Joe Gamer

I DM a homebrew DnD 3.5E campaign on Wednesday nights and occasionally someone cannot show. When it is our host or I who cannot show, there just isn’t a game. When it is one of the other players however, we typically game. Our most recent game was canceled because the current adventure is supposed to highlight the two rogues in the group and the primary one could not show. It is always disappointing to call an entire game. I considered running a one-off for the other players, but I don’t want to get too far away from the central story. I joked to the other players via IM chat that they should all take the Leadership Feat like the character Clay, and then when someone doesn’t show the players could all play a follower or cohort on the side. At this point I realized that Clay, with a 19 Leadership Score, has nearly fifty low level followers (40 1st; 4 2nd; 2 3rd; 1 4th; 1 5th). Currently the group is half a continent away from their base of operations, but that doesn’t mean things stand still at home. With that in mind we gathered for a night of character creation.

We have five players in addition to the DM, so when one is missing we need four characters. Clay’s 19 Leadership Score provides exactly 4 2nd level characters, and I thought this was perfect. During the course of the night we created the 4 2nd level characters, 2 1st level characters, 1 4th level character, and 1 5th level character. Additionally, Mori’s protege was detailed as was a hireling for Kitty!

Now when someone can not game, we don’t have to continue the main story without them, we can pick up a side game in the same story with characters that add depth, pathos, and (dare I say?) verisimilitude to the story. Most importantly it spares us an otherwise boring Wednesday evening.

Do any of you do anything similar for your canceled games?

© 2010, Joseph Little. All rights reserved.

Wednesday nights is the single nerdiest night of my week. This is the night that several of my friends and I gather for our “weekly” Dungeons and Dragons 3.5Ed Game. The cast of characters includes:

• Clay Barrett: A rather promiscuous and constantly randy male Lesser Aasimar Favored Soul.
• Mori: An impressive female Greater Aasimar Fighter who wields dual blades.
• Thurkear “Aust” Caex: A mysterious male Fey’Ri Duskblade with a nack for getting into trouble.
• Aisha Kuroneko : A female Nekomimi (cat girl) Warlock who flirts with evil like a cat plays with a mouse.
• Olley Tallowish: A very short male Halfling Rogue and candle maker with a penchant for very tall women.

Together the band forms the Bent Blades, so named because each of the party carries at least one curved melee weapon.

The game centers around a small settlement called New Fort Brawn. Where a small band of adventurers is needed to search for the scattered remains of a statue of the Old Fort Brawn’s greatest hero. The these pieces are needed is because the head of the statue has become animated seemingly with the soul of the hero himself. If the pieces of the statue can be combined and reunited with the hero’s regalia, Old Fort Brawn’s greatest hero may be restored to life, but for what purpose?

© 2010, Joseph Little. All rights reserved.

For those of you in my “A Hero Restored” campaign, I wish a Merry Christmas with the gift of free magic items. Please spend 25,000 gp on any magic items from the DMG that the party desires.

How you distribute is up to you.

© 2009, Joseph Little. All rights reserved.