Pudding Faire is a fun little campaign that I've purchased and run twice IRL, and now I'd like to try it here as my first attempt at DM on this forum. Each time I ran it IRL it took less than 10 hours to complete. The campaign de-emphasizes combat and focuses more on role-play and puzzle solving. The setting is a quaint annual fair among communities of halflings and gnomes nestled in the Threepenny Wood, a narrow swath of woodland on the banks of the River Chionthar, east of Baldur's Gate in Forgotten Realms.
I'd like to keep things simple and I'm looking for just THREE willing participants. To show your interest, please post your character's name, race/class, a brief backstory (no need to go deep for this campaign, keep it light) and 1 quirk that your character has. Be advised that your characters will likely be traveling to the faire as a group of bounty hunters. FYI, I think it's best to run the campaign at level 3. For this, my first PbP campaign on D&D Beyond, I'd prefer no homebrew material. Also be advised, most of the NPC's you'll encounter here are either halflings or gnomes!
I have a level 2 PC from a PbP that was cut short. He'd do for a party of bounty hunters but would also be a lot of fun at the Pudding Faire. I'll just bump him up to 3rd for this submission.
Olwer Vyn
Half-Elf Bard (Lore)
Neutral
Quirk: carries a purple pearl in a velvet lined box, sometimes holds whispered conversations with it--though nobody else has ever heard the pearl speak
I have a level 2 PC from a PbP that was cut short. He'd do for a party of bounty hunters but would also be a lot of fun at the Pudding Faire. I'll just bump him up to 3rd for this submission.
Olwer Vyn
Half-Elf Bard (Lore)
Neutral
Quirk: carries a purple pearl in a velvet lined box, sometimes holds whispered conversations with it--though nobody else has ever heard the pearl speak
Sounds great! Hopefully a few more people show up soon and we can dive right in!
When the enemy soldiers burst in the door, Olwer did what a good spy does. He escaped. But he’d been so quick that he’d left behind his partner and lover, Arbella. He made it to the drop off point, handed over the letters, and raced back to look for her…
Three days later, staring at Arbella’s lifeless body dangling on the gallows, he stopped caring which side won the dirty little war. Arbella had been the cynical one. With her death, what was left of his youthful idealism went, too.
After the war’s end, he quit.
Now he’d live by his musical talents, which had served him so well as a cover and means of obtaining information during the conflict.
But Olwer finds that old habits die hard. Faced with a mystery and a potential reward, he would be very tempted to spy again…
On his adventures, Olwer was given a magical pearl-like stone taken from a pike. A strange bargain he struck with a river-spirit summoned Arbella's shade and trapped it within the pearl. At least, Olwer's pretty sure that's what happened...
In game terms, this magic item has no particular utility or combat function. Arbella cannot affect the material world through the pearl and doesn't always hear Olwer when he addresses her (message cantrip). When she does answer him, she seems dreamy and perhaps not aware that he is real. But still, he has learned to communicate with her in a limited way.
"Ooh, a faire!" Taro clasped his hands together loudly, eyeing the booths and, more closely, the throngs of faire-goers. "Let's find the games of chance," he breathed to himself as he started winding through the crowd. Taro had been wandering from city to city, and town to town, for the better part of the past year, entertaining the denizens of many dark taverns with bold tales, some as true as the rain, many embellished with juicy details that may have been borrowed or fabricated. These tales were told over games of cards or dice, and served not only to endear Taro to his marks, er, new-found friends, but also to redirect their attention away from his slippery hands. "What can I say? I was born lucky," Taro would explain as he swept up his winnings at the end of most nights.
How about we are employed by an all half-elf bounty hunting agency?
Erevan Quinnson, Half-Elf, Warlock, Archfey
Background: Erevan was born in a tiny, isolated human settlement at the edge of a wood where the Feywild touched upon the everyday world. His mother was an exceedingly beautiful but very odd woman, a herablist and free spirit. The villagers did not trust her, thinking her a witch, but they did turn to her for help with healing and cures and charms from time to time, despite objections from the local priest. Erevan grew up with a twin sister, whom he loved very much and was very close to. They both were very beautiful and charming, with fey-ish features. The villagers couldn't help but like the children, but they also feared them.
When they were 16 years old, his sister disappeared during the night. In the days that followed, his mother told him that he and his sister were products of a union she had with an elf lord of the forest on the edge of the Feywild. She would give him one of her children in exchange for power and riches; the girl was to be a servant at the court of the elven lord. Erevan was distraught and ran into the forest to seek his sister. He did not find her, but some of the Feywild's denizens found him. They heard his story and struck a deal with him. They would grant him powers that he could use to rescue his sister. In exchange, he would go forth into the world and amass treasure, magic and power. But one day, he would be called to come to the Feywild to give them all his wealth and magic and to serve them for the rest of his life. He agreed to the deal and they infused him with the powers of the Feywild. He rescued his sister from the elven court and they fled the forest and their village, going to a large city to the south. The elves took his mother out of spite and she was never seen in the village again.
Now, Erevan lives the life of a traveling adventurer, seeking to use his powers to gather wealth, magic and power as part of his pact with the Fey. At heart, he is a decent person, but he is driven to fulfill the pact he has made. He is utterly loyal to his twin sister and will do anything to protect or help her. He usually checks to see how she is doing when he returns to the city in between adventures. He recently fell into a job with a bounty hunting "agency" ...
3 half-elves will be fun. I predict several harmless misunderstandings. I’m sending links to the campaign and we can start things up later today if everyone is ready!
My PC was fortunate in that short-lived PbP and ended up with a fair bit of money. I'd rather spend most of what remains on the party than sit on it.
If Olwer's two companions are at starting wealth/close to it and thus lack certain things they may need, he can give each of them a 50 GP bloodstone towards the purchase of a pony or whatever else they would like. A gift, not a loan.
He rides a horse.
DM, is this cool?
If it is, I will erase those two precious stones from my sheet.
That’s going to be just fine. You are level 3 adventurers so naturally have already had some adventures, experience, etc. Honestly it’s a little difficult to “imbalance” this module.
That’s going to be just fine. You are level 3 adventurers so naturally have already had some adventures, experience, etc. Honestly it’s a little difficult to “imbalance” this module.
Cool. I'll erase the two bloodstones and gift 50 gp value to my fellow adventurers, if the players agree.
Sharing is caring!
All our PCs are bounty hunters together. I like that. Things work out better when the party is an actual party and the characters know and get on well with one another, IME.
To our noble DM - Id like to use Find Familiar and summon up my sprite familiar if that works for you. I envision that while generally being helpful the sprite would be a constant reminder to Erevan that he is beholden to the archfey.
One of the players has not yet clicked the link to join the campaign, we’ll give a little more time but if nothing then we can just forge ahead, 2 players will also work.
The pair of you have been hired as bounty hunters to arrest the notorious halfling thief “Elsie Rumknuckle” and deliver her alive to Baldur’s Gate for sentencing. You’ve heard she’s headed to the Pudding Faire in Honeypuddle Village, East of Baldur’s Gate. You are posing as out of town brewers to get close for the arrest. . You arrived at Honeypuddle village late last night and got one of the last available rooms in the “Squirrel and Nightjar Inn”. The crow of a rooster awakens you from slumber, followed by the sound of a brass band cranking up. “Roll up! Roll up for the Pudding Faire!” cries a voice from the street below. Peering out your room’s window, you see a crowd of happy halflings and gnomes bustling toward a fairground on the village green. It is 7 o’clock in the morning of the day of the annual Honeypuddle Pudding Faire!
Erevan grumbles at the rooster's crow and groans at the racket of the band and shouting. He is not much of a morning person, to say the least.
He sits up on the edge of the bed and rubs his eyes before running his fingers through his longish blond hair. As his eyesight clears, he notices the tiny, winged humanoid flitting about his head. "You're sure up early," the sprite says. "Seize the day and all that, am I right?"
"Fez, it's already too noisy," Erevan mutters as he begins to pull on his clothes and boots, trying to get his head together so he can be ready to work.
He looks for Olwer, to see what his fellow half-elven bounty hunter is up to.
Pudding Faire is a fun little campaign that I've purchased and run twice IRL, and now I'd like to try it here as my first attempt at DM on this forum. Each time I ran it IRL it took less than 10 hours to complete. The campaign de-emphasizes combat and focuses more on role-play and puzzle solving. The setting is a quaint annual fair among communities of halflings and gnomes nestled in the Threepenny Wood, a narrow swath of woodland on the banks of the River Chionthar, east of Baldur's Gate in Forgotten Realms.
I'd like to keep things simple and I'm looking for just THREE willing participants. To show your interest, please post your character's name, race/class, a brief backstory (no need to go deep for this campaign, keep it light) and 1 quirk that your character has. Be advised that your characters will likely be traveling to the faire as a group of bounty hunters. FYI, I think it's best to run the campaign at level 3. For this, my first PbP campaign on D&D Beyond, I'd prefer no homebrew material. Also be advised, most of the NPC's you'll encounter here are either halflings or gnomes!
I have a level 2 PC from a PbP that was cut short. He'd do for a party of bounty hunters but would also be a lot of fun at the Pudding Faire. I'll just bump him up to 3rd for this submission.
Olwer Vyn
Half-Elf Bard (Lore)
Neutral
Quirk: carries a purple pearl in a velvet lined box, sometimes holds whispered conversations with it--though nobody else has ever heard the pearl speak
Sounds great! Hopefully a few more people show up soon and we can dive right in!
When the enemy soldiers burst in the door, Olwer did what a good spy does. He escaped. But he’d been so quick that he’d left behind his partner and lover, Arbella. He made it to the drop off point, handed over the letters, and raced back to look for her…
Three days later, staring at Arbella’s lifeless body dangling on the gallows, he stopped caring which side won the dirty little war. Arbella had been the cynical one. With her death, what was left of his youthful idealism went, too.
After the war’s end, he quit.
Now he’d live by his musical talents, which had served him so well as a cover and means of obtaining information during the conflict.
But Olwer finds that old habits die hard. Faced with a mystery and a potential reward, he would be very tempted to spy again…
Half-Elf
male
Bard
Neutral
spy background
https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/Oundle/characters/32978402
On his adventures, Olwer was given a magical pearl-like stone taken from a pike. A strange bargain he struck with a river-spirit summoned Arbella's shade and trapped it within the pearl. At least, Olwer's pretty sure that's what happened...
In game terms, this magic item has no particular utility or combat function. Arbella cannot affect the material world through the pearl and doesn't always hear Olwer when he addresses her (message cantrip). When she does answer him, she seems dreamy and perhaps not aware that he is real. But still, he has learned to communicate with her in a limited way.
"Ooh, a faire!" Taro clasped his hands together loudly, eyeing the booths and, more closely, the throngs of faire-goers. "Let's find the games of chance," he breathed to himself as he started winding through the crowd. Taro had been wandering from city to city, and town to town, for the better part of the past year, entertaining the denizens of many dark taverns with bold tales, some as true as the rain, many embellished with juicy details that may have been borrowed or fabricated. These tales were told over games of cards or dice, and served not only to endear Taro to his marks, er, new-found friends, but also to redirect their attention away from his slippery hands. "What can I say? I was born lucky," Taro would explain as he swept up his winnings at the end of most nights.
Tarythin "Taro" I-díl-Enyá
Half-Wood Elf Rogue (Thief)
Gambler background
quirk: Taro considers himself a bit of a Cassanova, and can't help flirting with a girl with a pretty face.
Great, looking for 2 more folks
Oh hey Kobalt, great. We could use 1 more person to round things out!
How about we are employed by an all half-elf bounty hunting agency?
Erevan Quinnson, Half-Elf, Warlock, Archfey
Background: Erevan was born in a tiny, isolated human settlement at the edge of a wood where the Feywild touched upon the everyday world. His mother was an exceedingly beautiful but very odd woman, a herablist and free spirit. The villagers did not trust her, thinking her a witch, but they did turn to her for help with healing and cures and charms from time to time, despite objections from the local priest. Erevan grew up with a twin sister, whom he loved very much and was very close to. They both were very beautiful and charming, with fey-ish features. The villagers couldn't help but like the children, but they also feared them.
When they were 16 years old, his sister disappeared during the night. In the days that followed, his mother told him that he and his sister were products of a union she had with an elf lord of the forest on the edge of the Feywild. She would give him one of her children in exchange for power and riches; the girl was to be a servant at the court of the elven lord. Erevan was distraught and ran into the forest to seek his sister. He did not find her, but some of the Feywild's denizens found him. They heard his story and struck a deal with him. They would grant him powers that he could use to rescue his sister. In exchange, he would go forth into the world and amass treasure, magic and power. But one day, he would be called to come to the Feywild to give them all his wealth and magic and to serve them for the rest of his life. He agreed to the deal and they infused him with the powers of the Feywild. He rescued his sister from the elven court and they fled the forest and their village, going to a large city to the south. The elves took his mother out of spite and she was never seen in the village again.
Now, Erevan lives the life of a traveling adventurer, seeking to use his powers to gather wealth, magic and power as part of his pact with the Fey. At heart, he is a decent person, but he is driven to fulfill the pact he has made. He is utterly loyal to his twin sister and will do anything to protect or help her. He usually checks to see how she is doing when he returns to the city in between adventures. He recently fell into a job with a bounty hunting "agency" ...
3 half-elves will be fun. I predict several harmless misunderstandings. I’m sending links to the campaign and we can start things up later today if everyone is ready!
Sounds good! I have to work up my character sheet but that should be pretty quick. Thanks.
My PC was fortunate in that short-lived PbP and ended up with a fair bit of money. I'd rather spend most of what remains on the party than sit on it.
If Olwer's two companions are at starting wealth/close to it and thus lack certain things they may need, he can give each of them a 50 GP bloodstone towards the purchase of a pony or whatever else they would like. A gift, not a loan.
He rides a horse.
DM, is this cool?
If it is, I will erase those two precious stones from my sheet.
That’s going to be just fine. You are level 3 adventurers so naturally have already had some adventures, experience, etc. Honestly it’s a little difficult to “imbalance” this module.
Cool. I'll erase the two bloodstones and gift 50 gp value to my fellow adventurers, if the players agree.
Sharing is caring!
All our PCs are bounty hunters together. I like that. Things work out better when the party is an actual party and the characters know and get on well with one another, IME.
Oundle thank you for your generosity!
To our noble DM - Id like to use Find Familiar and summon up my sprite familiar if that works for you. I envision that while generally being helpful the sprite would be a constant reminder to Erevan that he is beholden to the archfey.
Yes, bring along your sprite, it’ll be popular among the kiddos at the fair if allowed to be seen
One of the players has not yet clicked the link to join the campaign, we’ll give a little more time but if nothing then we can just forge ahead, 2 players will also work.
ok let’s start!
The pair of you have been hired as bounty hunters to arrest the notorious halfling thief “Elsie Rumknuckle” and deliver her alive to Baldur’s Gate for sentencing. You’ve heard she’s headed to the Pudding Faire in Honeypuddle Village, East of Baldur’s Gate. You are posing as out of town brewers to get close for the arrest.
.
You arrived at Honeypuddle village late last night and got one of the last available rooms in the “Squirrel and Nightjar Inn”.
The crow of a rooster awakens you from slumber, followed by the sound of a brass band cranking up.
“Roll up! Roll up for the Pudding Faire!” cries a voice from the street below.
Peering out your room’s window, you see a crowd of happy halflings and gnomes bustling toward a fairground on the village green. It is 7 o’clock in the morning of the day of the annual Honeypuddle Pudding Faire!
Erevan grumbles at the rooster's crow and groans at the racket of the band and shouting. He is not much of a morning person, to say the least.
He sits up on the edge of the bed and rubs his eyes before running his fingers through his longish blond hair. As his eyesight clears, he notices the tiny, winged humanoid flitting about his head. "You're sure up early," the sprite says. "Seize the day and all that, am I right?"
"Fez, it's already too noisy," Erevan mutters as he begins to pull on his clothes and boots, trying to get his head together so he can be ready to work.
He looks for Olwer, to see what his fellow half-elven bounty hunter is up to.
(Hoping I'm not too late to join!)
Not at all, we are having a lazy start but hopefully everyone is going to play so the campaign can go forward!