Background To The Campaign

Bohavia was actually created by myself in a fit of pique after my first attempt at GMing a PBeM went wrong and the game fell to pieces. It was partly my fault for starting to run a PBeM before I had enough experience about the format and partly the players' fault for not being prepared to keep up with the turn per working day minimum pace that I like to run my games at in order to move the campaigns along as fast as possible. I was determined that my second attempt would not go the same way.

When I put my original posting for players out, I made it very clear that I was looking for only the very best and most dedicated role players. I had around 20 people who were interested enough in the game to send through a character summary. From these I selected the most interesting 14 characters to enter a week of 'role play offs' in order to determine which were the best and most dedicated role players. At the end of the week, all players voted for the seven players that they wanted to see participate in the game.

I was very glad that I chose this method. Not only was it a great deal of fun and a challenge for everyone involved (generating over 200 postings in a week!) but, had I not done it, then the campaign would have fallen apart immediately, as several people who sent through interesting characters never bothered to post at all during the week.

In addition to assembling a group of the very best role players that I could locate, there was another factor that I wanted to bring into the campaign, and that was to follow the AD&D rules as closely as possible. The majority of games that I have seen start the players off with an incredible number of benefits compared to the standard rules in terms of players' characteristics, with it being very unusual to find anyone with a characteristic under 12, most fighters having 18/90+ strength etc, and maximum hit points, of course.

For me, the most exciting part of any RPG comes in the early stages of the game, where every encounter brings the real possibility of a swift death. I felt that this element was being lost in the majority of games and wanted to make sure that it would not be lost in mine. As a result, all players were asked to develop characters based around allocating the average number of characteristic points (63 points) and then taking the average number of hit points and starting funds for the class. Not everyone was entirely happy with this system, but I think that everyone later realized that it did add an extra level of excitement to the campaign.

 

Generating A Character

If a player ever drops out of the game, then I will choose a replacement from amongst those people who have been 'lurking' and actively following the game. So if you are really interested in joining the game, then the only way to be considered is to first become a 'lurker'. To find out how easy it is to become a 'lurker' in the campaign, go to How To Lurk. They will not be asked to take over the retiring player's character, but will be asked to generate a new character, as I think that it is impossible to get the same level of attachment to 'someone else's character'. From all of those characters submitted, I shall choose the most interesting one which I believe will add the most to the campaign. If I really can't decide between two or more character submissions, then I'll submit the short-listed characters to all of the existing players and get them to vote on it.

If the owner of the 'winning' character is you, then here is how you generate the character:

The first step is to go to Irony Games' Dice Server. This is a wonderful device that rolls dice and then e-mails the results through to the chosen recipient - the DM in this case. Use the Dice Server to roll 3d6 six times. If the total number of points comes to 62 or less, then I will allow a reroll. If the total comes to between 63 and 69 inclusive, then the players gets the difference between that number and 70 to allocate to his stats how he or she sees fit. Otherwise those are the characteristics that should be used to generate the character, ensuring that the resulting character remains within the original character concept.

Now that the party is in the mid-levels, it's not really possible to start new players off from scratch or else they would be nothing but a liability to the others, and it wouldn't be a lot of fun for the new player either. the system that I now use is to give new players a certain amount of 'points' to spend when creating their characters. There are three ways in which these 'points' can be spent:

Most of them should be used as XP, with the ratio of 1XP = 1 point. My ideal is to get the new players to be just one level behind the rest of the party.

The second way is as gp or standard items that are listed in the PHB, with the exchange rate being 1 point = 1GP, or simply as gold, jewels, etc.

The final way is that they can use them for a couple or so magic items, with 1 point = 1XP as given for finding the item as listed in the DMG. In hindsight, I think that I've been too generous here in the past and that I would probably be better to charge double or treble this. I never give the players carte blanche to choose anything they like, I usually restrict it to one +1 weapon, a way of getting their AC down to somewhere between 2 and 4 and one 'toy'.

As for how many points I would give, that depends upon where the rest of the party is in terms of XP's. I would give the lucky new player the amount of points s/he has to spend upon inviting him or her into the game.

Magic users choose the spells that they want up to the limits given under the official rules, which is based upon the character's INT. As magic users have to play by the book, spells must be memorized at the start of each day.

As you have probably realized, this campaign takes place in an early Renaissance period and so everything in the Player’s Guide is available for purchase, except for items that have been phased out by that time (i.e. bronze plate mail)

The campaign actually takes place in a slightly later period than the standard AD&D setting. The only significant addition to the standard rules, however, are additional rules for firearms.

Full rules for firearms as used in the game are taken from the 'A Mighty Fortress' sourcebook. If you have a copy of this sourcebook, then the only additional information you will need to know is that only matchlock weapons are in circulation. If you don't have the sourcebook and you would like information on firearms, then I can provide the relevant details.

 

Avoiding Death

As characters are not super-human, and I don’t want to kill off good ones, I shall be using the ‘Hovering on Death’s Door’ optional rules from the DM’s Guide.

 

Experience Points

Experience Points are awarded on an individual basis rather than a group basis, as per the optional rules in the DM's Guide. Experience Points are awarded for many reasons including good role playing, clever solutions to problems, successful use of proficiencies and spell casting, plus killing monsters and obtaining treasure, of course.

 

Increasing Levels

The rules which say that players with a sufficiently high prime attribute are entitled to receive an additional 10% bonus to their experience points are not used in this campaign. It seems unfair that one or more players should receive such a bonus simply for rolling high numbers or 'min/maxing' when the character was first generated.

When a player gains sufficient experience points in order for his or her character to achieve a higher level, then he or she should use the Irony Games' Dice Server to roll additional Hit Points, or ask the DM to make the roll on his or her behalf. If the dice comes up as a one, the DM will probably allow a reroll.

Providing that the character has been using their skills during the game, then there is no need to find a teacher in order for the character to receive the benefits given at the new level. Magic users are required to roll to see whether they are able to learn new spells that they may discover during the campaign.

New non-weapon proficiencies are awarded at every second level (i.e. 3rd, 5th, 7th etc.) If the character has been attempting to learn these skills by self study for a sufficient period prior to achieving a level, then there will also be no need to find a teacher for these skills. The same goes for weapon proficiencies, which are awarded as per the standard rules. Providing that a character has been in possession of such a weapon and has used it on several occasions in actual combat, then no teacher will be required.

 

Critical Hits

Just to stop the players from getting too cocky, there are rules for critical hits and misses, as supplied by Brian W. (Winnacer). The method by which they are calculated and the tables used can be found here.