So, if you're looking to read a great novelization of the Banewarrens, my thread isn't for you. But if you're looking to see how one DM and his group went through the adventure, hopefully I can provide you with some interesting reading that won't take you all day
Now, with that out of the way, how about some background?
I'm running the Banewarrens for a small gaming group (myself and two others) that has gamed together for a couple of years now. We've played two campaigns through the lower levels and have never passed level 8. For a change, I'm taking up the DM role (haven't done that with this group yet) and we're starting at level 6, diving right into the Banewarrens.
I've made some changes which will come out as we go. I'm setting the story in Ptolus, but instead of a dying empire it's just part of a loose alliance called the Free Kingdoms (an alliance of mainly-human mostly-independent kingdoms and city-states). To minimize preparation time, this is a home-grown world which will organically grow as we play the game. I'm taking the cosmology and pantheon from The Book of the Righteous, possibly the best religion supplement I've seen. There are a slew of minor house rules and lots of things dragged in from various third party sources. I'll do my best to flag them when it impacts the story.
The characters all grew up in the same small town and are all either related or their grandparents were close. They drifted apart but still managed to come together a few times as adults. After not working together for a couple years, they've hooked up once again in hopes of doing some real good in the world, on their own (i.e. not as adventurers-for-hire).
They are drawn to Ptolus by stories of an ancient Elven artifact, a staff of great power which was given the soul of a dying Elven child. The staff is rumored to have been broken, and pieces of it have fallen into evil over the centuries. Given the characters' history, and the players' desire to get this game started, that's enough of a hook for us
Cast of Characters:
Kaia - NG - Female Human Holy Warrior of Korak (Book of the Righteous, Paladin variant)
Kaia worships Korak, the NG god of the forge and of artisans. Korak is favored by Dwarves and by craftsmen in general. His followers protect works of human endeavor, including temples, cities, jewelry, and magical artifacts. To them, it is a great sin to keep a work of art hidden away. Think Indiana Jones: "This belongs in a museum!" (And yes, this could be very interesting as the story progresses).
Kaia specializes in the Battlehammer (borrowed from a Dwarven sourcebook), a blunt weapon that uses the Bastard Sword rules for determining how it's wielded.
Cole - CG - Male Human Evoker/Force Weaver (Path of Magic, force magic PrC)
Cole is a spellcasting prodigy who specializes in evocation magic. He is friendly but direct and bristles at authority wielded for its own sake. He has a talent for languages and has studied a great many of them. He has also dabbled in many different knowledge skills. He carries no weapon, preferring to use his magic (Force Weaver at level 1 allows the creation of a weapon of pure force, in case he does enter melee).
Ariana - NG - Female Human Cleric of Rontra (Book of the Righteous)
Ariana is a support PC, a concept we're using to make a balanced party even though there are only two players. As such Ariana does not have a strong personality. She's like a free follower, except that she's a full player character (one half level behind the rest of the party). If we get other players in the group, she will be one of the characters they may choose to play. I know this concept raises some flags of disbelief but we're willing to deal with those. Ariana is driven in combat by Cole's player.
Ariana worships the goddess of the earth and those who delve within it or farm it. She is a front-line healer, and has chosen feats that help in both combat and in close-quarters spellcasting.
Therras - CG - Male Human Rogue
Therras is another support PC, this one driven in combat by Kaia's player. Therras is an "explorer" Rogue, with focuses on ranged combat and "dungeon" survival skills. He's useless at picking pockets and almost useless in social situations, but can sneak, hide, disarm, spot, and search with the best of them. He prefers ranged attacks to melee and makes an effort to stay on the outside of combat. His feats are mostly archery-focused.
