Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Back in 1994


Last night I sat and tried to remember how I used to prep all those very fun sessions back in the 90s. Somehow we were able to get a lot of mileage out of very little. Here's what I came up with in an effort to emulate my former style.

     It all begins somewhere on the western shore of the Dragon Reach in the Forgotten Realms between Scardale and Harrowdale.The party has been put ashore after the vessel they were traveling upon experienced a mutiny. The above map depicts their immediate environs and who/what lives there.



     Above is a map of the mouldering manor where the juvenile green dragon Hyphaxes live. She is not really meant to be fought as she would demolish a party of 1st level PCs so it's more of an interesting role-play encounter. Her house might be fun to explore, though.



     This is the first page of monsters and NPCs. Basic stats and very stripped down personalities. Just the basics to jog my memory during play. I am aware that green dragons do not have the shape change ability, but I thought it would be a nice twist.  With the first three NPCs/beasties there is something to kill (skeletons), something to befriend and be enamored with (the dryad) and something to fear (Hyphaxes).

     Note: At the bottom of the page I added the following note: This area was once the private holding of the Molwar family. One night the village was raided by pirates hoping to plunder the manor. The attack cost most of the pirates and villagers their lives. The pirates have been cursed by Umberlee to toil in an undead state. The Molwars were already in decline, so the few remaining villagers simply left. In the absence of people, various beasties have moved in. First Keratha, then Hyphaxes.



     Here is the second page of NPCs and foes. The bickering, feuding Molwar family laid to rest in the crypt under Keratha's tree in the cemetery might be fun to smash. There's no real reason to mess with the snake, but some PC might go poking around the marsh. Justin can be a nice recurring NPC. He could use some help with some nearby goblins. They killed his dog, so he wants their dumb little heads on stakes.

     Two of my three players cannot stand D&D, but perhaps I could persuade them to give this little write-up a shot sometime.



     Scan of the campaign map from the boxed set showing the area where play begins. 

7 comments:

  1. Those are great and I absolutely love that first map. So much good stuff in it. In '94 we were GURPsing it hard. So our stats would have been exhaustively long.

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    1. Thanks, Tim! When I used to play the Baldur's Gate game for PC I was struck by how many encounters the designers placed in such a small area. I think I emulated that style at the table by placing a lot of content in a rather confined area.

      I think I started playing GURPS in 96. Sadly, I have written a lot of content for GURPS 4e but have yet to play it in person. One of these days. :)

      Looking forward to seeing the Manor. I know it's going to be great!

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    2. Yours should reach you soon I would think. I sent it out on Wednesday.

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  2. I love that main map. You could definitely run a fun little exploration on that alone if need be.

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    1. Thanks, John. I hope to get the chance someday. :)

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  3. "Somehow we were able to get a lot of mileage out of very little."

    Isn't it so true? Back then I'd crank something out to play without thinking about it too much. Nowadays I hesitate to run things because I want to overthink and overprep and just generally overdo everything. I need to learn to relax again and just play.

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    1. "I hesitate to run things because I want to overthink and overprep and just generally overdo everything."

      Amen. "Overwrought" is a term I have begun applying to my style. I just want to present the kind of material I prepped rather quickly in this post and see what the heck happens. :)

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