Why Encounters is Awesome (and March of the Phantom Brigade Chapter 1 Recap)

In these modern times of fast food, rush hour, and video games, it can be hard to find the time to sit down and play Dungeons and Dragons for hours at a time. That's why Encounters is so awesome. You show up with yourself and your dice, and you're ready to play. If you're unfamiliar with D&D Encounters, it is a series of weekly encounters sent out by Wizards of the Coast that are usually run at your local comic shop (if your local shop doesn't run them, and you think they should, talk to the manager/owner). 

The purpose of Encounters is threefold: introduce new people to D&D, show off new products such as Essentials or Fortune Cards, and provide a way for new players to meet veterans. Regardless of the technical purposes of Encounters, they're just a great way to meet people and play D&D.

The current season of Encounters has been going very well so far.  The first chapter just completed this past week.  The adventure began with our heroes as a part of a caravan of settlers, striking out to found a new town in the ruins of Castle Inverness.  After travelling for days by wagon, protecting the caravan from stirges and other creatures, the party arrives at the Castle.  Having proved themselves to Brother Splintershield (the leader of this expedition) and Malgram, the captain of the guard, ask them to ensure that the ruins are safe for the rest of the caravan. After having searched the courtyard (and run into some trouble!), the group reports their findings to the Malgram and Brother Splintersheild. The caravan moves in safely to the interior of the castle ruins. 

As they are unpacking, a shriek rings out. The center tower of the ruined castle, nothing more than a foundation a moment ago, reappears in all its former glory.  A few moments after, undead attack the fledgling village.  The adventurers defend Brother Splintershield against the undead as he performs the cleansing ritual on the town.  Brother Splintershield completes the ritual, thus protecting the town.  The enemies having been dispatched, a ghostly warrior approaches the town.  His name is Salazar Vladistone, and he is very displeased with the settlers for keeping him from his wife's grave.

As you can tell, it's been a very exciting story so far, and will only get more exciting as time goes along.  If you haven't played Encounters before, you should definitely consider it.  They are usually played at 6 or 7 pm on Wednesday evenings at a comic store near you.  To find a participating store, you can visit the Dungeons and Dragons website.

The Land of Ko

I've been working on a campaign setting for a while now, and I've only just started really fleshing it out.  The following is a brief description of the "Land of Ko", an interesting and largely unexplored land:

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The land of Ko is a very large continent. It is so large, in fact, that is has yet to be fully explored. The North of the discovered continent is composed largely of seaside, dotted with small villages and the occasional port city. Sea trading occurs between port cities, the tiny archipelago that lies northward of the mainland, and the delta region to the far east of the continent. The Northern cities gradually give way to the plainslands to the south. The plains are best described as gently rolling, grassy, and wide. There a numerous villages found in the plains, as well as many halfling encampments.

To the south the plains give way to foot hills, and eventually to a large mountain range. The dwarves make these mountains their home. At the eastern edge of the range, where to mountains meet the forest, there is a beautiful city nestled, home of the Eladrin. The city is not visible during the day, except for through a large archway found at the edge of the city's footprint. The area past the large mountain range is largely unexplored, due to the dangers of crossing the tall peaks.

To the east of the plains is the forest. The forest is a vibrant place, filled with creatures or all kinds. Elves act as stewards of the forest, living in small villages that blend into the trees. Deeper into the woods, towards the east, the forest turns to swamp. The swamp is a dark and murky place, dangerous both in it's topology and in the creatures that live there. Smelling strongly of decay, it is said that the victims of the swamp still haunt it's aphotic interior.

As one travels further east in the swamplands, it begins to give way to the delta region. The delta region is a lively place, with a very odd culture. There is much trading between the cities located in the north, the archipelago, and various other islands. As such, the make up of the region is a mish-mash of cultures and races. If there is anything a person could ever want to find, they could find it in the delta.

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This is just a very rough sketch to get a feel for the land as it is so far.  There will definitely be more work to be done with it, especially naming all the places.  I'm looking forward to seeing where this setting goes, and how players will react to it.  

Happy gaming!