Rulebook Ruminations: Dungeons & Dragons Expert

We're five months into our Dungeons & Dragons Basic / Expert campaign, and it has been a blast.  With 92 hours logged so far, we've managed to creep up the experience scale to right about 6th level.  We've enjoyed how simple the game is, but that only lasted so long.  Now, our players are hungry for those forgotten bits of complexity that gives Advanced and later versions their staying power and are beginning to branch out in ways they haven't before.

At 4th level, I allowed the Expert book to be used freely by the players.  It starts out with a treatise on higher level characters, up to 14th level.  However, the gains characters make each level are dispersed across the levels.  This results in massive boosts to certain classes at certain levels, while other levels don't do anything but give you a Hit Die.

More equipment is added, most notably sailing vessels.  This has been a focal point of our campaign so far, as it's based around the Sea of Dread.  Some other basic land transport information is given, but it's all "basic" stuff here.

Of course, more spells.  There aren't very many spells per level, which is great for new players or players using spellcasters for the first time.  It's easy to wrap your head around things and get the hang of the most basic of spells you may encounter in your adventuring career.

Basically, everything in the game is fleshed out to a higher degree.  There are more spells, monsters and treasures.  There is more info on combat, and how you can engage in combat.  Notable additions there are mounted, naval and aerial combat rules.

However, it's the wilderness rules that are the star of the show.  Not really much here in the way of text, but the way it opens the game up from just the basic rulebook is felt by all involved immediately.  Now you can travel from town to town, from town to dungeon, from dungeon to dungeon or whatever.  And also...ships.

Non-player characters are given more attention as well...especially the different kinds of specialist PC's can hire.  You'll need sailors for your ships' crews, and you'll probably need an alchemist or sage at some point.  Not to mention the brutal mercenary army you always wanted.

There's a bit of Mystara information in the very back as well, all centered on Karameikos.  It's very basic, but this publication was the seed from which the Known World was grown.  As it is, it shows the Dungeon Master how to set up an outdoor campaign setting in a traditional hex map.  This is nice, since everyone knows Karameikos is full of fun times.

In conclusion, the Expert rulebook is essential to a Dungeons & Dragons game that wants to expand from Basic.  However, all these rules are included in the Rules Cyclopedia.  None of this is still in print, but if you fancy giving it a go it and it's Basic and Companion cohorts can be had pretty cheap secondhand.

The Face of Mystara, Part II (Session 4)

This update is lagging behind.  These Game Session notes were originally from 11.09.2014.

From the Journal of Alexandria Postoak

The group tended to all the bodies on the ships.  Oliver Blessed each of the bodies and we took all items of worth from them before we threw the corpses overboard.


6:08

The group agreed that the newly captured ship would be a great thing to use to begin a new adventuring company.

6:12

Back in town, the group takes the magical items to get them appraised for 1000 gold.  We split up magical items and try to find some place to get new sails and banners for the ship.  While we try and find new sails we discuss what we are going to do with the treasure.

6:30

The next morning we all woke up feeling very nervous.

6:48

Blanith went out to hang fliers looking for a new first mate.  He seemed to be very nervous the entire time.

6:50

Utho commissioned a new excellent figurehead for the new ship.

7:00

We were at the inn having dinner and a strange man was staring at me.  He made it over to our table before I could even stand.  I can't seem to remember who this guy is.  The strange man gave us all something very odd to smoke (like tobacco), which drugged us all.

The man beckons us to follow him to a pier that was empty except fora  small, terribly dirty 13ft boat that looks like it came directly from the ocean floor.

The strange man put on a battered helmet from the boat and we all climbed on board.  The boat heads out to sea quickly.

Hearing splashing around us we looked out and saw a tentacle that is in chains.  It hands Utho a box.  The warlock opened the box and told us all to take a vial.  We all drank one and realized it had the taste of fresh blood.

We see what looks like the night sky around us after the man asks us if we have ever been to space.

The boat splashes down (into warm, loose sand) and we all jumped out.  We step away to avoid the tentacles we thought we saw earlier.

We spotted a large castle in the middle of a desert.  The warlock spent some time yelling at the castle and telling us that his "friend" was in the castle - and the builder of the castle is a "bastard for building it out here."

7:23

We all enter and the door seems to vanish behind us.  There is a portal behind us that the Warlock tells us that is not the way out, but goes back to where we came from.

We start down a corridor with the fighters in the lead.  We explore the corridors and its not long until we find a glowing circle in the floor.  Blanith tries to examine the runes but it seems to make him ill, so he steps back.

7:53

We venture to another room.  We see statues lining the room.  There are two gargoyles at the end of the room by a door.  We get an odd feeling but we try to open the door anyway.  When I try and open the door, one of the statures reaches out to grab me.

We manage to fight off the gargoyles and regain our composure.  The necklace (with a large gem in it) that was on one of the statues seems to be gone now.  Todd proceeds to try and pull over a statue.

We go through the door to see an elf fighting with two demons.  We kill one of the gargoyles and Blanith leaves one of them Webbed.

We speak with the elf, Eventree.  We ask him how he got there and are told that he went through a portal he should not have.  He says he is from Sigil.  He has an odd quality to him.

The Warlock starts telling the elf that he is trying to get to Sigil.

8:46

Eventree tells us the way out is through the seal on the floor.  A giant, shiny black monster comes from the hole in the floor and attacks Blanith.  Utho manages to fall down the stairs.  So we all try and follow...I jump after Blanith.

9:00

At the bottom of the stairs, after a very ominous warning of "It is very foolish to think I cannot come after you." we all continue.

9:20

Not far from the landing we find a doorway and go through to find a group of three ogres.  We tell them that "Dave sent us."  They let us in and then begin to yell at the shiny black monster, telling him that he "cannot bring the gargoyles down here."  While theya re bickering we makea  run through a set of doors to find five more ogres eating.

9:31

We make a run past the table, and down a corridor.  All we can find is a couple of giant ogres cheering on a lone ogre with a giant stick weapon that is fighting with a man that holds a flaming sword.

With so many ogres chasing us, we try and run down the otehr hall towards teh ogre and the man with the flaming sword.  The Warlock sets fire to teh hallway, blocking the pathway so the golem and the other ogres could not pass.

Blanith Webs one fo the ogres and puts the other two to Sleep.  The man with the flaming sword yells something, then the webbed ogre burst into flames.

10:25

The warrior introduces himself as Rahanu, then prays to his god Tempus to help us through the gate.

Decos' Wretched Plight (Session 3)

Ain't Nothin' But Kobold Thang

The Northerners accept Decos' job, and immediately set out to rid the new tunnels of these troublesome pest.  The party quickly arrives at the tunnel entrance and proceed into the strangely bricked hallways that form the ancient tunnels.  Proceeding inside, the party is attacked by and dispatches the welcoming party of kobolds.  They manage to capture three of these, slaying half and capturing the rest.

The Northerners return to town and sell their prisoners.  After talking to the town wizard the party returns to the ancient tunnels.  Moving through the rooms they encounter 4 crazed giant rats!  They quickly dispatch the weak foes, but only to be attacked by the group of 7 kobolds hiding in the next room.  The fight is short, but a great tragedy occurred.  Herek Uthbar had been slain by a kobold's sword!

The party swiftly subdues the remaining foes with a single spell.  The survivors then return their dead companion to Arbora to give him his funeral rites.  Onward to Valhalla, servant of Odin.