Introduction

September 5, 2006

The setup is that they are a bunch of branded criminals. I was going to gloss over a lot of things and get down to my idea but when I started talking about the setup, the players jumped in with some good ideas of their own. So, I ran with it and we ended up playing the introduction instead of me telling it.

They are in an old jail with problems and so are being transported to another town along with others. They are chained and put into a wagon, the four of them. Then they are left there all day to stew. It was not fun for the characters. The next day, they get a little food and water and then the transport gets going.

That night, the transport is attacked. I think it went well, although I could have been more descriptive, but I think they understood that things were happening all around them and they are stuck in the wagon. They weren't idle, though. Two of them managed to get loose, but not out of the chain manacles. Then they freed the others and started working on the manacles. A guard approaches their wagon with the obvious intent to kill them. A spell by one of the characters manages to change his attitude enough such that he doesn't care anymore and leaves, tossing the keys near the wagon.

They break out of the wagon, grab the keys and retreat back into the wagon to unlock themselves. Then they leave, going to free the other prisoners. Two of the other three wagons are conflagrations, beyond help. As they approach the third, horsemen appear and offer their hands, saying to leave the others. They don't want to so the horseman says to open the door, toss in the keys and then get out of there. They agree to it and ride.

It is a hard ride through the night. It isn't until they stop that the men introduce themselves. They ride the next night as well, then a quick rest before finishing the next afternoon. The group has arrived in the small town of Hightown, rescued by the leader's guards. They recognize some of the guards they had on the caravan and even a fellow prisoner or two among the leader's men.

(GM Note: That is what I intended merely to explain but we ended up playing it instead.)

The leader introduces himself as Byron Brandyl. He rescued them because he wants vengeance. His family was in Tilverton when it was destroyed and he wants to know who did it and why. All he has is rumors. So, he rescued them because he thinks they were his best bet for his plans. He is going to offer them a safe haven and what supplies he can as they ready themselves to go to Tilverton and find out what happened. They accept the offer after thinking about it over night.

They then get some training. I decided to give them all of the basic skills they need for survival, which in Alternity covers a fair amount. They also got to improve some other skills and each got a skill that fit their character. All in all, it worked out well.

Notes

• One of the few bad things of Alternity is how many skills there are. If a player had to pay for all of the ones that should go up based on need or usage, they wouldn't ever get good at anything. So, with this campaign, I am trying something. I will give them free ranks in certain skills. Mainly survival and outdoor type skills that are needed but are tough to buy as a player. This will allow them to spend their earned points on whatever they want to improve their skills.