The Hook

An innocent request for help against the formation of a death cult in a small village reveals a prophecy implicating the adventurers as the key to saving the entire world from a mysterious doom.

The party must band together and survive long enough for an audience with the reknowned oracle, Lady Saharel, who gave the prophecy forty years ago to two brothers. One of the brothers, Valthrun, is the sage of the very village which the party must first save from Shar’s death cult.

Once in the presence of the oracle, what dire revelations will be given? Why is a simple audience enough to save the world, or is it? What destiny will befall the adventures and what fate lurks in the darkness for the rest of the world?

Saharel Prophecies is a Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Forgotten Realms setting for a highly modified Scales of War campaign.

The Players

This is a private campaign amongst close friends who meet every 2 weeks to socialize, dine, laugh, and enjoy a casual gaming experience. Some of us are experienced gamers from way back while others are completely new to the game—it’s a terrific mix. We game for the sake of gathering; not the other way around.

The Game

We have all been learning D&D 4e together since March 7, 2009. Generally, we get through one encounter each night that we meet; sometimes a bit more and sometimes a bit less. As a result, it’s taking us a long time to progress which creates its own challenges (e.g., story continuity, roll-centric more than role-centric, etc.). Also, since we are all adults with jobs and lives beyond gaming (gasp!), we average just a little over 1 game night per month. We aim for every other week but scheduling issues arise which is expected and normal (life happens).

Fortunately, we believe it’s about the journey (socializing, learning, playing), not the destination (leveling, module finish). As with all gamers, the most important thing is enjoyment; otherwise, why bother? Every group and every player defines that in their own way.

The Campaign

All we knew in the beginning was that we would use the Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. The recommended starting point at the time was the module ‘Keep on the Shadowfell’ which has its problems but has worked well for us. In the midst of our playing, the first 4e Forgotten Realms module, ‘Scepter Tower of Spellgard’, came along. An intriguing story emerged from the merging of the two modules. The story will eventually continue to the Scales of War campaign, dropping into the module of that series with the appropriate level at the time of crossover (my estimate is level 7). How all this fits together will be told in the Adventure Log.