Some basic information about a Dungeons and Dragons v3.5 campaign I plan to Dungeon Master, for the fun merriment of those generous enough to take time to participate...
The campaign based in the world of Greyhawk, in the year 591 CY. If you are new to this setting, don't worry, most of it is the same as "standard" D&D.
Play begins near Darvy, a large town on the Nesser River. Formerly a small town perched on an island in the river, it has grown in recent years with refugees from the Greyhawk Wars, with most of the new residents spilling over onto the nearby western shore of the river. The river flows from the distant Nyr Dyv lake south to the closer Sea of Gearnat. The river is deep and would carry much trade for the prosperous lands around the Nyr Dyv, but for the monsters and pirates that lurk in the Gnatmarsh swamp, which lies to the east of Darvy and along much of the river's eastern shore. The western shore is barely safer, being lined by foothills of the Abbor Alz range, home of many wild tribes of humans and orcs. Some of these tribes have recently been conquered by the the archmage Rary's Empire of the Bright Lands, formed a few years ago in the Bright Desert to the west of the Abbor Alz.
Further north, the Nesser leaves the Gnatmarsh and Abbor Alz and passes through the Celadon Forest, one of the remnants of the vast forest that once blanketed the continent, now fiercely protected by druids, elves, and fae. Finally the river passes through the Duchy of Urnst before its start at the Nyr Dyv. The Duchy depends heavily on trade on the Nesser, levying tariffs on merchant traffic, and patrolling it with its navy, sometimes as far as Darvy and the sea. The navy shares this duty with vessels from the large kingdom of Nyrond, which lies to the east of the Gnatmarsh and the Celadon. However, as far as most folks know, Darvy owes allegiance to none of its neighbors. This enabled it to remain peaceful through the Wars, which made it so attractive to refugees from distant lands. Perhaps this prosperity caused the current increasing frequency of visits by Urnstian warships, Nyrondese warships, and Bright Empire trade delegates...
World of Greyhawk - Seems to be a somewhat stale links page, but many of the the links that still work can give lots of info.
Living Greyhawk - My Greyhawk is somewhat different from RPGA's Living Greyhawk, but much of what you might learn there still applies.
Appearance: According to the PH, "Charisma measures a character's force of personality, persuasiveness, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and physical attractiveness." Looking at the stats for some monsters, like the Medusa (Cha. 15) and Mind Flayer (Cha. 17), I have to disagree with the PH. Charisma is unrelated to physical attractiveness. Instead, physical appearance can (and should be) chosen by the character. Your character can be as attractive or hideous as you like, as long as you are not trying to get some special advantage. Even then I might allow it if you can make up a good, balancing story explaining your looks. Also keep in mind that being very attractive has drawbacks: being regarded as just a pretty face, being conspicuous, and attracting the wrong sorts of attention.
Old school players might enjoy giving their characters a Comeliness ability score. Just assign a score between 3 and 18. For simplicity, assume that this score is according to human norms. See the old 1st ed. Unearthed Arcana for ideas, but do not expect any fascinate-like powers.
Races: Nearly anything goes. Humans can belong to any of the sub-races of Greyhawk (Oeridian, Sueloise, etc.) Unless otherwise specified, humans are assumed to be mixed-blood. Monster races are allowed if you can afford the monster levels and if the character will fit in with the other player characters.
Prestige Classes: Please feel free to consider any Prestige Class, even ones you find on the web or write yourselves: just check with me as soon as you know what you are interested in. There are some I don't like, and a lot that require special roleplaying first.
Sorcerers: Sorcerous arcane magic is different than wizardly Arcane magic. To sorcerers, the words and gestures needed to cast a spell come forth intuitively, without the study and preparation that wizards go through to cast the same spell. There are other differences:
* Sorcerers may only learn arcane spells listed in the PH that do not contain
proper names (i.e., "Tenser's Floating Disk", "Nystul's Magical
Aura"). They may learn other spells only if the spell is on a scroll, in
a spell book, or if they do spell research.
* Sorcerers are not required to use material components or foci to cast spells
that normally require them. If the spell normally requires a material component
for which a gold piece value is given, the sorceror may pay one experience point
per five gold pieces of cost for each casting instead. To know what the material
component for a spell is, without having access to the spell on a scroll or
in a spell book, requires a Spellcraft skill check with a DC of 15 + the spell's
level.
Multiclassing: There are no experience point penalties for multiclassing. DM approval is required before getting levels in any new class. Many of the classes normally require long apprenticeships and can't be picked up on a whim. Easy to join are Fighter and Sorcerer. Very difficult to join include Wizard, Monk, and Barbarian.
Fumbles: Combat is unpredictable. Whenever you roll a natural "1" on an attack roll, make a Fumble Save to see if something bad happens. The Fumble Save has the same bonus as the attack, but substitute Dexterity modifier for any Strength modifier. Fumble Saves have a DC of 10. If your bonus for the Fumble Save is +9 or higher, success is automatic.
You do not get a Fumble Save if the DM decides conditions are unusually dangerous, like fighting on the edge of a cliff or shooting into melee. He will often signal such conditions by saying "Don't Roll a One!", but he doesn't have to. In such circumstances, you might not get any roll or you might get something like a DC 20 Reflex save to grab the cliff edge as you slip off into space.
Massive Damage: Characters suffering more damage than their Constitution plus their Character Level in a single attack have a chance of being Disabled, details to be determined.
Action Points: To compensate for the dangers of Massive Damage, I will be using some kind of action points, details to be determined.
last changed October 13, 2005.
Email: pee
el em at es en oh double-yoo dot oh ar gee