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Author Topic: D&D 3.5- Western Marches: dead and gone (RIP)  (Read 303910 times)

Shoruke

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D&D 3.5- Western Marches: dead and gone (RIP)
« on: September 15, 2010, 12:28:17 am »

Well guess what you guys, University just started up for all of us Bay12 geeks, which means that everyone's schedules just changed. The old games are dying while we all ponder our new day-to-day schedules. However, now that we all know how our lives are going to be organized for the next few months, this is the optimal time to start a new game.
Wow. Just look at the timestamp on this post. That blurb was written a long time ago. This game is oooooold.

So how about a really big D&D 3.5 game, you guys?!? Maptools is a good medium, it comes with all sorts of useful features, so we'll use that.

The basic premise of a Western Marches-style game, is that there is a big map with a lot of stuff in it for you to travel to and explore. I've also got a lot of plot set up, but I've made it so that the antagonists will give you lots of time to plunder unrelated dungeons if you want to. Bear in mind that the player characters are basically the only adventurer-type people in the world; there are traders who move between towns, but other than that you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone insane enough to leave the safety of society.

The basic heuristic is, the farther you get from home, the scarier the world gets. Unless you guys stick around the city and get involved in assassinations or smuggling or something, in which case, Challenge Rating is basically a crapshoot. Bear in mind that this means that yes, you CAN wander into the super-hard areas accidentally if you're not paying attention, and you'll die. The rest of the world is staying safely in their walled cities for a reason. You were warned.

And now, for some rules and suchlike...
Spoiler: New to D&D? (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: me as a DM (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Characters (click to show/hide)

To play, you will require:
Maptools (version 1.3.b76; this is not the latest version).
To join the game (when we're in session), go to file -> Connect to Server, and select East Marches from the list of game names. The password is herpadurp. Take special note of the odd spelling, and remember that when you first join the game, you just poof into existence and nobody questions it.
I'm proud to say that we don't need Hamachi anymore either, since I have port forwarding set up.



Spoiler: Rulings (click to show/hide)


Current starting level: 4, with 5400 starting gold.
Spoiler: Participants (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Quest Log (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Group Inventory (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: The Dead and the Gone (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: December 16, 2012, 12:54:42 am by shoruke »
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wolfchild

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #1 on: September 15, 2010, 12:48:10 am »

well i would be, but it seems the times ure available to DM, dont coincide with times im available to play (I hate it when that happens)
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RAM

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #2 on: September 15, 2010, 01:14:51 am »

Want to try the game but don't have a character build? I am putting some together here...

My Vermin Mods!

Spoiler: long ago... (click to show/hide)

Urgent!!! Need trope links that apply to each character!!!
Akigagk: Olli Orarmors Gon: Male, Human, face/spellcaster, 12 con
Barbarossa the Seal God: Maelrigar Desraktu: Male, Water Orc, face/damage dealer/melee/support caster 16con, Honour Before Reason, Proud Warrior Race Guy, Noble Savage, Difficult But Awesome, Magic Knight, The Blood Knight
Doomblade187: Destival Dustril: Male, Desert Elf, Debuff, 10con, The Exile
Grek: Mathaf : Male, Human, melee(grappler)/spellcaster, 14con
Lord Shonus: Corina Chillblood: Human, tradesman/debuff/artillery, 15con
Mission0: Nael Remmington: Half-Elf, tradesman/debuff, 12con
Moghopper: Dak Shadowmane: Male, Human, face/acrobat/buff, 10con
RAM: Mysteller Traverious: Female, Grey Elf, brain/summoner, 10con
Robocorn: Demrist Steelbane: Male, Dwarf, brain/meatshield/melee/support caster, 16con
The Fool: John 'Aeraelavel' Westman: Male, Human, explorer/damage dealer/melee, 14con, Good Is Not Nice, Honour Before Reason, Some Call Me Tim
wolfchild: Eavor: Male, Shifter, tradesman/healer/melee, 14con, Proud Warrior Race Guy, Raized By Wolves, The Berserker, Nature Hero, Noble Savage

RAM messes with someone's original class


RAM requests some cleric spells from spell compendium
Shoruke okays some spells
Spoiler: modified spells (click to show/hide)
more spell verification

some macros

Kogan's Kompendium

my spell, first draft.
My second spell, after drinking something odd...

RAM has been struck by a fey mood. RAM has constructed some flaws and a trait
« Last Edit: March 16, 2012, 08:15:36 pm by RAM »
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Shoruke

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #3 on: September 15, 2010, 01:39:56 am »

well i would be, but it seems the times ure available to DM, dont coincide with times im available to play (I hate it when that happens)

Well, my schedule is slightly dynamic. I'm available to run a game on any weekend evening, and a few other random evenings in the week... but if you live in, say, central Europe, the beginning of my "evening" is the beginning of your "It's three in the carping morning, leave me alone you tosser". Your profile page says that you're only an hour ahead of me, though, so... stay posted, I guess.

I think that I can make it, and I would hate to miss out on what is, theoretically, a continuation of the old Neruz group...

I will probably try some sort of spellcasting cleric with the magic domain for free identify spells. I might look into some sort of small use for the divine metamagic feat, like rapid spell or something, also domain spontaneity or whatever, that lets me trade turn attempts to cast more domain spells. I had a character once that was a dwarven cleric/thaumaturgist with the travel, and, ummm, maybe portal domain. magic domain is probably more fun. What sort of deities do we have access to?

The Identify spell has a costly material component... some light wine with a 100 gp pearl in it, purchasable at-cost in any major trade center. It'll cost a bit more to hire NPCs to Identify stuff for you. As for deities, take your pick and run it by me, make sure you can justify it based on alignment... deities generally don't screw your game up too much one way or the other. I'm even open to letting deities have more domains than they have listed, just for flexibility.

Also, that reminds me: no using nightsticks to power your "extend a turning attempt to win the game forever" feats. You CAN, however, use the turning attempts provided by domains like Air.
« Last Edit: September 15, 2010, 01:46:57 am by shoruke »
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RAM

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2010, 01:53:06 am »

My reading of the rules is that it is an arcane material component that divine casters need not pay. It is, of course, fine if you don't like it like that...
Components, Identify, Raise Dead(which requires a material component from divine casters)

P.S.
 Races! Can we have anything from the S.R.D. with 1 H.D. and +0 L.A.?
« Last Edit: September 15, 2010, 02:10:07 am by RAM »
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Vote (1) for the Urist scale!
I shall be eternally happy. I shall be able to construct elf hunting giant mecha. Which can pour magma.
Urist has been forced to use a friend as fertilizer lately.
Read the First Post!

Akigagak

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2010, 06:50:46 am »

Spell Compendium, please?

New, and most importantly, balanced spells. 90% of all the overpowered spells are in the PHB, and the SpC is just good stuff. Heck, I'd quite like a game where Core spells were completely banned. Except for Evocation, because that's just blasting.
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Heron TSG

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #6 on: September 15, 2010, 08:01:36 am »

I can't do Saturdays for quite a while yet, and my Sundays are taken by another D&D game, but what about Monday? Wednesday? I might be able to do Sundays orThursdays if I learn how to play two games at once.

In any case, I'd love to play with this group again.
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tehstefan

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #7 on: September 15, 2010, 09:59:37 am »

I'd be interested, yes I would be. I can probably play two games, and well, I can't drop this game,  not yet.
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Shoruke

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #8 on: September 15, 2010, 11:58:47 am »

My reading of the rules is that it is an arcane material component that divine casters need not pay. It is, of course, fine if you don't like it like that...
Components, Identify, Raise Dead(which requires a material component from divine casters)

P.S.
 Races! Can we have anything from the S.R.D. with 1 H.D. and +0 L.A.?

Okay, I read my Player's Handbook (the actual honest-to-god BOOK, even), and yes, you can cast Identify from the Cleric's Spell Domain without a costly material component.

As for the race... blar, Level Adjustment and that stuff can be confusing...
Normally, your racial Hit Dice contribute to your Effective Character Level, and a race with 1 HD and +0 LA must have at least one class level, which would make you effectively level 2. I'll have to see the race in question to make a ruling.

Spell Compendium, please?

New, and most importantly, balanced spells. 90% of all the overpowered spells are in the PHB, and the SpC is just good stuff. Heck, I'd quite like a game where Core spells were completely banned. Except for Evocation, because that's just blasting.

I'd tend to disagree with you on the bit about the PHB spells, but not vehemently or anything. Anyway, we'll leave them in, because they're some of the most fundamental spells in a caster's repository. As for the Spell Compendium... I own a copy of the book, but I haven't read it, so you'll have to specifically request spells you want to use from it. I'll probably say "yes", though. (Also, providing a page number is being nice to your GM, but I suppose it's not strictly necessary).

I can't do Saturdays for quite a while yet, and my Sundays are taken by another D&D game, but what about Monday? Wednesday? I might be able to do Sundays orThursdays if I learn how to play two games at once.

Again, my schedule changes slightly week-by-week, but yes, I can host on Wednesday evenings. I have a lab section on Wednesdays which runs too late to let me get to work in time for the last shift, but doesn't cut too deeply into my evening.

Also, the character journals are here primarily to help deal with attendance problems: even if you can only make it to half the sessions or something, you can still keep up with what's happening in the game.
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Akigagak

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #9 on: September 15, 2010, 12:09:27 pm »

My reading of the rules is that it is an arcane material component that divine casters need not pay. It is, of course, fine if you don't like it like that...
Components, Identify, Raise Dead(which requires a material component from divine casters)

P.S.
 Races! Can we have anything from the S.R.D. with 1 H.D. and +0 L.A.?

Okay, I read my Player's Handbook (the actual honest-to-god BOOK, even), and yes, you can cast Identify from the Cleric's Spell Domain without a costly material component.

As for the race... blar, Level Adjustment and that stuff can be confusing...
Normally, your racial Hit Dice contribute to your Effective Character Level, and a race with 1 HD and +0 LA must have at least one class level, which would make you effectively level 2. I'll have to see the race in question to make a ruling.

Humans are 1HD.  It's replaced by your first Class Level.

Quote
Spell Compendium, please?

New, and most importantly, balanced spells. 90% of all the overpowered spells are in the PHB, and the SpC is just good stuff. Heck, I'd quite like a game where Core spells were completely banned. Except for Evocation, because that's just blasting.

I'd tend to disagree with you on the bit about the PHB spells, but not vehemently or anything. Anyway, we'll leave them in, because they're some of the most fundamental spells in a caster's repository. As for the Spell Compendium... I own a copy of the book, but I haven't read it, so you'll have to specifically request spells you want to use from it. I'll probably say "yes", though. (Also, providing a page number is being nice to your GM, but I suppose it's not strictly necessary).

Cool, but I didn't mean that 90% of the PHB spells are broken, but that it's where most of the really broken spells (Time Stop, Celertiy, et al) come from.

Now to decide on a concept. Thinking Halfling wizard, but still have to decide on a school to focus on. Possibly Evocation? Might be fun to play a blaster.
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Robocorn

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #10 on: September 15, 2010, 03:44:40 pm »

Depending on when the sessions are, I could be up for this. 32 point buy? sounds cool.

Is Dwarf Duskblade an appropriate character?
« Last Edit: September 15, 2010, 05:23:57 pm by Robocorn »
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wolfchild

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #11 on: September 15, 2010, 05:04:25 pm »

actualy dwarmin, Im GMT +10, and my mornings (you're evenings) are free on wednesdays, and somewhat free fridays, but there is a definate limit on the friday ones

IN the unlikly event that those times are ok I will make a character
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Jake

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #12 on: September 15, 2010, 06:39:34 pm »

Anyone got any insights on just how useable Maptools is on a low-end system? My experiences with Java-based gaming on this rig have been bad.
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RAM

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #13 on: September 15, 2010, 06:43:36 pm »

I believe that single hit die races can replace their first hit die with a class level. Ogres have a racial hit dice entry on their 'as characters' entry where as kobolds do not. I know that there is a rules reference for this, but finding it would be a chore. Though I expect that I could find it eventually if you want me to...

Anyone got any insights on just how useable Maptools is on a low-end system? My experiences with Java-based gaming on this rig have been bad.
Depends upon what you mean, I find that maptools just crashes with no warning, I think that there is something wrong with my java... But I have never had much problem with it except for some long load times when on a slow internet connection. I suggest that you fire it up and see how it goes.
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Vote (1) for the Urist scale!
I shall be eternally happy. I shall be able to construct elf hunting giant mecha. Which can pour magma.
Urist has been forced to use a friend as fertilizer lately.
Read the First Post!

Shoruke

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Re: D&D 3.5 - Western Marches and then some
« Reply #14 on: September 15, 2010, 07:51:42 pm »

Maptools is not resource-extensive, as long as you can run Java stuff on it, you're good.

And I looked up the 1HD thing... Just build the character normally, only your level 1 Hit Die is going to be based on your race, not your class.

Also, I've been forgetting to mention, CrystalKeep is a really useful reference for if you want more character options than just the core books, but you don't own any sourcebooks.
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The Unforgotten Beast, Shoruke, has come! A pale-skinned human. It has heterochromatic eyes and moves in an unpredictable manner. Beware its rapier wit!
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