DM's Intro
This Dungeon Master's Introduction is
written with the first-time DM in mind -- if
you're a more experienced DM, you'll find
that this introduction explains, in great detail,
things that are now second nature to you. Bear
with us.
In Treasure Hunt, the player characters
have
been kidnapped from their homes by slavers,
and are being sailed toward one of the pirate
strongholds of the archipelago.
A sudden storm at sea catches the pirate
ship, sending it off-course, washing most of
the crew overboard, and eventually crashing it
upon the shores of the island once ruled by
Viledel, the Sea King. The characters have the
opportunity to escape or defeat the surviving
pirates.
Once they've escaped or defeated their captor,
they find that the island they've landed
upon is now the battleground for two forces:
enemy seagoing tribes of orcs and goblins
who
are fighting for the right to take this island as
their new stronghold.
Mid-adventure, they?ll also learn that the
goddess of the island is furious at the desecration
visited on her temple by the orcs and goblins.
She?s decided to wipe the island off the
fate of the earth. She?ll give the characters
some time to escape, but she won?t extend her
time limit for them.
The characters have to survive the elements,
the battles raging between orcs and goblins,
and the unnatural hazards of the island, find
out how to escape, and leave before the goddess
destroys the island. In the course of this,
the characters will be earning experience and
eventually reaching 1st level, choosing their
character classes and alignments at that time.
"Episode One: Sea and Storm" informs the
characters of their plight -- they?ve been captured,
stripped of weapons and goods, and
chained in the hold of a pirate
vessel. The ship
crashes upon the shore of the Sea King's island.
The prisoners must either defeat or escape
the one surviving pirate. Once free, they
will realize that they need better shelter than
the wrecked ship if they're to survive the elements
this night.
In "Episode Two: Battle on the Hill," the
characters stumble across a battle between orcs
and goblins. They can defeat both forces
by
clever use of surrounding terrain, or can wait
until both forces are worn down almost to
nothing before attacking. Among the "loot"
held by the orcs and goblins is an old human
man, a prisoner of the goblins, who knows
where shelter is to be found.
"Episode Three: Temple of the Goddess"
has characters reaching a temple near the Sea
King's old manor. While within the temple,
the characters have an encounter with the
goddess. She displays her divine wrath and
announces the doom of the island.
In "Episode 4: Manor of the Sea King,"
the old man says there are catacombs
below
the Sea King's manor, catacombs with treasure
and a boat left as grave-goods. But to get
to the catacombs, the characters must get
through the manor, which is where the orc
goblin conflict is heaviest.
"Episode Five: Into the Catacombs" gets
the characters into those catacombs -- but the
old man has actually led them into a trap. He
was merely determined to seal the catacombs
off so that the INVADERS could not pilfer them,
and has maneuvered the player characters into
returning him there. He then tries to kill the
characters so they won't rob the catacombs.
The characters have to survive his traps and his
surprises long enough to find the promised
treasure and boat.
"Episode Six: Break-In" reveals that the
orcs and goblins
have found the entrance after
all, and have broken into the catacombs. In
this episode of the adventure the characters
must deal with intruding orcs and goblins
while trying to escape. At the episode's end,
the goddess' wrath is visited on the island.
During the adventure, the characters can
find magical objects which allow them to feel
what it?s like to have the abilities of some of
the various character classes. They?ll be confronted
with situations which allow them to
try to utilize the skills of different classes. By
the time they reach 0 experience points they
should have decided their character classes
and alignments.
Also in this rulebook are the following sections
and items:
"Appendix 1: If Things Go Wrong" talks
about what you can do to cope with clever
character improvisations, or to get the adventure
back on course when things are totally
screwed up.
"Appendix 2: The Korinn Archipelago"
describes the island chain in greater detail
than in the Players? Introduction.
Included in the pull-out section of the adventure
are eight characters (the murderous
old man, an NPC merchant?s daughter who
was on the slave ship, and six player characters
to use if players don?t wish to generate new
characters); and four Dungeon Master maps
(the island, the temple, the manor, and the
catacombs). On the adventure's covers are the
players' maps: The archipelago map which
they know by heart, and the island, temple,
manor, and catacombs maps crudely drawn by
the old man.
There are some things you should know
about the 0 level PCs.
The characters have secondary skills.
Don't
encourage the players to make heavy use of
those skills, but if they come up with clever
and pertinent uses for those skills, you should
reward them with critical or even spectacular
success with the things they're attempting.
For example, a character who is a miner
might reasonably expect to know which support
beams in the catacombs can be broken to
cause a sudden cave-in. A trapper/furrier
with
enough time and opportunity could rig snare
traps and other tricks in order to capture and
harrass his enemies.
Don't allow the players to abuse these
skills. A trapper cannot rig a snare
with the
same speed a charging orc can swing a
sword.
And, while the first snare he placed might
have had spectacular success, the orcs will be
watching for the second one. To be effective,
he must think up and explain a new trap each
time.
0-level characters all know how to use
one weapon. Before your adventure gets underway,
have each player choose his character's
weapon proficiency. (Weapon proficiency
is
explained under "Weapons" in the Players
Handbook). A player may only choose dagger,
quarterstaff, or dart.
Tell the player to write
his character's weapon proficiency on the character
sheet.
If, in the course of the adventure, a character
picks up a weapon and states that he's going
to try to learn to use it, let him. For
simplicity's sake, let's assume that, while
these characters are in their "state of grace"
and learn things speedily, they can learn a
weapon proficiency after using the weapon in
2 combats. A character can learn no more
than 3 extra weapon proficiencies.
Tell the character he should swing the
weapon around for a while, get used to its heft
and characteristics, and that after a couple of
combats in which he uses the weapon, he will
have a proficiency with it.
The characters are not limited to dagger,
staff and dart after they enter the adventure
but, again, the choice of the weapons they
learn can limit their character class choices.
If a character tries to learn more weapons
during the course of the adventure he starts
limiting the number of character classes he
can choose. For instance, a Prestidigitator
can only have one weapon proficiency. If
the 0 level character learns a second weapon
before taking 1st level, he can therefore not be
a magic-user when he reaches 1st level. That's
how it works. Read the pertinent section
of
the Players Handbook for more information
on this.
Several character classes have special abilities.
These abilities break down roughly into
non-magical and magical abilities: The thief's
wall-climbing talent can be considered
nonmagical,
while the paladin's ability to detect
evil is effectively magical.
Whenever a player-character in this adventure
wishes, he may try to utilize one of the
non-magical special abilities. These abilities
include:
Assassinate
(assassin),
Backstab (thief),
Climb Walls (thief),
Disguise
(assassin),
Find/Remove Traps
(thief),
Hear Noise (thief),
Hide in Shadows (thief),
Move Silently (thief),
Open Locks (thief),
Pick Pockets (thief),
Track (ranger).
<UA>
Whenever a character wishes to try to utilize
one of these skills, let him. Give the character a
chance to do it at 10% below that of a 1st level
character of the appropriate class. Whether he
succeeds or fails, the next time he tries, let him
try at 5% below the listed 1st level chance. The
third time and subsequent times, give him the
1st level chance to succeed.
The ranger abilities of extra damage
to humanoids
and decreased chance to be surprised
cannot be attempted, nor can the monk's
extra
damage for barehanded combat.
The player characters cannot try to perform
the magical special abilities of various character
classes -- turning undead, laying on of the
hands, etc.-- until they've chosen their character
classes upon reaching 1st level.
When you're ready to begin play, you
should use the character tracking forms in the
center of the booklet; use 1 form for each
character. (6 of these forms are already filled
out for the pregenerated characters.)
In the course of the adventure, whenever a
character tries to perform an action which is
basically class-related, you should take note of
it on the form. Keep things simple--when the
character tries to climb a wall, place one check
mark beside "Thief." When, later, he
tries to
move silently, place another check mark beside
"Thief." When he tries to use a sword
in
combat, since magic-users and clerics
cannot
do this, you place a minus sign beside "Magic-
User" and "Cleric."
If a character has learned a new weapon proficiency,
note it on the tracking form and keep
in mind which classes he can no longer be.
This way, you can keep accurate and simple
track of the character's character class "leanings."
Alignment Tendencies
Keep track of the characters' actions and reactions
during the adventure. Whenever a
character performs an action that is of a particular
alignment, note that action on the tracking
form.
Protecting your allies and making FRIENDS
are not alignment activities -- they're human
nature. However, backstabbing is an action of
neutral or evil intent. An unwillingness
to kill
someone except in a fair fight is lawful. Risking
your own life to save someone else when
the odds are against you is a good action.
Working hard to cause someone grief is an evil
action.
Whenever a character uses one of the magical
abilities from the magical objects to be
found, make note of it. This activity should
lead to a check mark beside the character class
the magic is pertinent to.
If a character really sits down with the one
magical book to be found in the course of the
adventure and gives it serious study, this is a
definite magic-user activity and he receives
checks by "Magic-User" on the tracking
form--1 check mark for each hour he studies.
Because the characters are so frail and need
all the help they can get, you?ll be assigning
them their experience as often as is convenient
-- at least at the end of every episode in the
adventure. You'll not only assign experience
for monsters slain at that time, you should
assign
experience for treasure accumulated,
which normally has to wait until the treasure is
safe at the character's home.
Eventually, the characters will start reaching
0 XP and will have to take their
character classes and alignments.
LOOK over each character's notes on the
tracking form and make an estimate of which
class and alignment you think is most appropriate
to him. Then speak to him, privately,
and tell him what you think -- such as,
"You've been behaving, for the most part, as
a CG fighter; do you have any problem
with that??
If not, then the choice is made. If the player
does have a differing opinion, have him explain
his thinking. If it's reasonable and does
not contradict the way the character has been
acting, let him have it his way.
If, however, he's completely off-base, in
your estimation . . . well, your opinion is final
one. This is most likely to occur in the
choice of alignment, and can affect class. If a
character was trying to become a paladin
but
engaged in chaotic behavior patterns all the
time, you're within your rights to say he's a
CG fighter. <CG Cavalier>
Since your choice may not match your players
', you should explain to the players before
play begins that you're going to be the ultimate
authority on what the character's eventual
class and alignment are, modified by the
character's behavior and actions, of course.
When the character's new class is chosen,
reroll his hit points. If the new roll is lower
than the original roll, let him keep the original
roll.
Magic-users, illusionists,
thieves
and assassins
do not reroll.
Before the adventure begins, you should
tell your players that these characters will not
have the option to become multi-class characters.
They may choose the special character
classes such as paladin and illusionist,
assuming
they meet all the requirements of the
class. (A multi-class character would not be
limited very much by his behavior during the
adventure, and so should not be permitted in
this adventure.)
If your players don't have time, opportunity,
or experience enough to create their own
characters, there are PCs already
created and ready to be handed out. Pull
them out of the book, cut them apart, and
keep Keestake and Melisana
-- they are NPCs
and the players shouldn't see them.
Each pregenerated character has been given
2 names, the 1st name masculine, the 2nd
feminine. The player can decided if the
character is male |or| female.
The physical descriptions of the characters
are up to the players.
The ages listed may not match the range of
ages given for characters in the DMG
once they've reached 1st level and chosen their classes. (For instance,
if a character
chooses to be an illusionist but
is only 19,
this doesn't match the normal range of ages
for illusionist characters.) Don't let it bother
you; these characters are simply exceptions to
the rule. Any character created at 1st level or
above must keep to the rules given in
the
DMG.