Author Topic: [HUGE SPOILERS FOR EMER III] A three year long campaign in the jungle  (Read 1316 times)

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Offline Voriig Kye

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Hi there!
If you're reading this, please know that it will spoil about 70% of the content in the Emer III adventure book.
This is a summary of a campaign I GM'ed during 39 adventures, for a total of 98 sessions, each lasting between 5 and 8 hours, almost once every week or so, for almost 3 years!
The characters started at level 3, reached the finale at level 14, and the total final experience left them at level 15.
I'm writing this as a reminder of what happened, and to share with any other GM who wants to know "how do other people play in Shadow World?"

The ruleset is basically RMFRP, with RM2 Smoothed Stats, RM2 Innate Stat Abilities, RM2 category level bonuses adapted from RMFRP fixed category bonuses, we don't allow category development (all skills use standard progression, but cost is double/halved from restricted/everyman), and Combat Companion weapon styles, but RMC Arms Law attack tables and criticals.
Another important factor are the fate points. Each character starts with 2 fate points, can have a maximum of 3 at any time. I give 1 fate point after the end of adventures that are significant to the characters. They can use a fate point to re-roll a non open-ended roll, or add to the total of an open-ended roll. Important bosses have 1 fate point, and people in the Shadow World books get 2 or 3 fate points. In the special case of the campaign finale, the final boss had 4 fate points. A fate point can also be used to block use of a fate point by another.

Now, I present "The Party" (in alphabetical order):

- Elemmir: the language freak
A Loari elf, born and raised in the Port of Izar, but her parents were typical Namar-Tol snobs. She even got an invitation for a distant cousin wedding, while stopping to check for mail after some weeks adventuring in the jungle.
She is first and foremost a scholar, and in game terms a priest of Valris. Combining the Wisdom priest template from Channeling Companion with Combat Companion styles, she had the highest OB of the party, and the lowest DB, which got her the "glass cannon" nick during battles.
Since the player was really interested in a character that was harvesting languages from the world, I removed all language interpreting spells from this campaign. No one could understand a foreign language without learning it from the local populace. This got her to even chat with defeated enemies, and offer freedom in exchange for a lesson of their native languages.

- Navii: the navigator wannabe
A Jineri from the Port of Izar, and niece to a navigator, she was trained in different ways to "reach people" in her role as a Summoner of Teris. We changed a lot of the base spell lists, to accommodate for the idea of "reaching". The combo of base lists was: Channels, Nature's Summons, Path Finding (from RMC Spell Law II), Summoning Circles, Teleportals. She also designed her own companion spell list based on Familiar Mastery, called Distant Focus, which gave a special arrow some familiar like abilities.
The focus of the adventure for this character was helping people get places, as a self designed training to someday get the attention of the navigators. She knew that they didn't have any specialist in the Khum-Kaan region, so she set out to become one and then offer her services. Her language hunting friend was happy to join the party as an interpreter.

- Tilo: a peaceful shaman in-training
An Erlini elf from the island Talaen near Izar. He is an animist who started a herb-dream-induced friendship with an unknown shaman, who ended up being a Kuluku, and from his friend got the great idea of learning all about the herbs in the jungle. So he went to the Port of Izar to get some info before venturing into the jungle. Lucky for him a caravan was getting ready to start an expedition into the region!
Tilo is an animist by profession, with the Tree Mastery spell list from the Channeling Companion. A pacifist (flaw) wielding a spear, and insane bonus for stalk/hide and foraging. Also a great rejection to people forcing their way into his mind (he walked out of the scene every time someone mind-talked to him).

- Uruloki: the fire martial artist healer who looks like a monster, later also a Jinteni archeologist
A Muadani from the Vajaar domain, and member of a resistance group that opposed the war against the Komaren Cluster. Combining a healer profession with Combat Companion weapon styles, and some well chosen backgrounds, this was essentially an indestructible martial artist, who could also patch up the whole party. Also, a mysterious encounter in his past with a weird underground installation, got him the power to copy the characteristics of other living beings (a background spend on access to Construct Companion Changeling Mastery spell list, restricted to self).
Since his Channeling side was dedicated to a Phaon/Cay combination, he spent some points on researching fire based spells to aid him in combat, and some other tricks.
He had met Elemmir during a scholarship she did in Vajaar, and arrived at the Port of Izar while laying low because of a failed revolt in the Domain, thinking about traveling to the Khum-Kaan region to learn about the wildlife there, and the possibilites that might add to his power. Also, he has been having visions about a green (jade) dragon, that turns into a green skinned clawed/fanged child who is defeated by an evil shadow.

So that's about it for the party. Short summary, huh?

Now I want to tell you how it went, from a language/fauna/flora expedition to saving the world.
The rest of this post will be in a spoiler box, to make sure that no one reads its unless they really want spoilers about the content of the amazing material in the Emer III book.

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Thanks Terry for an amazing book with more adventure hooks than I could use! My players love Shadow World.

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