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The Keep on the Hinterlands, an old-school roleplaying experience
Need links to joining, organization, elevator pitch and setting here
Welcome to the codex of all knowledge for The Keep on the Hinterlands, a classic Dungeons & Dragons sandbox campaign in the Sugar Land/Houston, Texas area with an open table and an old-school style!
Existing players
Current players may want to peruse the gazetteer, table map or add their own information to the journal in the taproom of The Orc and Pie.
The elevator pitch
It's said that every undertaking that involves recruiting others needs an elevator pitch, so here goes:
Redo this for new setting ideas
It's been twelve days since you boarded the barge at the Dunfalcon docks, headed to the Baron's encampment in the Hinterlands.
You were told it would only take six days, but it's been almost two weeks in the open elements with little more provided to eat but foul-tasting pickled perch washed down with brackish water the scullery boy claims is tea. So far the journey has consisted of keeping an eye on your gear and long periods of overwhelming boredom, fortunately broken occasionally by ducking volleys from occasional goblinoid or bandit archers. It's not where you wanted to be, but it beats the alternatives you had back home.
During the river journey to the encampment you haven't really gotten to know many of the other cargo… er, passengers, but what you have heard sounds all too familiar: trouble with the law, trouble with the Church, trouble with family. Practically everyone seems to be running away from something. Oh, and of course, everyone is looking for their fortune. Everyone is certain they are going to become very rich.
That's how you ended up on this journey. You didn't know what your next move was but then you saw the handbill outside the hostelry. Everyone's heard the stories about Baron Aelfric, but you were undeterred by rumor. Immediately, you knew what to do.
This is an old-school sandbox campaign based on equally old-school rules and sensibilities and structured to fit into the busy lives of adults. Beginner and veteran players alike are welcome! New characters will be rolled before play begins or you may use a pre-generated character.
The premise is simple: a wide-open, wild frontier ripe with riches for the taking and a greater backstory and mystery, should you seek to find it.
The goal? Kill monsters, take their stuff and have fun. Sound good? Then grab some dice and pass the Doritos!
Blog testing
That which does not kill you gives you XP
Last Pages
- Part 6: House Rules created
- Last Pages created
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What is meant by a “West Marches” game?
A lot of people talk about a “West Marches” campaign.
– finish me
Link: https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/120770/what-defines-a-west-marches-campaign
Links to original articles:
“But, it’s what my character would do!”
Think about it. Then think about it again. Then think some more.
I can't really think of any situations where using that phrase to defend your character's actions is valid for a friendly game. If you still insist, then play another character. If you can't do that perhaps this isn't the game for you.
Rules lawyers suck, period, full stop
So do most of the gamer stereotypes, but rules laywers are by far the worst. Just… don't. (He who lives by the sword dies by it. Repeatedly.)
Being an edgelord, playing an antisocial character or “evil” characters in general
We're all here to play a game and have fun. For most it's not fun to have someone else in the party who is causing problems with their edginess or going around stealing from the other party members or doing things to cause harm to the group. (I'll admit it's not fun for DMs, either.)
I know you're supposed to roleplay, but players having to watch their characters' backs against the world while also worrying about other PCs or suffer the consequences of someone who is random for no purpose but their own edification is just… exhausting. It's also not fun. At the table, let's agree that the party are all allies and we hunt the monsters, not be the monsters.
A PSA for old-school gaming
Old-school gaming can be a bit brutal. For instance, if you can't handle that character fatalities can and do happen or feel like mapping isn't necessary to success then there may be a problem.
Also, old-school gaming often has no interest in your character backstory or concept other than how you play your character (“levels 1-3 are your character backstory”). Story is what you make, not something preordained for your character. There's a different style of play going on here.
Not all games are for everyone
When a new player joins a gaming group it's a bit like dating: sometimes the fit is right, sometimes it's not. Even though this is intended to be an open table game with a shifting cast of players who may be regulars, play occasionally or even only once, we all still need to get along. If you are not enjoying the game style, old-school rules or just another player, let's talk about it. I suspect we can come to some resolution or understanding that is acceptable.
However, the reality is that if we can't work it out maybe this just isn't the game or group for you. Trust me, no gaming is better than bad gaming, and life is too short to do something you don't enjoy. I want to game to have fun, and I want everyone at my table to have fun!
Do I need the calendar pages? Probably?
The Murder Hobo Memorial
On being a memorial to the hearty explorers who ventured forth from the encampment and braved the wilds of the Hinterlands and therein met their fates, for good or ill
All come and raise a pint those who have gone before us to tame The Hinterlands!
Twenty Quick Questions: Rules
Taken from Necropraxis.
Gazetteer of the Land
Being a gazetteer of facts, follies and rumors of the The Hinterlands, particularly the environs of the the encampment.
Redo this for new setting ideas
Elevator pitch
It's been twelve days since you boarded the barge at the Dunfalcon docks, headed to the Baron's encampment in the Hinterlands.
You were told it would only take six days, but it's been almost two weeks in the open elements with little more provided to eat but foul-tasting pickled perch washed down with brackish water the scullery boy claims is tea. So far the journey has consisted of keeping an eye on your gear and long periods of overwhelming boredom, fortunately broken occasionally by ducking volleys from occasional goblinoid or bandit archers. It's not where you wanted to be, but it beats the alternatives you had back home.
During the river journey to the encampment you haven't really gotten to know many of the other cargo… er, passengers, but what you have heard sounds all too familiar: trouble with the law, trouble with the Church, trouble with family. Practically everyone seems to be running away from something. Oh, and of course, everyone is looking for their fortune. Everyone is certain they are going to become very rich.
That's how you ended up on this journey. You didn't know what your next move was but then you saw the handbill outside the hostelry. Everyone's heard the stories about Baron Aelfric, but you were undeterred by rumor. Immediately, you knew what to do.
This is an old-school sandbox campaign based on equally old-school rules and sensibilities and structured to fit into the busy lives of adults. Beginner and veteran players alike are welcome! New characters will be rolled before play begins or you may use a pre-generated character.
The premise is simple: a wide-open, wild frontier ripe with riches for the taking and a greater backstory and mystery, should you seek to find it.
The goal? Kill monsters, take their stuff and have fun. Sound good? Then grab some dice and pass the Doritos!
Redo for new setting ideas
Twenty Quick Questions: Setting
Here is some pertinent information for all new and returning players, plus it gives some information about the setting as a whole in bite-sized chunks. The twenty questions about setting are shamelessly stolen from Jeff Rients' blog.
# Acronyms.
# General stuff FAQ Frequently Asked Questions FAQs Frequently Asked Questions FQA Frequently Questioned Answers FQAs Frequently Questioned Answers TBD To be determined tbd To be determined TBH To be honest tbh To be honest poc Proof of concept PoC Proof of concept POC Proof of concept YMMV Your mileage may vary ymmv Your mileage may vary TL;DR Too long; didn't read tl;dr Too long; didn't read
# Browsers Fx Mozilla Firefox FF Mozilla Firefox IE4 Internet Explorer 4 IE5 Internet Explorer 5 IE6 Internet Explorer 6 IE7 Internet Explorer 7 IE8 Internet Explorer 8 IE9 Internet Explorer 9 IE10 Internet Explorer 10 IE11 Internet Explorer 11 IE12 Internet Explorer 12 USB Universal Serial Bus USB1 Universal Serial Bus, specifically the original 1.0 specification USB1.1 Universal Serial Bus, specifically the 1.1 specification revision USB2 Universal Serial Bus, specifically the 2.0 specification USB3 Universal Serial Bus, specifically the 3.0 specification USB3.1 Universal Serial Bus, specifically the 3.1 specification revision SD Secure Digital SDXC Secure Digital eXtended Capacity HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface PHP-FPM PHP FastCGI Process Manager PHP Hypertext PreProcessor SSD Solid State Drive SSDs Solid State Drives
# Graphics formats BMP BitMaP bmp Bitmap JPG Joint Photographics (E)xperts Group jpg Joint Photographics (E)xperts Group JPEG Joint Photogrpahics Experts Group jpeg Joint Photogrpahics Experts Group PNG Portable Network Graphics png Portable Network Graphics GIF Graphic Interchange Format gif Graphic Interchange Format MPEG Motion Picture Experts Group mpeg Motion Picture Experts Group WebP Web Picture WEBP Web Picture webp Web Picture PDF Portable Document Format
# Game systems 0e “Zero edition,” another term for the original D&D boxed set 1e First edition 2e Second edition 3e Third edition 3.5e 3.5 edition TETSNBN “The Edition That Shall Not Be Named,” typically referring to 3e or 3.5e 4e Fourth edition 5e Fifth edition / “D&D Next” AD&D Advanced Dungeons & Dragons AEC Advanced Edition Companion, an expansion for Labyrinth Lord B/X Basic/eXpert D&D BECMI Mentzer Basic/Expert/Companion/Master/Immortals Dungeons & Dragons BFRPG Basic Fantasy RPG D&D Dungeons & Dragons DCC Dungeon Crawl Classics GW Gamma World JG Judges Guild LBB “Little Brown Book” from Original Dungeons & Dragons LBBs “Little Brown Books” from Original Dungeons & Dragons LL Labyrinth Lord lotfp Lamentations of the Flame Princess LotFP Lamentations of the Flame Princess LoTFP Lamentations of the Flame Princess LOtFP Lamentations of the Flame Princess LOTFP Lamentations of the Flame Princess MF Mutant Future OD&D Original Dungeons & Dragons OEC Original Edition Characters expansion for Labyrinth Lord RCC Realms of Crawling Chaos expansion for Labyrinth Lord S&W Swords & Wizardry TSR TSR, Inc.; a/k/a “Tactical Studies Rules” OSE Old School Essentials
# Generic gaming terms MMORPG Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game MMORPGs Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games DM Dungeon Master DMed Dungeon Mastered DMing Dungeon Mastering DMs Dungeon Masters FRPG Fantasy Role-Playing Game FRPGs Fantasy Role-Playing Games GM Game Master, the “generic” term for DM GMed Game Mastered, the “generic” term for DMed GMing Game Mastering, the “generic” term for DMing GMs Game Masters, the “generic” term for DMs OSR Old School Renaissance/Revival/Rules/Ruckus RPG Role-Playing Game RPGs Role-Playing Games TPK Total Party Kill TPKs Total Party Kills LARP Live-Action Role Play NPC Non-Player Character NPCs Non-Player Characters PC Player Character PCs Player Characters SCA Society for Creative Anachronism OOC Out-of-Character PvP Player versus Player RAW Rules-as-written RAI Rules-as-intended WotC Wizards of the Coast
# Character stats STR Strength INT Intelligence WIS Wisdom DEX Dexterity CON Constitution CHA Charisma CHR Charisma CHAR Charisma
# Game system terms AC Armor Class BAB Base Attack Bonus GP Gold Pieces GPs Gold Pieces HD Hit Dice HDs Hit Dice HP Hit Points HPs Hit Points Lv Level Lvl Level LV Level LVL Level Ml Morale ML Morale Mv Movement Rate MV Movement Rate XP Experience Points XPs Experience Points Sv Save, saving throw SV Save, saving throw Att Attack THACO To Hit Armor Class 0 THAC0 To Hit Armor Class 0 AL Alignment TT Treasure type NA Number Appearing TotM Theater of the mind VTT Virtual tabletop vtt virtual tabletop
