Session was played on 11/24/21 with PCs adventuring for 5 days. Needing 1 day of rest per ACKS rules the PCs can make downtime requests and adventure on and after 11/30/21.
Foreword
Happy Advent Season!
Session Report
Don't you love it when a plan comes together? Sure that's cool. But what about when PCs make a plan that... doesn't? Also fun! That's what happened this session.
I think this is fair to the spirt of running multiple parties. Those PCs weren't available in the "town" the major portion of the party started at but if the party can get to where their friends are parked in a reasonable amount of game time then I allow them to convene and switch out PCs (if they wish) at that time. I advise other DMs running these sorts of campaigns to do the same. It helps players who may be skeptical about playing multiple PCs see the benefits of it. Now if there was only an hour left in the session I'd probably tell them they couldn't switch PCs or grab new players or whatever.
Timothy MadEye (PC Venturer Level 1) spent quite a bit of downtime looking for boats to take the party out to an island out on Lake Laman. Some of the party were convinced that's where Dairin (Deceased Patron Mage Level ???) kept his wizard's tower. Some players are convinced they'll find a nigh empty lair with piles of gold just laying around if they can just find Dairin's abandoned demesnes. Maybe!
However Proteus (PC Mage Level 2) hasn't been in the party for a very long time indeed. Mage's are an odd lot. They'll just disappear into libraries for months on end reading studies on frogs, film analysis, and existentialism. You know; things no one cares about. The party asked Proteus to use his insane Soothsaying ability. This is a powerful Proficiency in the Adventurer, Conqueror, King System (ACKS) rules where even a low level mage has access to the "Contact Other Plane" spell. I outline how cool the ACKS "PC Template" subsystem back in this session report where Proteus did used this same ability to great effect.
Proteus delved his mind deep into the outer planes this time. He risked a FIFTY PERCENT CHANCE of going insane for TWELVE WEEKS to be able to ask a weirding planar creature 12 questions. With real time play that would mean Proteus would be out of the game for 3 months. Go big or go home!
Well Proteus braved the astral projection of his mind deep into the furthest reaches of the Dubsian Cosmos and did not go insane. He found himself in the Mauve Zone from Twin Peaks Season 3 The Return; entreating with The Fireman. Sure you probably don't get that reference but I don't care.
I don't recall every question Proteus asked but one was like "Is Dairin's Lair on the island and Lake Laman?" "No." The air went out of the room for the PCs. They really thought it was there and had the boats to get there! Was all their downtime planning wasted?Instead of going to the island in the Lake they crossed the Lake to Turos Quelle and then commissioned some swift boats to get them out into the Viamir Marsh and start looking around.
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| Daria's new bff |
While crossing the Lake they got a random encounter of a Giant Octopus that, for reasons unknown, was Friendly to the party (Reaction Roll maxed out in their favor). Daria (PC Bladedancer Level 5) used Charm Animal on the thing and plans to charm it every single day to keep it as a pet. It traveled with the party the rest of the session as they crossed waterways and swampways.
But lets slow down because I promised to teach you, in the title of this report, how to Run NPCs in Real D&D.
Short Version: NPCs just aren't that important. Accept it and you'll know how to run NPCs in real D&D.
Long Version: NPC can be completely ignored until the NPC is needed. They don't need to be pre-rolled and you don't need to know who every blacksmith, cooper, or even who every Prince is. Players don't care so much about that sort of pre-made worldbuilding by the DM. What players care about is the worldbuilding they were involved in live. They care about the NPCs they were able to give their own input on during its creation.
This session has an example: Leadfoot Joe.
While the Party was rumormonging around Turos Quelle about where Dairin's lair might be Radames (PC Mystic Level 1) decided to "go to the docks and check the rumor mill". He succeeded in his roll for this and I made some dumb Old Prospector type voice like "oh yeah we heard there were lizardmen getting riled up in the swamp. Leadfoot Joe can't stop talking about it."
Where did the name come from? No idea. I think I was listening to some Leadbelly that week and it just seemed like a good name.
Players loved the stupid name. They were enamored. They just HAD to look into this Leadfoot Joe guy.
When they dealt with the Legate of Turos Quelle (and NPC they soundly ignored and didn't care about despite him having his own keep, ships, etc) they basically decided for me that Leadfoot Joe MUST be a ships captain, right? He's known down at the docks!
Even more, they went and FOUND Leadfoot Joe and essentially demanded he admiral their fleet of four swift boats into the swamps. Clearly he can do this right?
Well... who knows. I made up the name from thin air. He was nothing before the session started. His importance to the session and Players was created as we went.
As the session went on I leaned into the absurdity of it all. He was INDEED qualified to admiral a fleet of four swift-boats (he's Leadfoot Joe for goodness sakes!). I gave him the same dumb Ol' Prospector voice I gave the unnamed NPC from before (no one noticed) and now and then I'd have him comment on how he got his name. Was he just slow or had a bad leg? NO!
He had begun to gather (very stupid) backstory. PCs made jokes that became his backstory. When we talked about how the ships might sink they of course joked that poor Leadfoot Joe would sink like a stone due to his... lead foot.
So I had him confirm the whole tragic tale.
"Oh dag nabbit this reminds me of that time I stuck my foot in a bucket of hot lead on a bet! Worth every penny!"
Anyway as you can see NPCs are better when Players have their hand in the creation. We did something similar with The Dude.
You might say "well how can I remember all the NPCs in the world... like if I make up a shopkeep during one of the Player's shopping trips and he wants to go back to that guy... I'll forget!"
No. If the NPC is worth remembering one of the Players will remember him. Or you, the DM, will remember him. If he gets forgotten then he wasn't worthy of the campaign in the first place. Real D&D filters out the bad ideas and leaves only the good stuff for Players and DM to engage with, in this way.
So anyway back to the session report.
Leadfoot Joe led the Party into the swamp on swift boats owned by the Legate of Turos Quelle. They spent a few days in a literal a metaphorical quagmire of trying to find Dairin's lair without a very good idea of where it was (if it was in the swamp at all). The PCs had trouble rejiggering their session plan after they were certain they'd go to the Island on the Lake. So this was all being planned as they went.
During this time they got attacked multiple times by giant alligators who crashed from the mud, ate a bunch of archer mercenaries then disappeared into the mire. Players became pretty annoyed.
Session time was running out and players worried they'd make no Big Score but they lucked out on random encounters and found a Wight Lair. The party of dungeon delvers pulled up to the island crypt and marched into it.
They easily killed the 2 Wights laired there but not before Gaius (PC Fighter Level 5) took a hit and get Energy Drained (Level Drained), losing a ton of XP and a level. It was a bummer. The Wight lair had a handful of gems and PCs did pretty well on XP gains otherwise.
When they got back in the boats and continued to the edge of the swamp they realized they had been lost the whole time. So they weren't even sure if they were searching the areas they were supposed to.
Guess who they blamed? I know you can.
Leadfoot Joe!
He was the biggest hero and most liked NPC since The Dude but by the end of the session he was the goat. The reason for their failure. A representation of everything that went wrong that session.
But that's what happens to NPC's in Real D&D.
Surviving PCs Present
BriarWhisper (5% xp bonus): Elven Ranger Level 4. 489 XP gained. Total: 13,745
Daria (0% XP bonus): BladeDancer Level 5. 466 XP gained. Total: 15,868
Gaius (10% XP bonus): Fighter Level 4. Energy Drained from 2,189 xp down to 8,000 XP. 513 XP gained from adventure. Total: 8,513
Marn (10% XP bonus): Mage Level 3. 513 XP Gained. Total: 6,757
Proteus (5% XP bonus) Mage Level 1. 489 XP gained. Total: 2,781 [LEVED UP TO 2!]
Radames (0% XP bonus) Mystic Level 1. 466 XP gained. Total: 466
Timur (10% XP bonus) Barbarian Level 1. 513 XP gained. Total: 2,159
Zoria (5% XP bonus) Mage level 1. 489 XP gained. Total: 500
Henchmen Present
Jane the Cleric (Daria), MistWeaver the Elven Spellsword (BriarWhisper), Raven the Elven Ranger (BriarWhisper), and Yuno the anime warrior gal (Proteus) each get 233 XP.
Deceased:
Dama (L1 Venturer) played by RR. Current total xp: 75. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.
Darius LeVay (L1 Assassin) played by JB. Current Total XP:451. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.
Donald the Guardsman (L1 Fighter) played by MP. Current Total XP:570. DECEASED. Intra-party justice in Session 3.
Felix (L1 Thief) played by Nicholas. Current Total XP:431. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.
Hektor (L1 Paladin) played by Moai. DECEASED. Cause of Death: goblin warg rider throat removal surgery in Session 2
Leonidas the Inquisitor (L1 Cleric) played by RR.Current Total XP:498 DECEASED. Frozen undead blistering cold aura left his skin frostbitten and broken in Session 6. Body not recovered.
Mard the Mage (L1 Mage) played by Nicholas. DECEASED. Frozen undead blistering cold aura left his skin frostbitten and broken in Session 6. Body not recovered.
Yolo Baggins "My friends call me Swaggins" (L1 Gnomish Trickster) played by J. DECEASED. Paralyzed and eaten by ghouls in Session 12. Body not recovered.
Jack Filcher (L1 Thief) played by C. DECEASED. Shot full of arrows by Inthorn's brigands in Session 12. Body not recovered.
Swoleous Maximus (L1 Paladin). DECEASED. Captured then drawn and quartered by Inthorn the Brigand warlord in Session 12. Posthumously named "Petty Hero of Turos Tem" by Legate Valerian. Ashes offered a place of pride in the Hospital.
Damianus (L1 Cleric). DECEASED. Captured and beheaded by Inthorn the Brigand warlord in Session 12. Posthumously named "Petty Hero of Turos Tem" by Legate Valerian. Ashes offered a place of pride in the Hospital.
Bucky (L1 Barbarian). DECEASED. Became a illegal pit fighter during his downtime. Had two bouts to the death, winning the first and losing the second. Was killed by Young Jack Sparrow who sashayed into the ring, drank rum, and mogged on Bucky before putting a dagger into his ribs, killing him. This happened during downtime between Session 17 and 18.
Broll Wolf-Eater (L1 Barbarian). Current total XP: 1079. DECEASED. Carried off by harpies after falling for their enchanting song in Session 19.
Brother Franklin (L1 Cleric). DECEASED. Decapitated by a mad cultist of a Lovecraftian slime thing in Session 19.
Felix the Elder (L1 Bard). Total XP 825. DECEASED. Captured by mad cultists and fed to a Lovecraftian slime monster in Session 19.
Templar Flavius Africanus (L1 Cleric). Total XP 7. Killed by the claws and beak of mad harpies in Session 19.
Xendi (L1 Explorer). Total XP 6. DECEASED. Carried off by harpies after falling for their enchanting song in Session 19.
Yllmeeton (L3 Shaman). Total XP 4,563. Bludgeoned by the corpse of a bowmen by Rosie Odonnel hag in Session 21.
Longinus (L2 Assassin). Total XP 2,036. Had his face ripped off by Rosie Odonnel hag in Session 21.
Mandonio (L3 Fighter). Total XP 4,779. Charred to a leprous crisp by diseased Dragon breath in Session 22.
Corydon (L1 Joker). Total XP: 0. Burnt to a crisp by chimera breath so thoroughly his corpse wasn't even fit for the crows. Died with a smile on his face and a song in his heart. that's life and as funny as it seems... some people get their kicks, stomping on a dream... In Session 25.
Donny Keebler (L1 Elven Spellsword). Total XP 2,238. Had his legs burned completely off by chimera fire breath in Session 25.
Marina (L2 Fighter). Total XP: 2,204. Burnt into ash by a chimera fire breath in Session 25.
Gundro (L2 Gnomish Trickster). Total XP: 2,575. Had his mouth and tongue bitten off by a lizardman ambusher in the dank sewers below Cyfaraun in Session 26.
Polydoros (L1 Fighter). Total XP: 0. Had his legs ripped off and eaten by Akira monsters in the dark canopy of the Viaspen Forest in Session 28.
Odrum (L1 Explorer). Total XP: 287. Javelin to the heart from the hands of weird vine goblins hidden in the walls of Ferigno's lair in Session 30.
Garvin the Nutless Wonder (L1 Mage). Total XP: 0. Fell off the side of Ferigno's lair 20 feet to his death in Session 30.
Blackmoon (L1 Assassin). Total XP: 768. Choked to death by BOB from Twin Peaks while stealing treasure from Ferigno's dragon horde in Session 30.
Xanthus (L2 Cleric). Total XP: 2,364. Choked to death by BOB from Twin Peaks while hanging out on the roof of Ferigno's lair in Session 30.
Turin (L1 Cleric). Total XP: 0. Eaten by Wargs in Session 32.
Rat Face (L2 Thief) Total XP: 1,577. Seemingly grabbed in the dark by a Xenomorph in Session 36. In a sinkhole your party can hear you scream!
Smarticus (L1 Mage) Total XP: 0. Captured by a Xenomorph in Session 36 for all the party to witness. Taken deep into a sinkhole.
Alexa this is so sad play "Friends in Low Places" by Hank Williams Jr.
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