Eastmarch Rules

## Introduction

Welcome to Eastmarch, a Labyrinth Lord campaign set in the Aetherheart homebrew setting. This campaign is based on The West Marches, a campaign format based on exploration, killing monsters, getting money, and player competition. The original idea and write-up for The West Marches can be found here. The main points in a West Marches game are:

1. There is no regular schedule. If you guys want to play a game just let me know and we'll plan no more than 3 days ahead of time.
2. There is no regular party. One session's party could have a completely different set of players than the last session's. The party size is also variable. This also means that the party can be unevenly balanced level-wise, but that's completely fine and sometimes encouraged in this style campaign.
3. There is no plotline. Each session is it's own self-contained adventure, beginning and ending in the town of Eastmarch. The world however, does change between sessions.

There is only one GM currently, and that's me, Will. It'll probably stay that way, but if anyone else is interested, talk to me and we can work it out.

## Important Links

### **For Players**

* The Labyrinth Lord Core Rules. These are free for everyone to download.
* The Roll20 Group. Roll20 is a free tabletop simulator that we'll use to play. Make and account and join the group as soon as possible.
* This wiki. Bookmark it and check up on it whenever you have time, because I'm going to try and update it with summaries and track the changes made in the world.

## Part 1: Prerequisites

Eastmarch is not a homebrew system, just a format for how I'm running this campaign. System-wise, we're using Labyrinth Lord, a "retroclone" of Basic/Expert D&D. Labyrinth Lord is not an old system however, and the reason I've chosen it is because it offers a rules-lite alternative to traditional RPGs while modernizing many aspects of the original B/X D&D. Before playing, be sure that you at least have a character in mind so that we don't spend a large chunk of your first session discussing character skills. Also, I highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the Labyrinth Lord rules. You'll notice a number of different documents on the Labyrinth Lord website. You need to download and save the Core Rules (first link on the list), and if you plan on using a more advanced character, you need the Advanced Version Companion (below the core rules). Open up the Core Rules and skim through it. Feel free to skip over the spells if you don't plan on playing a magical class, but I would definitely do at least one read through of *Section 4: Adventuring Rules* and *Section 5: Encounters and Combat*. If you don't have time, then don't sweat it, because I'll end up explaining rules anyway. Try to do it if you can, though.

Check this out: Character Creation Guide

While I value freedom when creating your character, there are a few things you should keep in mind while brainstorming what sort of character you want to play:

* The character you make **must** have a strong thirst for adventure.
* Make your character likable. Having an unlikable character is liable to piss off the group and you won't have as much fun. Yes, your character may have flaws, but they shouldn't define the character itself.
* Please do not play a fully insane character. Quirks are fine and encouraged, but full on insanity can and will spoil the experience of you and the other players.
* Tread carefully when using gender swaps. I won't disallow them but remember to put thought into character beyond the gender swap.

If you have any questions regarding these then please post them on the Questions page and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

## Part 2: The Town of Eastmarch

Every adventure begins and ends in the town of Eastmarch. Eastmarch is a frontier town located in the wilderness of the Far Reaches, and is populated by passing adventurers and shopkeepers. There are a few things rules-wise that you need to know concerning the town of Eastmarch.

* Each session will begin and end in Eastmarch. This rule is in place to support the fact that the party changes each session, and allows players to jump in for a session and then jump out.
* Eastmarch is a safe zone for the party. Adventure is not found within the town's walls, only outside of the town. Additionally, assume that nothing interest's your character outside of the Far Reaches.
* If the party is unable to complete a run during the session, then they go back to Eastmarch to heal and rest. All damage is healed at the end of a session for this reason.
* Eastmarch has its own calendar, located on the Map and Events page. Information related to the passage of time in and out of game is located in Part 4 below.

### **Locales**

While Eastmarch is still a fledgling settlement when compared to the great cities of the Haven, this doesn't mean it's lacking resources. In town, you can expect to find...

* Farms and farmers
* A general store
* An inn
* A blacksmith
* A Fletcher
* An armorer
* A sage
* An alchemist
* A bank
* A Thieves Guild
* Horse stables

### **Jobs**

If he or she chooses, a character may take a Secondary Skill in order to make some money in between sessions. The list of Secondary Skills is to the right, and they are also located on page 21 of the Advanced Book. You may simply choose a skill or roll for one (reroll on a 99-00). At the beginning of each session, I will ask everyone what their character has been preoccupied with since their last adventure. Each player will then determine how much money their character has made by rolling on the table below. Alternatively, he or she may choose a result but it must be confirmed by the GM for obvious reasons.

 2-5
 6-15
 16-19
 20

### **Investing**

If he/she chooses to, a character can choose to put some money earned from dungeon delving and wilderness crawls into the town. Increasing the value of the town will attract travelling merchants, initiate construction of new shops, and will upgrade the stock of current merchants. While not necessary, investing in Eastmarch will lead to better items and more shops for the players to utilize. A character may invest in Eastmarch in two different ways...

1. **Town Fund**: Putting money in the Town Fund is the main way to attract new shopkeepers to Eastmarch. For every 3,500 GP in the town fund, a new shopkeeper or service provider arrives in Eastmarch. There are no return-investments for characters that put money into the Town Fund.
2. **Direct Investments**: Characters may also directly invest in a single store or service in Eastmarch. Doing this will increase the Shop Level of the store, adding new items or increasing the quality of the store that has an investment. Every store starts at shop level 1, and can be upgraded up to Level 3 before maxing out. The table below shows shop level requirements and returns.

 Shop Level 2
 Shop Level 3

Characters may also elect to build a Stronghold outside of town once they hit 9th level. Rules regarding strongholds will be expanded upon once a character hits 9th level.

## Part 3: The Far Reaches

The setting for this campaign is the Far Reaches, a vast, unsettled area on the continent of Aetherheart. Exploring the Far Reaches is a very dangerous prospect; however, there are many vaults and tombs hidden away by the ancient people who once inhabited this land. And these places are rumored to be filled with unimaginable treasure, which has garnered the interest of quite a few adventurers. Assume for all intents and purposes that nothing of interest lies to the west, as the Dwarven Kingdom of Thrall and the mountains of Ehijan have nothing to offer in the way of adventure.

### **Travelling**

Navigating the Far Reaches is almost as dangerous as exploring the dungeons that lie beneath it. Tales of monsters, forgotten cults, and demons roaming the countryside run rampant in the town of Eastmarch. For this reason, it is wise for a group of adventurers to assign jobs to members of the group to ensure a safer journey. When the party leaves town, any player can choose to do one of the following jobs...

* **Scout**: This person runs ahead of the rest of the party to locate sources of potential danger on the road. Whenever something is encountered by the scout, he must make a WIS check to determine if it seems dangerous. If passed, the party gains Initiative over the thing. If failed, initiative is not gained and the party is unsure of the threat.
* **Mapper**: The mapper is responsible for keeping track of locations the party has visited. If the party looses direction, the mapper make roll an INT check to determine his surroundings.
* **Quartermaster**: The quartermaster is responsible for keeping track of the party's food and items. When the party makes camp, a successful CON check will reduce the number of rations consumed by the party by 1.

Multiple characters cannot do the same job.

The landscape of the Far Reaches is divided into hexes that are 6 miles long each. The party may move the number of miles equivalent to the movement rate of the slowest character, divided by 5 (page 45 basic book). At the end of the day, the party must make camp (see below).

The Far Reaches is very dangerous, and therefore, encounters are common in the wilderness. All encounters are randomly generated upon the crossing into a new hex. Encounters may include any of the following:

* A wandering monster or group of monsters (most common)
* Other adventurers
* A new dungeon
* A fledgling village or settlement
* A strange structure or landmark

At the end of an adventure, the party is assumed to return to Eastmarch the way they came, and with no obstacles. Time still passes as the party returns.

### **Making Camp and Rations**

The party must make camp and consume rations at the end of the day. Nights are cold and often dangerous in the Far Reaches, and making camp is necessary in order for the party to rest and reflect on the day. Once the party has traveled the maximum distance they can travel that day, the GM will ask the party if they want to make camp. At the bare minimum, a camp requires some sort of shelter and a fire. Firewood can be gathered by a player character if no one brought firewood to use, however, a monster encounter check is made. Shelter can be anything from a cliff-side retreat to an abandoned cabin in the woods, and whether or not shelter is available is at the GM's discretion.

Before the day ends, each character must consume a ration. If the character cannot consume a ration for whatever reason, that character confers a -2 to his or her to-hit die for the next day or until a ration is consumed. For every subsequent day a ration is not consumed, the character adds -2 to his or her to-hit die until food is consumed. Standard rations spoil after 3 days, while preserved rations never spoil.

If the character doesn't have a ration, he or she may elect to forage and hunt for food. This is simply a 1d6 + your DEX modifier. On a 5 or above, edible food is found. However, a wandering monster may be encountered during the hunt.

Once per night, the GM selects a character to "set a scene". "Setting a scene" is a broad action that refers to the character doing something that reflects the character's mood or reveals something about his or her backstory. This can be anything like telling a story, or singing a song, or making an object, or even leaving camp to do something occult. The possibilities are virtually limitless as long as they make sense within the fiction. If the party agrees that they learned something new about the scene setter, then the scene setter gains a +1 to his or her to-hit die for the duration of the next day.

During the night, a night-time encounter check is rolled. Usually, this means that wandering monsters may attack the players at night. The quality of the shelter can lower the chance of a night-time encounter, as shown in the table below...

 Little shelter (trees)
 Adequate shelter (tent)
 Mostly enclosed shelter (cave)
 Enclosed shelter (cabin)

Instead of sleeping, one character may elect to be a look-out. The look-out role is chosen after the party has made camp for the night. The look-out forgoes rest to watch the camp for potential danger. On a successful CHA check, any potential danger is spotted and the party gains Initiative. If the same character is the look-out for two or more nights in a row, he confers a -1 to his CHA modifier for the rest of the day, and a -2 when watching the camp the next night.

## Part 4: The Passage of Time

Time passes in Eastmarch both in and out of game. If a character has a secondary skill or holds a job in town, it is important to know how time passes. Time passes in two ways: Active Time and Passive Time.

* Active Time only passes during a play session. The amount of time that passes in Eastmarch is equal to the amount of time that's spent traveling and exploring in-game. Traveling far across the Far Reaches takes multiple days, and for this reason, Active Time passes much more quickly than Passive Time. At the end of each session, the Eastmarch calendar is updated with the amount of time that has passed in game.
* Passive Time passes whenever there's not a game session occurring. For each day that passes in real life, one day passes in Eastmarch. This is to let players who are not participating still develop characters via secondary skills. The calendar is updated daily because of Passive Time.

For the Calendar, check out Map and Events.

## Part 5: Miscellaneous Rules and FAQ

*Can I make multiple characters?*

* Yes, but I wouldn't recommend it. XP is kept on a character-by-character basis, not a player-by-player basis. Additionally, you may only use 1 character per session.

*What happens when I die?*

* Your character is dead and cannot be revived (at least in the current state of Eastmarch). If you die mid-session, you may roll another character and join the party at level 1.

I'll be updating this session as questions pop up. Feel free to ask questions either in the Skype group or the Questions page.