Character Challenge 2026 - Catching Up - Willy Pete and his Merry Band

If I mean to catch up and create 31 characters for January, I need to start doing 3 or more characters at a time. Here we go. 

Let's start with the overt commercial: 

I use Necrotic Gnome's Old-School Essentials, but picked up the boxed sets from a Kickstarter. You can approximate this with two titles: The Referee's Tome and The Player's Tome. Or you could taste test it with the Basic Rules. These are free.

When I create characters for myself, I love to create backstories for them. The odder the better. 

Meet Sergeant William Peterson, U.S. Army. He was drafted back in '71 and served in Vietnam, quickly becoming a sergeant. With a name like William Peterson, the jokes flew like crazy. At mailcall, soldiers would "mail" him anything labeled "White Phosphorus": grenades, canisters, box lids, etc. 

Good times. 

After the war, he married his high school sweetheart and started a family. Jenna and William had a daughter named Jane. William became a chemist at a local factory. He kept close ties with his Army buddies. 

In the late 70's, there were strange happenings at the local Army base. All kinds of weird shit was happening there. Lights in the sky, strangely dressed people, creatures no one had ever seen before. Before anything was resolved, the base closed up, and William's former unit was moved clear across the country. 

The former base was supposed to be converted into a public park, but the funding stalled. It was too far from the town. Besides a few picnic tables, a playground, and a lonely OV-01 display, the park was never completed. Jane, Jenna, and William pressed the local government to continue the project, but it was an uphill battle. For the most part, only the Petersons visited the place for weekend picnics as the base slowly decayed.

One rain-soaked morning on their weekend outing, the Petersons disappeared. Again, strange lights in the sky were reported, but like the park, nothing ever came of the investigation. The family simply vanished. 

William and his family awoke on the Isle of Dread, near location 10. The Phanton Settlement. Using his knowledge of jungle environments, William carved out an encampment for his family and hid the family car. They quickly discovered the Phantons and made friends with them. They have a mutual support pact with the little creatures. They have loose contact with the other natives of the island. 

They tried to find a way home, but as time passed, they adopted the ways of the people of the island. William is a Magic User/Fighter. Jemma is a Cleric/Fighter, and Jane has chosen the middle ground, becoming a Druid. 

William Peterson Fouth Level Fighter and Fourth Level Magic User 

Strength: 12
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 13
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 7
Charisma: 12

Hit Points: 39
Armor Class: 9 He doesn't like to wear armor

GP: 117  SP: 0  CP: 0 EP: 0   PP: 0 Gems: None  

Spells: Various fire-related spells
Languages: Common

Equipment: 

Axe
Dagger
Crossbow

Alice Pack: 
2 canteens,
7 Days of Rations
Bedroll
Change of Clothes
Shoulder Bag
Map

The Peterson Compound
Sans Trees

Jane Peterson Fourth Level Fighter, Fifth Level Cleric

Strength: 14
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 10
Dexterity: 13
Constitution: 14
Charisma: 16

Hit Points: 49
Armor Class:  6 Leather Armor and Shield

GP: 117  SP: 0  CP: 0 EP: 0   PP: 0 Gems: None  

Spells: Healing spells mostly. 
Languages: Common

Equipment: 

Hammer
Dagger
Crossbow

Alice Pack: 
2 canteens,
7 Days of Rations
Bedroll
Change of Clothes
Shoulder Bag
Map

Jane Peterson Third Level Druid

Strength: 14
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 10
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 16
Charisma: 10

Hit Points: 20
Armor Class:  6 Leather Armor and Shield

GP: 117  SP: 0  CP: 0 EP: 0   PP: 0 Gems: None  

Spells: Druidic spells
Languages: Common, Phanton

Equipment: 

Dagger
Spear

Backpack:
6 Torches
Tinderbox 
2 Waterskins
2 Sacks
7 Days of Rations
Bedroll
Change of Clothes

The Petersons don't have magic items, but William has surrounded their treehouse with working mortars and tripwire flares to defend against dinosaurs. He can make excellent fire-starting tools like firebows and tinderboxes. Jane and Jenna know modern first aid and CPR. The villagers tend to avoid the "weird ones" but will bring the injured and sick to the family for assistance. The Phantons are on very good terms with the Petersons. 

Being a chemist, William has a cave to the west (2 hexes or 12 miles away) stocked with dangerous chemicals and a makeshift lab. Of course, some of this is Willy Pete. He does keep small amounts of materials closer to home, but since the house is wooden, he doesn't like to keep a lot around. 

Character Challenge 2026 - 10 Days Late - Nodonn, Human, Fighter, 4th level

 I've always meant to do the #CharacterChalllenge. And I always miss it. For 2026, I am going to try to catch up with two posts a day. 

Let's start with the overt commercial: 

I use Necrotic Gnome's Old-School Essentials, but picked up the boxed sets from a Kickstarter. You can approximate this with two titles: The Referee's Tome and The Player's Tome. Or you could taste test it with the Basic Rules. These are free.

As before, I stole Nodonn from a book. Nodonn Battlemaster is a lord from the book The Nonborn King, a part of the Many-Coloured Land Series. He is an alien, but I cast him as a human. His people, the Tanu, are the prototype for Elves. The link above goes to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Nodonn Human Fourth Level Fighter 

Strength: 15
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 13
Dexterity: 13
Constitution: 13
Charisma: 10

Hit Points: 33
Armor Class: 3 Ghosty Platemail (+1)

GP: 12  SP: 0  CP: 0 EP: 0   PP: 20 Gems: None  

Spells: None 
Languages: Common

Equipment: 

The Ghosty Armor (Plate)
Two-Handed Sword
Dagger
Bow and 24 Arrows

Backpack:
6 Torches
Tinderbox 
2 Waterskins
2 Sacks
7 Days of Rations
Bedroll
Change of Clothes
Shoulder Bag

Aside from the Ghosty Armor, the other special thing about Nodonn is that he is a human with elf-like features. 

Ah, Ghosty equipment is diabolical. 

I'll do a full write-up later, but the basics are: it is hard to perceive. It bothers people. It imparts bonuses because people can't see it. 

This is not magical armor, but high-tech armor. When I run X2, Castle Amber, I will see how well it works out. I have a couple of plans to make it work, plus a few fallbacks because I don't want a passive item to cause too many saving throws. 

We will see. 

Character Challenge 2026 - 10 Days Late - Ana Khouri, Post Human, Fighter, 4th level

I've always meant to do the #CharacterChalllenge. And I always miss it. For 2026, I am going to try to catch up with two posts a day. 

Let's start with the overt commercial: 

I use Necrotic Gnome's Old-School Essentials but picked up the boxed sets from a Kickstarter. You can approximate this with two titles: The Referee's Tome and The Player's Tome. 

Next topic: My campaign world is post-apocalyptic, so Ana Khouri is stolen from a series of science fiction novels, Revelation Space. This is a link to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Ana Khouri has travelled to the stars before returning home to Earth. She is thousands of years old, thanks to high-tech rejuvenation nanites and time dilation. She has been many things: spacer, soldier, mother, and assassin. 

Ana Khouri Fourth Level Fighter  

Strength: 15
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 11
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 8
Charisma: 12

Hit Points: 32
Armor Class: 4 Elven Chain  

GP: 34  SP: 0  CP: 0 EP: 0   PP: 0 Gems: None  

Spells: None 
Languages: Common, Elvish, Halfling  

Equipment: 

Elven Chain Armor
The Ghosty Sword (+1)
Dagger
Bow and 24 Arrows

Backpack:
Lantern
4 flasks of oil
Tinderbox 
2 Waterskins
2 Sacks
7 Days of Rations 
1 Flask of Brandy
Bedroll

Special Abilities: Infravision, Starlight Vision, Max Hit Points per level, effectively immortal.

The "character sheet" above is adapted from the ones that appear in BSOLO - Ghost of Lion Castle. 

Since she is a post-human, I wanted to give her some special abilities without making them overpowered. She receives max hit points per level due to her nanites, despite having a low Constitution. Ana receives no bonus hit points for her stats and has lost the hit points she had in her various past lives. 

The nanites also make her immune to the spells Slow and Haste, for better or worse. Her vision is incredible. She can see in the dark like a starlight scope or use infravision. It takes a round to switch. She might be momentarily blinded by a sudden change in light levels, but she is quick to adapt. 

As mentioned in a prior post, Ana probably started with 18 in every stat, but these are slowly falling, leaving her pretty average. She is not subject to aging in the normal sense. Ana is effectively immortal unless killed by something. Ana was once an Assassin, but that was so long ago that she has forgotten all of those skills. Besides, that was another world or two ago. She doesn't have access to those types of high-tech weapons anymore.

Ana Khouri does have one high-tech weapon: The Ghosty Sword. It is a +1 Vorpal long sword. It has one other trait: it is hard to look at or focus on, improving the wielder's AC by 1. I will post more about Ghosty equipment because several of these new characters have them. 

Ana Khouri's daughter and several husbands are presumably alive, someplace out there, just not on Earth. She hopes to see them again someday, but doesn't have the means to search the galaxy for them. As you can imagine, this fact has created several weird conversations with the normal people of Earth. She only brings it up when speaking to true friends, and rarely at that. This topic of conversation gives her a headache. 

Out of Order in the Court!

I keep mentioning how I want to run X2 - Castle Amber as a solo adventure because the characters in my last solo adventure lost all of their gold and equipment. This state disallowed X2 - Isle of Dread. No cash for a ship. This also creates a couple of side issues. 

First, the Bills are in the playoffs. Second, the party is too small. Third, I have a bunch of laser crafts to finish. And suppose that someone should do the dishes and laundry. 

Ok. Laundry and Dishes are done. 

I'm back to the main issue at hand. 

I need more characters. So I rolled up a few to reach the 36 levels needed for X2. I'll describe a few of them after the list, because I stole their names from good books. 

Yes, this is turning into an Amazon Ad. 

• Merry the Halfling, Paladin, 4th level
• (Ana) Khouri, Post Human, Fighter, 4th level
• Lance, Human, Fighter, 1st level
• Alexei, Elf, Bard, 2nd level
• Pizzaballa, Elf, Cleric, 2nd level
• Nodonn, Human, Fighter, 4th level

I stole the following names from books: Merry is from The Lord of the Rings, Ana Khouri is from Revelation Space, and Nodonn Battlemaster is from the Many-Colored Land Series. Pizzaballa was stolen from a real person: He is a Cardinal at the Vatican. I find that hilarious. 

Let's start with Merry. In every edition of D&D that I own, Halflings are not allowed to be paladins. In 3.5 and beyond, it is possible. The reason I allow Halfling Paladins is, according to LotR lore, by any imaginable measure, Merry, Pippin, and Sam all became powerful heroes and leaders. Technically, they do not remotely match a D&D Paladin except in name, but I allow it. Here is a link to the books. This is a link to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The next two links are also Amazon ads.  

Nodonn Battlemaster is a lord from the book The Nonborn King, a part of the Many-Coloured Land Series. He is an alien, but I cast him as a human. His people, the Tanu, are the prototype for Elves. 

The last character I stole is the most interesting, in my opinion. My campaign world is post-apocalyptic, so Ana Khouri is stolen from a series of science fiction novels, Revelation Space. She has travelled to the stars before returning home to Earth. She is thousands of years old, thanks to high-tech rejuvenations and time dilation. She has been many things: spacer to soldier, mother, and assassin. 

With that background in place, she should have all kinds of superpowers. I decided against that. She does have some special abilities: She has infravision and vision like a starlight scope. She has machines in her blood that make her immune to two very particular spells: slow and haste. This is because she has been engineered for long life. She also receives the maximum number of HP per level. 

Mechanically, she started life having 18s in every stat, but as she ages and becomes more removed from the high-tech society that did this to her, all of her stats are falling. She appears typical for a human fighter of this epoch. Her highest stat is a 17 in Dex. She is agile like a dancer, but not inhumanly so. 

Having described these new characters, I can list off the remaining characters from my B2 sessions: 

• Solvo, Elf, 3rd level
• Thomas, Cleric, 3rd level
• Jude (aka Punch), Knight, 2nd level
• Rety, Thief, 3rd level
• Dorian, Cleric, 3rd level
• Sybil, MU, 4th level
• Belaphon (aka Bel), MU, 3rd level

In reading over the module, there are no particular items the player characters need. I have decided that the party has 6 healing potions. The old party will keep all of the items they used to have, but have accidentally misplaced the Eyes of the Eagle. They lost those, like I do with my glasses, 3 times a day. 

The new party members will have magical main weapons, but they lack other magic items. Two of them have an elven chain, which is AC 4 due to the craftsmanship, not magic.  

The only magic item I had my eye on was a Staff of Healing. But it felt unnecessary as the party has 3 clerics and a paladin, plus those 6 healing potions. Castle Amber has a lot of nooks and crannies to hide in for healing. A magical healing device is pointless. 

The next challenge will come soon enough. I need to plan a dinner for 13 people at Chateau d' Amberville. I shall consult with my family. 

One of the issues with this meal plan is how time-consuming it is. Each and every character is being offered 10 items, for a grand total of 130 choices, and 36 of them don't mean anything. It's like going to Panera Bread on Hangover Day. The line is long and grumpy. I need to find a way to streamline this. What I had in mind doesn't seem very good. I will get back to you once I finish this deadly meal plan. 

Returning to the Party

I used the OSE rule set for my last solo campaign run. You can get a copy from DriveThruRPG. This is the super bundle; you can actually pick and choose from various titles rather than purchase the whole bundle.  

I plan on taking the party to the Isle of Dread; however, I need to reboot the group. 

In the last session for the Keep on the Borderlands, the party lost several characters: Lefty and Slammer, Celia, and Dorin, plus several other unnamed NPCs. Additionally, some of the characters have changed wildly. 

Punch now uses his real name, Jude, and has become dedicated to the priests at the Keep. I imagine this is a tiny religious group based in the kingdom to the west of the Keep. Jude is now adventuring to become a fine and proper knight, with lordly guidance. In this case, he is seeking a religiously minded lord. While this might sound more like a Paladin's quest, it makes sense in the context of how he became a Knight in the wilderness.  

Sybil took an evil, murderous turn. She has returned west with the party to seek out her family and get herself back. Rety has joined her. Sybil's father is a magic user and adventurer, and her mother is a ranger. The two women hope to find some solace from the wise and experienced parental units. Rety isn't traveling with Sybil for support, but for self-healing. At the family home, Rety spends her days on a small boat on the family pond, trying to find some way to pick up her life after the disaster in the Caves of Chaos. She lost many friends and blames herself. 

The rest of the party: Dorian, Thomas, Belaphon, and Solvo took the same path as Sybil, Jude, and Rety. The tables have turned, and they now follow Simon the Drover and his two daughters. They have been making ends meet by performing guard duties for various shipments and caravans, but the work is very boring. 

On the positive side, Hender and Sonny have tagged along, and the party is vaguely amused by Sonny's attempt at a relationship with one of the drover girls. He has no idea what he is doing, which pleases Bela and Liz to no end. They haven't had this much positive attention before. Simon is less enthusiastic about Sonny's misadventures with his daughters, but remains aloof. It's a lot like watching a puppy learn how to socialize. Or house broken. Or something like that. 

The first issue I have in setting up X1 - Isle of Dread is that the party has no ship. They also have very few funds. In fact, Simon, Bela, and Liz are the only people with any significant funds, as Rety was paying them a lot. The adventuring party could sell of some of their goods to make up the funds and supplies they lost. Rety did leave several thousand gold back at the Keep, but that leaves them dozens of thousands short to purchase a ship. 

I am tinkering with OSR Solo to brainstorm ideas. There is a lot of meta going on here, as I run down things that seem reasonable, but after reflection are somewhat unworkable. I'll let you know how that goes. 

One choice that I have solidified is that Hender, Sonny, Liz, Bela, and Simon will be on that ship, but as NPCs that won't adventure much. That leaves the core group of Jude, Dorian, Thomas, Belaphon, Solvo, and Sybil. They will need new friends to adventure with. These new adventurers will not be the remnants of the NPC party they met in the Caves of Chaos. They are done as adventurers and have set up shop in the Keep. Maybe they will come back someday. 

I really haven't been using figures for this project, but I have to tell you, a collection of plastic dinosaurs sounds great right about now. Here is a link to a good-sized set on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

I hope you join me for this new adventure coming in December or, more likely, January 2026. 

Let the Fall Begin

A couple of days ago, I cracked the joke that the hours of daylight in Western New York are less than the runtime of the three extended editions of The Lord of the Rings. It feels true. 

This is also the time of year when I struggle to get people to play games with me. I am gearing up for two pre-holiday trips, one personal and one business trip. The Bills are on, hockey is on, and the holidays are rushing at us. I can get people over here, but there are too many distractions to play games. This is the season of friends and family, sports and food.

As of late, I am doing a solo run through of Keep on the Borderlands. I am on session 10, and I don't plan on running past session 12. I would like to complete this in the next week or two and move on to painting figures. You can see that I have the figures I need in session 10. 

Since I want to end the year painting, I would like to play some more Battletech. I also have a game called A Billion Suns that I'd like to play. 

Once the Keep sessions are complete, I want to kick into planning posts for next year. To that end, I'm sharing the last couple of modules and books I've purchased. 

OSR Solo: Since I have been playing solo, this book is instrumental for solo play. I am pretty good at improvising, but this throws some curves into gameplay. 

B2 The Keep on the Borderlands (Basic): Levels 1 to 3. Made for B/X, but I have also played it with AD&D. AD&D causes issues, which I will talk about at the end of this series of posts. Click this link to read the sessions. 

L1 The Secret of Bone Hill (1e): Levels 2 to 4, for AD&D. True fact, when I was in sixth grade, my school had a collection of D&D books in the library, and this was the only module they had. We had a D&D club and played it twice. 

X1 The Isle of Dread (Basic): Levels 3 to 7 for B/X. Assuming anyone survives the Caves of Chaos, this will be my next solo play-through. 

B1-9 In Search of Adventure (Basic): Levels 1 to 3, for B/X. I have never played this set of modules. Maybe I can gather a gang of humans to run through all 9 adventures in 2026. 

S2 White Plume Mountain (1e): Level 5 to 10 for AD&D. I have never successfully completed this module, either as a player or a DM. It's deadly, and I can't believe it's meant for 5+ level characters. It has 3 of the most iconic AD&D weapons in the lore. I want my characters to get those. 

G1-3 Against the Giants (1e): Levels 8 to 12, for AD&D. Again, this is a modole of I have never completed. It is pretty deadly for the party. 

Old-School Essentials Adventure Anthology 1: This is a great series of adventures, ranging from levels 1 to 9. It was written for my new favorite set, OSE. 

Fiend Folio (1e): This one is not a module, but an old AD&D companion book to the Monster Manual. Since I received this book fourth, I never actually obtained Monster Manual II. I might pick up Monster Manual II.  

Do Not Let Us Die In The Dark Night Of This Cold Winter: This is a standalone game that can plug into D&D. I have played through a couple of times and really enjoy it. I would like to see if I can do a play-through with friends again before the end of the year, but it is really the opposite of the holiday season. We'll see if anyone feels like it. 

I also have this cool D&D product I'd like to review. 

I have a few other non-blog projects planned, like a mini-staycation at the beginning of December. I will be doing a cleanup and decluttering of the house and garage. I also need to do some work in the basement. That might come up on Tog Side Channels. 

Review - The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Tradition

Title: The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Tradition
Publisher: The Other Side Publishing
Author: Timothy S. Brannan
Year: 2019
Pages: 65 pages
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

UPDATE - It is getting a little cool outside, so let's refresh a cool product review. This was originally posted Saturday, April 17, 2021. When I originally wrote this, I don't think there was a POD option. 

This book is designed for Labyrinth Lord as part of the Back to Basic series. Originally, it started as a joke on everything Pumpkin spice-themed. It roughly follows the form of the other books in the series, except for some level limits for non-human characters. 

This is my favorite of the series. While not entirely tongue-in-cheek, it's a fun read. It comes across as the film A Knight's Tale. Popular culture is mixed up and presented in a timeless way. The idea of harvest, fall, and Halloween is in this product's DNA, but in a way that would not detract from a series of Dungeons and Dragons experiences. Yes, there are jokey bits, but they are well thought out, so they don't break the theme of D&D. If you like Angel or Buffy, these details will be right up your alley. 

This particular set calls out Labyrinth Lord, but readers will find that it is a nice addition to any basic era game, such as BlueHolme or the Red box set. (Personally, I use BX or OSE, but that is your whole chocolate vs. strawberry argument) With a little adaptation, this book could be plugged into a great many rule sets like AD&D. The author specifically mentions a desire for this title to be cross-compatible, but also noted they didn't make that the focus of this work. I suspect that Mr. Brannan wanted this book to cover a far wider range of game systems than I am familiar with using. Even if it doesn't go there, it's still a rock-solid offering. 

Usually, when I do a review, I mention the artwork. This product is loaded with art. I didn't count, but it seems like every other page or every third has something. In this book, most of the artwork is a quarter page and inline with the text, rather than being placed in the centerline like 3.5 books. Again, like the subject matter in the book, the artwork has a gothic summer-turned-autumn feel. 

Somehow, this version of the witch character class feels old, but not too old. It invokes a pleasant feeling of Deja Vu of my college days, when game night also featured a movie or TV before or after. That feeling of people just out to get together and have fun. 

Reviewer's note: The date is taken from the forward; this could be the most recent update rather than the original publication date. If that is the case, my apologies, but then that also means the author is providing an excellent experience by routinely updating his works. 

Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Begins game

I don't know why I like the easy entry tests for games. Today I found the Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Begins game on my shelf. Yeah, there is a lot on my shelf that I lose large games in full boxes from time to time. 

Adventure Begins takes the players on an adventure in the lands of Neverwinter.

It might be the tangibles that come with these sets that get me. The set includes:

• 4 mini-figures,
• 4 Boss tiles,
• 4 20-sided dice,
• 10-sided Dungeon Master die,
• damage clip,
• 4 health trackers,
• plastic deck holder,
• 20 character tiles,
• 4 dungeon boards,
• 24 gold,
• 4 adventure decks,
• item deck,
• 4 reference cards,
• 8 backpack cards,
• 12 gatekeeper cards,
• And the rules booklet.

This strikes me as being similar to the Invasion of Theed put out by WotC for Star Wars years ago. I will probably do a review in the next week or two. 

This was posted in 2020 with a link to a retailer. I removed the link and accidentally disabled the post at some point. I like this game and will be doing a review soon, so I restored it. 

Let Me Off, This Is My Stop

I have a lot of hobbying going on, so the blog will go off the rails for a while. I haven't felt like doing reviews or a post series lately. I have a stack of games ready to go, and I'll be spending time enjoying them. For example, I have X-Wing and the new Marvel game collecting dust. I don't want them to end up next to the Myst RPG, Unwritten, I always meant to play. 

Speaking of Myst, this blog started as a Myst fan site, and it changed into something better because I started writing about other stuff I also enjoy. I don't plan to go too far afield on the blog. If you like oddball stuff, please follow me on MeWe. I post about music, gardening, and giant rabbits in addition to games. 

Tonight's topic is obviously about railroading players in RPGs. Typically, I post about D&D, but refusing to railroad players is good form for all RPGs. 

I think that railroading comes from a couple of places:

A. The DM provides a setting for players to engage in storytelling. Having created that setting, the DM wants to tell their story. Sometimes it's hard to break the setting from a story, and painful for the author to let their setting free to have different stories. Obviously, this comes from all the time the DM invested in creating it. But there is a difference between setting and story. 

B. The next reason is shock and awe. EVERY player on the planet can flabbergast the DM with a wild and unique set of choices that defy all coping because it is so correct for the scenario. Get used to it. Even the best improvisationalist will get caught out by a wily player who says something smart and correct. 

3. Sometimes, railroading is good, but it is rarely "this time". In this scenario, the players and their characters choose a path, do or die. As a DM, this is the time to railroad. The scenario becomes a one-trick pony show. The players laid out the parameters, you have to perform. Make sure you have all of your ducks and dice in a row and let them have it. 

Part D. There are many ways to "win" and the players always decide what winning is to them. Sometimes it is simple survival, and other times it is obtaining something they want. The DM picked the presentation events; they don't get to pick what is viewed as valuable to the players or characters. The players may value defeating the dragon more than taking the treasure. 

Now that I have spelled out why railroading happens, here are 4 options to avoid it. 

1. and 2. If the players don't like your setting and scenario, or come up with something else, let the characters out. The easiest way to snap the players out of a specific set of circumstances is to forget the players and listen to the characters' voices. This is an important distinction. The characters are the participants in your setting, not the players. If the players say, "Aw, not pirates again," forget it. If the character says, "I'm never getting on a ship again," run with it. What the player says is an observation; what the character says is an instruction. 

The opposite of pirates is a dungeon. Don't try, just do it. Again, without railroading. Let the party explore other options. 

The obvious problem with a change, or when you get caught flatfooted, is what happens to the original story you set out for the players?

Personally, I like the slow fade. You don't need to express how surprised you are by the change. "Stay cool, man." The story happens without the players. Make sure they get news about it; it keeps your setting intact without overshadowing the players' activities. In the pirate vs. dungeon example, the players may return to town after slaying the orcs to witness an epic battle in the harbor.  

The outcome of a massive battle in the harbor will have to conform to reasonable expectations, but doesn't need to impact the players except to provide a simple point of interest. Your setting is still there and intact. 

"Yup, that was too dangerous." Let the players be right. This also covers Option C, when you are forced to perform a desirable railroad. Let the players have fun being right. 

You may have to tool up or down to hit the right notes, but it can work. If the characters demand a massive set piece battle, don't be surprised if they outperform you in every way. It is 4 or more brains against just you. You are going to have to tweak things to get it right. You might be shocked to find the 15 giants you threw against the players aren't enough because the two major traps the players overcame at the start of the adventure are now being used against the giants. Just remember, when the characters do things to the giants, they aren't doing anything to you. Celebrate the madness and creativity. 

Part 4 is the easy part. There is no "winning" in an RPG, except for the continuation of the game. Run with that and keep it coming. 

A Non-review of Champions of Krynn

I was told I would love Baldur's Gate. And from what I have heard and read, it is great. However, I need a new hard drive in my laptop before I can play. Me, being me, I got a copy of the SSI Gold box from Steam while I wait for this hard drive to arrive. 

So, here we are: 

This is nothing like Baldur's Gate. But it does bring back memories. The SSI games were the greatest implementation of the AD&D rules as a tactical game. 10 of 10 for that. It is a very strict version of AD&D, but they did it very well. 

I am not reviewing Champions today, even though I played it when it came out. The issue is time compression. I've got all of the Gold Box games jammed in my head. I remember what happened the last time I was in Krynn, and it didn't go well. 

I got my hands on DL-1 Dragons of Despair, and my player didn't get it. By 1988, I had Champions and tried again. The gang still hated it. The reason is that my normal free-form play is very fairytale-like, complete with voice. That is the opposite of Dragonlance. This was amplified by my getting the setting in my head from the SSI game. I was simply confusing them by not understanding what they failed to understand. 

Hmm. I had to do a mashup of Dragonlance, Fritz Lieber, and Dungeonland before my players would even engage with the wonderful world of Krynn. Click that link to read more. 

Anyway, now that I have both the SSI Gold Box games and paper copies of the Dragonlance modules, I want to revisit and review them all. You can check out copies of Dragonlance here on DTRPG. 

One of the failings of Dragonlace is that it came out as both e1 and second edition, which was a nightmare for DMs and players alike. D&D, AD&D e1, AD&D e1 Unearthed Arcane, and AD&D 2nd edition are wildly different beasts, and having a single setting title hit shelves in this period was a rotten deal.  

The Evil Ones

Back in 1980, Dragon magazine presented an Anti-Palidin. These guys were stereotypical black hat NPCs. The logic behind them was a Palidin pledged themselves to a dark god. The problem with the article was it presented a way to generate an Anti-Palidin. The same idea was repeated a year later with the Drow in Fiend Folio, character stats for monsters. 

The message was "These aren't exactly monsters, they are more like characters." 

People are going to generate evil characters for a lot of reasons. Giving them a tool to do so isn't always a great idea, but the genie is out of the bag. Having evil characters in the party is problematic. How can the party hold together if half the party is trying to kill the other half? 

I never exactly had this issue for a couple of reasons. I would allow mixed-alignment characters in the party. That is the players' problem to sort out. I have found that player characters tend to moderate themselves in a party. Somehow, people find an accord: 

"Out of the goodness of my heart, and 1,000 gold pieces, I can heal you."

"For a dirty thief, you keep good friends."  

The alignment system in D&D is wonky. It doesn't really mean anything. Good player characters can do bad things and evil player characters can do good things in the right circumstances. There aren't any consequences for being good... or evil. If you want to switch, there are even rules for changing alignment that in my opinion, suck. They are geared to a particular campaign in the mind of the author of the books. They don't make sense in every setting. 

I DO have a problem with inherently evil races in D&D and it's a problem you'd never expect. 

I do voices for NPCs. This creates memorable characters, monsters, and scenarios. The downside is it also conveys tone and information that might be a mismatch for players expectations:

Kobold: "I am going to cut your boots off and wear your feet like boots!" 

10th level Paladin: "Snicker. Just you? Or both of you?" 

Kobolds: "Shit." 

Obviously, 2 Kobolds mean nothing to a 10th-level party. Against first-level characters, they represent some sort of threat, but not for battle-hardened characters. This is villain decay large writ. It is inevitable.

In some respects, using voices and tone gives my campaigns a fairytale-like vibe. What was once fearsome has become childish. Kobolds, goblins, orcs, etc. all become not threatening no matter how evil they are. Yes, you can give them some punch by cranking up the number appearing, but that has nothing to do with evil. 1,000 rats, yaks, or kobolds are dangerous to anyone. Plus rats and yaks aren't evil regardless of their numbers. 

Once the player characters hit a certain level, things like "evil" become nuanced. One example is my character, Magarven. He is a Drow PC adapted to be an NPC. He is clearly evil, but he's also an excellent dinner companion. He (probably) won't try to kill you. But he is still evil. He is gunned up like crazy, but the thought of killing isn't the first thing on his mind. 

The same thing happens to the thieves' guild that harrassed the characters at a low level. Compared to a world-ending lich, exactly how evil are they in comparison? They represent a different threat that has nothing to do with what kind of evil they are.  

I think there is an impetus to conflate evil with competence or ability. There are a lot of evil things out there that simply can't be enacted because they are not well thought out. Selfish people sabotage themselves all the time. Sure, he is a go-getter, but what the heck is he go-getting? 

Why do I let "the evil races" like kobolds not behave evilly? Why do I let players play them? 

Really it is a combination of the fairytale aspect of my gaming plus I can't really force the players or the monsters to behave a certain way, despite labels. Honor is nuanced, just because someone does something "good" doesn't mean they are out for the betterment of others. 

The Great and Power Sauron once said, "Don't kill the hobbits! Bring them to me." 

Guess what? Orcs, goblins, and every other minion of his didn't try to kill the hobbits too often. Nice of them, isn't it? No. They are all still evil, no matter how much food and drink they provide Frodo and Sam.

Evil to me means someone isn't honoring the social compact and bonds between living creatures, but it doesn't mean blindly doing so. There is also a component of self-delusion, the idea that doing evil becomes normal and the actor honestly believes that it is totally normal to do evil things. They are going to say they aren't evil at every opportunity. That is yet another violation of the social compact, although this one is oddly internalized. Add in the fact that if the villain sucks at their life and you get a bit of comedy or tragedy. 

That is good storytelling without ramming the PC's into drawing your conclusions or messages. One player might find it funny, a second finds it tragic and the third simply wants to throw dice and fists and sees no problem with whatever these villains are doing so long as justice prevails. The DM has offered a situation to be considered without forcing a particular point of view. 

The same goes for good characters. Are Palidins expected to heal downed enemies because that is what they would do to be kind? Maybe, but probably not. The players may or may not think of it or have another response based on the situation. 

Brainless creatures are much easier to play as straight-up evil. Everyone gets that you shouldn't talk to zombies or skeletons. It's all about agency and the undead have none, but your average creature does have agency. 

If there is an Assassin and a Paladin in the party, and one is good and one is evil, what of it? The players have to decide what to do. It makes no difference if I say Half-Orc and Kobold. The players are in control of their actions, just as much as I am in control of the NPCs and monsters. If I decide to do something engaging and the players decide they don't want to fight, then maybe we have Tea with the Black Dragon. 

Which is a classic, BTW. 

I Think Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Taught Me To Play D&D e5

I am having a failure to campaign. I wanted to do a Star Wars campaign, but my potential players spotted the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game on my shelf and dove into a rabbit hole of Super Heroes. I wanted to playtest some ideas for my module POP-001 Reverants of Revenants of the Lost Temple but got sidetracked by prototyping a new RPG. Add in the new laser, the tablesaw, and the 3d printer and I am at a loss for what to do first or now. 

So back to basics. I am going to review the games I have acquired over the last year to 18 months. I just need to pick a good one to start on. 

To get this game design bug out of my head, I want to talk about the Marvel game. 

Marvel... it is inescapable right now. We have a couple of movies and TV shows coming out at the same time that the company is kicking out all kinds of new comic books. That's a mighty big rabbit hole to live in. When my kids and friends saw the Marvel RPG, instead of playing the game we ended up watching 3 movies while digging through a box of comics and perusing the rules. 

Friends, I have wasted a day. 

I'll review the Marvel rules eventually, but I THINK I understand what changed between my D&D of the 1970s and 1980s and e5 thanks to this Marvel ruleset. 

The social purpose changed. As a historian, I like this concept. In history, historical people wanted to focus on the ills of the world, but could not effectively mesh the current massive problem with underlying social issues which were also occurring. It usually results in half measures and more problems. The idea the gaming changed on the social side is neat. 

D&D started as a tactical game; it evolved from wargaming. I have X guys and you have Y guys, let's throw some dice to see what happens. Ok? 

D&D adds special abilities and roleplay to a tabletop game, which changes that random dice dynamic. Individuals become heroes, it is important for them to have a past, present, and future and now we have Player Characters.   

When I think of a classic movie, it will be from the 40s, 50s, or 60s. Many of these were big-budget affairs that depicted massive set-piece battles but also had an undercurrent where a gang of scrappy heroes would be the solution. Or they were low-budget and had to have a gang of oddball heroes to compete with big-budget movie spectaculars. This humanized the story and was a satisfying use of characters. Nobody saw the oddball scrappies coming.  

It doesn't even have to be a war movie. Flight of the Phoenix is a movie about people literally building a plane in flight. Just like war movies, it elevates individual characters to heroes or solution-maker status.

Even though there were far fewer character choices in OD&D, Basic D&D, and e1, not all of the rules were harmonized in the mechanics. Because the mechanics were often unique to the class or monster, it was hard for the DM to determine if a scenario was a real challenge. Add in wily player characters, and really strange things happen. This mirrors the movies of the day. No one saw the ending coming and DMs didn't try to adapt to the players. They just rolled with whatever happened because as long as the players were willing to play, there were always new bad guys and challenges.   

Today, if you ask someone about a "classic movie", the answers are very different. It's Star Wars, Batman, Harry Potter, Kill Bill, The Usual Suspects, etc. 

What is different about these films from older classics? Usually, the viewer has awareness of the heroes from the get-go and the bad guy has the advantage of knowing the heroes just as well as the viewer while the heroes are unaware of their opposites' goals. 

Back in the day, D&D didn't have a Session 0. The DM designed his campaign or story in a vacuum and the players subvert this by building the plane in flight. Session 0 was a vague idea when the DM told the players about the world their characters lived in as they rolled up characters, but it occurred at the same time as Session 1. The players are adapting to the DM's world, without the DM thinking about what the characters were all about. Sure there were minor questions to be answered, but those were usually no big deal: 

"Sure you can be a paladin, an assassin, or a cleric! Any class you like is available."
"Yes, you can have full-plate armor, everyone does. It's all the rage, you are cool."
"You want a pseudo-dragon as a familiar? Awesome!" 

It was almost unseemly for the DM to try to negate a character's abilities by reshaping the previously written materials. Yeah, we have all played those games where clerics can't heal, paladins are evil, or wizards are hampered by widespread anti-magic. Those results are really horrible and DM's usually learn not to do those things. 

An excellent modern movie that depicts this idea is Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The DM created a scenario in a vacuum and has no idea that zero players have thieving characters. The antagonists think they know what is going on, but usually, they are wrong. The PC's subvert expectations, just like classic D&D. The link above is a post all about the idea where the PC's subvert the basic tenets of the scenario. 

It's great! Everything goes sideways for the DM because they have to cope with the fact zero people are conforming to their original idea. The plane is going down. That is ok because everyone is out there working on the wings. 

In Star Wars and in the MCU, the bad guys know exactly who the heroes are. The author/DM is now creating a checklist of tasks that are measured against the known. The prevalence of Session 0 is almost universal. The harmonized mechanics of D&D e5 make it so simple for the DM to swap out specific antagonists or scenarios to counter the heroes in a way that makes sense... at least in terms of what the DM desires. 

I personally don't like this tactic, but I see the appeal. It makes the game more superhero-like or like a video game while avoiding the trope of simply taking away the hero's abilities, tools, and gear. It is almost fair and just barely dodges railroading. Anything is preferable to taking stuff from the players or railroading, but I dislike this option of plug-and-play gaming. But I understand it.  

I think this is where the idea of DM as a storyteller became overpowering and all-consuming. It's like you are playing against the DM, which is not fun. I have always been a storytelling DM. I create a unique world for the players. BUT I am not "storytelling" in a way to prevent or pervert the player's intentions and goals. There is a difference. 

For example, pawnshops are just as common in my world as magic item shops. New players may not have thought they could find such a thing, but I am not making them shop there. They just know. Horses are also common, the players won't have trouble obtaining one but they don't have to do it. I will tell the players if they are in a kingdom or a republic or something else, which changes a lot of the dynamics of society. I will also let them know if there is a town guard, a marketplace, a city hall, a bank, and whatnot and populate them appropriately. This is the storytelling I do for them. It makes them react if they so choose, it doesn't force them to make specific choices or force them to be something.  

I think I understand e5 better now. What do you think? 

Accommodating the Unrequested

I was going to call this post, "When the players change the rules" but it isn't that at the end of the day.  I used to play in a shared world with 3 rotating DMs who also played characters. This is obviously where my love of NPCs came from as when a player stepped into the DM role, their character faded to NPC status. 

One of my co-DMs favored oddball player characters, usually a druid or illusionist but he really liked the idea of an archer. The real class was Fighter or Thief depending on the stat placement, but with a bow and always unarmored. 

And it drove me nuts. 

First, he would sink into the background trying to avoid melee. Then the player would switch to DM mode after the combat and wanted to roll a 1d20 saving throw against a crushing blow for each and every arrow fired. As a DM with a table full of characters, I have better things to do. But I couldn't stop him. He would fixate on it. 

The HAPPY archer

How annoying. 

The problem was hidden and had to do with the archery rules in AD&D. He led the pack of players as archery comes before melee in the rules. From his perspective, he was making a couple of rolls and sitting idle for far too long. Eventually, he'd run out of valid targets and his combat role was nullified. 

To spice things up for him, I addressed the problem with environmental conditions. I encouraged him to carry a ridiculous number of arrows in multiple quivers. A quiver on his back, a quiver on his horse, a pair of quivers on the pack animals, and maybe one or two more on the horses of other players. I didn't want him focused on "preserving arrows" from the start. 

A firing position

The next environmental condition I presented is, that his character would have a variety of firing positions to choose from. As an archer, I figured he'd scout good positions, stuff with either cover or concealment. This was a nod to his lack of armor and cranked up the drama by having enemy missiles strike a fence, or a door, or whatnot. This also meant he could pluck an opponent's arrow out of the barrier and send it back. 

Later, I added special rules to make him feel more engaged. He had a collection of special rules that gave him a choice of pros and cons to choose from in combat. 

While this may seem unbalancing for the rest of the party, like I was making the archer more special, it did not. What it did do is break up the whole "marching order" shenanigans into something more realistic and slightly more badass. 

Ah... Ranks.

Without options, players will often place their characters into a block with the fighters in the front and the squishy characters in the back like a giant military formation. This action made sense when OD&D was a titch away from simulating armies. It doesn't make sense in a small combat action, which is what D&D does now. It also diminishes the role of squishy characters, regulating them to a boring non-combat role, even worse than the example archer character. 

With the archer acting as overwatch, the party would naturally break up into groups, with no one "in the rear", like a real tactical unit. The front is everywhere. The melee types would form up as a small group or two with the archer lending his firepower and sweeping the battlefield. By not having every character visible from the get-go, thieves and assassins were free to blindside attackers. This often created situations where the squish wizard got to engage in front-line action by having one fighting guardian and an archer overwatch. Or placed the squishies under the direct cover of the archer, seen, but unreachable. 

It really envigorated combat. 

It allowed me, the DM, to use more enemies and track them more easily. The party told me what to do with them so I didn't have as much to track. I have a table rule that characters including monsters don't die until -10 hit points, allowing me to reuse unique enemies. And unique characters remember. The players' tactics create my tactics. 

"What are they doing?" asked the party.

"One of them is approaching you. The others are looking around for something." 

"They don't see me?" asked the archer. 

"No, they don't."  

This is all very organic. 

And it adds a nice meta, which is rare and cool. We all know the trope where the players hear the DM's dice rolls, right? Well, with the characters' tactics dictating the flow of combat, this diminishes the cause-and-effect observation of these die rolls. They are never unnoticed but somehow fall into the background. 

A good example of this is skulking characters moving silently or hiding in shadows. I roll the dice, get a result, and make a choice. There is a delay between the roll and the visible action. There is nothing better than a good move silently roll resulting in an opponent turning away from a stalking assassin. 

It also hides the obviousness of morale rolls. The enemy isn't retreating because of a die roll, they are retreating from a superior force. This can eliminate the anticlimactic "we're out of targets" situations by replacing it with "how bad do we want to chase the targets?" 

Personae Dramatis - Flameheart and Jen

I use a set of standard NPCs in all of my campaigns. These folks are bearers, guards, horsemen, and archers. They are the typical NPCs the party will hire and somewhat control. Of all of them, a couple will become henchmen and followers. These are all bog standard until the players decide to ask more of them.  

I am not a fan of arming the party with a Gandalf-style NPC. I don't mind powerful NPCs adventuring with the party, but they should not provide important information and direction for the players. The party is adventuring for its own sake, they need to be Gandalf types, not following one or more of them. 

I am not entirely against offering points of refuge or safety to a party in times of need. However, these people are NOT to travel with the party for long (if at all) or provide extra oomph in a fight on demand. Usually, they have their own fully formed plans and goals which have nothing to do with whatever the party is doing. They offer a respite from an unexpected threat to the party. 

I describe them as Personae Dramatis to set them apart from regular NPCs. They are chance encounters that provide further insight into the setting of the game, without requiring the party to follow them or buy into another plotline. They tell a story outside the one the players are experiencing. And like any good story, it offers the players entertainment, news, and most usefully, a brief respite. Tom Bombadil springs to mind. 

I am not a poet, so I swing for comedy and a bit of false tension. 

In my campaigns, Flameheart and Jen Tanner are two examples of Persona Dramatis. 

Their main traits are right in their names. Jen was a runaway from her father, the town tanner. She disliked being a social pariah at the edge of town. Tanners live at the edge of town because they use ammonia for the tanning process. The main source of social stigma is the use of urine to obtain ammonia. The second source of stigma was the incredible taxes they paid. Urine was double taxed, once in its collection and once again on its sale. This created the impression of stinking, rich tanners and evil tax men. This is the real-world source of both the phrase and the trope of evil tax men.  

Ick. I love it when real life intrudes on my RPGs. 

Flameheart was a ridiculously old red dragon, one who had sunk to eating equally old cows to survive. It was only a matter of time before someone put a lance in his chest. 

Flameheart stumbled upon Jen in her attempt to escape her dull village life. It wasn't long before the Tanner family caught up with the pair. They found the whole village guard not up to the task of rescuing Jen, who very much didn't want to be rescued. 

I will save the full story for another time. Here is how I use these Personae. 

When I present Jen and Flameheart, they are encamped near the party, causing a ruckus they are unaware of. The presence of a dragon is often a reasonable explanation for a pause in the character's adventures. 

Think of Jen and Flameheart as a mobile fortress or safe area, no matter how the reactions go. If the party goes into hiding from them, so will anyone following the party until the dragon leaves. If Jen convinces the party to stay for a time, no one will approach the party. 

In general, I don't have much cause to stat up Jen. She sometimes has a potential boyfriend in tow depending on how I feel. He also doesn't get stats, unless I decide to have him join the party. Usually, the boyfriend is very pretty and less than helpful to Jen and Flameheart and might be better off in the party.  

I have given Flameheart the following stats: 

AC: 1, HD 8 (46 hp), Att: [ 2x claw (1d6), 1x bite (4d8)], or breath weapon (special). THAC0: 12 (+7), MV: 90' (30') / 240' (80') flying, SV D8, W9, P10 B10, S12 (8), ML: special, AL: Chaotic, XP: 2000, NA unique, TT: H. 

Flameheart has the following spells:  

Level 1: Charm, Light, Sleep.
Level 2: Detect Invisibility, Invisibility, Phantasmal Force.
Level 3: Dispel Magic, Fly, Waterbreathing

Flameheart shared his horde with Jen and she always carries the following when stat'ed up: 2 Bags of Holding, Bracers of Armor (AC: 4), and Boots of Levitation.  

As mentioned before, Flameheart is extremely old. To the point of weakened health. This is reflected in his HD, attacks, hit points, and saves. He will not retreat if Jen is threatened, hence his special morale.  

He has two different breath weapons due to his age. He has difficulty breathing fire. He can breathe fire on a save vs. breath weapon. On failure of this save or when he desires it, he will emit a massive jet of obscuring smoke instead of fire. It lasts 3 rounds. This may sound like a joke, it isn't. 

While the smoke does no damage, it is a very dangerous situation. He is smart enough to follow it up with one or more spells to cause chaos. He is savvy about his limitations and can turn them into true threats. He will use his spells creatively in conjunction with his smoke to terrorize victims. He may turn invisible, charm a victim, or use Phantasmal Force in the next round. 

He has a 35% chance of being asleep when discovered. Jen mitigates the danger as she sleeps as much as a typical 22-year-old woman. Jen is smart and disarming, allowing the dragon to wake or appear unexpectedly on opponents.

From a DM's perspective, Flameheart and Jen represent a minor threat and a dangerous refuge from larger threats the party might face. If the party presents itself as needy, Jen may attempt to assist them more than providing a safe haven. Due to Jen's exposure to the tanning profession, she is very money-conscious and savvy about exploitation. 

They are always chaotic, but not necessarily evil. 

Going Off the Rails - Part Six

It's been a while since I wrote about games that went off the rails, but here is another entry. I had a basic scenario where a small town needed an army to defend against a threat. To the west, there was an army fighting but would not directly support the town or kingdom they were in because the true heir to that kingdom had been usurped. Proof of heirhood was rather simple; it was possession of a particular magic sword. The town leaders located the sword and sent the party to go get it. 

The party should have obtained the sword easily. The trouble would come when they returned it and people started making claims to it. The characters would become the protectors of the sword and ultimately kingmakers. 

Of course, this was all contingent on the party, you know, actually doing the deed. And being a typical party, they did not do the need. They fought it hard, and in a moment of weakness, I resorted to railroading. 

The gist of the situation was that the party got lost because they didn't follow the road to the town where the sword was. Lost, they saw the proper town in the distance but believed it was a different town. Somehow, they also missed finding a road to both towns by just a few hundred feet. 

Goddamn it. 

The party set up camp for the third night in a row, just out of sight of the road. I decided to throw a double whammy at them. First, I threw a storm down on them to force them out of the streambed and towards the road. That didn't work, the party made a series of herculean efforts to secure their campsite. 

The second whammy was a group of bears. Lots of them. Somehow, the party won surprise over the bears, in the dark, in a storm, and fled to the road. 

Finally, Victory! 

No.  

One of the characters cast Speak with Animals, rolled a very positive reaction and struck up a conversation with the bears instead of fighting them. Rule One of RPGs should be "Random and Railroading are immiscible." 

Here is how the conversation went. The bears were attracted by the party's pitiful fire, they wanted it. There was a negotiation for "the fire starter". The party was confused but agreed thinking they were giving the bears a bit of flint and steel. 

The bears wanted and took the person who made the fire, "The Firestarter*" was taken back to their cave. The whole party follows and piles into the bear cave all warm and cosy and lets me stew with a bunch of failed plans. 

Sometimes, you have to throw in the towel and decide what you are doing is simply not viable. I made a snap decision to let the bears join their mission and go directly to the Army to plead their case for the town. On the way they obtained horses. It was an impressive display of power, a party of mounted magic using characters guarded by bears. 

In retrospect, this was way more impressive than a sword, even a magical one.  

The party still got to become kingmakers even though the general of the army obtained the sword. Since the sword was far less impressive than a band of bear-clan warriors, it didn't help him much. He remained the general of the army, but the army wanted the support of the Bear-Clan* alongside the general. And if the Bear-Clan* said go save the town, then dammit, that was what the army was going to do. 

This occurs a lot in history, where an army follows a general but the general follows the will of the average soldier. It is weird, but true to life. Great generals don't railroad the troops. 

*Notice that "fire starter" and "bear" suddenly got capitals. This isn't a typo. I tried to make the new capitalization of the words audible and largely it worked on this party.