Reflections on the First Season of the Campaign

My third semester of college is just about over and with it, the first season of the Graylands campaign has come to an end.  If my players are reading this, you guys have been awesome and our marvelous adventures have been utterly incredible.  This is as good a time as ever to introduce the PCs from the campaign.

Dimitri Petrokov, 4th Level Chaotic Wizard: He originally rolled up an Elf and we let him stay an Elf purely as a cosmetic thing.  So he is really more of a half-elf.  Dimitri is the third brother of the Petrokov family.  Both his brothers, Ivan and Sergei (Not sure how that's spelled), died in a dungeon.  He escaped their fate and went on to learn the magical arts.  Dimitri, once a Barista (A misunderstanding of the Barrister occupation), now uses coffee, ale, and magic to defeat those who would want to stop him from ruling the world.

Milo, 3rd Level Lawful Cleric of Decachronatus: Originally a remarkably healthy bard, he has since found his true calling in being a follower of the Lawful God, Timekeeping Decachronatus.  Wielding holy hammer and healing hands, he is here to try and bring a modicum of sanity to a world and a party gone mad.

Toro, 3rd Level Lawful Thief: This farmer heeded the call of adventure when he stole a terrifying sheep from some passing cultists. He named this animal Sheep.  It might be noted here that he has 6 Intelligence.  Toro has since lost a pitchfork, walked into a dungeon with a crossbow without bolts, and constantly heard the eldritch whispers prophesying death and destruction from Sheep.

Galadriel, 3rd Level Lawful Elf:  This highly originally named Elf has a habit of getting last hits on bosses with her bow.  She is a balancing force to Dimitri but often soft-spoken.  She was thrown into the Guild in the middle of a pretty hectic time and has rapidly adapted to become a useful part of the team.

Lillith (Formerly) of the Shadows, 3rd Level Lawful Thief: Lillith is a rather new recruit but she has come into her own with her invention of the throwing knife attached to a rope.  I'm honestly surprised someone hadn't come up with it already.  She has most recently found a sword imbued with the spirit of a dead paladin that gave her a choice to hand the sword over to a Lawful character or become Lawful herself.  She chose to give up Chaos and take on the mantel of Law.  Only time will tell what comes of this.

Doc, 3rd Level Chaotic Dwarf: Husband of Snow White, Chaotic in every aspect except his loyalty to her.  He also consistently complains about her but I think it's a loving whining.  He has had his soul trapped in a porcelain homunculus for most of this season. The party went into Faerie to save him from the clutches of Agatha Silkspinner.

Hippy, 3rd Level Lawful Dwarf:  Hippy has a keen nose for treasure and follows it wherever it leads.  This is often to his benefit and to the rest of the parties.  He is upbeat and stays on task, diligently pursuing his goal and ignoring distractions.

These PCs are all great in this game.  I have especially liked the playstyle of Lillith.  She was always trying crazy things during combat beyond "I hit it with my sword."  Toro's crazy out of combat antics are the stuff of legends.  His backstory has been changing so rapidly and in such odd directions that we might have decided that he is Dimitri's son, somehow.  Still not sure if that is actually canon or a joke.  Dimitri has a way of coming up with very effective in and out of combat strategies and his player has added a lot to the setting.  Milo is always thinking about the party first and that is awesome for a cleric.  Galadriel is just consistently useful and shines whenever she is most needed.  Doc's player is the same as Dimitri, and that is why he was stuck in the homunculus.  Hippy is a character who knows how to make the most use out of his skills possible.  He is resourceful and fun to have in the party.

They wrapped up their season by killing Agatha Silkspinner in giant spider form and stealing all her loot.  The interesting question to find out moving forward is: Now that they have killed a Demigod, where do we go from here?  Well, they put the label demigod on Agatha, but it is fitting.  They want to think that they have just taken down a deity and they are free to do so but they will have to come to the understanding soon that most sidhe, disregarding the Lords and Ladies of the Seasonal Courts, would be unable to take on a dragon one on one.  Avatars of cosmic entities will generally be as powerful as dragons and beat regular sidhe every time.  They will have to be reminded that they are still mortal, albeit very powerful mortals.  The enemies are going to have to ramp up in difficulty and weirdness and I, as a merciful but decisive GM, will have to stay on my toes.

If you have any ideas about dealing with PCs who are rapidly gaining in power level, please leave a comment.  I'd love to hear from some more experienced GMs.

By far my favorite part of this season has been seeing how the PCs have begun to grow into their characters.  These are new players for the most part and they are still trying to get a hold on what it really means to roleplay.  I don't know if a real in-game conversation, involving everyone in the group has happened yet but I would be delighted to see how I can help that process along.

I want to thank Chris Kutalik for putting a link to my blog on his: http://hillcantons.blogspot.com/
He is partially responsible for this madness, so give him a look.

Thank you to all the people who have given this blog a chance.  I know time is man's most valuable resource and I am delighted you spent even a second of it here.  May your dice always show you their 20s and God bless you this holiday season.