New Playtest Campaign

I am starting two campaigns, one OTB and one virtual, to do some more extended testing with the new Phoenix system.

I am full on virtual players, but if you live in the Denver area and think this sounds fun, go ahead and drop me a line.

Raiding the Clip Art gallery for "games"
is a little disappointing.

I gave both groups, independently, the same setup:  One of the characters is a young noble with older siblings and thus very little chance of inheriting a formal position.  The rest of the characters will be friends/hires/(insert random relationship type here) of the noble character.

Setups like this give the group a common concept to focus their background on, and lets them contemplate how they came to know each other within a semi-structured framework.  Some character creation decisions can even come down to light roleplaying before they are solidly formed.  In my experience, all of this helps to form solid relationships in the party from the outset, and I enjoy games where the party feels like a team.

Here's the results.

I took volunteers for the noble position and each party has one.  They each have a unique perspective on the world and their place in it.

No less than half of the remaining players seriously contemplated making a ninja that was sent to kill the noble, or some variation thereof.  If I were playing one of the nobles, I would be justifiably paranoid.

In the end, there is only one ninja.  Supposedly.  And he is friendly.

Supposedly.

Additional tidbits:

• Martialist - the primary fighter type class - is the most popular choice of any class.  Guess I'd better solidify my plans on Martialists.
• The Elementalist has chosen Fire and Earth.
• The Arcanist has chosen Dimension and Light.  I'm particularly excited about seeing Dimension spells in play.  Time-traveling invisible lawn gnome?  Priceless.
• Humans, Elves, Gnomes, and Dwarves were selected as races.
• One of the Dwarves has a gambling "dilemma".
• One of the Elves has a raised-by-Gnomes "dilemma".  This condition is also called "being a bunny boiler" in certain upside-down circles.

The cast of characters is turning out great so far and I'm really looking forward to having everything set to play.