002 – Setup
Now that the scene has been set for the start of this campaign, we can dive into the setup.
What You Need To Play
This is a 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons campaign and requires:
- The Players Handbook 5e
- The Monster Manual 5e
Most of the other maps, encounter material, artwork, NPC stats, and history can be found on this website.
Maps and artwork can be used digitally or printed as the Dungeon Master (DM) sees fit.
A copy of the Dungeon Master’s Guide would also be beneficial, but not essential.
Resources for Slaves of Troustar can be found on the campaign’s index page, searhed through or browsed using the categories:
The World
Re’ Stam Noe Gnud is not a standard world in the D&D universe. As the crappy name suggests, it is of my creation. You can find out more about this world by exploring:
You can also find out more about specific places by following their links or browsing for them in the Places category of Slaves of Troustar.
Because Re’ Stam Noe Gnud is an original world some of the creatures and NPC’s (non-player characters) may have slightly different behaviours and attributes as you might expect from a traditional D&D 5e campaign from Wizards of the Coast.
Game Play
Players
3 to 7 players.
The campaign is written by an adult who is not particularly concerned will keeping it clean. Having said that, I am sure any discerning DM would be able to clean it up for a younger groups of heroes.
Encounters are rated according to 5 players.
Encounters will be rated by monster Challenge Rating (CR) from the Player’s Handbook. The resulting experience (xp) would be shared among the group on the completion of the Chapter or encounter.
Player Character Creation
Slaves of Troustar starts players out as level one characters. Be sure to inform your players that they are considered level one in a true sense. They are not heroes or masters of their art. They essentially suck a little less than most people. If you start your characters at this point, it will give your characters room to grow. Dawnforgedcast has a really good video example on why Your Lower Level Characters Should Suck. I attached this to the initial Invitation email to my characters too.
Limitations. Often when we are limited by our resources, we become more creative with what we have. In Slaves of Troustar there are a few limitations of character creation to allow for better playability. The limitations are as follows:
- Level 1 Characters from the Player’s Handbook
- No flying characters (druid shape shifting in later levels is fine)
- Character alignment is neutral good
Not Your Mommas D&D 5e
Some of the chapters and encounters of Slaves of Troustar don’t always follow the The Player’s Handbook 5e rules perfectly. Combat encounters, in general, may stay the same, however not all creatures may have the same skills noted in the D&D 5e books.
If there is a change, I give you a heads up. Also some creatures will be homebrewed for the campaign and I will provided their full stats in the guide.
Certain actions outside of combat are also rewarded in the game with XP. This campaign is not just a hack and slash session. For example, in the first chapter, players will need to escape a prison at sea. This will require problem solving skills where players may have to draw on their ‘real world’ knowledge and apply it to their character, should they believe their character would know it. Another example, later in the campaign is of a reconnaissance and stealth mission that, had 5e rules been applied dogmatically, would have resulted in either non-stealth/charismatic characters sitting a whole chapter out or players being caught far too easily.
Variety is the spice in my pants – or something like that – and I hope the these moments of temporary suspension or modification of game rules will help the players explore the world in new ways.
Flow of the Game
Slaves of Troustar is a somewhat linear campaign with chapters that reveals clues along the way to shed light on the main plot of the story. Having said that, an enterprising DM who wishes to prepare side tasks could easily do so once Chapter 1 is complete and the party returns to Ac Rumb.
Chapters
Chapter would be a more fitting term for each section of the campaign. Within each chapter there may be a number of encounters or just one. Usually, each chapter will culminate in the revelation of more information to follow, leading into the next chapter.
Each chapter will have information on:
- Setup
- What is going on in the area
- If there are NPC’s how do they respond
- Read Out – What you might like to read out to your players indicated by italics.
- NPC Info – or links to more important NPC’s (They have their own detailed page)
- Location – descriptions and links to deeper details on locations.
- Encounters
Within Encounters, there are some subcategories to help you better understand the scenario:
- Level – Encounter level, difficulty and collective xp (experience) gained based on a 5 party group.
- Background
- Arrangement – How the scene, NPC’s and monsters are arranged. What clues, traps and treasures are available in the area. Also it will provide codes for the battle map for this area.
- NPC Behaviour – This section describes how NPC’s and Monsters might respond to the party. Their possible reactions to PC actions and their combat strategies.
- NPC Stats – should NPC’s or Monsters require stats, this is where they will be. If monsters are from the Player’s Handbook or the Monster Manual Then a relevant page will be noted with any changes or restrictions.
Next – Pregame – Slaves of Troustar
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