to settle down. The wizard sees the magic systems of the later rule sets as more inviting and logical. I'm not sure if this is the right move, but we'll see when we get back to that campaign. My suggestion would be to first try dogma rules with the old characters before making a drastic change to D&D 3.5, Pathfinder, or D&D 5.0. Besides, we still have one more Pathfinder run and the D&D 5.0 conversion to try out. Maybe I'll let them play a high level adventure in 5.0 to see if they like it....

Dungeons & Dragons Through the Versions - Part 16

Although not technically a D&D product, Pathfinder RPG is based on D&D 3.5 with some minor differences. So, in essence, you can refer to this as a D&D 4E Alternative, or PFD&D. Either way it's essentially the same as D&D.

We sat down last weekend with two additional, more experienced, players who have had a go at Pathfinder in the past before moving on to D&D 5E. I gave the players several options for making characters but in the end they decided to remake past characters in the Pathfinder Chronicle world. We used 4d6 drop the lowest to roll stats (for those who did not have them already) and came up with the following characters:

• Elianna, female elven cleric 1 of Serenrae
• Ludo, male half-orc barbarian 1
• Axel Pine, male half-elf fey sorcerer 1
• "Frank", female human rogue 1
• Kruhnk, male half-orc barbarian 1

The party seems to have a slightly Chaotic edge to it, which it fine. The half-orcs are of average intelligence but everyone in the group has an 18-20 score in their prime stat!

We will be starting in Sandpoint, although I'm not sure if I want to go with a campaign route or a one-shot adventure from the Basic Box. The characters seem too unruly to be involved in a meaningful campaign arc, and everyone took combat-heavy options instead of role-playing options. I think the cave adventure from the Basic Box is the way to go!

As an alternative, I remade the characters from my 1st edition AD&D campaign in Pathfinder stats to give the players an idea of what changes happen between the editions. They looked them over but in the end decided to work with the new characters.

Dungeons & Dragons Through the Versions - Part 15

We began the next session where we had left off. The party was convalescing in the care of Sister Linora in the Temple of Avandra at Winterhaven. When they felt well enough to get up, the clergy urged them to be on their way (seeing as they were now broke - the kobolds fleeced them for all the remaining coins in their pockets and one item from each of their gear). The party set about exploring the town and we spent about an hour or so interacting with the NPCs at the inn, Lord Padraig, the shopkeep, and some lesser citizens and guards. They thanked the guards who found them in their hour of need and then set out on the road with a bounty for the kobold leaders from the Lord of the Manor.

I thought things were turning around. The party was hale and hearty again and ready to pick up where they left off, a little poorer but definitely wiser. In my innocence I neglected to alter the next encounter, thinking that the reduced numbers would produce a different outcome. Oh how wrong I was...

The second encounter occurs as the characters are leaving Winterhaven on their way to either the kobold lair at the waterfall or the dragon burial site. In either case they leave along the eastern road (and the map used is the same as for the first encounter). The perceptive elven ranger was not surprised again, but his companions WERE surprised! The kobold ambush began in earnest. This time they faced 3 kobold dragonshields, 1 kobold skirmisher, and a kobold wyrmpriest! No minions, but still outnumbered by the kobolds by almost 2:1. Keep this in mind because it is important to note.

The combat started off poorly, since the skirmisher was able to move up to the party and engage immediately. The ranger was first struck by his spear. The ranger struck well and was able to injure the kobold, but the amount of hit points possessed by these kobolds took the party by surprise. I had to explain that ALL creatures began with increased hit points now, not just the party, and that the only pushovers were minions. In hindsight, I should have removed 2 dragonshields and replaced them with 2 minions...

Then the dragonshields moved into position by charging and struck blows on the warlord and the ranger. Things were already looking grim. When the wyrmpriest emerged and cast his acid orb at the wizard, everyone groaned. Luckily he missed on this first attack! Once surprise was over, the party kicked it into high gear, attempting to take out the kobolds as quickly as possible. However, for each strike they landed, the kobolds were able to land 2 (since they were outnumbered). It took many rounds to finish off the skirmisher, but the dragonshields were proving almost impossible for the party to hit. Their armor was just too good. Then the wymrpriest used his divine favor to bolster the kobolds with 5 temporary hp and things went downhill. The wizard learned that her scorching burst had no effect because the dragonshields had resist fire 5, something that the ranger player thought overpowering for 1st level creatures (and I would agree).

The party used good tactics and they were blowing through daily and encounter powers but they just were not able to defeat those dragonshields. They began to retreat, with the eladrin wizard using her fey step to hide behind a large boulder. This allowed her to effectively leave danger and remain undetected for a little while to gain her Second Wind. The others were less successful in disengaging from the 3 dragonshields who pressed the attack and dropped the ranger. The warlord hung in there another few rounds and managed to drop one dragonshield with his daily power, but the damage was already done and he too fell shortly thereafter. The wyrmpriest pursued the wizard until she conjured a flaming sphere on his scaly ass and made it pursue him as he fled. She then managed to use First Aid on one of her fallen comrades as the other dragonshields also fled to assist their wyrmpriest. The wyrmpriest was killed but the dragonshields remained and the wizard knew she could not hold out against them....

The players pulled the plug! They basically said they were done with this edition. I don't blame them. It was an exercise in futility. The amount of time and effort that went into the play and preparation of their characters was not worth the beat down they received each and every encounter. Although they were a party of fewer than the recommended average of 5 characters, the scenario just seemed brutal to initiate characters, especially played by people new to the system! The advantages held by the kobolds (especially mob attack and the dragonshields' fire resist) far outweigh any advantages of the character races. Kobolds should not be able to take out a well-rounded party of any size as easily as these kobolds did!

Our assessment of the 4th edition D&D system is that it's not worth playing. Perhaps in a larger group of more experienced players the situations would have gone differently. It's interesting to note that, despite changing out my dice from last week, I was still able to hit almost every single time while the players were unable to do the same. Had I modified the encounter numbers I doubt that the outcome would have been any different. I even decided to grant them the XP from the 5 minions that they managed to defeat last week, and this was insufficient to get them a level. I assumed that less of an XP split would mean faster advancement - this was a bad assumption on my part. I also assumed that the second encounter would be slightly easier due to the lower numbers of opponents, but these kobolds were jacked up! In other editions, such creatures would have been defeated after maybe 3-4 rounds maximum, but each encounter with kobolds in 4th edition took almost the entire game session! There's no way they would have survived an attack on the lair given the number of kobolds involved in that encounter. And the encounter at the dragon burial site would have done little more than add their bones to the pile.

Therefore, this edition is done and we're moving on. I gave the players a choice; either we move on to 5th edition D&D or the alternative to 4th Edition D&D known as Pathfinder. They opted for Pathfinder, so I've been reading up on the changes made to that system from D&D 3.5. Interestingly, the changes are not that drastic, but they are subtle enough to make a difference in the way the game is played. The options are immense - we're gonna stick to the Core Rules for this experiment. I'm going to give them several options in creating characters. They can either re-create beloved characters of the past in this system, or create all-new characters for use. I'm hoping that their experience with D&D 3.5 will allow the character creation to go faster. Not sure that I want to use Golarion for the campaign setting. I have only the Rise of the Runelords adventure arc and the basic box adventure to use. I'm leaning towards using the basic box, but not sure I want to use the basic characters. It seems like a waste of time to just jump in and explore only the mechanics of the basic classes and races when there are so many options open to them. Their usual characters in my AD&D campaign are a druid, wizard, and ranger with a fighter NPC henchman. This would be the optimal mix for Pathfinder, since 4 characters is the recommended quantity. I'm just not sure I want to run an NPC for the group, although I could let the wizard player run him since it is HER henchman after all. guess we'll find out next weekend!

Dungeons & Dragons Through the Versions - Part 14

Well, we finally took the plunge into that version of D&D that made me jump off the treadmill screaming..... 4th edition!

I was reticent to even buy these books. I opted for only the hard copies of the core rules (PHB, DMG, MM) and then went to the digital sources for adventures (H1: Keep on the Shadowfell). My first read-through left me thoroughly confused. Everyone has powers? Spells are powers? Magic Missile can be cast AT WILL?!?!? There are no druids? What the hell is a warlord? Dragonborn?!? What have I gotten myself into???

In the spirit of showing the players what they are missing (or not missing as the case may be) we sat down to generate characters. The first question that came out of their mouths, "What do you mean we won't need dice to generate characters??" Yep, that's right, using the character ability score array from the book, the players set about placing their ability scores. The order of the scores changed to reflect their use as "defenses." They chose their races (thankfully no dragonborn) and proceeded to select their classes. I ended up with the following:

• Elianna, female eladrin wizard
• Lukus Ironwill, male human warlord
• Katar Silvercloud, male elf ranger

The only strangeness came with trying to explain the abilities of these races. Some of the abilities were listed as if they were powers, and the players were confused as to when and how they could be used with their other powers. They were very happy with their hit points totals since they were universally above 20 for first level. I told them that it was all relative and that the monsters were boosted as well.

It took HOURS to go over the choices they had, explaining how it all worked, and getting through option choices based on other choices they made. In the end, the warlord became a Tactician, the wizard a War Wizard, and the ranger a Two-Blade style ranger. The first session ended with only a bare framework of a character. I assigned "homework" for the players to read up on their character choices so that they understood them, and make a list of questions to ask the DM for the next session. Notably, no one rolled a single die the whole night!

The following week we tackled feats, skills, finalizing powers and choices, then buying equipment. They pointed out the lack of lantern oil and sacks in the rulebook. I did some investigation and found these items in later errata and sourcebooks online. I then had to explain how implements worked for the wizard and then go over all the errata for the powers they had selected. The second week left me feeling rather insecure about trying to run this since the amount of options open to the party was immense! I told them to read up on these new choices.

The week after that we sat down for our first actual playing session. The players had made their own combat power cards for their relevant abilities, listing all the info from the books. I was so proud! They also proved to have read the combat chapter, so I was not gonna tackle this alone.

We spent about 1-1/2 hours going over the details and fine points before beginning the first encounter. In the module, the first encounter is a kobold ambush along the road to Winterhaven. The ranger has a passive Perception of 19 so the kobolds never really had much of a chance to surprise anyone (especially since the module breaks the chance of surprise by having the minions scamper among the rocks). I had spent about 4 hours before the session drawing the maps of the first few encounter areas and the town of Winterhaven on Game Table. The players were duly impressed with the scene before them, and somewhat disheartened by the number of opponents they faced. Things got even worse when I rolled initiative for the kobolds and they beat everyone else. The minions moved in first (as described in the tactics) and engaged the group. The ranger, thinking himself smugly competent, used his Dire Wolverine Strike and managed to miss all 3 kobold minions surrounding him! Regrettably, the kobolds did NOT miss him! The slinger was abusing the wizard from the get go, and she returned the complement with a few magic missiles. The warlord tried very hard to get into the battle but kept thinking that all his powers only allowed OTHERS to do stuff, and that he couldn't use them and still attack (spent about 20 minutes trying to explain that was not the case with ALL of the powers). When the kobold dragonshields finally emerged from hiding, the party let out a collective groan, especially when I hit with them every single roll and the party missed on almost every single roll. The sligers managed to hit the ranger with his fire pot, then glued the wizard in place with a glue pot. This kept her from later using her Scorching Burst for fear of catching herself or her allies in the burst as well.

The party ended up using all their action points, encounter powers, daily powers, and racial powers and still the kobolds dropped them all. After a long night of explaining rules and how the system worked, it all came down to the fact that my dice were hot and no one else could hit the high AC of the dragonshields. We ended early for Daylight Savings, but the mood in the party was grim. We had spent 2 sessions making these god-awful complicated characters and they were felled in their first encounter by a group of 8 kobolds. Oh how the bards would laugh at them!

Things we learned:

1. Monsters are no joke in this edition. Even the lowly kobold has a plethora of abilities to use tactically on the play map.
2. When a party is outnumbered more than 2:1, retreat should be foremost in your mind, especially if they win the initiative.
3. Trying to escape from Shifty opponents is very difficult.
4. Wizards who marvel at being able to cast Magic Missile every round should instead be using area-of-effect powers like Scorching Burst to remove minions from the battle early.
5. Even though minions have but 1 hp, they still hit like a full hp tank when the DM's dice are hot!
6. High Reflex defense is essential against spellcasters.
7. Warlords are great in a large party - they are a poor tanking substitute in a small party.
8. The recommended party size is 5 players, we had only 3, so NPCs or encounter adjustments are probably required.

The session was still exciting to play. The players marveled at all their strange abilities and saw how utterly ridiculous it would be at higher levels to keep track of all they could do. Luckily we had no magic items in the group so I have yet to explain how daily abilities work with those. We got to see everything from Shifting in combat, to use of healing surges, and the death and dying rules. We dealt with Ongoing damage and saving throws as well.

The general consensus was to reboot and try again. I opted to say that some scouts from Winterhaven heard the battle and drove off the wounded kobolds remaining, rescuing the party with First Aid (Heal) checks before they died. This way I progress them to Winterhaven where they will awaken in the care of Sister Linora. From here they can interact with the townsfolk and learn more about the fate of Douven Stahl (leading them to the dragon's  graveyard and the second kobold ambush). No XP was gained by the characters since they failed in their first encounter. This may hurt them down the road.

Dungeons & Dragons Through the Versions: Part 13

Well, that's ominous - the 13th posting on this topic.... As I mentioned in my previous posts, the 2nd edition playtest went very poorly and we opted to bail shortly after play began. I don't know if it was a failing of the system so much as an unwillingness to play in the Forgotten Realms or an Ed Greenwood module. In any case it bombed and we moved on after 2 sessions.

On to D&D 3.5! The players were semi-experienced in this system. Two of them had played it before for a few weeks before life cancelled that project. The other was introduced via the Basic Game Boxed Set one evening. None of them had played it very long and only had an inkling of what to expect. We spent 2 whole sessions making characters. The first was the basics and number crunching; the second was checking their numbers and finalizing choices as well as introducing them to the campaign setting, my own campaign world of Talasia.

The group formed well from the get go. We had a half-orc barbarian named Orsha whose 19 Strength was ridiculously high. The elven cleric Elania naturally had an 18 in Wisdom and some other nice stats. Lastly, the half-elven sorcerer Axel Pine maxed out his Dexterity and Charisma as best he could and opted for leather armor despite not having any proficiency with it. I explained the part about spell failure while wearing armor and he was OK with the 10%.

I started them in an alternate reality version of my campaign set about 5 years after the events in my campaign (which was based in 2nd then 3rd edition, ending sometime in 2008). The heroes were based in the town of Korbal, last bastion of hope in the beleaguered northeastern Sturmgard Forest. They would be accompanied by a 1st level human ranger named Morten, originally a forester whose family was slain by marauding orcs. He convinced the others to join him in seeking vengeance against the orcs and slaying those that remained in his former home. The party equipped itself then headed east.

I tested the waters with a few example combats including a couple of wolves, a goblin ambush, and the site of a recent battle where skeletons had been animated by a roaming hobgoblin necromancer. They found only little treasure but I was able to explain how skills are used, the idea behind attacks of opportunity, the concept of stacking bonuses, and how spells work in this edition for non-Vancian spell casters. The players had a good time and marvelled at the number of hit points they had to start. Even so, once the party made it to the ruined house in the woods, I was able to take the barbarian to zero hit points rather quickly and the archer ranger was also severely wounded. The sorcerer and cleric held their own and saved the other two before they wisely retreated to an old barn several hundred yards away. They spent the night in the old barn, sharing the space with a barn owl (who would have made a cool familiar, but the sorcerer was broke and could not afford the components). They defeated a small monstrous spider in the barn during the night (which failed to surprise the sorcerer on watch duty). In the morning they spent all their time healing before heading back to the town.

On their way back I rolled a random encounter with the hobgoblin necromancer and his 2 badly beaten zombie servants! They took the necromancer apart! He barely had a chance to cast some defensive spells before being overwhelmed. The zombies went down relatively easy as well. When they made it back to town I calculated XP and they ALL made 2nd level! That little confidence boost was what they needed to return to the home in the woods and slay the remaining 6 orcs hiding in the root cellar (with one guard up top during daylight hours). They easily defeated the orcs and took what they could back to town to sell. They made some good coin, had a fun time playing the game, and really were amazed at the complexity (yet simplicity) of the system. It helped that I know how to run this edition since I ran several 3.5 campaigns before giving it up and reverting back to 1st edition (my first love).

The only snag they found in the system was with the Heal skill which seemed rather useless for a cleric to take (and I agree). In order to use the long-term care feature, one must have a healer's kit which has only a limited number of uses and costs 50 gp! They assumed that it would be able to get them hit points back immediately instead of increasing their natural healing only slightly. I decided to end this test on a high note (especially since the last two edition runs went poorly at the end). All told we played 3.5 a total of 5 sessions (2 to make the characters, one to get the basics of combat down, one to get beaten by the orcs and bed down in the barn, and one to encounter the necromancer and return to slay the orcs).

I tried to explain how the higher levels worked and the addition of feats and skill points. I also gave them a long explanation of how multi-classing worked before they chose their 2nd level. No one opted to multi-class thankfully, which helped them out tremendously! Since most of the terms were the same as previous editions they were able to assimilate the new information much easier. I tried to explain how XP awards were based on the encounter now, not so much the individual monsters, although that did play into it, and that treasure counted for no XP. They questioned why they would even bother collecting treasure, so I had to let them know that magic items could be created by the characters now (whereas that was frowned upon in previous editions, but not totally out of the question).

All in all, D&D 3.5 went well and we may revisit this in the future. I would LOVE to run one of the adventure arcs for them so that they can get an idea of how the system holds up through level 20. We also were unable to get into character as much as in previous versions since their attention was focused more on the digital map, counter positions, and all their abilities they had to remember.