Running a Pandlechron Campaign (Pandlechron)
Running a Pandlechron Campaign[edit]
Levels[edit]
Unlike a standard D&D setting, NPCs will usually be at least level 3. Level 1 is considered to be like an apprentice, level 2 is like an assistant, and level 3 is where a profession starts.
- Most new farmers are Commoner 3
- Most new town guards are Warrior 3
- Farmers who have worked for a few years would be Commoner 4
- Soldiers in the army who have trained for a year are likely to be Warrior 4
- Soldiers in the army who have trained for several years are likely to be Warrior 5
This allows Pandlechron to have a better fantasy feel. Elf soldiers, for example, whom have been training for decades, will be much higher level than Human soldiers who have trained for a year. Elf soldiers may be level 10, which reflects their years of training and perfection.
Players should usually start at level 3 in this setting, but it can be interesting to let them start at level 1 and learn from a master.
Hardship[edit]
Pandlechron has a strong theme of hardship. Journeys should be long, battles should usually be losing ones, and chance of survival should be low.
When designing an adventure in the Pandlechron setting, it is important to think about the players' resources and how to wear them away. By the end of a typical day combat heavy day, the party should be needing to recuperate very badly.
Most journeys should lead through difficult terrain. Rangers are invaluable in the Pandlechron setting as journeys will be long. Travel-based adventures should be very stringent on food, water, and weight. These are the resources that will deplete quickly. Natural hazards should be used frequently and combat sparingly. Quicksand can cause the players to drop their packs to get out, which makes them lose their resources. Underwater passages in caverns render torches ineffective; this problem is especially true when the caverns contain Drainrock. Not every adventure should make pack animals useless, but challenges should await those that bring them along.
Wars follow the ideas presented in Heroes of Battle. Since the average soldier is level 5 at least, wizards are still dangerous on the battlefield, but don't wipe out 20 soldiers per fireball. The heroes should be a special task force or involved with handling special threats. Occasionally, however, many waves of weak enemies will help wear down the heroes.
A player in the Pandlechron setting should be ready to make a new character. DMs should make sure to make the difficulty of each adventure very high (but not too high that the group loses all their characters).
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