4. Captain's Council

Arriving back in Freeport, the crew runs afoul of a plot to sabotage Captain Lydon's bid for the Pirate's Seat on the Captain's Council.

Plot: A hired gang is entering the ship of the Captain while the "Albatross" comes into the harbour. Great fight on board of Captain Lydon's ship. Captain Lydon himself is missing for more than a week. Investigation turns out that he was hired by a diplomat of the Scarlet Brotherhood to train the crews of their navy. If a pirate has no ship, he cannot be called Captain, thus his bid on the Pirate's Seat of the Captain's Council would be null and void. The leader of the group contacts Malkior Maeorgan to build a bigger version of this katamaran (a 40 foot version) in secret as a trial run.

Reasons: Better familiarity with the Captain's Council. Introducing the "troublesome" diplomat who will be the final villain in "Crisis" and the hosilities between the two nations on the continent (changed the barbarian nation to the "Scarlett Brotherhood").

 

Tags: freeport campaign

3. Back to the "Lost" Archipelago

A new trade run to the Lost Archipelago becomes a race against time as a tsunami hits home.

Plot: In order to strengthen the trade connection with the natives from the Lost Archipelago, the group returns to the isles with their ship. On their way they see a pillar of smoke far far away and afterwards they encounter a massive wave that originated from the pillar (think of Krakatoa). At sea the wave is "peaceful", but when it will reach the coast... The group manages to warn the tribes on the archipelago and Freeport via "Astral Travel" (something like Doctor Strange). When it reaches the isles trade is cut in half because of the disaster, but the goods brought with the ship will definitely help with the effort to rebuild. Some goodds are taken aboard, but mostly this run will be for naught (except for further goodwill of the natives).

The second part of the voyage leads to the coast of the Elven nation. The port city is in ruins, the king has no knowledge, where his fleet is, neither any sign of the whereabouts of the ships of the enemy nation. The Group vows to find out what happened to those fleets.

Reasons: Establishing a trade connection based on good will. At the centre of this part of the ocean (just happens to be the center of Valossa historically) a volcano has risen from the depths. This was the place where the incantation took place, that led to the submersion of the continent of the Serpents.

 

Tags: freeport campaign
Current Location: @work
Current Music: "I Am Sam" soundtrack

In my Thursday group our Iron Heroes campaign draws to a close. After a short discussion I offered to start a new campaign in Falcon's Hollow. My fellow players were enthusiastic about it.

One Character Concept will be a Dwarven Cleric, a second will be a fighter or barbarian. Third and fourth player did not have any immediate suggestions for their characters. Perhaps I will be able to persuade my Girlfriend to join in.

More info after our next session.

Tags: gamemastery campaign journal
Current Location: @ work

2. The Pig and the Spider

After this Introduction to Freeport the Sea Lord Milton Drac gives the group the order to find Pigeye Pete (a task they accepted happily, as they longed to find their captor).

Plot: The group travels from archipelago to archipelago in search of Pigeye Pete. On one island they fight a mad icebear (hats off to 'Lost') that got stranded there during the wreckage of a ship transporting him somewhere to feature prominently in a zoo. On another island they find a tribe that encountered the Captain. They sent him and his ship officers to a mountain, where treasure would be found (not telling him, the mountain was "guarded"). Investigation of the ancient temple in the mountain begins, until the group runs afoul of a huge monstrous spider occupying the main altar room. The captain and his cronies fell victim to the spider an its "babies". Great running fight. The treasure of the captain is not found as well as no clue as to where he has buried the stuff he brought with him from the ship (they didn't find it, as it was really well hidden sewed into the leather west of the Captain).

Afterwards the group begins trade with the tribe - pearls against quality metal + spices and fruits - and a new recipee "Pina Colada" in tow. Encountering further tribes on the other isles, but those are pretty hostile because of slavers in the region. After bringing up a slave vessel in the area and rescuing many members of one tribe. Those tribes accept the group as trade partners. Trade post will be established on the "Forbidden Isle", an island in the middle of the archipelago, that is only used for "Quest for Adulthood" and for tribal meetings.

The leader of the group is astounded by the kind of boats those tribes are using and takes a "two-keel-boat" with him, the locals call this ship Katamaran. Upon returning one member of the group contacts the Tempel of Knowledge of his own accord to find out the similarities between the language found in the temple and Draconian.

Reasons: Introduction of the Captain's Council into the campaign. Introduction of the history of the Serpent People. They have developed from joint ancestors with the dragons, thus their ability to shapeshift, something happened, that these children of the Lizard parted from the Ur-Draconian ways. Also introducing simalarities between Draconian and Serpentian runes and words. First mention of the continent of Valossa. Introduction of the Temple of Knowledge into the campaign (Brother Egil, Milos and Thuron as member of the Captain's Council to have a reason that he is never in the temple when the group arrives, later he will be able to give much help to the group as a member of the Council, I had to remove one of the other members from the Council to make room for him).

Tags: freeport campaign
Current Location: At work
Current Mood: cranky
Current Music: Dentist song from "Little Shop of Horrors"

I went to the game fair "Das SPIEL 2007" in Essen on Sunday with my girlfriend. It had been five years since my last visit and a lot of memories streamed through my mind as I neared the entrance.It was the first time for my girlfriend though, and she a had a bit of a hard time with the nearness of the crowds and bad air conditioning. The fair lasts for 4 days. Thursday is the day for digging (searching for rare items). Friday and Saturday are the days to test out new games and meet friends and Sunday is "bargain day".

I had set myself two limits. "Once my cash is gone it's gone" was the first, the second: I'd have to be able to carry it.

I reached both of them.

But that was not the main reason I went to the SPIEL. I wanted to meet old friends. So while I strolled through the halls I found some familiar faces I had not seen for a long while. (Hello Peer, Hi Matthias, Huhu Christian) While those that I had a loose appopintent with were on the verge of leaving (Mario and Ulli) we still managed to get ahold of each other (mainly due to the reason that my girlfriend and me had been totally tired when our alarm clock had rung that morning and I had switched it off to get some really necessary sleep and we arrived only at half past twelve in the Halls of Gaming). Since they had been at the site from Friday onwards, they took us on a small tour to the new games they had already tested and we either bought the games in question or did not. Afterwards we had to sit down, so we found us a table at the Amigo booth and tested "Patrician", a very nice game with a high random factor (at least in the version for 4 persons). Then a last round of bargain searches and back to Frankfurt we went.

Coolest RPG buys: Tome of Horrors III, Grim Tales, Castlemourn (all for half price)
Coolest board game buy: Quest for the Dragonlords (german version) for 19 Euros
Biggest bargain (but not too sure about that): Bounty (for 3 Euros)

Did I buy too much? Most certainly.
Was every purchase really necessary? Hell, no... but it was a bargain *G*
Did I enjoy it? Every minute
Will I go there again? Of course

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Am Sonntag ging es nach langer langer Zeit (5 Jahre seit dem letzten Mal) wieder auf die Spielemesse in Essen, dieses Jahr das erste Mal mit meiner Freundin. Als ich auf den Eingang zuging gingen mir viele Erinnerungen an frühere Besuche durch den Kopf. Für meine Freundlin war es das erste Mal und sie wurde auch fast erschlagen von den menschenmassen, die sich durch die Hallen wälzen und auch die schlechte Luft machte ihr ganz schön zu schaffen. Die Messe ist vier Tage lang. Donnerstag ist der "Jagdtag" nach Raritäten und günstigen Gelegenheiten. Freitag und Sonnabend sind die Tage fürs Testspielen und Freunde zu treffen und Sonntag ist "Schnäppchentag".

Ich hatte mir zwei Limits gesetzt. "Wenn mein Bargeld weg ist, ist's weg." und zweitens: Ich muss es auch noch tragen können.

Ich habe beide erreicht (aber nicht überschritten).

Aber dies war nicht der Hauptgrund, dass wir zur Spielemesse fihren. Ich wollte alte Bekannte wieder treffen. Als ich durch die Hallen spazierte, liefen mir einige bekannte gesichter über den Weg (Hallo Peer, Hi Matthias, Huhu Christian). Als diejenigen, mit denen ich mich lose verabredet hatte, schon kurz vorm Aufbruch waren (Mario und Ulli) haben wir dann glücklicherweise doch zueinander finden können (lag wohl hauptsächlich daran, dass wir erst um halb eins in den Hallen eintrafen, weil wir zu müde waren, als der Wecker klingelte, und uns einfach noch mal umgedreht und wichtigen Schlaf nachgeholt hatten). Da die beiden schon seit Freitag in den heiligen Hallen gewandelt waren, gaben sie uns eine kleine Tour und zeigten uns die Spiele, die sie ausprobiert hatten. Wir kauften diese dann, oder nicht. Danach taten uns die Füße und wir mussten uns einfach mal hinsetzen. Beim Amigo-Stand wurde gerade ein Tisch frei (die Welt ist klein, gell), und wir begannen das Spiel "Patrizier" zu testen, ein sehr nettes Spiel mit einem hohen Zufallsfaktor (zumindest bei vier Spielern). Danach noch eine Runde an Schnäppchen und dann ging es zurück nach Frankfurt.

Beste RPG Käufe: Tome of Horrors III, Grim Tales, Castlemourn (alles fürn halben Preis)
Bester Brettspielkauf: Herrscher der Drachen (deutsche Version von "Quest for the Dragonlords") für 19 Euro
Grösstes Schnäppchen (bin mir aber noch nicht so sicher darüber): Bounty (für 3 Euro)

Hab ich zuviel gekauft? Sicher.
War jeder Kauf nötig? Nein... aber es war ein Schnäppchen *G*
Hab ich Spaß gehabt? Jede Minute
Werde ich wieder hinfahren? Natürlich

Tags: fair report
Current Location: Back from Essen
Current Music: Peter Gabriel - Signal to Noise

1. "Dead Man's Chest" from Dungeon.

I introduced my group to Freeport via the Introductory adventure "Dead Man's Chest" in Dungeon 104.

Modifications: Started out as prisoners on board of a slaving vessel run by Captain "Pigeye" Pete, same mutiny as in the adventure, afterwards the crew begins to run crazy and eats most of the "freight". Ghost gives the group an option for escape if they promise to help him reclaim his treasure from the sahuagin. The ship runs afoul of Captain Lydon and his crew and their vessel. Big fight ensues. Ghost helps the group escape, they turn the tide on the slavers. Afterwards Captain Lydon asks the group (accompanied by Captain Fletcher) to bring the ship back to Freeport, as he has lost too many men to crew the new boat.

Reasons: Very early entry of Captain Lydon into the campaign as recurring character with aspirations to become the new Captain's Vote in the Captains Council, foreshadowing major players of the trilogy. Introducing Guard Captain Verlaine as the head of the City Watch and enemy of the group, as they undermine his authority in Freeport (by saving it altogether, but none the less, if ha cannot do it, nobody should be able to...). Introduction of the pirate gods Harriman and Yarash (with further repercussions in "Black Sails") and the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign, the villains of the whole Freeport trilogy.

I loved this adventure as an introduction to Freeport and give the highest recommendations to use this tale to bring your players to the 'City of Adventure'.

 

Tags: freeport campaign
Current Location: At work
Current Mood: peaceful
Current Music: Afro Celt Sound System

Tja, die Frage von vor meinem Urlaub hatte sich nach meinem Urlaub von selbst beantwortet. Nach 2 Wochen Südfrankreich meldete sich eine der externen Festplatten von mir gar nicht mehr nach dem Einschalten. 

Inzwischen habe ich mir eine neue externe Platte gekauft und auch mehr Sicherungskopien von meinem Zeug angelegt.

Die Antwort lautet: Beides... seufz

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DVD or hard disk

Well, the question i asked before my vacation to Southern France answered itself upon my return. After two weeks one of my extrnal hard drives did not start up again. Any tries to get at the data stored on the device were in vain.

If have bought a new external hard drive and started to make more backups of my data.

The answer is... Both... sigh.

Campaign World: Freeport set in Greyhawk in the Eastern parts of the Azure Sea 595.

I have four players:

• Matthias, an orc fighter, who is deeply religious and tries to spread the word of Kord. He discovered the dead body of a priest in the mountains and took his greatsword and a little booklet containing the "Word of Kord" (something akin to the "Watchtower for Dummies")
• Sarenoz Flamesky, a half-elf bard, searching for the music that makes up the universe - the Song of Creation. During his meditations he discovered a dissonance in the continuum coming from the middle of the Azure Sea. 
• Genolen Urbrand, a halling rogue, on the search of his parents, who are running a trade house in Dyvers. They have vanished on a trip in the Azure Sea to find new trading opportunities. He is looking for clues, if perhaps the pirates of Freeport have been the cause.
• Faramir, a human druid/wizard with a rather long back story. He is without memories and woke up in a sarcophag in an Archeological museum in the Scarlet Brotherhood. As he left the sarcophague he got arrested for theft and sentenced to slave labor on the galleys.

In order to bring those four together I opted for the "Prisoners together" approach. It may be a bit heavy handed to have them all captured and bound together on a pirate ship on its way to sell the prisoners into slavery, but for the start of a campaign it worked easily.

Tags: freeport campaign
Current Location: At work
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Battlestar Galactica soundtrack (1978)

I was asked, if I would also post something on my journal in English. Sure.

I will begin with transfering the thread about my Freeport campaign in Greyhawk and I will try to post in English as well as in German in the future.

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Ich wurde gefragt, ob ich auch etwas auf Englisch posten würde. Klar. Mach ich (siehe oben).

Ich fange damit an, dass ich meine Notizen über meine Freihafenkampagne in Greyhawk hierher transferieren werde (die sind allerdings komplett in Englisch) und weiterhin sowohl in Englisch als auch in Deetsch schreiben werde.

Current Location: Frankfurt am Main
Current Music: The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)

Uff...

Gestern abend haben wir den letzten Teil der Freihafen-Trilogie abgeschlossen. Ein furioser Endkampf, der stark von dem abwich, was vorgeschlagen im modul war. Keine Anpirschen bei Nacht, sondern ein frontales Zuschippern tagsüber mit Dutzenden von Booten, was zu einer grandiosen Seeschlacht führte (die noch Konsequenzen haben wird). Danach wurde das Gebäude gesprengt, aber nicht komplett dabei zerstört (uff...*G*) und es kam dann doch zum Showdown mit den Oberschurken der Trilogie. Und was für ein Showdown das war, ein Kampf mit etlichen toten Mitkämpfern und einem Beinahe-TPK (und das noch vor dem eigentlichen Endkampf *G*). Die Jungs haben rechtzeitig erkannt, was sie zu tun haben, damit die Stadt nicht untergeht, und setzten dies auch in die Tat um. SUPER-Story war die allgemeine Meinung der Spieler, heftigster Endfight die andere...hörte sich an, als hätten sie viel Spaß gehabt. Mission accomplished.