Flies in the City of Spiders
Flies in the City of Spiders is an upcoming campaign for Paragon tier characters using the 4e rules of Dungeons and Dragons.
The Campaign is set in Menzoberranazan, also known as the City of Spiders. The city happens to be in the Upperdark portion of the Underdark. It is one of the most widely known and popular Drow capitals.
There will be many special rules for character creation. In order to maintain the proper feel for a game set in Menzoberranazan, a lot of new races need to be opened up. See the Races page for more information. There will also be Roles or jobs to expand the character’s abilities out of combat and more firmly ground them in the city.
This is a much darker game than most players will be familiar with. Drow are not known for their altruism on an individual basis. An entire city ruled by Drow is the very embodiment of the saying “life isn’t fair.” Keep this in mind when considering whether or not to join this game. Any signs of weakness will absolutely be exploited. There are still great rewards to be had, all one needs to do is reach out and take them.
Once you have digested information from the above sources, head over to the Character Creation page to get started.
Flies in the City of Spiders Comments
Hey guys, I am going to have to bail for the foreseeable future. I have taken on some new responsibilities that simply do not leave me time to play in a regular game. I have enjoyed gaming with you and will miss our games. My circumstances may change in the future, but for now, I have to hang up my dice.
Good Gaming
Craw
Any word on new members? I also assume we’re still on for thursday
Hey all. My voice is toast. I’ll be on but likely wont do a lot of speaking. You’re all crushed, I know.
I’ll be running a bit late as well. We are still short on players and I have been short on prep time. Let’s use tonight as a short session to explore characters and game direction.
Work has been exceptionally busy and my computer there has been completely down all week. I bave not been able to squeeze any of my extra game prep time in.
Let’s shoot for ~30min late start today, possibly a bit later.
I have parent-teacher meetings tonight, but I should be home right before normal game start. So, I am available, but may be a few minutes late. I’m guessing we are still short the requisite number of players.
The unfortunate nature of summer gaming. Next week I will gnaw my liver in jealousy over those at GenCon. After that, I am ready to go in my campaign.
Ok, it looks like the game will be off for tonight. Tamela, Mirko and I are busy with work until later than game start and we are missing CJ.
I would like to do some lite RP to finish up some of the plot, or explore other things, but I do not know if I will be able to get free soon enough. The earliest I could expect to do that would be around 9:30pm EST.
I’m in for Wed 7/27.
Yeah I’m totally not making tomorrow afterall. Sorry guys. Next week looks clearer.
I’m going to be somewhere between late and I won’t make it. I don’t know what time I’m getting back into town tomorrow night. Can probably update you tomorrow afternoon. I’m sending Timothy a message now to remind him. I’m hopeful he finishes his essay tonight and will be available for you all to run him through the grinder.
Ok, time for a roll call for this week Wednesday (7/27/2011). I’m still trying to get settled in from my week up North, but I’ll be ready to make something happen for our game.
The following week, I will be at GenCon and unable to run.
I will be ready to pick up my campaign in August.
I’m in. See you tonight.
Ok, power is back up and everything appears alright. The only hangup is that I’ll be working a bit late today. I should slide in to home just before the game.
Let’s get a bit of a roll call here. I’m already expecting Tamela and Mirko.
I’m good for tomorrow as far as I know. I’ll remind Timothy. Hope your apartment doesn’t boil you alive Dom!
Ok, as I type this, I am in my oven (apartment) with no power at all. It got knocked out in a storm as I was leaving for work. A lady here thinks it may be 2-3 days before it is back up. I certainly hope that is not the case.
If the power is not back by Wednesday, naturally I can not run. I will keep everyone posted.
It sounds like we should be good to go for the 13th. Mirko will actually only be 5 miles away from Tamela and I that day. Almost seems silly using FG. Hopefully he does not have to work late.
The 20th looks to be bad all around. Let’s finish the 5th (?) session of my game on the 27th of July. After that, Tamela and I are at GenCon. We will be available again (and regularly) starting August 8th.
Rob, would you be able to resume your campaign in August?
P.S. The closest I get to that sweet ride is this that I just purchased today. Some very similar models on the preview pages.
I am good to go for the 13th. I am out of town on the 20th. Continuing legal education conference in Santa Fe. Paid for by the firm and wife and I are being flown out in the firm’s Beech Starship. Sometimes being employed does not suck. http://rps3.com/Pages/Starship.htm
Oh, I should mention, Timothy has class tuesday and thursday nights. So he won’t be here tonight. And as a reminder, neither will I
I’ve received notice that I will likely have to work late this evening. It’s completely impossible to predict that that means though. The team I am working with tends to be all over the map. It may be either all night, or not late at all.
The work I do tends to directly affect our ability to ship a product on schedule.
I’ll post here later as I get a better idea for how long I will have to stay tonight. I won’t know for sure until ~6pm CST.
I’ve gone ahead and moved the session from last week to this Thursday. Please respond if you are able to make it.
Next week (7/13/2011) should be back to normal Wednesday nights.
The following week (7/20/2011) I will be out in the wilderness with my family and most likely have no internet access. Tamela may or may not be available that week. I have to find out.
Wednesday 7/27/2011 is another open date for me to run.
Wednesday 8/3/2011, Tamela and I will both be at GenCon, so I will not be able to play. I won’t even be done working at the con that night until 10pm anyways.
Starting Wednesday 8/10/2011, I should be free every following Wednesday.
I will make notes of what sessions I am available for on my calendar here. I have 2 more planned sessions of Flies, but can continue further or stop here. Craw and I can discuss who is ready to run. If anyone has an interest on which campaign we play when, let us know.
I’m out for thursday.
I am good for a Thursday game this week if there is interest.
There is a concert Tamela has scheduled for us on Wednesday night. It was apparently important enough that she did not even remember we have a game that night. Unfortunately we will not be able to game on Wednesday. I would be open to considering Thursday if people could make it.
Last week many of us had personal or family issues to take care of, so there was no session at all.
Are we playing this week or has the 4th beaten everyone down?
I am unlikely to make it tonight. RL is interfering.
Ok, so the travel portion of my trip has been terrible. I will not be flyinf American Airlines again- period.
I think that it’s best to just run our normal Wednesday session at 7pm CST. I wont’t even be home in time to start the game, not to mention prep time.
I got one of those warranties. The service tech they sent out to fix my AC a few weeks ago tried to upsell me into some assinine charge to clean the AC before he could tell how much freon it needed. Um, no thanks. I can spray it with a hose just fine by myself.
BTW Craw, plummer was in on Last Thursday at midnight to check on the water and concluded it was an AC leak and he could not do squat!….is almost Wednesday and I’m still waiting on the freaking guy that will come in tomorrow!!! Unbelievable…talk about “emergency” service from a Home Warranty company (AHS – American Home shield, don’t go with them!!!)…now Realtor will meet them to open the door and let the guy in…hopefully tomorrow since we are in PA….at least is now partially property management problem as well and not just mine!
Yo all…..Dom I might not make it to either game depending how things turn out….
Closing never happened due to my Lender bank screwing up…BTW it is Wellsfargo…and don’t you EVER, EVER use it for your financial needs…they are a pain the A and they SUCK!!!! So bad it was there mistake that they actually will pay the 1st month of Mortage as an apology for we missing closing due to their lack of follow up in their internal process.
Learned a lot about loans lately….Thanks God the Bank short selling the home was OK with we bringing our stuff inside the house before closing or else I would have a full HUGE trailer on storage for a few days….plus all the delays on everything….and having to sign my life away to the bank so if anything happens on those days before closing we are liable for it…
At least things are moving in PA….Movers unloading tomorrow…Wellsfargo sent a letter to the selling bank basically saying “Hey Mirko is good and approved but we messed up and now need to wait 4 more days before releasing the funds”….So I will let you all know how everything goes on closing.
Any of those three days work for me, but I can only play once.
Maybe we will miss a week. I had been reading the calendar incorrectly and thought next Wednesday (the session I’m out of town for) was may last one before we switch to Rob’s game. For story, it would be easier to have 2 more sessions, but I can live with 1.
I have added 2 dates to the calendar as tentative sessions. Please “confirm” attendance for one or both of these sessions if you are able to make it and would like to play. If two sessions in one week is too much, I fully understand.
That sucks. You two without houses yet, read Mirko’s post and shudder with horror. A week to go and $$$ starts flying out the window. I’m free Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Or willing to skip a week. Makes me no nevermind. Summer evenings are easy to spend on the porch drinking a beer watching the kids ride bikes with their neighborhood friends.
ohh I was just messing with you about “SUMMER VACATIONS!!!”…lol ehehe since you are the only one that still has this glorious thing I envy you so bad…..so I will correct my post…
Puppet and Timmy are good for Monday….I won’t…..sniff sniff….we are closing on our new home lat in the day and who knows at what time we will be out of the tile agency.
Also just for a final kick in the nuts, movers were in today packing everything for move out tomorrow I had to go to PA for some BS training and about 7:00 PM tonight my wife called me because we have a huge water leak in our second floor in the hallway and my son’s bed room…carpet there is squishy and gushing water as you walk…..at least neighbor went to help her closing the main valve …..now we will have plummer tearing the 2nd floot to fix it…and we moving away…..NIIICE!!!!
Why…am I getting ready to go back home? Do you know something I don’t Mirko? Tim and I are both fine for Monday. Tim is out for Tuesday. It’s his birthday. He’s turning old.
Hey Dom
Mondays are bad for me and those 2 weeks are particularly bad since we are moving to PA. I’m hoping to be set in the new home and with Inter by the 23rd….but who knows until it actually happens.
My suggestions since I will be out and you will be out and it is the beginning of Summer so Craw may have some last minute fun with kids and CJ will be getting ready to go back home…lol is to skip the week and catch up in the next few ehehe maybe playing 2 session for a couple weeks if everyone’s schedule works
Quick XP update:
6/8/2011 Session: 1200xp for Urgen, Gazton, Rendar, and Blobb. 600xp for Alovandra.
6/15/2011 Session: 800xp for Urgen, Gazton, Blobb and Alovandra.
Quick Rollcall for the game tonight:
CJ is probably going to be out. At this point I am expecting everyone else.
Session Outine:
Work has been crazy busy the last week or two. I got called in Sunday night and even worked the whole night, in addition to the Saturday. Tonight’s session was planned to be more RP heavy, but with a focus on Gazton. I will be shifting focus, but may be a bit slower. At this time, I do not have a combat encounter that fits the session. I will see if I can get something in the hour that I am home before the game starts.
Next Week’s Session:
On the week of our 6/22/2011 session, I will be out of town at the Origins convention. There is a remote possibility of me shifting the session to Monday 6/20/2011 or Monday/Tuesday the following week. Please let me know if these options work for anyone else.
I might miss tomorrow night. Last minute tickets to a show. So…If I’m not there, assume I’m not coming. But that I’m having a great time elsewhere. Sorry for the short notice.
FYI, Tamela will not be in the game on Wednesday. I will be dropping her off at the airport very very early on Wednesday morning. She will be back for the next week.
The game is tonight (Wed) at 7:00pm CST.
Is game on Today or Tomorrow?
I have Dundjinni (sp?). Most of the software does pretty much the same thing. Dundjinni is great for building interiors and outdoor maps. Cave maps are weak, but it is probably user error. Best advice: any large scale map element should be about a billion shades lighter than you first think- and layer, layer, layer.
Ok, server is up for character maintenance at “undead grave warm luck”.
I will be home around 7:45pm CST. I can put the server up if anyone needs access for character management. This is a new campaign server, separate from the one we had been testing on.
I am still putting some finishing touches on the adventure for tomorrow. Mostly I have dialogue and description text to do, but I’m still hunting for one more good map. Since good maps are so hard to come by, I am seriously considering a copy of Campaign Cartographer with all the bells and whistles. If anyone has some experience with their programs, please let me know what you think.
The mark as far as I know should be the same…unless rules were updated on Combat Challenge the enemy still needs to be adjacent…now Regarding opportunity I will have just Reach and not Threatening reach…(that one is on lv 12….lol… then things could be more interesting ehheeh the only thing that sucks is when I charge….will be 1 away due to reach but at least it looks pretty “Ogrish” I think ehehe
Server is up for character management. It will be up until at least 11pm CST.
Server Address: “cold idol brawny ninja”
Will insert my character tomorrow.
[In character answer to Urgen’s posting]
Letter from House Mizzrym
Everyone who has a character ready should start getting their character pages up and ready.
Mirko, I would like to see your build. You can email it to me or post it here on the Character page. The Reach sounds good. I will just have to look up how it works in 4e and how the Fighter Mark behaves.
Man…I think my English is getting Ogrish as well….this is what I get for posting from my mobile phone….
Just FYI I did my Defender…Blobb will be a Ogre / Half Ogre depending on Dom’s approval…lol with a Stonetblessed Paragorn path….that give’s me Reach+1 so I can do lika an Real Ogre and hit from a distance eheheh. Also I was originally thinking about a Halbert…so I would Have Reach 3 total ehehe……but the Shield won…lol
See ya next week.
Ok, the server is up now. In case the Hamachi connection fails, try “cold idol brawny ninja” without the quotes.
A Defender should be fine. I will tailor the encounters to fit the group- most of the time.
We can toss around options over FG or Vent. I am on both now.
I also have a drow ranger named Lantfeuz’t rolled up. Just in case
What kind of classes are the others seeming to play? I really want to learn more about playing defenders so if theres an opening on the team for ‘things that get hit a lot intentionally’ I’d like to build that.
I should be there. Tim is looking up character concepts in a frantic fashion. I think he’s going to be a bullywug warlock
Ok, it looks like today’s game session will be mostly character planning. The only people I am expecting right now are CJ and Mirko. Tamela has to work late now and will not be able to make it until 9pm CST.
I will still have the server up and ready to go, but I expect we will mostly be doing finishing touches tonight.
Ok everyone, today is Wednesday and I would really like to get in that first practice session. I thing we could all use the opportunity to debug characters and test out Paragon Tier.
Rob: I expect that Rob may or may not make it, depending on how he feels.
Peter: Will probably not join us, due to preparing for Italy, though he is welcome to.
CJ: I think that CJ has the stats for his character pinned down and a rough outline of his concept. This should be sufficient for the first month.
Mirko: I have answered Mirko off the Comments list (just for speed and ease). He’ll likely be using the Goliath as an Ogre.
Timothy: I have not heard anything from Timothy about a character yet. We absolutely need to have something by next Wednesday.
Tamela: Her character is ready with a rough background. She is in the same boat as CJ and ready to go.
Game Server: Fantasy Grounds crashes every time I lock my computer, so I can not leave it up while I am not there. The server will go up around 6:30pm EST this evening. Sorry for the late start, but I can not get out of work earlier today.
Hamachi tends to give me trouble for running a FG server. If it does not work, I will pass along the external address via the comments here and in Hamachi chat.
Hey Dom
As you Know I was not very excited with my Battlemind in the last game we played and I was thinking about it and due to my lack of time I was just going to revert to the good ol Fighter.
The Idea was a now free Ogre formerly a Slave Pit fighter….used by either Dueargars or Mindflayers to amuse the drow population…and they still may have done some crazy experiments on him (justifying the M. Class). Since there are no Ogre as playable races I was thinking about using a Goliath template but I can change that to an Orc as well but then would be a little different on concept but same as most mechanics. What do you think Dom?
Ok everyone. We are less than 2 weeks out from the official start of my campaign. I know some people have character concepts or stats already. We need to start getting the Characters tab on Obsidian Portal filled out.
Official turn in date for backgrounds to gain special rewards will be some time during the second month of the campaign. I think it is fair to give you some time to get to know the character and campaign before you decide all the details. Please have a rough outline prior to that.
FYI, I am leaning toward a Drow Monk (Centered Breath tradition). But I will be playing only during May and then a year-long hiatus, so this shouldn’t affect the party much one way or another.
Well if she is not in for control and want shoot from a distance she could get a sharpshooter rogue or Archer Ranger…plenty of distance there with those too plus good damage….lol
So no Defenders again…..that could be a problem….let me see if I can pull something out of the hat but it would not be great. Also I may have to step out of the game by 11:00 pm to go back at the plant.
Quick Note:
My server may not be available while I am afk. I lock my computer during the day and FGII seems to stop running when my computer is locked. I will not be home until a little after 7:30 EST.
Tonight’s session will be informal and impromptu. The adventure is set in Myth Drannor, which is (or was) relatively appropriate for most of the characters who would be playing in my game. This is a chance to try the character to see if you like it, test the roleplay waters a bit and most importantly, make sure we don’t miss a Wednesday!
Tamela has not thought about what she wants to make yet. After 4e she has no passion for character creation and a reduced familiarity with all the classes. All she knows is that she likes to shoot bows and stay away from combat. I have made her a seeker that will do a good job of that. Unfortunately the Seeker needs a lot of help as a class. It is not terribly good in the control department.
Between the Seeker and the Assassin, we may have good single target control though. I do not intend to make my encounters too crowded, since it tends to slow the game down. If anyone can pick up a blast or burst At-Will, that should be good enough.
Urgen is pre-tested (mostly) and saved locally, so I should be able to be running quickly.
Not sure if I can make it today yet.
I did not put my character together but have my LFR Paragorn characters Gumper the Half elf (Valorous) Bard and Kyen the Drow Rogue (Shaprshooter) as a last minute thing.
Dom did tam ever figure it out what she is thinking about to play with?….
Ok, I have my server up and running on Hamachi in case anyone wants to try connecting or pre-load the module. I’ll probably leave it up from now through the start of the game.
Ok, quick note for everyone:
I am planning to run an LFR adventure for 11th level characters in Wednesday (our normal time). Unfortunately I was too busy this last week to put something else together, but this will be still be good for us.
If you have your character ready, great. This will be a good time to practice paragon tier, get used to some of the powers and find a bit of your roleplay identity. Feel free to make any changes you want between this week and when the campaign kicks off. Think of it as a test drive.
I just finished my Changeling Assassin. With luck, he won’t die too fast. With more luck I’ll know how to play him.
Are we going to try anything tomorrow?
OK, I have a Duergar Warpriest made up. I’m sending the character to Dom for approval before posting it.
Yeah. I’m definitely going to make an assassin. What can I say? I like strikers. I’ll be sending Dom the backstory, role, etc sometime when I have a minute to put thoughts to Word.
Well if Craw will be the Leader type even a battle cleric will make my bard no so much needed. What is Tam doing? Lant is leaning more towards striker in his options (as usual..lol…ranger and avenger….) so we are missing Defender and controller as basic roles, but I guess we could get by with no controller depending on what Tam will do. Any Hints from her Dom?
Sorry, I haven’t been at a computer much lately. Too busy at work.
I was planning on suggesting a Duregar instead of a Dwarf if you were willing to go that route. They are the next entry after Drow in my racial optimization table. They make Optimal battle clerics.
Since the Realms in 4e have lost a lot of their tradition and story, I will be a bit more open then Mezoberranazan would normally have been. Just consider more what doors your race might open and what other doors it may close.
Minotars are excellent and common slaves. A changeling Assassin would also be a fine class. I am very partial to the Assassin class myself. It lacks a bit in higher tier striker damage, but I really enjoy the flavor and RP potential.
Obviously, Dwarves do not fit the racial profile. What about Duergar? I thought they were typical underdark fare and it seems (generally) that it would be common to see duergar traders or emissaries in Menzoberranzan. Is there a story reason for no duergar? A fued or such?
I have a minotaur monk (slave I think) and a changeling assassin. I’m really leaning towards the assassin, except I don’t him to be dull and done before. Also, I’d have to pay attention to the story more I think…Probably the assassin. Unless the changeling is an issue. I’ll forge the rest of his backstory later on.
I’m leaning toward a dwarven battlepriest.
I don’t think I ever mentioned playing a bard…I have a monk, warlord and assassin in mind currently. Couple different concepts for each. I don’t really have a preference so I was just going to hear what a couple of you wanted to do and then go from there.
I see
So 2 bards would be quite too much I think…even though mine was the half elf Emissary ehehe which would make him quite useful in big city backgrounds…specially in not so straight forward rules place as Menzoberrazan ehehe….
But if Lant is already on the I’m willing to take something else, like a Paladin o Loth..lol just kidding. Humm let me think about it….any news from CRaw and Tam about what they are interested in doing?
Iirc, Lant is a Bard as well. Bards may be rather versatile or you could consider a Hybrid Bard. There are options. A Drow will certainly work quite well for this game, as it is set in Mezoberranazan. Don’t forget we’ll have a few more builds (likely Essentials though) when Heroes of Shadow comes out in May.
While my concept for the game and setting is very focused, I will absolutely work w/ whatever concepts anyone has for a character. Feats, races, bonuses, weapons, etc. Are all flexible within reason. Many things in 4e don’t quite make sense, so I’m happy to help out so long as balance is maintained.
I had a cool idea to help RP and immersion. At the beginning of each session, I plan to hand out a small card to each player. The card will have 2-3 notes on it. The first note will be an RP hook, maybe a personal insight, instruction from a matron, general feeling, etc. The second note will be a goal, possibly helpful or hurtful to the party in general. Sometimes the goal will be RP related and other times it may be combat related. It all depends on the session. The occasional 3rd note will be resources at your disposal to achieve the goal.
I plan to hand out xp when goals are completed each session, but I would also like to find a more interesting reward. I am open to suggestions for that.
The whole purpose is to create that sense of intrigue and conflict which is so esential to the Underdark. I also hope to make the talky parts of the session just as engaging and meaningful as the combat parts.
Any thoughts?
Hey Dom, I was thinking about using one of my RPGA characters in your game, not sure what restriction we would have or what the party needs will be…
I do miss using my Half Elf Bard, Gumper the entertainer…lol but I will wait and see the party needs first. (I also have a drow cunning sneak rogue but I already have Taz on Craws game ans a rogue….) Let me know if you have any preferences I can roll any missing roles we may have.
I have no objection to you running Lant. I am curious what aspects make you anxious to give the character a spin in the FR Underdark. As long as you feel the character fits or interests you, go right ahead and draw it up.
The most important part of this game is having a character that grabs your interest and excites you.
Every single aspect of me is screaming to run Lantfeust in this world. Though to be fair, it could be the fever screaming at me.