Re: "Old World" Campaign


Jasin Zujovic wrote:
In article <1147812104.241050.36400@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
madafro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx says...

I'd like to design a sympathetic grownup that the child-PCs can go to
with their problems, but one who is completely disregarded by the other
adults and not quite capable of dealing with things him/herself. So, we
have the village idiot (hence the PrC), who is slow-witted and yet
strangely wise, and who accidentally drops this wisdom in the PCs laps
at odd times.

Perhaps the old woman could also become an ally. Not sure what use she
could be really, but if you're a kid, just having an sympathetic adult
on your side can mean much, even if she has no special skills. She could
provide food, a place to hide, excuses ("oh, yes, they were here all
day, helping me with the firewood... I hope you don't mind?").

Very much what I was thinking of. If nothing else, the old woman's
hovel would be a great place to hole up and plan strategy, and eat
fresh bread while doing so. :)

As a later tie-in to bigger plots, the woman might have an
adventuresome son in the Vodi army, thought dead, but who suddenly
re-appears with grim tidings. Whether he does this as a living man or
as a spectre remains to be seen.

Since Cydreism is crawling back from a devastating blow to its priestly
roster a few decades past, it would make sense for the village priest
to be wet behind the ears (read: low level), very earnest, and ignorant
in the ways of the world. Obviously, this gives me all manner of
options for the snake-girl. :)

This also makes me think that he could be another potential ally for the
PCs, if things fall into the right place. A naive young priest not from
around here might get treated by the people of the community almost like
a child, so a certain kinship might develop...

A good thought. The priest is well-educated in the things Cydreic
priests are taught; languages, how to combat dark spirits and evil,
clerical spells, etc. But, he has no idea how to deal with these
people, or really anything beyond his cloistered and martial
upbringing. The kids might become precocious tutors in that regard, in
exchange for his particular knowledge (and to their chagrin, his
particular interference).


Damn, this sounds like it could be a fun game even if it never goes
beyond the PCs childhood!

Yes, it does; I probably should flesh out how to handle stats for child
characters in case this goes long-term. Is this already dealt with
somewhere?

From the Modern SRD:

--------
Children

Children (newborns to age 11) are handled differently from other
characters. They do not have classes or levels. They begin with the same
ability score package as ordinaries (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8), but their
ability scores are reduced as follows: -3 Str, -1 Dex, -3 Con, -1 Int, -
1 Wis, -1 Cha.

Children have 1d4 hit points plus their Constitution modifier (minimum 1
hit point). They have no skills, feats, action points, or occupations.
Their base attack bonus is +0, they have a +0 modifier on all saving
throws (plus any modifiers for high or low ability scores), and their
Reputation bonus is +0. Children have a +0 modifier to Defense and a
normal speed of 20 feet. Children have no effective attacks and should
be treated as noncombatants.

When a child turns 12, he or she is considered a young adult and takes
his or her first level in one of the six basic classes. At that point,
the character becomes an ordinary (or hero, in some cases).
--------

A bit harsh. But then, it's a question of how heroic and objectively
capable do you want these children to be.

I appreciate the info! By that, I'd probably run the first session as
true children; perhaps around nine or ten, and going to 1st level in a
number of games depending on how things go. These kids are supposed to
represent the best and brightest of this village with potential far
above and beyond most of their peers; it's okay if they advance more
quickly than your average commoner, but a lot depends on how the
players take to the child-adventurer setup.


You could even give them their 1st-level abilities in increments, so
that the kid who is to become a rogue first gets +1 to Ref, then another
hp, then a couple of skill points, than another bonus to Ref...

BTW, I'd also treat children as Small, with all the attendant bonuses,
even though this isn't mentioned here.

I can see why it isn't, thinking a bit. Our 6-yo son is small, but
hasn't yet developed the coordination or full awareness of his
surroundings that adults (and adult Small creatures) have. Thus, he
isn't able to take full advantage of his size. Right now we're trying
to convince him to bend his knees when he runs bases during T-ball
games; he moves like a little robot. :)

So, a young Human child and a 70-year-old gnome might be the same size,
but the gnome has the good sense, control of his body, and experience
to get out of the way when an ogre wants to clobber him, while the
child might just stand there and cry.

However, this is D&D, and a certain amount of storybook license is in
order. In plenty of stories and movies, children are very clever,
nimble, and hard to catch. I think your idea is very appropriate in a
game context.


I once ran a good first session for a campaign that had the PCs begin
as kids; it was loads of fun, so I know this sort of thing can work.
That campaign fizzled for life reasons, so I didn't get to attempt the
transition to full-fledged characters, though.

This is something I'll definitely consider, if I ever get back to that
medieval romance campaign...

It forces the PCs to rely on each other in ways even 1st-level
characters don't. It also makes identities fluid; a lot happened during
that session that changed the players' concepts of their characters
that affected their later decisions on classes, spells, proficiencies
(this was 2e), etc. Too bad we didn't go further in the game, but it
convinced me that kid characters can be a good starting point.

I think it could work very well for medieval romance. Often, the lives
of the squires can be just as interesting as the knights. :)

--
Jay Knioum
The Mad Afro

.

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