Party composition and adventure ideas

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

Folks,

I mentioned preparing a Kalamar campaign a while back, in threads on
Mass Combat and Desert Survival, and I am finally starting next
weekend.

So far, my players have come up with the following characters (all
start at level 3):

- a Barbarian
- a Basiran Dancer (think Bard, but using movement instead of music)
- a Rogue/Infiltrator (Infiltrator being a Rogue/Ranger half breed, so
3/4 Rogue)
- a Cleric of the Guardian (God of Freedom)

The first thing that I notice is no real Fighter. The Barbarian will
have to do the heavy lifting in combat, and I will have to balance my
encounters to suit. Any ideas on that score?

The second thing (and the first thing my players noticed), this party
is *fast*. Two classes are explicitly Dex based, the Cleric has access
to the Celerity domain, and the Barbarian is no slowpoke either.

My original idea was to use this party in a Robin Hood/La Résistance
kind of setting, taking on injustice and oppression throughout the
land, with some meddling in politics once they reach the
mid-levels.

The first adventure is mostly mapped out[1]: they will have to escape
from the local slavers' kingdom, the theocracy of the god of
oppression and slavery. To make things easy on the low-level party,
I'll start them close to the border, but aside from that, they're in
for a tough adventure, which I expect to take 3 sessions minimum, 5
ideally.

For the adventures afterwards I have some ideas, but none fully mapped
out. Given the party composition and strengths, is there anyone here
willing to chime in with suggestions? I don't want people to do my
entire homework for me, but some people might think of things *I*
never thought of, so I am soliciting suggestions.

Mart

[1] I had mapped out one escape route through the mountains and the
desert beyond, but initial discussions with my players on the campaign
concept led to the expectation that the players may try the more
difficult (but shorter) route along the coast road. They certainly
have the skills to spot and dodge patrols, so it's not impossible, but
it'll be a challenge nonetheless.

--
"We will need a longer wall when the revolution comes."
--- AJS, quoting an uncertain source.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

Bradd W. Szonye wrote:

> What's more likely to give you trouble is the lack of magical
mobility
> at medium levels. Many D&D adventures assume good tactical/travel
powers
> (dimension door, teleport, etc) from 7th level onwards, and good
planar
> travel powers not long after that. Any cleric can handle the planar
> stuff, but you need a wizard, nomad psion, or Travel cleric to get
the
> tactical travel stuff.

Or a character with Use Magic Device on their class skill list, and it
appears that this party has two.

It offers one way for the party to work around the issue if it arises,
at least.



Cheers,
Roger Carbol

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

Mart van de Wege <mvdwege.usenet@wanadoo.nl> wrote:
> So far, my players have come up with the following characters (all
> start at level 3):
>
> - a Barbarian
> - a Basiran Dancer (think Bard, but using movement instead of music)
> - a Rogue/Infiltrator (Infiltrator being a Rogue/Ranger half breed, so
> 3/4 Rogue)
> - a Cleric of the Guardian (God of Freedom)
>
> The first thing that I notice is no real Fighter. The Barbarian will
> have to do the heavy lifting in combat, and I will have to balance my
> encounters to suit. Any ideas on that score?

That shouldn't be much of a problem. That group looks pretty capable for
mundane combat, especially melee. Depending on the specific builds, they
may be a bit weak in ranged combat.

What's more likely to give you trouble is the lack of magical mobility
at medium levels. Many D&D adventures assume good tactical/travel powers
(dimension door, teleport, etc) from 7th level onwards, and good planar
travel powers not long after that. Any cleric can handle the planar
stuff, but you need a wizard, nomad psion, or Travel cleric to get the
tactical travel stuff.
--
Bradd W. Szonye
http://www.szonye.com/bradd

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

Bradd W. Szonye wrote:
>> What's more likely to give you trouble is the lack of magical
>> mobility at medium levels. Many D&D adventures assume good
>> tactical/travel powers (dimension door, teleport, etc) from 7th level
>> onwards, and good planar travel powers not long after that. Any
>> cleric can handle the planar stuff, but you need a wizard, nomad
>> psion, or Travel cleric to get the tactical travel stuff.

rcarbol@home.com wrote:
> Or a character with Use Magic Device on their class skill list, and it
> appears that this party has two.

True, that. It's pricy, though, and hard to get quantity discounts for
anything above 4th level spells.
--
Bradd W. Szonye
http://www.szonye.com/bradd

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

"Bradd W. Szonye" <bradd+news@szonye.com> writes:

> Mart van de Wege <mvdwege.usenet@wanadoo.nl> wrote:
>> So far, my players have come up with the following characters (all
>> start at level 3):
>>
>> - a Barbarian
>> - a Basiran Dancer (think Bard, but using movement instead of music)
>> - a Rogue/Infiltrator (Infiltrator being a Rogue/Ranger half breed, so
>> 3/4 Rogue)
>> - a Cleric of the Guardian (God of Freedom)
>>
>> The first thing that I notice is no real Fighter. The Barbarian will
>> have to do the heavy lifting in combat, and I will have to balance my
>> encounters to suit. Any ideas on that score?
>
> That shouldn't be much of a problem. That group looks pretty capable for
> mundane combat, especially melee. Depending on the specific builds, they
> may be a bit weak in ranged combat.
>
Hmm. I think the Rogue player is going to take decent ranged
attacks. With his Dex, he's probably best suited for that. OTOH, he
was going to go for the sneak-up-and-ambush kind of combat guy. Not
that that is incompatible with ranged attacks, mind you.

I'll have to talk this one over. If the party is weak at range, they
should be aware of that, because it would make them vulnerable to
e.g. archery from ambush.

> What's more likely to give you trouble is the lack of magical mobility
> at medium levels.

Don't think that'll be a problem.

> Many D&D adventures assume good tactical/travel powers (dimension
> door, teleport, etc) from 7th level onwards, and good planar travel
> powers not long after that.

1. Kalamar is a fairly low-magic setting, so magical travel powers are
not as prominent as in say, the Realms.

2. I do not use pre-cooked adventures, so I have plenty of room to
work around that problem.

So far, my adventure ideas all revolve around burglary (sneaking in
buildings and dungeons to steal the treasure/murder the villain in his
sleep) and for combat, fast raiding. I also expect them to do a lot of
behind-the-scenes work to subvert, train and lead the local oppressed
populations against their oppressors.

Since I happen to have a not-so-minor interest in the history of WWII,
modelling my party on a French Maquis band would make a nice switch
from the regular adventuring. And once they hit the cities (at level
7-10 I expect) I get to run urban resistance adventures, which are
nice too. The Dancer specifically is almost tailor made as an
infiltrator/spy in high circles.

Mart

--
"We will need a longer wall when the revolution comes."
--- AJS, quoting an uncertain source.