The Side Quest: Introduction

Absent players slightly derailed our Starter Set campaign this past session. Rachel and Muse both ended up having to miss this session. That left us with half of the players (2) and half of the characters (3). We are also going to have a number of upcoming sessions where at least one player will be missing. So I’ve decided (and I think everyone is okay with it) that we’ll have a side campaign for when we don’t have enough players for the regular campaign but still want to play. We also had a new player, Theo, joining us for the first time this session.

The Side Quest, as I’m calling this alternate campaign, is still going to be using the 5th Edition rules and will be a sandbox where the players will largely be dictating what they do each session. Whoever shows up, plays. Whoever doesn’t show, has their character(s) sit out that session. The characters were randomly generated…even the backgrounds, traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws. Personally, I think it is a great exercise for players to play these type of random characters.

The cast of PCs includes:

• Ander Liadon: A wood elf wizard who is a folk hero and is played by RJ.
• Aramil: A high elven fighter who is an ex-soldier and is played by Theo.
• Darvin Dundragon: A human cleric with the charlatan background who is going by the name of Gorstag Greycastle who is played by Todd.
• Geth Stormwind: A human fighter who is an ex-enforcer (criminal) who is played by Todd.
• Gurdis Fireforge: A mountain dwarf cleric who is a bounty hunter (outlander) and is played by Theo.
• Lavinia Tealeaf: A lightfoot halfling rogue who is a guild merchant and is played by RJ.

There are also a number of guidelines that I set out for The Side Quest, in no particular order, and additional information below the break.

• All characters are randomly generated. If a character dies, the replacement is generated by 4d6 in order. The player can pick the race and class but background, traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws are randomly determined.
• No evil PCs but they certainly don’t need to be the heroic types, like we usually have in our campaigns. In fact, non-heroic motivations (revenge, greed, power, etc.) are encouraged.
• At the end of every session, the PCs must have returned to some semblance of safety and civilization. The PCs will venture out to the wilds, down into the depths, or up into the peaks and RETURN back by the end of the session. The return part is key here. No camping, loitering, or plain hanging out in dungeons, ruined temples, or haunted woods. If not, something bad will happen.
• I won’t be pulling any punches. If the PCs are 1st level and come across a den of ogres and don’t haul ass, they can likely expect a TPK. Pretty much anything goes. Balance is out the window. Of course, that also means that if those same 1st level PCs somehow acquire a massive treasure hoard with powerful magic, more power to them.

The setting for the campaign is Silverymoon Pass in the Forgotten Realms. I’m not really a huge fan of Forgotten Realms and I certainly significantly lacking in “realmslore.” So why? Because 5e seems to be using the Realms as the default setting and because I came across this blog post, . Which led not just to the pretty cool looking map by Mike Schley but also to the idea of using a Keep on the Borderlands type area (which I was already leaning towards). So I grabbed the map of the “keep” from Little Keep on the Borderlands (from Kenzer & Co) and placed it as Hawk’s Nest in Silverymoon Pass. About five miles or so deeper into the mountains is a certain iconicish valley with numerous caves. For this, I grabbed 0one Games’ Caverns of Chaos map. Lastly, for a little added twist, I borrowed the idea from Stonehell Dungeon (by Michael Curtis) of having a wall block off the valley. However, instead of the wall being partially ruined and largely abandoned, this one has been repaired and is occupied.

The below is the blurb that I provided the players.

The western portion of the Nether Mountains is divided into two distinct ranges, both running more or less in an east-west direction. Between these two ranges lies Silverymoon Pass, a high, rock-strewn valley of jagged cliffs and dark bramble-thickets. Snow patches linger throughout the year on the southern side of the pass, protected from the sun by the shadow of the mountains, and countless rills of icy water spill down from the peaks above.

Through this forbidding vale climbs a road linking Silverymoon to Sundabar. The road is often closed by the threat of avalanche in wintertime, but it’s generally clear the rest of the year. Patrols from Silverymoon and Sundabar regularly ride the length of the road to drive back monsters and bandits intent on preying upon the road’s traffic. A small watchtower called Hawk’s Nest sits near the top of the pass, manned by a detachment of a dozen Knights in Silver from Silverymoon during those months that the pass is in heavy use. Many travelers press hard through the high reaches of the pass in order to spend the night in the shelter of the tower.

–Silver Marches, pg. 14, Wizards of the Coast

A narrow track leads some six to seven miles deeper into the Nether Mountains south of Hawk’s Nest to a small valley. An ancient wall blocks access to the valley, some speculate it dates back to the time of the Netheril Empire. This curtain wall is home to Hell’s Haven, an “inn” run by Mattak “Mad Matt” Hammerfist, a rough, tough, no-nonsense dwarf with little, if any, scruples. His band of mercenaries, the Wallbangers, are known for killing first and asking questions…well…never. Mad Matt’s word is law here at the wall and he’s got the loyal muscle behind him to back it up. His crew also maintains a relatively lucrative mining operation in the nearby mountains.

However, the real money for Mad Matt is in taxing those who pass through “his” wall. Beyond the wall, in the small valley, are a series of caves rumored to hold lost treasures and Mattak takes a cut of every single bit of treasure that comes out. Various humanoids are known to call these caves home and, despite the fact that many are routinely killed by visiting adventurers, they seem to never be in short supply. Some have even whispered that Mad Matt—although not in earshot of the dwarf—lets them through the wall to take up residence in the caves…for a cut, of course, of anything they take off of dead adventures. Others have whispered that the caves are only the surface of a much deeper complex that lies below.

It is early spring and the pass is just opening up again. Your character has recently come to Hawk’s Nest for some reason.

That’s pretty much it for this alternate campaign that we’ll be playing. The players came up with why they had come to Hawk’s Nest…with varying degrees of success. 😉

First session write up to follow in the next couple of days.