| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Random
Acolyte
1 Posts |
 Posted - 19 Aug 2002 : 07:39:46
|
Hello. I haven't played d&d for a few years now and I'm thinking of starting a new campaign. I was wondering what would be a good FR module to start out with for a returning player? Also, I was wondering how I can find people to join my new campaign.
Thanks. :)
|
|
|
Celebrant Moonflower
Acolyte
USA
47 Posts |
Posted - 22 Aug 2002 : 22:50:26
|
well depends what edition you want to play of course! A good dungeon crawl would be the ruins of Undermountain of course. Or If you have the 2nd edition boxed set the Shadowdale game within is very good as well as a start. Our DM had that game going on for over a year adding more and more into it, one of my favorites!
When has truth been utterly devoid of paradox? |
 |
|
|
Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 23 Aug 2002 : 08:46:25
|
I started my FR campaign quite a few years ago (2nd edition of course) with that very module from the campaign setting box from the Shadowdale book, I dont have it with me at the moment but i think its called "Beneath the Tower of Ashaba" or something similar. Both myself (the DM), and the players loved every minute of the adventure. I had fleshed it out a bit more but its still very enjoyable. I then ran a new campaign starting with "Doom of Daggerdale" and followed it be the "Randal Morn" triiogy of adventures. All were quite enjoyable but still needed a bit of fleshing out..... once the Randal Morn saga was over, it slotted in nicely with the module set in the Zhentarim camp in the "Ruins of Zhentil Keep" box set.
Edited by - Rad on 23 Aug 2002 08:47:20 |
|
|
|
king-tiax
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
327 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2002 : 22:48:30
|
I agree with Celebrant the Undermountain is a great module and I would be willing to join, name the time&place
Daveron: My name is Daveron, I would ask yours but I don't care to become aquainted with the dead.
BG1. |
|
|
|
kahonen
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
358 Posts |
Posted - 09 Sep 2002 : 21:13:51
|
I agree that Undermountain is good but wouldn't start a new campaign there. If you haven't played D&D for a while and your party are new to the game (or they haven't played for a while) I'd keep the first couple of sessions nice and simple. I've found starting new players can be nice and simple if you do something like escorting a caravan somewhere.
You can then introduce random encounters as and when the players are able to cope with them. That way you can introduce different elements of the game (combat, movement, time, magic, role play) slowly. It also means the players are likely to survive the first couple of sessions. |
|
|
|
DarkRanger
Acolyte
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - 10 Sep 2002 : 21:37:43
|
| Personally, I also liked "Beneath the Twisted Tower." I think it is a good introduction into some of the cultures and politics of the Realms. I know the old gray box is getting harder to find, but it is a good investment if you stay with 2E like my group did. |
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup. |
|
|
|
kahonen
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
358 Posts |
Posted - 10 Sep 2002 : 22:01:31
|
I'm not convinced it's a suitable adventure for a party of beginners. When I say beginners, I don't necessarilly mean 1st level characters, I mean beginner players.
While I agree it's a very good adventure I didn't use it until my party got to about 3rd to 4th level. Out of the five players in the party, three had never played D&D before and I wanted to give them a fighting chaance of survival until I thought they were capable of playing the game. |
|
|
|
Arion Elenim
Senior Scribe
933 Posts |
Posted - 11 Sep 2002 : 05:45:11
|
I have to defer to Kahonen here...
Undermountain is not a great place for novice gamers, as you can have the power to wield monstrous magic by starting at level 15, but if the gamer is not that experienced, they won't know HOW to use it.
I am proud to say that I am a member of a campaign that has been running for four years now...and our success has been in that our DM has kept things challenging, as well as under control (4 years has only yielded our party to be an average of level 11...a bit slower...but it has given us a TON of time to flesh out and properly roleplay our characters).
What's more is that he has also realized that the gamers themselves have to feel confident in their characters...you can't do that if you throw a lich at them in room one, the Terrasque in room two and a bunch of kobolds in room three....this leads to confusion and a total lack of cohesion.....
Start out slow...keep the PC's near the city to begin with...let em deal with NPC's of their level before they take on Halaster Blackcloak.....
Then again....I'm just a PC...what do I know?  |
My latest Realms-based short story, about a bard, a paladin of Lathander and the letter of the law, Debts Repaid. It takes place before the "shattering" and gives the bard Arion a last gasp before he plunges into the present.http://candlekeep.com/campaign/logs/log-debts.htm |
|
|
|
kahonen
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
358 Posts |
Posted - 11 Sep 2002 : 20:21:08
|
It sounds like the attitude of your group is pretty much the same as our, ArionElenim.
I DM the best bunch of people imaginable - no power players, excellent role play and the reward of the game is simply to enjoy the game (it really is a shame that so many people think the reward is experience points).
|
|
|
|
Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 12 Sep 2002 : 08:54:30
|
| Ditto Kahonen! Players in my campaign spent a lot of their personal time outside of the game in developing backgrounds and really fleshing out their character. I guess that as a DM I was very mean when it came to leaving magical items scattered around dungeons etc. but the players didnt care, it didnt matter that they had mostly mundane weapons beacuse they felt a part of their character and enjoyed playing the campaign because they were so involved in the actual wellfare of the character. Is it a role-playing game after all, a kind of escape from reality, its good to see players become so involved that they seem to live the character they created. Ive seen many players almost weep when their character dies. Ive seen days of depression from one of my players upon loosing a mid-level character! |
Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
|
|
|
|
DarkRanger
Acolyte
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - 12 Sep 2002 : 19:24:25
|
| I think that is the best way to approach the game, especially if you're someone who has sat on both sides of the table. Items and XPs are nice, but it's the role-playing effort and coming up with your backstories and what exactly you've been doing in between adventures that make a campaign special. |
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup. |
|
|
|
Rory_Lana
Acolyte
20 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2002 : 22:21:48
|
| I agree, character background is very important. As a DM you must allow your Players the time they need to be creative and work with their characters. Note that not all creativity happens in the middle of a quest. As for finding players, they are out there! But word to the wise do not put too many people in your party. I have made this mistake, being nice is one thing, setting up a good game is another. If there are too many people things can get difficult not only for the DM but for the players as well. (I really didn't answer your question, did I?) I hope that what little wisdom I have help at least a bit. |
|
|
|
DragonTouched
Acolyte
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2002 : 20:49:47
|
| Question: Where can I find a group to join? I'm new to the D&D sytem (but I've had experience w/ other RPG's). |
|
|
|
kahonen
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
358 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2002 : 22:13:31
|
| I'd suggest that you start by adding your country to your profile so that it displayed with your posts. |
|
|
|
DragonTouched
Acolyte
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - 26 Sep 2002 : 17:56:19
|
| What I want to know is, are there online game sessions other than videogames? |
|
|
|
Mumadar Ibn Huzal
Master of Realmslore
1338 Posts |
Posted - 27 Sep 2002 : 17:33:33
|
As I replied to in another thread, (General FR Chat) there are several Play by e-Mail (PbeM) games going on, with a fair amount set in the Realms.
If you go to Yahoo Groups and follow the following path:
Games > Role Playing Games > Individual Games > Dungeons and Dragons > Forgotten Realms
You'll find several mailing lists for PbeMs. (last time I checked there were over 300 groups in the category)
a shameless PbeM plugger  |
|
|
|
DragonTouched
Acolyte
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - 27 Sep 2002 : 19:23:15
|
| Thanks Mumadar I replied to your other post as well. |
|
|
|
eilinel
Learned Scribe
France
296 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2002 : 18:32:41
|
Personaly, i don't think u'd use a module for the first adventure. And above all, if u play with people u don't really know. What i do is to leave them invent their own background, i mean, a big and intense background -however, it doesn't mean that the PCs have to have some experience before starting the campaign-. The way is, that with these backgrounds, u'd make an exciting adventure for every PC and for u.
But, i know it'snot a little work and some people would like to start the campaign just after to have wrotten their character profil. That's the way it is, and i know sometimes that just wastes a very good adventure. Patience is also a quality players'd have...
Hell, what could we do?
|
|
|
|
Mumadar Ibn Huzal
Master of Realmslore
1338 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2002 : 18:39:54
|
That's more or less the same approach I've used as well. I only had a general story line in mind. I took the characters' backgrounds and found more then enough items in there to weave in or around the story line. This allows also for the characters to be more personally involved with the story. Not that it cannot be done with modules though.
Everytime the characters provide me with updates on their backgrounds or 'in-character' feedback, they (unwittingly? ) provide me with more adventure hooks that can turn up at any time in the story. This way the story evolves and grows. Unlike most modules which tend to be rather straight-lined. Of course a creative DM can always find ways around that. |
|
|
|
eilinel
Learned Scribe
France
296 Posts |
Posted - 03 Oct 2002 : 19:22:47
|
I couldn't agree more. Modules often reduce the sphere of activity of the DM, even if u've a very good imagination.
I think the best to put PCs into the story as soon as the very begining is to use their background correctly.
|
|
|
|
Anthony
Acolyte
1 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2015 : 18:03:10
|
Thanks guys. Was looking for this kind of discussion around this topic. I'm starting my first full-scale 2E campaign in FR and have been saying the same things to my players re: roleplay & background over items & XP. (Although obviously a balanced combination of game elements makes things fun.)
I'm starting them out where their background begins - dwarf in his stronghold in the Sunset Mountains, wizard maybe in one of nearby towns that trades with them (to give the two a history of knowing each other through amicable trade). They'll both probably have a strong disdain for the Zhentarim/Zhentillar and maybe a skirmish over a trade dispute sees them a mutual enemy in a caravan captain or something. Maybe that spurs them to join up w/the Corm Orp milita... adventure ensues.
Caravan trade route activity seems an easy way for their daily activities to lead to grouping up, adventures, and villain introduction. The trick will be seamlessly transitioning into a box set. Guessing Ruins of Zhentil Keep would make that easy. Just need a reason they get that far from home. And being kidnapped into the Zhentarim slave trade handles that. |
Anthony |
|
|
|
Cards77
Senior Scribe
USA
745 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jun 2015 : 01:10:09
|
| Have you considered starting them in the Silver Marches? I'm just thinking of an area that has more "boxed sets". It's also pretty easy to just plop many of the best modules right into that geography. |
|
|
|
The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1842 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jun 2015 : 06:06:54
|
| Talk about thread resurrections. I agree with Cards that the North and has tons of previous work already done for you (and just about any module, from any designer, can be dropped right in). That said, I've always loved Daggerford as a starting area because it's fleshed out enough for a beginning group but still allows a lot of leeway for enterprising DMs to build in the direction they want to go (precisely because it hasn't been over done as the North has). One doesn't have to worry as much about ruining previously established lore as much there (if you're worried about that sort of thing). |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
|
|
|
Cards77
Senior Scribe
USA
745 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jun 2015 : 00:01:11
|
| I second Daggerford. Under Illefarn would be a great starting point and that area has it all literally. |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
Starting a campaign
