Over the River and Through the Woods

First Adventure of the Arcadia Campaign

Our story begins on Chrysalis, one of the islands of the kingdom of Arcadia.

Norha the foxling (a fox-human creature) druid and Aenghar the Exiled, a half-orc ranger, were tasked by Hothgar, the chief druid of the Gleamwood to investigate the source of the monsters that have been recently plaguing the Briarwood. Hothgar was concerned that it could be a plot by the minions of Erlik.

Needing assistance, they journeyed to the nearby town of Dawnspeek. These disciples of Altarra sought an alliance with the Temple of Daeus, since both deities opposed the machinations of the Dark Lord of Death. Reluctantly, the chief priest Rothgar agreed to send along a representative, one Gabe Godsend.

Armed with a protection scroll, the trio entered the Briarwood and faced the following perils:

• They fought off a marauding band of goblins.
• They discovered a river of toxic sludge. Gabe and Norha tried to purify it but they were not powerful enough. They were able to cross the river by making a bridge from a log.
• After heading left at a crossroads, they encountered a wounded boar. It attacked and wounded Gabe but Norha calmed it with her druidic powers. Then she prevailed on Gabe to heal it. The grateful boar gave Norha a kiss!
• They passed a plant that flung poison darts at them. Aenghar was hit by darts before the party destroyed the plant.
• The party came out of the woods where they were challenged by a guard from the King's Legion, who thought that Norha and Aenghar were monsters. Realizing that their mission had not been completed, the party re-entered the woods.
• Returning to the crossroads, the party took the other path. A giant spider attacked. Its bite temporarily paralyzed Gabe, but the party managed to drive it off.
• Finally, they discovered a glowing green orb attached to a tree. From it oozed a sickly green ichor that flowed into a nearby stream, corrupting the entire forest. As they were investigating it, a hooting roar echoed through the wood. Then the party was beset by an owlbear! After a hard fight, the owlbear was killed.

• Returning to the orb, the party tried to move it and to attack it, to no avail. Norha and Gabe tried to purify it; the orb lost some of its power but still spewed its foul ichor. Seeing that aid seemed to hurt the orb, Aenghar grabbed a healing potion and dumped it on the sphere. A keening sound emanated from the orb as it began to shrink. Gabe then cast a healing spell on it; it shriveled into a small, dull rock. The flow of ichor ended and the rock could be picked up. Aenghar pocketed the rock and the party headed for home.

Notes

• This was the first adventure for Norha (Elizabeth) and Aenghar (Robb). Gabe (Rowan Bishop) previously participated in the adventure of Vykaard's Crypt. 
• Thanks for the title, Robb Rodgers.

The Arcadia Campaign

Now that Rob Rodgers is playing a character I decided to reboot the campaign.

Setting

The new campaign will be set in Arcadia, a kingdom that spans across numerous islands. It is home to humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, and the animen (half animal / half men) along with various monsters.

The characters will begin their adventure on Chrysalis Isle, in the town of Dawnspeek (on the eastern coast).

Political Structure

King Dormand reigns over Arcadia, but it is known that he prefers carousing over ruling. As a result, day-to-day governance has been handed over to the kingdom chancellor, Prelate Reynald.

Recently, there are complaints that Reynald has raised taxes too high. He responds that there is a need to strengthen defenses in the wake of attacks by the Reavers, barbarians from northern waters.

The King's Legion keeps the peace throughout Arcadia. Prelate Reynald presides over an order of holy warriors known as the Templars, who assist the Legion.

Religion

There are 3 principal deities of Arcadia:

• Daeus, the god of heavens, sky, and sun. Daeism is the official faith of the Arcadian kingdom. Sigil = a sun
• Altarra, the goddess of the earth and nature. The druids are her priests. Sigil = tree of life
• Erlik, the god of death and the underworld. Sigil = skull

The Philosophy of the Enchanted Realms (Part 2)

I previously discussed the reasons why I am reluctant to add a skills system to the Enchanted Realms rules. Now I'd like to tackle the suggestion to include an in-game economy.

I realize that in-game economies are staples of almost all RPGs.  The granddaddy of them all, Dungeons & Dragons, heavily focuses on raiding dungeons, killing the monsters, and making off with their treasure. So why would anyone want to eschew an in-game economy? Well, let me tell you my reasons.

Much like skill systems, an in-game economy adds complexity to the game. Once added, the gamemaster needs to determine what items are available, how much they cost, and how much treasure to provide to the characters. At first, the characters use those funds to improve their gear, making it easier to survive and complete quests. But later, their acquisitions outpace their need for new gear. So now the GM has to find new ways to separate the adventurers from their cash. D&D "solved" this problem by providing rules for characters to build and maintain strongholds. As a result, rules complexity expands dramatically. Therefore, an in-game economy violates my philosophy of simplicity.

Some would argue that an in-game economy is necessary for the adventure focus of the game. After all, why are player characters adventuring in the first place if not for loot? For one, I want to encourage the players to embrace a different motivation than mere acquisition. I hope they seek to be heroes rather than mercenaries.

My inspiration has always been epic heroic fantasy such as Lord of the Rings or King Arthur. The main characters are defending civilization rather than trying to make a big score. In those types of stories how often do the heroes rifle through the pockets of their defeated enemies looking for spare change? Yes, I know there are grittier heroes like Conan who are motivated by money. Even then, how often in the stories do you find the heroes counting their gains, budgeting their expenditures, maintaining cash flow statements, blah, blah, blah? The stories focus on the adventure rather than resource management. I would like Enchanted Realms to do the same.

I must admit that my use of the term in-game economy has been imprecise. I should elaborate that my comments apply to an in-game coin-based economy. I am not opposed to all forms of in-game economy; indeed I do think that one is necessary. Nevertheless, I would like to experiment with a different system, one not based on coin. I'm thinking of a patronage system. In a way, this is more medieval (coin was scarce so barter and favors formed a more frequent medium of exchange). In this system, characters will earn more powerful patronage as they advance in levels. This will give them access to more resources. One aspect of this is already in the rules. Why can't fighters use heavy armor at first level? It's not because they don't know how; it's because the game assumes they don't have the resources to afford heavy armor at the beginning of their careers.

I still need to work out the specifics of the system, although I have in mind that ultimately the characters will earn their own estate of some form. Regardless, I will likely keep it fairly open-ended, giving the Quest Master a lot of leeway in determining rewards. In concept the system is simple. We don't need to keep track of revenues and expenses. Instead, we just track levels (which we are doing already). In addition, it keeps the focus on adventures. Whether the characters want to be heroes or just want to advance in level, they are motivated to go on quests.

This is the underlying philosophy that influences the rules I created for Enchanted Realms. I am very reluctant to depart from this philosophy.