Campaign Kickoff - Cloud Empress
I've been wanting to share with anyone who would listen about the Open Table Cloud Empress (CE) campaign I've been running and then I realized this is one of the reasons why I have a blog...to capture these sessions and refine the way I GM!
Setup
I've already talked a bit about setting up for the campaign which I've kept as is. The only change has been the addition of a Caravan Sheet. Since I'm running an open table version of CE, I still need for tracking provisions and supplies and all that good stuff. There's a sub-set of this sheet the party has collectively with them always. In working on this, I stumbled upon the UVG Caravan Sheet (still haven't played it yet) and thought that was neat but not quite what I was looking for.
Discord
I'm running everything through Discord. I use the Apollo bot to schedule sessions. When a session starts, the Apollo bot also creates a thread so all chatter relating to that session is on one channel that doesn't get buried.
I run weekly sessions on Sunday and Monday, alternating. I did this to allow people in the EU to play as well as provide both an AM and PM option too. All players created their character in Discord, making a forum post. I drop rumors and character updates in there which feel a little cleaner than threads or channels. With forum posts, I can create tags to quickly see what class a character is as well as their age.
Since CE is a setting with lore and traditions that are unfamiliar to my characters, I created two channels to help onboard them without sending them the pdf and expecting them to read this. Of course, some of them still haven't read it, and that's okay! The two channels are npc-index and world-knowledge. The first is when they meet new types of groups of people like Sliplanders, Spiderlings, etc. The second channel helps set the tone and vibe of the space. I listed the blurbs from the books on each region and removed anything that could be a spoiler and left what I felt would be common knowledge to anyone living in the Lowland Wastes. I slowly update this channel with things they hear about in the world or see like White Spore Monastery. Any opportunity to use the artwork from the books, I do, and it helps a lot in conveying the vibe and attitude of everything.
Session 1
I dropped the party in V12 in the Valley. This uses the Land of the Living book from CE. I chose this region, because I knew many players already had experience with some of the modules from the Land of Cicada book and wanted to focus on a region none of them had explored.
The goal of the party is to collect 4 relics before the caravan arrives at Tack Town in B18. The hex description for V12 felt neutral enough that a caravan could camp with relative safety, allowing the party to explore a bit. Here is the hex description from the book for V12:
Shadows dance around the flames of a raging bonfire. Seven drunk teenage Sliplanders sing, shout, and flirt around the flames. The cut of the shore and dark woods hide the party from their parents’ prying eyes. A fermented berry drink, their shared and growing chalk-powder high, and the last heat of the summer make them feel like time has no meaning. Perhaps they’re right.
Map Key
- Pink: Caravan Route
- Blue Diamonds: Caravan Camping
- Red: Party's travel path for the session
Party Members Present
- Abel the Cold (Teenager Magician)
- Bug-Loving Spoon (Bodyhopper Magician)
- Yunn the Third (Full-Grown Sellsword)
- Rin Nagi (Full-Grown Magician)
Day 1
The session starts with them introducing their character and why they’re traveling with the caravan. They talk to the teenagers and meet Old Schlem (sad emo teen) and Leem (another teen) who tell them about being a Sliplander and Whtie Spore Monastery. Meanwhile, one PC notices a Spiderling aimlessly walking along the edge of the forest which they follow finding it unresponsive to conversation. Before following the Spiderling, one of the PCs gives a chalk-dusted needlepoint to Old Schlem as thanks for information. Next, the Spiderling leads them to a bone-skin giant’s remains where the Spiderling is camping.
The Referee’s Mind: I had no idea what would happen. The Spiderling is what I rolled for a random encounter, and I drew the bone-skin giant crudely and randomly on Owlbear Rodeo. I thought it would be interesting and fun if this was, in fact, an ear canal and loosely drew it as such.
Day 2
The party camped nearby for the night and by that point, the Spiderling left with its belongings. The next day, slippery weather took over, and it rained tadpoles on the party. A rudimentary workshop area was found inside along with an ear canal where 2 PCs stuck their heads in. After getting their results from the Spiderling table, they cut the crown off!
The Referee’s Mind: I wasn’t expecting this either and decided in the moment that once the crown is removed from its remains/network, it turns gray and withers. Anyone else who wears it does not dream or hears from the King of Cobwebs. I also made the person who cut the canal off do a Body Save, since the King is displeased with this action, and the PC had already stuck their head into it.
The party ventured to V21 where they thankfully met up with the caravan again and rested.
Bonus: Session Quotes
These are some of my favorite parts from the session recaps, which I’m incentivizing through chalk, rumors, and a single yes/no about something the party already knows about.
"Abel doesn't like what happened inside of the giant but also doesn't feel like it's his story to tell. All he'll say for now is we should keep an eye on Bug-Loving Spoon and Rin Nagi for the sake of their health and the health of the expedition." - Abel the Cold, Teenager Magician
"To supplement the above with what Spoon was involved with in the cave, the spiderling guy was in the cave talking to or about some king and he wanted us to try on a crown and join some kind of club so Spoon and Mordecai both tried on the crown and the next day Spoon felt absolutely great." - Bug-Loving Spoon, Bodyhopper Magician