The Angels Campaign
The Angels Campaign (a.k.a. the West Coast Campaign) started in the middle of 2006 with a group of entirely new (for me) players. We got it up and running because there were some aspects of the setting that I wanted to explore that I haven't been able to explore with the Stormhaven Campaign.
Angels itself is located in roughly the same part of the world as the real-world city of Los Angeles. The heroes of the Angels Campaign have actual roots within the city itself, including family, friends, and part-time employers. They will wander up and down the west coast, to be sure, but most of the campaign will focus on their lives in the city proper.
The Angels Campaign and the Stormhaven Campaign started at roughly the same points in time in the history of the setting. Because the Angels Campaign started more than three years after the Stormhaven Campaign, the current "now" of the two differs by about nine months to a year. Although this difference cuts down on the odds that the two groups will cross paths, there was an instance in which the Stormhaven party traveled to Angels. I'll have to remember to have the Angels party nowhere near Angels when we reach that point in their campaign.
Player Characters
The Angels Campaign has a colorful and interesting cast of characters. Click on a hero for his or her (or its...) best quotes.
Current Party Members
Artemis, one of the human rangers. She came to Angels from somewhere on the east coast, having arrived with her sister-in-arms, Sereven. Artemis, as you might imagine, is the archery-specialist ranger. She hopes to find a horse for an animal companion.
Da'ud, a human cleric of Lumalia, goddess of the Moon, Luck, and Travel. He has left the bureaucracy church, but not the faith. And when a cleric of the goddess of Luck asks if there's going to be a wandering monster encounter, the answer is always Yes. Yes there will be. Unless the player is aware of of this rule and keeps dropping barely subtle hints, in which case No. Not at all.
Dos, a human barbarian and a potter. Yes, a potter, although not a hairy potter, for he does indeed sport a shaven head. Destined to be the leader of the Oess tribe far to the north, Dos, brutal and strong, nevertheless longs to mold lumps of clay into bowls.
Gesshou, a human monk from the Fourfold Path Monastery north of Angels. "Buddhism Lite," we call it. Gesshou has the worst luck of any member of the party. More to the point, her player has the worst luck with her dice.
Lyr(a), a human rogue. Lyr grew up in the city of Angels and is fairly familiar with its environs. An archetypal street urchin, Lyr tries to pretend he's not actually a rogue. He's just very good at picking locks. And finding traps. And deactivating traps. And appraising loot. And hiding. And sneaking. And picking pockets. And finding just the right place to strike when an opponent's guard is down. Another thing Lyr is really good at is getting jobs. Not the adventuring-type jobs, but actual part-time jobs. He works as a server at the Broken Mandolin and as a stable boy for Lady Adriana Rankin. Also, the boy Lyr is really the girl Lyra.
Sereven, the other human ranger. She arrived in Angels with her sister-in-arms, Artemis, after a long trek from the east. Sereven specializes in two-weapon fighting and making Dos look bad in tests of strength. Her animal companion is a wolf named Stark.
Zook, a gnome wizard. Despite thousands of years of tradition, he staunchly refuses to wear a pointy hat and grow a long beard. Zook comes from somewhere just to the east of Angels. His former master told him to seek out the Midnight College, and that is precisely what he's doing...in his spare time. And he's not doing it very well.
Alumni
No one has yet had to move on, so there are no alumni yet in the Angels Campaign.
Trivia
Did you know...
There are three rogues in the two main campaigns: Lyr, Shemara, and Linaeus. In the real world, the three players share the same office. It is, yes, a den of thieves.
Dos and the Stormhaven Campaign character Bren are played by the same player. He's the only player to take part in both campaigns. Hopefully Dos and Bren will never meet.
Zook is actually seven foot, eight inches tall! We make him look so short through the use of stepladders for the other characters and trick photography.
What the?!?
This guy kept popping up on the set while we were shooting the group photo.
Sigh. It's so hard, fighting all these dungeons and dragons, was all he'd say.