Gaming with Kids: Temple of Elemental Evil – Session #1

ToEE AP

• Gaming with Kids: Plans for Spring 2010
• AD&D Temple of Elemental Evil – Session #0 (Character Creation)
• Gaming with Kids: ToEE House Rules
• Gaming with Kids: Temple of Elemental Evil – Session #1
• Gaming with Kids: Temple of Elemental Evil (Session #10 – Bandits!)
• Gaming with Kids: Temple of Elemental Evil (Session #2)
• Gaming with Kids: Temple of Elemental Evil (Session #3)
• Gaming with Kids: Temple of Elemental Evil (Session #4)
• Gaming with Kids: Temple of Elemental Evil (Session #5)
• Gaming with Kids: Temple of Elemental Evil (Session #6)
• Gaming with Kids: Temple of Elemental Evil (Session #7)
• Gaming with Kids: Temple of Elemental Evil (Session #8)
• Gaming with Kids: Moving from 1E to 4E for ToEE
• Gaming with Kids: Temple of Elemental Evil (Session #9 – First 4E session)

This past Wednesday was session #1 of the after-school club’s spring AD&D (or more accurately OSRIC) campaign.  It was a relatively short session because out of the two hours we had, I spent the first 45 minutes explaining the game and table* rules.  Once all of that was out of the way, I ran through the background and recent history of the ToEE, and then started off the group on the outskirts of Hommlet.

The Setup

In terms of the explaining the group’s existence, I simply grouped the players (we have 9 total at the moment) into three subgroups, giving them vignettes about how they met.  I then threw those three groups together, explaining that they met during their journey to Hommlet.  Yeah, I know it’s not a particularly great explanation but the purpose of a campaign, in my opinion, is to tell the story of the group after they met, not before, and thus I didn’t want to waste a lot of time with the back story. The three groups are:

1. Xander, Salladhor, & Olaya – Olaya (druid) and Salladhor (ranger) have been sent to the region by the Elven council to investigate an “imbalance” in nature that the elves have felt.  Xander (mage), a life-long friend of Salladhor has tagged along, for a more selfish purpose (in order to uncover lore to increase his own mastery of magic).
2. Irma, Kira, Ada, & Enzio – Irma (paladin) is an orphan and ward of the Church of the Silver Flame (stolen from Eberron) which is the “new” faith amongst the lands.  She is also a paragon of the Silver Flame, a true holy warrior.  The church has sent her to investigate the rumors of trouble brewing in the lands that surround the ToEE.  Enzio (bard) is tagging along, hoping to make a name for himself on her coat heels.  The two met Kira (fighter/cleric) and Ada (illusionist/thief) along the way and have joined forces since they too have been charged with investigating the rise of bandits in the area (Kira’s clan has had several caravans raided by bandits).   Ada is indentured to Kira for the next 7-years, after getting caught trying to steal from the dwarf’s temple.
3. Howell & Balder – Howell (thief) is your typical, run-of-the-mill adventurer.  Balder (fighter) owes Howell a debt of honor after the halfling rescued him from a lynching.  The two have headed to the areas around Hommlet to seek their fortunes.

Arrival in Hommlet

Upon entering Hommlet, Irma & Kira, with Ada in tow, headed to the church (which is dedicated to the Silver Flame; I’ve dumped all the Greyhawk deities).  The church’s prior is completely taken by surprise by Irma’s arrival and is completely tongue-tied – aside from the fact that she’s a paladin of the Silver Flame, she stands 6’4″ tall and is built like a Greek goddess.  The three adventurers arrange to stay at the church’s priory and dinner with the Canon that evening.

The rest of the group headed in to town and directly to the Inn of the Welcome Wench.  There Enzio, Howell, and Balder got themselves rooms (Enzio an actual room, Balder & Howell in the common space beneath the inn’s rafters).  Enzio arranges to perform that evening, and the three sit down to a meal.  They also take the opportunity to talk to the waitress about what’s been going on in the area.

The rest of the group, finding themselves worried about money (and just plain distrust of human lodging given that they are from the Elven lands), opted to see if the village’s elder would extend them some hospitality.  Unfortunately the elder was neither interested nor capable of housing them (his entire extended family lives with him) and so the three end up playing one of the local farmers to sleep in his hay loft.  The visit is not a total loss though, as the elder suggests the group meet Burne & Rufus, the Duke’s agents who are building a keep here in Hommlet.

GM Commentary

This session consisted almost entirely of free roleplay – the group made some of initial contacts with the more important residents in the village and found some place to stay, at least for the time being.  I was pretty pleased at how well most of them jumped in to character – while there wasn’t anything “deep” going on, Enzio has a faux-Italian accent, Irma is heroic but somewhat authoritarian, and Howell is just along to make a fortune and perhaps a name for himself.

Next session my goal is to introduce a few more of the villages residents before moving the group to the moathouse.  I don’t want the group to bog down too much talking to everyone in the village in one go since I’d rather have them build a relationship with the residents over time rather than overwhelming them with dozens of characters in one go.

* With 9 players, all 18 & under, we need some table rules to keep things manageable.  These include rewards for “staying in character”, a 30-second “it’s your turn” rule where they have 30 seconds to respond when it’s their turn during a combat before they’re skipped this round (critical b/c I need something to keep them focused on what’s going on so that battles run smoothly), specific ways in which initiative is handled, and group experience point awards based on constructive team play.  While many of these might seem a little unusual for anyone playing in an adult group, I’ve found that they’re very helpful for teaching roleplaying and encouraging prosocial behavior with large groups of kids like this.