Building a Character

Races
Any races shown in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting with an ECL of 2 or less.

Classes
The standard ones, as modified in the FRCS. Prestige classes from FRCS or the DMG. Anything other than that I will need to approve (and possible modify to fit the campaign). Since this is not a pre-written module, don’t worry to much about balancing the party. NPCs, hirelings and adjusted storylines will keep things right.

Starting Level
Characters begin with enough XP to begin at third level, if your character has an ECL above zero, you may start lower.

Ability Scores
Use the ‘Floating Re-roll’ method specified on page 169 of the DMG. I've been cheezed a few times, so I like to see the rolls for ability scores and hit dice.

Hit Points
Your first effective level, you get the maximum roll for your class, after that you roll as normal. I prefer that you roll your hit dice with me present. I allow rolls of '1' to be re-rolled.

Starting Gold and Equipment

Each ECL 0 Character will start play with:

• A single-sided +1 magical weapon.
• 450gp to spend on armor, additional weapons and mundane items.

Each ECL 1 Character will start play with:

• One single-sided +1 magical weapon.
• 250gp to spend on armor, additional weapons and mundane items.

Each ECL 2 Character will start play with:

• One single-sided MW quality weapon.
• 250gp to spend on armor, additional weapons and mundane items.

Any deviations need to be approved by the DM.

Alignment
You will have two alignments. The one you declare and the one the DM thinks you are playing. Game effects will be based on the DM version.

Diety
While most players are not required to choose a diety, it’s common knowledge that if you die without a patron diety- no one sends a servant to collect you from the fugue plane at your death and you spend eternity writhing in agony at the Wall of the Faithless. If you receive spells of abilities from a god, choosing one is, of course, mandatory.

Equipment
FRCS or core books only. Arms and Equipment guide items may be taken with the DM’s approval. Your initial equipment can be purchased at the market value published in the books, pricing on future purchases will vary depending on your circumstances and location.

The Sloppy Kettle

Along the main drag of town lies The Sloppy Kettle, a tavern and inn catering to the working folks. It is owned and operated by a half-elf called Celion Gilthas. They serve hearty comfort food, decent ale and have reasonable priced lodging. The place draws it’s name from a kettle simmering over a hearth in the center of the room- for the last 20 years. Patrons are encouraged to add anything they want to the stew and it’s commonly used as a place to get rid of bad memories. Celion offers a 3sp prize for anyone downing a bowl of the brew, but it’s mainly a conversation piece, no one actually eats the stuff.

Celion knows most of the merchants in town and has been finding work for his adventuring patrons for many years. Merchants seem to take a liking to Celion and trust his judgement because he doesn’t often dissappoint them. He makes it a point to know the capabilities, strengths and weaknesses of each party he ‘represents’. If your party takes any of the work he finds you, he expects a fee of 5% of your acceptance contract, but nothing of the ancillary goods you might find while completing your task. That stuff gets divided up according to your Adventuring Guild Contract.

In years past, Celion fought for an end to orc/half-orc slavery in Purskul which makes him a favorite with the beastly crowd so there are always plenty of orcs and half-orcs at the Sloppy Kettle.

Since you base your operations there, you each have permanent (as long as you pay your rent) rooms upstairs at the Sloppy Kettle. Your room has a simple lock on the door and a chest with a simple lock within each room. Also included is a comfortable bed, a lantern (with free refills on lamp oil) and a writing desk with a chair. This costs you 5gp per month, payable in advance but Celion doesn’t hound you for it- he knows where you live.

The Adventuring Party

You and your cohorts are members of a registered Adventuring Party based in Purskul, a city in Amn. The city houses several significant grainaries and is a major caravan stop for trade moving north or south through, the source of most of your coster work thus far. Orcs and half-orcs were enslaved here about 100 years ago. Many worked their way to freedom, many others decendants of these slaves work in the coster trade to this day. They handle the easy jobs- you get the tougher ones.

You stay at an establishment called ‘The Sloppy Kettle’ owned by a half-elf named Celion Gilthas. More on this place later.

The weaker members of your party have come and gone, but you have survived and are the ‘core’. You have saved each other’s lives several times over and know each other’s basic strength and weaknesses. Your party dreams of respect and renown throughout the region and have accomplished several small tasks- your name is at least known. Occasionally, when you need a specific skill set, you hire a merc, but not often- their fee comes out of the take.

With respect to the party, you will each need to have the following things worked out:

Name
The Purskul Chapter of the Adventurer’s Guild requires that your party register under a collective name. If you’re gonna get hired, your business has to have a name.

Motivation
You will need a personal motivation to stay with the party. You don’t need to tell the others this motivation, but I will need to know it. You gotta have a pretty good reason for risking your life with these folks every day and for trusting them with it.

Secret
Each of you needs something about themselves that they keep secret from the others. It can be small or it can be earthshaking- but it has to be a secret (for now).

Role
Each of us has a job to do. There will be some overlap, but each person should have a primary role and a secondary (or backup) role. The group should be aware of and agree to this. If you think you’re the primary rogue and the group thinks you’re not, you’ll spend more time arguing over who does what than getting things done. Some roles (fighter) will tolerate more than one character, others (spokesman) won’t work as well.

Will
As a requirement for the Adventurer’s Guild, you are required to submit, in writing, a Last Will and Testament. It doesn’t need to be fancy, but as a minimum it needs to specify the following items:

• If you die, do you want to be brought back? How?
• If you’re being returned from the dead, reincarnated, etc., where are the funds coming from?
• Who gets your items, money, property, etc?
• Who gets any items NOT specifically mentioned in your will?

If you don’t specify, the locale where you die and your hometown get to split your estate.

Split
How your income is split should be agreed upon ahead of time. The Adventurer’s Guild has a standard split method and a contract that each character should sign.

The Basics

The Game
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Forgotten Realms Campaign setting, version 3.5 rules.

Schedule
Thursday nights from 5:30 – 8:30 at (with side quests as scheduled on a case-by-case basis). If players see to their own food and transportation, we’ll start at 4:30.

The Players
I’m designing this world for 8 dedicated, well-versed, show-up-every-week players. If you’re going to show up occasionally, you can read the on-line info (see the other parts of this blog) and then play an NPC that the DM assigns or a mercenary if the party needs (and wants to pay for) one. No walk ons.

Location
Gamer’s Haven in Middleburg Heights. (locations, phone time, chat windows for side quests will be arranged on a case-by-case basis).

Miss a Session
We try to keep this to a minimum. No one will play your character but you. If you miss a session, your character will be written out for the day by the DM unless you provide written storyline to cover it. No XP for you. The other players deal with your absense as they wish, possibly leaving you behind, feeding you to a troll, etc. I have been known to do make-up side sessions on occasion, depending on my schedule- but don’t count on it.

Roleplaying
The world is a complex place and much of what goes on within it will go unnoticed by you unless you are deeply involved and interracting with the NPCs. Since the main excuse most players use for not role-playing is the lack of XP for character advancement- I’ve fixed it. You get as much XP for roleplaying as you do for chopping up enemies. Period. If you chop up an Orc, you get XP. If you interract (successfully) with an orc you get XP. If you interact with and Orc, THEN chop it up (if appropriate) you’ll get XP for both.

You don’t need to LARP. You don’t need to swing a fake sword, talk in a funny voice (unless you really want to) or come up with latin phrases to cast your spells with. You DO need to remember that your character is the one who lives in Faerun, not the guy holding the character sheet. Telling the city watch guard your attack bonus isn’t likely to convince him to let you go.

Metagaming
This isn’t a module. There are no set Encounter Levels- they will be all over the map. Just because you are 3rd level doesn’t mean that the rest of Faerun is 2nd. There are NPCs from 1st level to 20th doing things here, both good and evil. There will be encounters that you should just plain run away from- your senses, knowledge, wisdom, intelligence and a little luck will help you pick the right fights. If you choose to ignore the signs, so be it. BTW, forget everything you learned reading the Monster Manual- any creature you encounter has a 50% chance of being advanced, templated, cross-breeded, class-leveled or just plain hungrier than normal.

Rolls and Checks
The idea here is to take a step toward reality. In our world, you don’t roll a diplomacy/bluff check to decide if the State Trouper gives you a ticket. You state your case, as eloquently as you can, and he either buys it or he doesn’t. The game mechanic is to help the DM make the call, you concentrate on your actions- not your stats. The DM will be rolling many of your checks.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to The Sloppy Kettle, where adventurers from all over Amn come to eat, drink and make merry.

I am your blog host and bartender, Pavel. Make yourself at home.