Thursday, December 6, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Back to the Black
So, my goal of posting daily throughout November was clearly a bit of a stretch. My new goal: one blog post per blog per week. Sounds easy enough... but we'll see!
In happier news, Mac and I were able to resurrect our defunct Serenity RPG group! It doesn't hurt that we now meet at a bar during happy hour, thanks to the benevolence of our friendly local bartender.
In happier news, Mac and I were able to resurrect our defunct Serenity RPG group! It doesn't hurt that we now meet at a bar during happy hour, thanks to the benevolence of our friendly local bartender.
We are the crew of the Pheonix
II, a mid-bulk transport vessel known as a Firefly. Our first mission was to
travel to a large desert on the planet Capari. The sand of Capari's desert has value
in and of itself for making telescopic lenses and the like.
Additionally, the violent sandstorms have caused many a ship
to perform "interesting" landings on its surface... and I mean
"interesting" as in "oh god, oh god, we're all gonna DIE." In other
words, the desert is literally filled with salvage opportunities - for
those who have the equipment and the testicular fortitude for the job!
The crew did well - while Leland and Wire kept a look
out for sandstorms and claim jumpers from on board Pheonix II, Rawhide
piloted a hovercraft on the surface and Time Bomb operated the equipment
to fish the treasure out of the sand. Captain Dao-ming (my character) helped by
yelling at everyone (in her mind, inspiring them to greatness). For our
troubles, we reclaimed some precious metals worth two units of cashy
money, three boxes of high-quality sand, and a mysterious parcel that
we haven't had a chance to investigate. The operation was interrupted by
a sudden sandstorm, and the "away team" scrambled to get themselves and
the cargo to the safety of a cave - and got a bit banged up for their
troubles. Still, any mission you walk away from... We decided to
celebrate our victory at a nearby saloon with several other slavage
crews
Next time: the team liberates slaves and Dao-ming loses her cool.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
D&D: Family Ties
The problem with playing D&D as an adult, as I have bemoaned before, is that you have to work around six adult schedules. The problem with playing as a YOUNG adult is that, even when you find a time that works for everyone, some people don't understand the notion of keeping a date book. Of the six people who said they could make it yesterday for D&D, only three showed up (including Maggie, me and Mac - the DM). One of the absentees had a legitimate work conflict that arose earlier in the week. The other two... needless to say, they're getting dangerously close to be being put on my List.
Still, Mac was nice enough to run a short session for us. Our interaction with Rule of Three ends with the magic ring suddenly attaching itself to Kismet's finger (uh-oh) and a gleaming thread emerging from it, which seemed to be invisible to anyone except the party. The party (Kismet the tiefling bard, Valna the half-elf barbarian, and Maggie's other character Marianna the human cleric) followed the thread to one of Sigil's infamous portals, and jumped blindly through. They found themselves in a Githzerai monastery, with the thread leading towards a large Amethyst mountain. The monks warned us about the acid creatures inhabiting the mountain, and equipped us with some ice crystals that could be used against them.
Our first encounter was against a large Ooze and two swarms of insects. Unfortunately, we did not have a controller to do burst/blast attacks - and since swarms resist all other types of damage, it was kind of a cluster. We ended up hand-waving the end of the fight, once we had destroyed the Ooze. Much more successful was our second encounter, versus a different kind of Ooze as well as a MOTHERLOVIN' DINOSAUR. I love this game.
Still, Mac was nice enough to run a short session for us. Our interaction with Rule of Three ends with the magic ring suddenly attaching itself to Kismet's finger (uh-oh) and a gleaming thread emerging from it, which seemed to be invisible to anyone except the party. The party (Kismet the tiefling bard, Valna the half-elf barbarian, and Maggie's other character Marianna the human cleric) followed the thread to one of Sigil's infamous portals, and jumped blindly through. They found themselves in a Githzerai monastery, with the thread leading towards a large Amethyst mountain. The monks warned us about the acid creatures inhabiting the mountain, and equipped us with some ice crystals that could be used against them.
Our first encounter was against a large Ooze and two swarms of insects. Unfortunately, we did not have a controller to do burst/blast attacks - and since swarms resist all other types of damage, it was kind of a cluster. We ended up hand-waving the end of the fight, once we had destroyed the Ooze. Much more successful was our second encounter, versus a different kind of Ooze as well as a MOTHERLOVIN' DINOSAUR. I love this game.
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| See what you guys missed out on?!? |
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Epic D&D Day
Today I had two D&D games - one for my own group, one for the group Mac runs. I'm currently running a pre-gen module called The Last Breaths of Ashenport. My PCs, as members of the Silver Company, have been dispatched to Ashenport to investigate the rumors that every year around this time, travelers to Ashenport mysteriously disappear. The flavor of the module is distinctly Lovecraftian, and I thought it would be excellent for this time of year. To add to the atmosphere, I played the Spooky Symphonies Pandora station on my laptop. It was horror, and it was terrific! It was HORRIFIC! Wait...
In the first session of this adventure, our PCs made their way to Ashenport in the driving rain and immediately sought shelter at the well-appointed Smooth Sailing Tavern and Inn. They find that the inn is all but full with various treasure seekers and merchants, along with their bodyguards. Everyone settles in for the night without incident. But then! In the middle of the night a strange call is heard emerging from the ocean. Many cannot resist it's song, and are compelled to walk towards the ocean (no doubt, to drown). I didn't feel like printing all the maps for this adventure, but luckily I had a large-scale town map for the PCs to use. In order to snap their friends and the other traveler at the inn out of their trance, every adventurer who was aware had to attack their allies and the NPCs. Heh, that was fun.
To make a long story short (too late) the party quickly realizes that no townspeople seem to be affected by this call. They intimidate a frightened villager into revealing that a ritual is being performed that will protect the town and preserve its prosperity. The site of the ritual is the Gleaming Dawn church - before the PCs could act of this information, another call sounded. They rushed back to the inn to help save their fellow travelers (securing promised rewards for their efforts). On their way to the church, they were ambushed by abhorrent fish-men, foul creations spat up by whatever evil lurks beneath the waters of Ashenport.
In today's session, the PCs finally made it to the church - well, to the base of the hill the church sits upon. I decided to throw in a modified version of this puzzle challenge (source: The Player's DM, Puzzle of the Week), just to make the trip up more interesting than a simple Athletics check. My players did well, though not everyone could understand the puzzle. I feel like puzzles and riddles can be hit or miss, but are generally well-received by my group.
Once inside the church, the party fought two tough battles and made their way through a trapped corridor. They ended up taking a lot of damage and were running out of healing surges, so tension was high (yay). They decided to take an extended rest in an easily-defensible area of the dungeon - a small study off the trapped corridor. The module implies that the ritual is happening that night, but I can't imagine them going on without a rest. I will probably just hand-wave that the ritual is still ongoing when they emerge from their rest. Or will I? Dun dun DUNNNNNNN.
Next post: Mac's game!
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| Visit scenic Ashenport at least once (immediately) before you die! |
In the first session of this adventure, our PCs made their way to Ashenport in the driving rain and immediately sought shelter at the well-appointed Smooth Sailing Tavern and Inn. They find that the inn is all but full with various treasure seekers and merchants, along with their bodyguards. Everyone settles in for the night without incident. But then! In the middle of the night a strange call is heard emerging from the ocean. Many cannot resist it's song, and are compelled to walk towards the ocean (no doubt, to drown). I didn't feel like printing all the maps for this adventure, but luckily I had a large-scale town map for the PCs to use. In order to snap their friends and the other traveler at the inn out of their trance, every adventurer who was aware had to attack their allies and the NPCs. Heh, that was fun.
To make a long story short (too late) the party quickly realizes that no townspeople seem to be affected by this call. They intimidate a frightened villager into revealing that a ritual is being performed that will protect the town and preserve its prosperity. The site of the ritual is the Gleaming Dawn church - before the PCs could act of this information, another call sounded. They rushed back to the inn to help save their fellow travelers (securing promised rewards for their efforts). On their way to the church, they were ambushed by abhorrent fish-men, foul creations spat up by whatever evil lurks beneath the waters of Ashenport.
 |
| GROSS. |
In today's session, the PCs finally made it to the church - well, to the base of the hill the church sits upon. I decided to throw in a modified version of this puzzle challenge (source: The Player's DM, Puzzle of the Week), just to make the trip up more interesting than a simple Athletics check. My players did well, though not everyone could understand the puzzle. I feel like puzzles and riddles can be hit or miss, but are generally well-received by my group.
Once inside the church, the party fought two tough battles and made their way through a trapped corridor. They ended up taking a lot of damage and were running out of healing surges, so tension was high (yay). They decided to take an extended rest in an easily-defensible area of the dungeon - a small study off the trapped corridor. The module implies that the ritual is happening that night, but I can't imagine them going on without a rest. I will probably just hand-wave that the ritual is still ongoing when they emerge from their rest. Or will I? Dun dun DUNNNNNNN.
Next post: Mac's game!
Friday, November 2, 2012
Update on Family Ties (Mac's Campaign)
The last time this group met in person, we found our way to Sigil (the City of Doors) via the Feywild. If you recall, we are on a quest to rescue my character's uncle from the depths of the Abyss. Our first task was to find a porter to help us find "the Rule of Three." Our friend Tyler actually came on to voice one of the porters and help us complete the skill challenge - he decided to play the 8-year old street urchin as a fall-down drunk, to hilarious effect. Our porter provided map of Sigil telling us where to find "the Rule of Three." We rested for the night and got the help from some locals to figure out the map, which sounds like something we should just be able to do - until you realize Sigil looks like this:
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| Yes, it is a torus with bulidings covering the entire interior surface. It's like a dooughnut with a dense urban filling. Yum? |
And now, posted without DM permission, is the next step in our adventure!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Encounters 11.1 - Terrible Terrible DM
The other day, my friend David had this to say: "Your gaming blog is one of those things that starts out great, but then never gets updated." Or something like that. A seemingly innocent yet UTTERLY CUTTING remark, that I believe was revenge for me describing him as milquetoast. While I stand by my original assessment, I might have to upgrade him to usually milquetoast, but sometimes a total bitch. Which everyone should understand is meant as the highest of compliments. Also, the point is well taken - I haven't updated in forever, so I'm going to make a concentrated effort to blog EVERY DAY (on this blog, my TV blog, or a personal blog) for the month of November. Wish me luck!
Yesterday we started the new season of Encounters, which purports to introduce some elements of D&D Next while remaining true to D&D 4e. It's also trying to engage more experienced players by allowing more decision-making and having characters level up after each session. Additionally, we're finishing up with the Drow trilogy with War of Everlasting Darkness. For a program designed to introduce new players to the game, it's trying to do a lot. Still, largely on the strength of the endorsement of Dungeon's Master, I was willing to give this season a shot.
And then one of the regular DMs at our FLGS was trapped out of state by Frankenstorm Sandy. I was drafted to run the first session. Remembering the cluster that Encounters can sometimes be, and anticipating that I'd be running the newbie table, I decided to draft a list of rules - that I displayed prominently and handed out to each of the players. Yes, I am a control freak. You say that like it's news.
Rules of Sri's Table (Condensed)
1. No cell phones.
2. Pay attention and plan your turn.
3. Hold questions for the DM until your turn.
4. Do not interrupt the DM or another player.
5. Try not to roll your dice on the map.
6. If you are a new player, let the DM know (and you will be paired with a mentor).
7. Most importantly: have fun!
Since it was Halloween yesterday, my friend Maggie visited and brought goody bags for everyone. I think handing these rules out along with candy may have softened the sting. But as luck would have it, I ended up at a table of close friends who were all experienced players. So these rules were essentially superfluous - I saved the print-outs, though, in case I need to inflict them upon less courteous players.
We started out (as most adventures do) in a tavern. After the obligatory introductions, the PCs overheard that a phantom specter has been haunting the town. WotC actually gave them a choice - seek out further information from other townsfolk, follow the path of the phantom, or wait until nightfall and follow the phantom. My group chose to wait, and they followed the phantom into the Glimmerwood. There, they overheard a hushed conference between two orcs and a drow - the only purpose of which seemed to be to foreshadow the larger story arc. In continuing to follow the phantom, they come across a mixed group of freelance archaeologists (*cough*treasure hunters*cough*) who they ended up recruiting to follow them into the ruins the phantom seems to be inhabiting. They encountered a trap-filled dungeon, where they fought a minor imp.
There were a couple of different points along the way that combat could have happened, but the party decided not to attack the orcs or slaughter the treasure hunters. They could have defeated the imp by solving it's riddle, but the riddle was PREPOSTEROUS and by that time everyone was anxious to kill something. I applaud WotC for their attempt to give players a greater amount of choice and for trying to emphasize exploration of the world and interaction with NPCs. Those elements are some of the things that make home campaigns so much fun. However. In the Encounters setting, with a limited time frame and frankly minimal player investment, it felt kind of stilted and contrived.
It's like WotC heard that there were complaints about railroading and said, "Well, let's give them a bunch of choices... but make sure they still start and end at the sample place, OK?" It's. Still. Railroaded. But that's part of the structure of Encounters. It makes sense to do as little of the role-playing as possible - not my preference, but it's better than pretending your decisions make a difference. I can't believe I'm saying this, but if I were writing Encounters I would put in less interaction and exploration, not more. There's a time and a place, and this is just not it!
I will say that the flavor text for this session was good, especially the final scene where the characters emerge from the ruins only to find a sinister black web weaving itself over their heads. Could this be Lolth's Demon Weave, the foul construct of the Spider Queen that is slowly draining all arcane energy from the world, coming to DOOM US ALL?!? Spoilers: of course it is.
As always, for a more coherent recap check out Dungeon's Master.
Yesterday we started the new season of Encounters, which purports to introduce some elements of D&D Next while remaining true to D&D 4e. It's also trying to engage more experienced players by allowing more decision-making and having characters level up after each session. Additionally, we're finishing up with the Drow trilogy with War of Everlasting Darkness. For a program designed to introduce new players to the game, it's trying to do a lot. Still, largely on the strength of the endorsement of Dungeon's Master, I was willing to give this season a shot.
And then one of the regular DMs at our FLGS was trapped out of state by Frankenstorm Sandy. I was drafted to run the first session. Remembering the cluster that Encounters can sometimes be, and anticipating that I'd be running the newbie table, I decided to draft a list of rules - that I displayed prominently and handed out to each of the players. Yes, I am a control freak. You say that like it's news.
Rules of Sri's Table (Condensed)
1. No cell phones.
2. Pay attention and plan your turn.
3. Hold questions for the DM until your turn.
4. Do not interrupt the DM or another player.
5. Try not to roll your dice on the map.
6. If you are a new player, let the DM know (and you will be paired with a mentor).
7. Most importantly: have fun!
Since it was Halloween yesterday, my friend Maggie visited and brought goody bags for everyone. I think handing these rules out along with candy may have softened the sting. But as luck would have it, I ended up at a table of close friends who were all experienced players. So these rules were essentially superfluous - I saved the print-outs, though, in case I need to inflict them upon less courteous players.
We started out (as most adventures do) in a tavern. After the obligatory introductions, the PCs overheard that a phantom specter has been haunting the town. WotC actually gave them a choice - seek out further information from other townsfolk, follow the path of the phantom, or wait until nightfall and follow the phantom. My group chose to wait, and they followed the phantom into the Glimmerwood. There, they overheard a hushed conference between two orcs and a drow - the only purpose of which seemed to be to foreshadow the larger story arc. In continuing to follow the phantom, they come across a mixed group of freelance archaeologists (*cough*treasure hunters*cough*) who they ended up recruiting to follow them into the ruins the phantom seems to be inhabiting. They encountered a trap-filled dungeon, where they fought a minor imp.
There were a couple of different points along the way that combat could have happened, but the party decided not to attack the orcs or slaughter the treasure hunters. They could have defeated the imp by solving it's riddle, but the riddle was PREPOSTEROUS and by that time everyone was anxious to kill something. I applaud WotC for their attempt to give players a greater amount of choice and for trying to emphasize exploration of the world and interaction with NPCs. Those elements are some of the things that make home campaigns so much fun. However. In the Encounters setting, with a limited time frame and frankly minimal player investment, it felt kind of stilted and contrived.
It's like WotC heard that there were complaints about railroading and said, "Well, let's give them a bunch of choices... but make sure they still start and end at the sample place, OK?" It's. Still. Railroaded. But that's part of the structure of Encounters. It makes sense to do as little of the role-playing as possible - not my preference, but it's better than pretending your decisions make a difference. I can't believe I'm saying this, but if I were writing Encounters I would put in less interaction and exploration, not more. There's a time and a place, and this is just not it!
I will say that the flavor text for this session was good, especially the final scene where the characters emerge from the ruins only to find a sinister black web weaving itself over their heads. Could this be Lolth's Demon Weave, the foul construct of the Spider Queen that is slowly draining all arcane energy from the world, coming to DOOM US ALL?!? Spoilers: of course it is.
As always, for a more coherent recap check out Dungeon's Master.
Monday, September 17, 2012
The Great Geek Sexism Debate
My friend Stephanie sent me this really interesting article from io9: The Great Geek Sexism Debate. It summarizes three incidents at recent conventions that have lead to "very public discussions about sexism and sexual harassment" in the nerd/geek community. If you haven't already, click through and read the article. I found it to be quite informative and remarkably unbiased. And in trolling the interwebs I found this article with ALL THE LINKS to information on other incidents of sexism/harassment in gaming, nerd/geek culture as a whole, and comic books: Sexism in Geek Culture, with a look at Comics. Careful, this last one isn't safe for work productivity - I've already spent a good portion of my day following various stories down their respective rabbit holes.
In general, my sense of nerd/geek sexism is this: a few bad actors are extremely vocal/aggressive, while most of us just want to get back to our games, books, movies, whatever. Many would be satisfied with at "Don't Feed the Trolls" policy of ignoring inappropriate people and hoping they'll go away. But by not sending a message of zero tolerance for sexism/harassment, we allow for these things to happen again and again. If we as a community are really committed to inclusion and openness - as we should be - we've got to get past this. IMHO, the best way of going about that is not national campaigns or public statements. For gamers it starts at the table, with being able to look someone in the eyes and say, "What you just said? Not cool."
Quote of the Week: "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends." - Albus Dumbledore
In general, my sense of nerd/geek sexism is this: a few bad actors are extremely vocal/aggressive, while most of us just want to get back to our games, books, movies, whatever. Many would be satisfied with at "Don't Feed the Trolls" policy of ignoring inappropriate people and hoping they'll go away. But by not sending a message of zero tolerance for sexism/harassment, we allow for these things to happen again and again. If we as a community are really committed to inclusion and openness - as we should be - we've got to get past this. IMHO, the best way of going about that is not national campaigns or public statements. For gamers it starts at the table, with being able to look someone in the eyes and say, "What you just said? Not cool."
Quote of the Week: "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends." - Albus Dumbledore
Encounters 10.3: Curse Your Sudden Yet Inevitable Betrayal!
I hope y'all enjoyed my Twitter feed (@monkey_sri) during this brief, unscheduled hiatus. I tried to put some gaming content in there, but sadly was not 100% successful. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...
In last week's session of Encounters, we caught up with the treacherous drow priestess who had turned against her own party and left them for dead. She was accompanied by several hobgoblin toughs, and the battlefield was a narrow corridor. Being the only defender in the group, my character took quite a beating - Akneth was bloodied or unconscious half the time - but thanks to her druid ally, she made it through the Encounter in one piece. And then the fun began.
From one wall of the room we could hear a faint humming, actually composed of two melodies - one a chant to the goddess Lolth, the other some kind of wizard's mnemonic. Two adventurers had to place their hands on the wall and follow along with each melody - without confusing each other - to get through to the shrine. The DC was ridiculously low, but our rolls were ridiculously lower. Finally, our DM just let us take 20 to get through.
As soon as the wall disappeared, Akneth immediately leaped inside to complete her secret side mission - to douse the shrine with unholy water before the ritual could commence. In a shocking-to-no-one turn of events, the warlock of the party (and the only member of the House Xorlarrin) tried to stop her. Instead of being subtle or clever, however, he just fired an eldritch bolt at Akneth. Luckily, it missed. What I wanted was to have her turn around and beat his ass. But that would've extended the session and we were going out for karaoke afterwards. So she had to settle for reporting his betrayal back to her superiors.
So... interesting session. I'm still on the fence about this whole Stab Your Allies In The Back thing. Definitely not my favorite flavor of role-playing, but it does make for some interesting situations. It would be more fun, too, if I had allies who were in my house instead of having to be a faction of one.
In last week's session of Encounters, we caught up with the treacherous drow priestess who had turned against her own party and left them for dead. She was accompanied by several hobgoblin toughs, and the battlefield was a narrow corridor. Being the only defender in the group, my character took quite a beating - Akneth was bloodied or unconscious half the time - but thanks to her druid ally, she made it through the Encounter in one piece. And then the fun began.
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| These guys? Least of our worries. |
From one wall of the room we could hear a faint humming, actually composed of two melodies - one a chant to the goddess Lolth, the other some kind of wizard's mnemonic. Two adventurers had to place their hands on the wall and follow along with each melody - without confusing each other - to get through to the shrine. The DC was ridiculously low, but our rolls were ridiculously lower. Finally, our DM just let us take 20 to get through.
As soon as the wall disappeared, Akneth immediately leaped inside to complete her secret side mission - to douse the shrine with unholy water before the ritual could commence. In a shocking-to-no-one turn of events, the warlock of the party (and the only member of the House Xorlarrin) tried to stop her. Instead of being subtle or clever, however, he just fired an eldritch bolt at Akneth. Luckily, it missed. What I wanted was to have her turn around and beat his ass. But that would've extended the session and we were going out for karaoke afterwards. So she had to settle for reporting his betrayal back to her superiors.
So... interesting session. I'm still on the fence about this whole Stab Your Allies In The Back thing. Definitely not my favorite flavor of role-playing, but it does make for some interesting situations. It would be more fun, too, if I had allies who were in my house instead of having to be a faction of one.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Finding The Path To Sigil
Here's the latest skill challenge in Mac's campaign. I am always impressed at the creativity of my DM and all my fellow PCs - and now you can be, too!
Professor Finchley and Erek the Mage await you all in the library of Brilidien. Finchley speaks.
"Adventurers! It is a great task you have taken upon yourselves. Your journeys to find the answers you seek will lie far beyond this world, to the Center of the Universe itself.
"I can give you this starting advice; I have tended this library for many, many decades, and there is only one scrap of information here from which to start your research. The race of Ettin are two-headed giants, typically enormously stupid. A long time ago, one was born of surpassing brilliance. The two heads were smart enough to plot against each other, and one night, while one head slept, the other cast a ritual to try and draw magic from the Abyss. The energy he unleashed blasted the head off his shoulder, and the backlash drove the other head mad. He lived for one month, during which time he spoke in riddles. An eladrin mage contained him, and wrote down all he said; much of it has been proven true, and all of it pertains to the Abyss. Ours is a small kingdom, very much rooted to this world, and our library's knowledge of the other planes will not be extensive. The one page I have, copied from that mage's notes, is your best bet."
He holds up a piece of paper, burned around the edges, trapped between panes of glass.
"Not much directly relates to you, but this might help; 'To retrieve that which the Abyss has taken from you, you must travel to Sigil, City of Doors, and find the Rule-of-Three'. Not much to go on, I know. But it is one clear destination.
"Our services are at your disposal. We will each do whatever we can to help you find your way across the planes to Sigil."
Professor Finchley and Erek the Mage await you all in the library of Brilidien. Finchley speaks.
"Adventurers! It is a great task you have taken upon yourselves. Your journeys to find the answers you seek will lie far beyond this world, to the Center of the Universe itself.
"I can give you this starting advice; I have tended this library for many, many decades, and there is only one scrap of information here from which to start your research. The race of Ettin are two-headed giants, typically enormously stupid. A long time ago, one was born of surpassing brilliance. The two heads were smart enough to plot against each other, and one night, while one head slept, the other cast a ritual to try and draw magic from the Abyss. The energy he unleashed blasted the head off his shoulder, and the backlash drove the other head mad. He lived for one month, during which time he spoke in riddles. An eladrin mage contained him, and wrote down all he said; much of it has been proven true, and all of it pertains to the Abyss. Ours is a small kingdom, very much rooted to this world, and our library's knowledge of the other planes will not be extensive. The one page I have, copied from that mage's notes, is your best bet."
He holds up a piece of paper, burned around the edges, trapped between panes of glass.
"Not much directly relates to you, but this might help; 'To retrieve that which the Abyss has taken from you, you must travel to Sigil, City of Doors, and find the Rule-of-Three'. Not much to go on, I know. But it is one clear destination.
"Our services are at your disposal. We will each do whatever we can to help you find your way across the planes to Sigil."
Encounters 10.1 - Peanut Butter Jelly Time!
First combat session of Encounters, hooray! As I mentioned before, the adventurers this season had to choose a faction - House Melarn, House Xorlarrin, or the Bregan D’aerthe mercenary company. I noticed that most people wanted to be part of the mercenary company, and I wonder if that is because they think it will give them the most freedom of choice later on. I really hope that the three affiliations are balanced... mostly because I chose House Melarn!
Ostensibly, the three factions are united in their quest to help the evil goddess Lolth take over as goddess of all magic. To do this, Lolth has commanded her followers to drain magic items of their power and turn over the raw energy to her. Recently, a shrine to primordial magic was found and a group of drow were sent to harvest it. Apparently they failed, as they have not been seen or heard from since. The leaders of our various factions have commanded us, as a group, to search out the shrine and finish the task. Nothing can go wrong with this plan!
After these general instructions were given, each leader pulled the members of their faction aside for a private chat. I don't want to say much more, but I could see how my instructions could potentially set up an interesting conflict. But, wait! I've said too much...
We proceed into the cave (Cave, cave, of course, a cave! Freakin' Underdark) and are almost immediately set upon by an Ocher Jelly and half a dozen spindly-legged minions. Being a paladin, I charged right into battle, trying to subject as many people as possible to my Defenders Aura (enemies standing next to me get punished for attacking my allies). I ended up dropping a Cloud of Darkness, and I immediately hated myself for it.
We beat the baddies in this session pretty handily, and rescued the previous drow party. They informed us that one of their priestesses had betrayed them, and that was the only reason they were defeated by Jelly & Co. Riiiiiiight. I have to say, it's fun role playing a drow character. For example, here's how the exchange between me and the rescued drow NPC went:
Me: Is his house higher or lower in rank than mine?
Mac: Lower.
Me: Akneth says, "We've come to complete the mission at which you failed, pathetic scum!"
Mac: Wait... Actually, he's higher.
Me: Okay, in that case she says, "With respect, we are here to rescue you and continue your glorious task in the service of Lolth."
Next Time: On the trail of the rogue priestess! But I will be out of town, so check out Dungeon's Master for updates.
Ostensibly, the three factions are united in their quest to help the evil goddess Lolth take over as goddess of all magic. To do this, Lolth has commanded her followers to drain magic items of their power and turn over the raw energy to her. Recently, a shrine to primordial magic was found and a group of drow were sent to harvest it. Apparently they failed, as they have not been seen or heard from since. The leaders of our various factions have commanded us, as a group, to search out the shrine and finish the task. Nothing can go wrong with this plan!
After these general instructions were given, each leader pulled the members of their faction aside for a private chat. I don't want to say much more, but I could see how my instructions could potentially set up an interesting conflict. But, wait! I've said too much...
We proceed into the cave (Cave, cave, of course, a cave! Freakin' Underdark) and are almost immediately set upon by an Ocher Jelly and half a dozen spindly-legged minions. Being a paladin, I charged right into battle, trying to subject as many people as possible to my Defenders Aura (enemies standing next to me get punished for attacking my allies). I ended up dropping a Cloud of Darkness, and I immediately hated myself for it.
We beat the baddies in this session pretty handily, and rescued the previous drow party. They informed us that one of their priestesses had betrayed them, and that was the only reason they were defeated by Jelly & Co. Riiiiiiight. I have to say, it's fun role playing a drow character. For example, here's how the exchange between me and the rescued drow NPC went:
Me: Is his house higher or lower in rank than mine?
Mac: Lower.
Me: Akneth says, "We've come to complete the mission at which you failed, pathetic scum!"
Mac: Wait... Actually, he's higher.
Me: Okay, in that case she says, "With respect, we are here to rescue you and continue your glorious task in the service of Lolth."
Next Time: On the trail of the rogue priestess! But I will be out of town, so check out Dungeon's Master for updates.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
D&D Trouble in Brilidien
At the end of our successful skill challenge, we got 5 temp hp for the first battle as well as some acid damage dealing range weapons from the lizardfolk. Awesome! I wrote this for Kismet's reunion with his adventuring party:
Kismet has used his influence at the turnip festival to obtain horses for him and his entourage. Just as they approach the final stretch of road towards Brilidien, he sees a familiar figure astride a enormous dragonfly. Spurring his horse into a gallop, he calls out, "Stumbleduck!" She looks around and, with a huge grin on her face, turns Glitterstitch to fly directly at him. At the last possible moment, when it seems a collision is inevitable, she disperses Glitterstitch and leaps into her bestie's arms. Kismet manages to stay in the saddle, but only barely, and the two laugh their fool heads off. In other words, EPIC HUG ATTACK!
Once they have recovered, Kismet explains that his mother Celle has sent him a letter urging him to come home. Stumbleduck tells him she has received a similar missive from her former master. Kismet dismounts to exchanges a less exuberant but no less sincere handshake with Valna. Stumbleduck then introduces Kismet to Heian, Travok, and Bishop. Something flashes in his eyes when he greets the dragonborn, but his smile never waivers.
Kismet has used his influence at the turnip festival to obtain horses for him and his entourage. Just as they approach the final stretch of road towards Brilidien, he sees a familiar figure astride a enormous dragonfly. Spurring his horse into a gallop, he calls out, "Stumbleduck!" She looks around and, with a huge grin on her face, turns Glitterstitch to fly directly at him. At the last possible moment, when it seems a collision is inevitable, she disperses Glitterstitch and leaps into her bestie's arms. Kismet manages to stay in the saddle, but only barely, and the two laugh their fool heads off. In other words, EPIC HUG ATTACK!
Once they have recovered, Kismet explains that his mother Celle has sent him a letter urging him to come home. Stumbleduck tells him she has received a similar missive from her former master. Kismet dismounts to exchanges a less exuberant but no less sincere handshake with Valna. Stumbleduck then introduces Kismet to Heian, Travok, and Bishop. Something flashes in his eyes when he greets the dragonborn, but his smile never waivers.
Turtle Power!
A side benefit of hanging out at your Friendly Local Game Shop is that you make friends with some of the cool people who work there. My friends Esther and Judy from Labyrinth are awesome! Last weekend, the three of us went out with a meetup.com group to a new "barcade" (bar + arcade) that just opened up, Atlas Arcade. It was rumored that they had the old-school Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, so we honored everyone's favorite heroes on the half-shell by meeting up for pizza first.
I love the idea of Atlas Arcade, since it combines two of my favorite things - booze and nostalgia. Unfortunately, everyone else on the planet likes these things too. When we got there around 9:30 on a Saturday, the place was busy. There was still some room to move around, but the people playing pool kept having to ask people to move out of the way of their cues. Little by little, however, people started filing in and soon there wasn't enough elbow room to play half of the games (which were all crammed together along one wall). By the time we left around 11pm, the place was PACKED - we had to basically nudge and shove our way out the door.
I can see Atlas Arcade as a cool place to go on a weeknight after dinner, when it's not so crowded, to have a few drinks and a few laughs playing awesome (or awesomely bad) old-school arcade games. Still, the meetup was fun and I think we all had a good time. I'm already looking forward to the next one!
 | ||
| I had the Farmer's Daughter at H & Pizza... if you know what I mean! |
I love the idea of Atlas Arcade, since it combines two of my favorite things - booze and nostalgia. Unfortunately, everyone else on the planet likes these things too. When we got there around 9:30 on a Saturday, the place was busy. There was still some room to move around, but the people playing pool kept having to ask people to move out of the way of their cues. Little by little, however, people started filing in and soon there wasn't enough elbow room to play half of the games (which were all crammed together along one wall). By the time we left around 11pm, the place was PACKED - we had to basically nudge and shove our way out the door.
 |
| Eventually, I just broke out my nun-chucks. Kidding! |
I can see Atlas Arcade as a cool place to go on a weeknight after dinner, when it's not so crowded, to have a few drinks and a few laughs playing awesome (or awesomely bad) old-school arcade games. Still, the meetup was fun and I think we all had a good time. I'm already looking forward to the next one!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Journey to Brilidien: Heian
The final member of our party is Paul, who is playing an elf ranger named Heian. His back story is still something of a mystery, but here's Paul's response to Mac's skill challenge:
As Travok returns to the fireside, Heian excuses himself and slips into the surrounding forest. This may be the last chance to enjoy his natural environment for some time, and Heian wants to make the most of it.
Heian starts his wandering spiraling out from the camp, keeping the ever-shrinking glow of the fire on his right. When the voices and dancing shadows are barely noticable, he stops and listens to the sounds of nature. He can hear the sound of a deer looking for a place to sleep and a badger that is just waking up for the night. When the wind rustles the leaves, Heian catches a glimpse of bright blue in the moonlight from one of the trees above, and smiles to himself.
Minutes later Heian walks back into the firelight with a dozen pheasants dressed, seasoned (using natural herbs), and ready to be roasted. "I didn't realize that my desire to spend time among the trees while we can would lead me to spending time beneath a pheasant roost."
Nature: 26
With everyone's contributions, we beat the "hard" difficulty for the skill challenge - hooray! We were rewarded thusly:
As Travok returns to the fireside, Heian excuses himself and slips into the surrounding forest. This may be the last chance to enjoy his natural environment for some time, and Heian wants to make the most of it.
Heian starts his wandering spiraling out from the camp, keeping the ever-shrinking glow of the fire on his right. When the voices and dancing shadows are barely noticable, he stops and listens to the sounds of nature. He can hear the sound of a deer looking for a place to sleep and a badger that is just waking up for the night. When the wind rustles the leaves, Heian catches a glimpse of bright blue in the moonlight from one of the trees above, and smiles to himself.
Minutes later Heian walks back into the firelight with a dozen pheasants dressed, seasoned (using natural herbs), and ready to be roasted. "I didn't realize that my desire to spend time among the trees while we can would lead me to spending time beneath a pheasant roost."
Nature: 26
With everyone's contributions, we beat the "hard" difficulty for the skill challenge - hooray! We were rewarded thusly:
Journey to Brilidien: Travok
Perhaps Reuven's character summary says it all:
Travok. Dwarf. Axe-swinger.
You'd think that a simple character like that wouldn't have much to say/do in a skill challenge. Well, you would be WRONG. Here is Reuven's epic response to Mac's challenge:
Travok. Dwarf. Axe-swinger.
You'd think that a simple character like that wouldn't have much to say/do in a skill challenge. Well, you would be WRONG. Here is Reuven's epic response to Mac's challenge:
Journey to Brilidien: Kismet
And now, submitted without comment, is my contribution to the skill challenge:
Kismet is making excellent time towards Brilidien, and everywhere he stops he hears tales of his boon companions Valna and Stumbleduck, who have apparently joined forces with several other adventurers. At a local turnip festival, he meets up with his entourage - Tancha, Shirk, and Berg. They are, of course, thrilled to see him and eager to hear of his adventures in the Kadagast mountains. They have secured lodging in the hayloft of a barn (since all the inns were full) and the four spend the night in comfort and merriment. However, in the morning Kismet is distressed to find that he has lost his friends' trail.
So he goes to the organizer of the turnip festival and tries to strike a bargain. He will write and perform a selection of songs dedicated to a certain root vegetable, if he will be allowed to make an announcement asking after his friends. The organizer agrees, and Kismet and his groupies get to work. They commandeer a stage (built by the festival for awards presentation), and the everyone in town gathers for the performance. After his set (and the encore, and the second encore) Kismet describes Stumbleduck and Valna in detail and asks if anyone has seen adventurers matching their description.
Diplomacy: 21
At this point, we had fulfilled the "moderate" threshold for the skill challenge. Mac picked up the story with the main party in the swamp.
Kismet is making excellent time towards Brilidien, and everywhere he stops he hears tales of his boon companions Valna and Stumbleduck, who have apparently joined forces with several other adventurers. At a local turnip festival, he meets up with his entourage - Tancha, Shirk, and Berg. They are, of course, thrilled to see him and eager to hear of his adventures in the Kadagast mountains. They have secured lodging in the hayloft of a barn (since all the inns were full) and the four spend the night in comfort and merriment. However, in the morning Kismet is distressed to find that he has lost his friends' trail.
So he goes to the organizer of the turnip festival and tries to strike a bargain. He will write and perform a selection of songs dedicated to a certain root vegetable, if he will be allowed to make an announcement asking after his friends. The organizer agrees, and Kismet and his groupies get to work. They commandeer a stage (built by the festival for awards presentation), and the everyone in town gathers for the performance. After his set (and the encore, and the second encore) Kismet describes Stumbleduck and Valna in detail and asks if anyone has seen adventurers matching their description.
Diplomacy: 21
At this point, we had fulfilled the "moderate" threshold for the skill challenge. Mac picked up the story with the main party in the swamp.
Journey to Brilidien: Bishop
And now, here's Kevin's response to the skill challenge. He has DM'ed his own campaign, so he's incredibly creative - as you'll see below, he took Maggie's idea and ran with it. First, however, some back story:
Bishop is a very old Dragonborn. His scales are mottled and a silvery grey due to age. In his prime, he was a great Paladin in Bahamut's order. However, Bishop has long since been retired, content to maintain a peaceful watch over the farming community he calls home. It seems though that Bahamut still has a mission for Bishop in his later years as an old voice came to him to have him take up his craghammer one again, begrudgingly so.
His sense of duty, whether it truly is a calling or senility playing tricks on the mind, compels him forward.
Now, part II of the skill challenge:
Bishop is a very old Dragonborn. His scales are mottled and a silvery grey due to age. In his prime, he was a great Paladin in Bahamut's order. However, Bishop has long since been retired, content to maintain a peaceful watch over the farming community he calls home. It seems though that Bahamut still has a mission for Bishop in his later years as an old voice came to him to have him take up his craghammer one again, begrudgingly so.
His sense of duty, whether it truly is a calling or senility playing tricks on the mind, compels him forward.
Now, part II of the skill challenge:
Journey to Brilidien: Valna
Maggie was the first to respond to Mac's skill challenge. This was awesome because, when we're doing this during our sessions, Maggie is usually the least excited about skill challenges. First, here's a little bit more about her character:
Valna is a half-elf babarian. She's not too bright, and is happiest outside in nature (sometimes as herself, sometimes as a bear), stabbing bad guys, and sexing up the local hot guys and girls. She tends to act first and think later (if at all) and prefers to just charge into a room and start killing things. Oh, she also tends to fall into rages... but has learned to limit her anger to the battlefield.
She's been with Stumbleduck and Kismet for a while now and is very loyal and protective of them in a big (very big) sister kind of way. She's pretty accepting of all these new folks - as long as they also like to kill bad guys they'll get along great.
And here is Maggie's response to the Skill Challenge:
Valna is a half-elf babarian. She's not too bright, and is happiest outside in nature (sometimes as herself, sometimes as a bear), stabbing bad guys, and sexing up the local hot guys and girls. She tends to act first and think later (if at all) and prefers to just charge into a room and start killing things. Oh, she also tends to fall into rages... but has learned to limit her anger to the battlefield.
She's been with Stumbleduck and Kismet for a while now and is very loyal and protective of them in a big (very big) sister kind of way. She's pretty accepting of all these new folks - as long as they also like to kill bad guys they'll get along great.
And here is Maggie's response to the Skill Challenge:
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Journey to Brilidien
The hardest part about playing D&D is often finding a time to play. Take six busy adults' schedules, subtract work hours and other commitments, account for travel time and that pesky need to sleep, and you end up with surprisingly few hours to work with. One solution is to do some of the noncombat roleplaying/skill challenges via email. In Mac's current (untitled) adventure, we are working on getting back to the Kingdom of Brilidien, where Kismet and Stumbleduck grew up. Kismet was separated from the party (while I was DM), and so he has to play catch-up. Below the cut is the prompt Mac originally sent.
Encounters Season 10, Session 0: Character Creation
Yesterday marked the start of the 10th season of D&D Encounters, entitled "Council of Spiders." I usually skip Session 0, aka the character creation session, because I just use Character Builder at home. However, this season is going to be really weird - as detailed below - so I thought it would be important to attend.
Races are limited to drow and drow slaves, and there is a limited selection of classes. For example, only drow can be clerics, but only non-drow can be druids.You also must choose an affiliation that will dictate some of your choices/actions going forward. The three choices are House Melarn (a house whose members rank highly among the Priestesses of Lolth), House Xorlarrin (a higher-ranking house of mages - magic being considered necessary but contemptible in drow society, the houses are essentially equal), or the Bregan D'aerthe mercenaries (predominantly male group of assassins, spies, etc).
Another new facet of the game is that the PCs are encouraged to play evil characters and/or betray each other. At first this seemed to run contrary to the shared storytelling experience, also known as "the whole point of D&D." However, with a good DM, I'm starting to see this as a great role-playing opportunity. How will we come together as a group? Why would we stay together? What will happen after the first betrayal? These are role-playing questions that you seldom need to address in a home campaign. My only fear is that some players, especially newbies, might take in-game backstabbing personally.
Mac, being an awesome DM, had a mini-encounter prepared for after we finished discussing our characters. Only a couple of us had created a character ahead of time, so everyone else used the pre-gens provided by WotC. They were basically the same pre-gens we've been getting every season since season one, except that they were all drow. Our two controllers went first, and because the enemies were nicely clustered they both landed EPIC area attacks. On my turn I leaped across a shallow pool and struck one of them with my broadsword - only to have the few remaining enemies turn invisible and run away... grrr. I also helped the newbie sitting next to me, and he did really well - he cornered the final bad guy, so I was able to swoop in for the killing blow. Teamwork, dreamwork!
Once again, for more detailed/coherent recaps and all the inside scoops, check out Dungeon's Master.
Races are limited to drow and drow slaves, and there is a limited selection of classes. For example, only drow can be clerics, but only non-drow can be druids.You also must choose an affiliation that will dictate some of your choices/actions going forward. The three choices are House Melarn (a house whose members rank highly among the Priestesses of Lolth), House Xorlarrin (a higher-ranking house of mages - magic being considered necessary but contemptible in drow society, the houses are essentially equal), or the Bregan D'aerthe mercenaries (predominantly male group of assassins, spies, etc).
 |
| I'm playing a drow paladin of House Melarn, named Akneth. |
Another new facet of the game is that the PCs are encouraged to play evil characters and/or betray each other. At first this seemed to run contrary to the shared storytelling experience, also known as "the whole point of D&D." However, with a good DM, I'm starting to see this as a great role-playing opportunity. How will we come together as a group? Why would we stay together? What will happen after the first betrayal? These are role-playing questions that you seldom need to address in a home campaign. My only fear is that some players, especially newbies, might take in-game backstabbing personally.
 |
| Nothing personal. NOW, DIE! |
Mac, being an awesome DM, had a mini-encounter prepared for after we finished discussing our characters. Only a couple of us had created a character ahead of time, so everyone else used the pre-gens provided by WotC. They were basically the same pre-gens we've been getting every season since season one, except that they were all drow. Our two controllers went first, and because the enemies were nicely clustered they both landed EPIC area attacks. On my turn I leaped across a shallow pool and struck one of them with my broadsword - only to have the few remaining enemies turn invisible and run away... grrr. I also helped the newbie sitting next to me, and he did really well - he cornered the final bad guy, so I was able to swoop in for the killing blow. Teamwork, dreamwork!
Once again, for more detailed/coherent recaps and all the inside scoops, check out Dungeon's Master.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Silver Company: Dunsmere Ruins II
Here is the recap for the home campaign session I ran yesterday, with DM color commentary (DMCC) in italics. If you are one of my PCs and have had enough of my comments for one week, you can skip those bits. Cool?
--
When last we left our adventurers, they were investigating a disturbance at Dunsemere Ruins. They found and dispatched a pack of gnolls and their pet hyenas. Lo and behold, the gnolls had captured a pair of half-orc siblings - Bree and Ugarth (played by our friends Dori and David, who were just joining the group this session). The convinced these newcomers to join their group, if not the Silver Company (the oath of loyalty seemed to be a sticking point). The final tower of Dunsmere Ruins opened to reveal a Barlgura demon performing a dark ritual.
DMCC: Not to pick favorites, but our eladrin wizard Aranelle (played by my friend Rachel) was a total superstar this session! In game, Aranelle used her powers wisely and controlled the board like a BOSS. Out of game, Rachel planned her turns beautifully. I use a timer to try to keep things on track - Rachel's turns typically took 15 seconds OR LESS. This is especially remarkable for the controller role, which tends to be more complicated.
DMCC: I was also impressed by our new players jumping into the game. David had played D&D in a previous edition, and Dori had observed a game with us a while back - so they knew some basics. I created Essentials characters for them, which are much simpler but just as effective. I also had them come over an hour early so we could cover some game mechanics, do a couple practice rounds, etc.
After defeating the Barlgura and the remaining gnolls, the PCs investigate the site of the dark ritual. They find a level 11 magic item, which they use several skill checks to purify. They also discover that this portal was not meant to bring something here from the Abyss, but rather to send things away. In searching the bodies from the previous battle, they find that they do not bear the primal magic totems that have been cropping up on monsters all over Corbais. Curiouser and curiouser...
DMCC: I find it easier to allow the party to decide who gets the magic item, and then let that PC pick an item of the appropriate level. This allows items to be distributed more evenly - the question becomes, "who needs an item?" rather than, "who can use this particular item?" I think the party decided to give the item to our dryad ranger Iriena (played by Katja).
On the way back to the Eastern Outpost, the party runs into a humble cabbage merchant. His entire shipment of prize-winning produce has been stolen, and he will pay handsomely to have it retrieved. The merchant strikes a deal with the Silver Company commander, Ingrid, and after replenishing some of their stores the party strikes out once again into the forest. There is an obvious trail where the cabbages have been dragged away, which leads to a graveyard. Of course it does.
The merchant's description of the bandits - gray-skinned with strange tattoos - suddenly makes sense when the party comes upon a group of shadar-kai. The PCs take quite a beating at the hands of the shadar-kai, their spectral panther, and some rot scarab swarms disturbed by the battle. In the end, of course, they arise triumphant. They don't have much time to rest - without a doubt, more trouble is lurking deeper within the graveyard.
DMCC: I decided gave the PCs an option - if they forgo the healing portion of the rest (they'd still get their encounter powers back), they can get a surprise round in the next encounter. I know this kind of improvisation can backfire, but I just like trying new things. The party opted for the surprise round, so things are about to get a mite interesting. *eyebrow waggle*
--
When last we left our adventurers, they were investigating a disturbance at Dunsemere Ruins. They found and dispatched a pack of gnolls and their pet hyenas. Lo and behold, the gnolls had captured a pair of half-orc siblings - Bree and Ugarth (played by our friends Dori and David, who were just joining the group this session). The convinced these newcomers to join their group, if not the Silver Company (the oath of loyalty seemed to be a sticking point). The final tower of Dunsmere Ruins opened to reveal a Barlgura demon performing a dark ritual.
 |
| Are these guys smart enough to performed a ritual? Probably not, but whatevs. |
DMCC: Not to pick favorites, but our eladrin wizard Aranelle (played by my friend Rachel) was a total superstar this session! In game, Aranelle used her powers wisely and controlled the board like a BOSS. Out of game, Rachel planned her turns beautifully. I use a timer to try to keep things on track - Rachel's turns typically took 15 seconds OR LESS. This is especially remarkable for the controller role, which tends to be more complicated.
 |
| Spell-casting with the QUICKNESS. |
DMCC: I was also impressed by our new players jumping into the game. David had played D&D in a previous edition, and Dori had observed a game with us a while back - so they knew some basics. I created Essentials characters for them, which are much simpler but just as effective. I also had them come over an hour early so we could cover some game mechanics, do a couple practice rounds, etc.
After defeating the Barlgura and the remaining gnolls, the PCs investigate the site of the dark ritual. They find a level 11 magic item, which they use several skill checks to purify. They also discover that this portal was not meant to bring something here from the Abyss, but rather to send things away. In searching the bodies from the previous battle, they find that they do not bear the primal magic totems that have been cropping up on monsters all over Corbais. Curiouser and curiouser...
DMCC: I find it easier to allow the party to decide who gets the magic item, and then let that PC pick an item of the appropriate level. This allows items to be distributed more evenly - the question becomes, "who needs an item?" rather than, "who can use this particular item?" I think the party decided to give the item to our dryad ranger Iriena (played by Katja).
On the way back to the Eastern Outpost, the party runs into a humble cabbage merchant. His entire shipment of prize-winning produce has been stolen, and he will pay handsomely to have it retrieved. The merchant strikes a deal with the Silver Company commander, Ingrid, and after replenishing some of their stores the party strikes out once again into the forest. There is an obvious trail where the cabbages have been dragged away, which leads to a graveyard. Of course it does.
The merchant's description of the bandits - gray-skinned with strange tattoos - suddenly makes sense when the party comes upon a group of shadar-kai. The PCs take quite a beating at the hands of the shadar-kai, their spectral panther, and some rot scarab swarms disturbed by the battle. In the end, of course, they arise triumphant. They don't have much time to rest - without a doubt, more trouble is lurking deeper within the graveyard.
DMCC: I decided gave the PCs an option - if they forgo the healing portion of the rest (they'd still get their encounter powers back), they can get a surprise round in the next encounter. I know this kind of improvisation can backfire, but I just like trying new things. The party opted for the surprise round, so things are about to get a mite interesting. *eyebrow waggle*
Encounters Recap: Session 13
We've slogged through the Underdark, fighting drow, ogres, drow, spiders, drow, goblins, oh and did I mention the drow? We've recovered to two halves of the Pendant of Ashabba and freed countless slaves. We've become stronger than ever before, all leading up to this moment - BOSS FIGHT!
I can't accurately describe the scene for this Encounters session because, due in part to legitimate personal misfortunes, our DM misplaced the map. In previous versions of the game, I gather that maps were not essential - I vaguely remember playing 2nd Edition with my brother and his friends, and we hardly used a map at all. Not so much in 4th Edition, in my experience. Still, we powered through by modifying the map from a previous encounter. Before any fighting - through a magical MacGuffin - we all got bonuses based on our role. I was a "theocrat," e.g. a cleric, so I got to heal my allies whenever I hit. Too bad I never hit with this character. *sad trombone noise*
The task in this session was two-fold: first, we had to defeat Valan Jaelre, the drow spellcaster/BBEG, a couple of driders, and several flying drow baddies. No problem, right? Luckily for someone (either the bad guys or us, not entirely sure) our modified map included a bottleneck/choke point. Our defender stood right in the middle of everything and soaked up damage, and I stood right behind him and kept him alive. I realized later that the flying - excuse me, levitating - drow were actually out of range for us (we were an overwhelmingly melee party) for most of the battle. Chalk this one up to DM inattention, and see above re: legitimate personal misfortunes.
While we were fighting off the drow, we also had to perform a ritual to repair the Pendant of Ashabba - we had to heat it, douse it in water, then bind it with the blood of our NPC ally/heir to the kingdom, Khara. Our goblin scout took his first turn to throw the pieces into a fire, then took his next turn trying to set up step three to save time. Specifically, he ran up to Khara and STABBED HER WITH HIS DAGGER. It was kind of hilarious. He then wiped off the blood with a piece of his tunic and gave both the locket and the rag to our rouge, whose speed was eight. She dashed across the board (thanks in part to the fact that the MacGuffin let her be insubstantial during her turn), dipped the pendant in water, wrapped it up in the blood-stained cloth, and hey presto! Pendant and peace were restored. The peasants rejoiced - yay. What we thought was the BBEG turned out to be nothing but a simulacrum, however, meaning that the real Valan Jaelre is still out there somewhere...
To be continued in D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders!
I can't accurately describe the scene for this Encounters session because, due in part to legitimate personal misfortunes, our DM misplaced the map. In previous versions of the game, I gather that maps were not essential - I vaguely remember playing 2nd Edition with my brother and his friends, and we hardly used a map at all. Not so much in 4th Edition, in my experience. Still, we powered through by modifying the map from a previous encounter. Before any fighting - through a magical MacGuffin - we all got bonuses based on our role. I was a "theocrat," e.g. a cleric, so I got to heal my allies whenever I hit. Too bad I never hit with this character. *sad trombone noise*
The task in this session was two-fold: first, we had to defeat Valan Jaelre, the drow spellcaster/BBEG, a couple of driders, and several flying drow baddies. No problem, right? Luckily for someone (either the bad guys or us, not entirely sure) our modified map included a bottleneck/choke point. Our defender stood right in the middle of everything and soaked up damage, and I stood right behind him and kept him alive. I realized later that the flying - excuse me, levitating - drow were actually out of range for us (we were an overwhelmingly melee party) for most of the battle. Chalk this one up to DM inattention, and see above re: legitimate personal misfortunes.
While we were fighting off the drow, we also had to perform a ritual to repair the Pendant of Ashabba - we had to heat it, douse it in water, then bind it with the blood of our NPC ally/heir to the kingdom, Khara. Our goblin scout took his first turn to throw the pieces into a fire, then took his next turn trying to set up step three to save time. Specifically, he ran up to Khara and STABBED HER WITH HIS DAGGER. It was kind of hilarious. He then wiped off the blood with a piece of his tunic and gave both the locket and the rag to our rouge, whose speed was eight. She dashed across the board (thanks in part to the fact that the MacGuffin let her be insubstantial during her turn), dipped the pendant in water, wrapped it up in the blood-stained cloth, and hey presto! Pendant and peace were restored. The peasants rejoiced - yay. What we thought was the BBEG turned out to be nothing but a simulacrum, however, meaning that the real Valan Jaelre is still out there somewhere...
To be continued in D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders!
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| Is it just me, or does the drow on the right (Valan Jaelre?) have super weird look on his face? |
Monday, August 13, 2012
Encounters Recap: Session 12
I WAS LIED TO. Just kidding - my Encounters DM made a mistake, and told us last week that we only had one session left, instead of two. So THIS is my post about the penultimate Encounters for this season.
This session was kind of painful. First off, we were down two players - Mac was out of town and our friend Ian just moved out of the country (he claimed it wasn't just to get away from us). We got some help from the NPCs we were rescuing, and thank goodness because without her we would've been KILLED.
As it was, we got bottle-necked at the entrance due to the fact that (a) the passage was somewhat narrow and (b) there was a giant web-golem in our way. With Aura 2, "creatures entering or beginning their turn in the aura are slowed until the beginning of the golem's next turn." In other words, forever. None of us had teleport powers, and none of us had powers with the fire keyword (we found out later that he was Vulnerable 5 fire).
I finally got away from the golem by readying an action to run as soon as our drow hunter used her attack to push him back. This of course sparked the usual debate about the differences between delaying a turn and readying an action. The main point is that delaying moves you in initiative order - you are holding your entire turn, and can come in (with any/all of your three turn actions) whenever you wish. Readying an action keeps you in the same initiative order, except you use just your standard action out of turn - and you must declare beforehand what exactly will trigger your action. There you go - clear as mud!
Did I mention this encounter also contained three Deathjump Spiders? They've got insane mobility and attacks that cause both immediate and ongoing damage. I remember the first time I used these against my PCs - I was not very well liked by the end of it. This time, one of our party members fell to zero HP, and another was close to the brink when we finally dispatched the last of the monsters. But hey, any encounter you can be revived from... Next week: we come face to face with the BBEG!
This session was kind of painful. First off, we were down two players - Mac was out of town and our friend Ian just moved out of the country (he claimed it wasn't just to get away from us). We got some help from the NPCs we were rescuing, and thank goodness because without her we would've been KILLED.
As it was, we got bottle-necked at the entrance due to the fact that (a) the passage was somewhat narrow and (b) there was a giant web-golem in our way. With Aura 2, "creatures entering or beginning their turn in the aura are slowed until the beginning of the golem's next turn." In other words, forever. None of us had teleport powers, and none of us had powers with the fire keyword (we found out later that he was Vulnerable 5 fire).
 |
| Fraaaaaaak. |
I finally got away from the golem by readying an action to run as soon as our drow hunter used her attack to push him back. This of course sparked the usual debate about the differences between delaying a turn and readying an action. The main point is that delaying moves you in initiative order - you are holding your entire turn, and can come in (with any/all of your three turn actions) whenever you wish. Readying an action keeps you in the same initiative order, except you use just your standard action out of turn - and you must declare beforehand what exactly will trigger your action. There you go - clear as mud!
Did I mention this encounter also contained three Deathjump Spiders? They've got insane mobility and attacks that cause both immediate and ongoing damage. I remember the first time I used these against my PCs - I was not very well liked by the end of it. This time, one of our party members fell to zero HP, and another was close to the brink when we finally dispatched the last of the monsters. But hey, any encounter you can be revived from... Next week: we come face to face with the BBEG!
Bridge Weekend
Quote of the Week: "Bridge is a social, but not very sociable game. That is if you take it seriously, as most bridge players do." - Ruth Mills Teague
Back on college, a group of friends and I formed an unlikely group: Bridge Club. Several of them (including my BFF Maggie) had studied abroad in Scotland and picked up the game there. I wormed my way in by living in their dorm and knowing bridge from childhood. Along the way (as people graduated, as most of us migrated to DC, etc) we added roommates, frat brothers, band geeks, ex-boyfriends, and spouses. This year, we decided to revive one of Bridge Club's favorite traditions - Bridge Weekend. Basically, we rent a nice vacation home (hot tub a must) and spend several days drinking and playing cards.
If you've ever played Spades or Hearts, you know the basics of bridge. The difference is that trump changes based on a round of "bidding," where you and your partner try to communicate what you have in your hands and how many tricks you think you can take. Bidding is just about as complicated as it sounds, and is by far the most difficult part of the game to master. When I was a kid, I used to say, "I'm good at everything except the bidding." I might as well have been saying, "I know how to play, but I pretty much suck."
I've improved a bit since those days, but not much. Which is unfortunate, because I'm something of a sore loser - I can only handle so much before I make an excuse and walk away. Happily, at this particular Bridge Weekend there were several tables going at once - so once I got fed up of losing at one table, I could rotate out and start losing at another table. Yay?
No matter what the outcome of the score sheets (our motto is, "Points Above The Line Don't Count!"), hanging out with my old Bridge Club was a real treat. We get the chance reminisce about college days, catch up on each others' lives, and make a bunch of new memories - all because we play this game. With all due respect to Ms. Teague, bridge (or any game) can be sociable... if you've got the right group!
Back on college, a group of friends and I formed an unlikely group: Bridge Club. Several of them (including my BFF Maggie) had studied abroad in Scotland and picked up the game there. I wormed my way in by living in their dorm and knowing bridge from childhood. Along the way (as people graduated, as most of us migrated to DC, etc) we added roommates, frat brothers, band geeks, ex-boyfriends, and spouses. This year, we decided to revive one of Bridge Club's favorite traditions - Bridge Weekend. Basically, we rent a nice vacation home (hot tub a must) and spend several days drinking and playing cards.
If you've ever played Spades or Hearts, you know the basics of bridge. The difference is that trump changes based on a round of "bidding," where you and your partner try to communicate what you have in your hands and how many tricks you think you can take. Bidding is just about as complicated as it sounds, and is by far the most difficult part of the game to master. When I was a kid, I used to say, "I'm good at everything except the bidding." I might as well have been saying, "I know how to play, but I pretty much suck."
I've improved a bit since those days, but not much. Which is unfortunate, because I'm something of a sore loser - I can only handle so much before I make an excuse and walk away. Happily, at this particular Bridge Weekend there were several tables going at once - so once I got fed up of losing at one table, I could rotate out and start losing at another table. Yay?
No matter what the outcome of the score sheets (our motto is, "Points Above The Line Don't Count!"), hanging out with my old Bridge Club was a real treat. We get the chance reminisce about college days, catch up on each others' lives, and make a bunch of new memories - all because we play this game. With all due respect to Ms. Teague, bridge (or any game) can be sociable... if you've got the right group!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Encounters Recap: Session 11
At the penultimate session of D&D Encounters last week, our party stumbled upon a drow Torture Theater - and one of the torturers was wearing half of the Pendant of Ashaba (the magic item for which we have been questing). We entered at a very strategic point - we entered the theater at the bottom of a five-foot pit full of dead bodies. Because of this and some pretty sweet stealthiness, we managed to get in a surprise round. Which was completely necessary, since about halfway through combat one of the drow summoned four demons... eep!
An interesting facet of this encounter was the directive to save the lives of the torture victims - half a dozen humans chained up in various placed on the board. It took a standard action and a pretty good Strength or Thievery check to get them free. This served as enough disincentive to keep most of us from even trying during most of the battle. The drow were focusing on us, anyway, so the NPCs were in no real danger. In the end, they were basically just placeholders with no real impact on how the encounter unfolded.
I once wrote an encounter for my home game with innocent bystanders in a tavern - but I asked my PCs to interact with them first, via an informal skill challenge. Once they had bonded with the NPCs, bam! Monster attack. And the baddies weren't picky about their targets (I made all the NPCs two-hit minions). I also gave my players the option of using a minor action to help the NPCs in getting themselves out (e.g. Athletics to boost them out a window - the NPC still had to roll a check). The result was chaotic, but fun. I'm not sure this would work in the Encounters setting, however.
Next week: BOSS FIGHT!
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| Grr. Argh. |
I once wrote an encounter for my home game with innocent bystanders in a tavern - but I asked my PCs to interact with them first, via an informal skill challenge. Once they had bonded with the NPCs, bam! Monster attack. And the baddies weren't picky about their targets (I made all the NPCs two-hit minions). I also gave my players the option of using a minor action to help the NPCs in getting themselves out (e.g. Athletics to boost them out a window - the NPC still had to roll a check). The result was chaotic, but fun. I'm not sure this would work in the Encounters setting, however.
Next week: BOSS FIGHT!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Touch of Madness: The Thrilling Conclusion!
After a day and a half of Otakon, a late-night party, an early brunch, and a fringe festival play - all in quick succession - I think it's safe to say I was exhausted when it came time to DM my final "Touch of Madness" session. So I want to start this post with an apology to my players: I'm sorry I was short with you all. It wasn't anything you did, and I wasn't mad. I was just. So. Tired.
And so you don't think I'm a terrible DM, note that I had just hand-waved them all up to level 11 - Paragon Tier. Dun dun dun! At this point, PCs have (theoretically) slugged their way through ten levels of combats and challenges. They've explored their world, defeating evil and protecting innocence, and have made a name for themselves. Now they're ready to graduate from small-time adventuring and tackle even bigger Big Bads. Part of that transition includes selecting a Paragon Path, which will shape how their character develops from now on.
This choice was easy for Mac and me - we have been discussing our paragon paths for yonks. I didn't realize I'd be throwing some of my other players into something of a conundrum. Here was a character that they'd only played a handful of times, and now they had to make this huge decision. In the end, I'm sure everyone (including me) picked the path with the biggest mechanical benefit. As much as I enjoy the RP in RPGs, I came to win.
I'm glad I did have them level up, however, because the final boss battle was HARD. Two out of the four adventurers died (I let them come back in with secondary characters) and I ended up having one of the monsters just lose interest and leave. They probably could have made it without these concessions and probably without TPK, but again - it was late, I was tired. In retrospect, it feel like the Touch of Madness campaign ended for us not with a bang, but with a whimper. Luckily, I can guarantee the DM is going to be more energetic for next session... because Mac will be taking over!
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| When I haven't gotten enough sleep, I can be a real bitch. Just kidding - Maggie was dog-sitting that weekend. Meet Max the Dungeon Mutt! |
And so you don't think I'm a terrible DM, note that I had just hand-waved them all up to level 11 - Paragon Tier. Dun dun dun! At this point, PCs have (theoretically) slugged their way through ten levels of combats and challenges. They've explored their world, defeating evil and protecting innocence, and have made a name for themselves. Now they're ready to graduate from small-time adventuring and tackle even bigger Big Bads. Part of that transition includes selecting a Paragon Path, which will shape how their character develops from now on.
This choice was easy for Mac and me - we have been discussing our paragon paths for yonks. I didn't realize I'd be throwing some of my other players into something of a conundrum. Here was a character that they'd only played a handful of times, and now they had to make this huge decision. In the end, I'm sure everyone (including me) picked the path with the biggest mechanical benefit. As much as I enjoy the RP in RPGs, I came to win.
I'm glad I did have them level up, however, because the final boss battle was HARD. Two out of the four adventurers died (I let them come back in with secondary characters) and I ended up having one of the monsters just lose interest and leave. They probably could have made it without these concessions and probably without TPK, but again - it was late, I was tired. In retrospect, it feel like the Touch of Madness campaign ended for us not with a bang, but with a whimper. Luckily, I can guarantee the DM is going to be more energetic for next session... because Mac will be taking over!
OtaLARP
D&D players often look down on LARPers like civilians look down on D&D players - because of their choice of hobby, they are considered to be socially awkward, weird, even creepy. Even I am guilty of this At Least I Don't LARP mentality. So when my Best Gamer Friend Mac invited me to join him and his friends at the Otakon LARP, I had some serious reservations. But I figured I should at least try it once (so I could blog about it).
In OtaLARP, players have the option of role-playing a character from any manga/anime series. The GMs create a character sheet based on each characters' strengths and weaknesses. Not all of these characters are designed for combat - you could be playing anything from a schoolgirl to a eight-foot tall mech - and not all of them are equally powerful. One of the very first interactions I participated in was between my group, the Turks from Final Fantasy 7, and three or four people playing high-level ninjas from the Naruto canon. A fight ensued, and we got our asses handed to us. The most we could do was throw a punch or fire a gun, but our opponents could summon demons and launch fireballs at us.
It kind of amazes me that this system works at all. Supposedly, pure role-playing reasons should be enough to deter people from using powers to obliterate anyone who annoys them. In reality, people are excited about their fantastic abilities and want to use them - just like in every other RPG on the planet. Another sad fact is that some people are jerks who are willing to derail shared storytelling to stroke their own egos.
But I don't want you all to think it was all bad. I had a lot of fun playing my character, who was polite, well-spoken, and worked for an evil corporation bent on dominating the world. The fact that I'm a silver-tongued devil didn't hurt - towards the end of the game, I pretty much stopped making checks (aka playing Rock Paper Scissors, the equivalent of rolling dice) and just talked things out with people. Most of the players at the LARP were easygoing, funny, and slightly silly - in other words, my kind of crowd. And say what you will, this system has worked for over a decade!
During the game, whenever I was dealing with some jerk in a neon wig I thought to myself, "well, I'll never do this again!" Looking back, however, I realize I had more fun that expected. I think the key to LARP, as with any RPG, is to (a) find a good system and (b) find some good people. If I can make sure those are in place beforehand, I'd definitely try LARPing again!
Sadly, I found that only a few people dressed up for the LARP.
But at Otakon, you can't swing a catgirl without hitting a cosplayer!
In OtaLARP, players have the option of role-playing a character from any manga/anime series. The GMs create a character sheet based on each characters' strengths and weaknesses. Not all of these characters are designed for combat - you could be playing anything from a schoolgirl to a eight-foot tall mech - and not all of them are equally powerful. One of the very first interactions I participated in was between my group, the Turks from Final Fantasy 7, and three or four people playing high-level ninjas from the Naruto canon. A fight ensued, and we got our asses handed to us. The most we could do was throw a punch or fire a gun, but our opponents could summon demons and launch fireballs at us.
It kind of amazes me that this system works at all. Supposedly, pure role-playing reasons should be enough to deter people from using powers to obliterate anyone who annoys them. In reality, people are excited about their fantastic abilities and want to use them - just like in every other RPG on the planet. Another sad fact is that some people are jerks who are willing to derail shared storytelling to stroke their own egos.
But I don't want you all to think it was all bad. I had a lot of fun playing my character, who was polite, well-spoken, and worked for an evil corporation bent on dominating the world. The fact that I'm a silver-tongued devil didn't hurt - towards the end of the game, I pretty much stopped making checks (aka playing Rock Paper Scissors, the equivalent of rolling dice) and just talked things out with people. Most of the players at the LARP were easygoing, funny, and slightly silly - in other words, my kind of crowd. And say what you will, this system has worked for over a decade!
During the game, whenever I was dealing with some jerk in a neon wig I thought to myself, "well, I'll never do this again!" Looking back, however, I realize I had more fun that expected. I think the key to LARP, as with any RPG, is to (a) find a good system and (b) find some good people. If I can make sure those are in place beforehand, I'd definitely try LARPing again!
Friday, July 27, 2012
Legend of Zelda Concert
I have a confession to make... I have never played any of the multiple Legend of Zelda games. Shocking, I know! Here's the funny part - I still consider myself a fan. I may not be fluent in Hylian, but I know that Hylian exists. I get the jokes in LoZ spoofs like Legend of Neil, I can correctly identify a Tri-force tattoo, I've picked out a couple tunes on an ocarina, and I own 3D Dot Game Heroes (LoZ-like game that's basically 8-bit in 3D).
So when my BFF Maggie suggested we go out to the National Symphony Orchestra's Legend of Zelda Concert, I jumped at the chance. The music in LoZ isn't just there for ambience/background noise - one of Link's most important tools is his musical instrument. A concert, IMHO, was the perfect way to honor the game's 25th anniversary (technically last year - whatever!).
We got there early for crowd-watching purposes. I saw several Links (about half of them female!), a cute Saria, a bird-person, two guys in top hats - Hurdy Gurdy men? - and a very creditable Zelda. Adorbs!
The music was phenomenal, and clips of gameplay and cut-scenes from various Legend of Zelda games were shown on the big screen. It was awesome to see all the different styles - from the original 8-bit to Pixar-level CGI - all telling the same story. Maggie and me being who we are, we did take a moment to wonder why Zelda hasn't had a more proactive role in any of these games.
And we get it, LoZ represents the archetypical Hero's Journey to Save the Damsel in Distress. The one exception of this I can find is her incarnation as Tetra, the female pirate, but even then she's a supporting character. She's not a playable character anywhere in the main series (I'm sorry, becoming a spirit and possessing a Phantom Knight does not count).
Here's the thing, Nintendo. You've told this story sixteen times now. Maybe, just maybe, it's time for a change? And if you could've seen what I've seen - specifically, a crowd of fans essentially split 50/50 by gender - the direction of that change should be obvious.
In conclusion, this: Zelda and Peach Catch Up. What, you thought they keep getting captured by accident?
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| Not as weird as it sounds... much, much weirder. |
We got there early for crowd-watching purposes. I saw several Links (about half of them female!), a cute Saria, a bird-person, two guys in top hats - Hurdy Gurdy men? - and a very creditable Zelda. Adorbs!
 |
| Does consent to pose imply assent to post? Cosplayers, help me out here. |
And we get it, LoZ represents the archetypical Hero's Journey to Save the Damsel in Distress. The one exception of this I can find is her incarnation as Tetra, the female pirate, but even then she's a supporting character. She's not a playable character anywhere in the main series (I'm sorry, becoming a spirit and possessing a Phantom Knight does not count).
Here's the thing, Nintendo. You've told this story sixteen times now. Maybe, just maybe, it's time for a change? And if you could've seen what I've seen - specifically, a crowd of fans essentially split 50/50 by gender - the direction of that change should be obvious.
In conclusion, this: Zelda and Peach Catch Up. What, you thought they keep getting captured by accident?
RPG Lady Armor
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Encounters Recap: Session 10
When I'm writing an adventure for my D&D group, I don't plan every little detail out in advance. I have the basic story line plotted out, but I typically write each session the week before we actually play. This gives me the freedom to adapt the story line to fit my PCs choices, for (what I hope is) a more authentic "shared storytelling" type of D&D experience.
Encounters is nothing like that.
I don't say this to complain. Wizards of the Coast intended for Encounters to be modular - players should be able go into any FLGS and jump into the game, because they know exactly what's going on from the WotC website. This naturally leads to a more "railroaded" experience - no matter what you do, the same battle will ensue and the same outcome will be achieved (barring, I supposed, TPK).
However (there's always a however). If the party's decisions are going to be railroaded, the writers of Encounters need to realize that non-combat situations rapidly start to lose their appeal. For example, this week we were (apparently) tracking down our two NPC allies who had been captured by the drow. There was an obvious trail of blood. Our DM guided us to use skill checks to "find the NPC." Spoiler alert - he's at the end of this trail of blood. The other NPC will be were there are the most bad guys. It's Encounters, not rocket science.
After we find the NPC and he gives us the obvious exposition, we proceed to the area most heavily populated with drow. By this time, we are pretty sick of skill checks and are ready to jump into battle. But wait! Cries the DM. Don't you want to start by setting traps for the drow? Uh...no. Or, yes. Whatever gets us to killing things faster! So combat was delayed again, while we destabilized key parts of the cavern to... Crash down on drow skulls? Close off escape routes? Prevent them from flanking us? Honestly, I still don't know the reason we did all that.
There is a table at my FLGS that consistently finishes their Encounters module ahead of all the others, simply because their DM chooses to skip most of the non-combat bits. And why shouldn't he? The only good thing about a railroad is that it gets you to where you want to go as quickly as possible.
Encounters is nothing like that.
I don't say this to complain. Wizards of the Coast intended for Encounters to be modular - players should be able go into any FLGS and jump into the game, because they know exactly what's going on from the WotC website. This naturally leads to a more "railroaded" experience - no matter what you do, the same battle will ensue and the same outcome will be achieved (barring, I supposed, TPK).
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| All aboard! Next stop... DOOOOOOOOM! (In unrelated news, isn't this a cool picture? It's based on the Eberron setting - aka Steampunk D&D.) |
However (there's always a however). If the party's decisions are going to be railroaded, the writers of Encounters need to realize that non-combat situations rapidly start to lose their appeal. For example, this week we were (apparently) tracking down our two NPC allies who had been captured by the drow. There was an obvious trail of blood. Our DM guided us to use skill checks to "find the NPC." Spoiler alert - he's at the end of this trail of blood. The other NPC will be were there are the most bad guys. It's Encounters, not rocket science.
After we find the NPC and he gives us the obvious exposition, we proceed to the area most heavily populated with drow. By this time, we are pretty sick of skill checks and are ready to jump into battle. But wait! Cries the DM. Don't you want to start by setting traps for the drow? Uh...no. Or, yes. Whatever gets us to killing things faster! So combat was delayed again, while we destabilized key parts of the cavern to... Crash down on drow skulls? Close off escape routes? Prevent them from flanking us? Honestly, I still don't know the reason we did all that.
There is a table at my FLGS that consistently finishes their Encounters module ahead of all the others, simply because their DM chooses to skip most of the non-combat bits. And why shouldn't he? The only good thing about a railroad is that it gets you to where you want to go as quickly as possible.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Silver Company: Dunsmere Ruins
With a group that only meets once a month, I find it helpful to give a
quick summary of the story so far. However, I often struggle with recaps because I don't want to give too much away - if I only tell them
what's crucial to the plot, how will I fool them with red herrings in
the future? I usually compromise by telling them everything they need to
know for right now, with a sprinkling of useless/useful facts.
Back story: There is trouble in the county of Corbais – monsters are making unusually aggressive attacks on towns and villages. In defending Corbais, you have met many interesting characters: a gnome innkeeper named Findle Wimrocket, a capricious pixie known as Mistlethrush, a mysterious swamp witch and a retired half-orc adventurer, Reis Uleka. In order to combat the monsters, Reis has put together a fighting force called the Silver Company, of which you are all members. Two of you are Lance Corporals stationed out of the Eastern Outpost, under the guidance of a half-elf named Ingrid. The rest of you are Privates who have just been dispatched to the outpost. From there, you will all proceed to investigate rumors of a disturbance in Dunsmere ruins. Located just outside of the tiny village of Vervaine, the ruins were once the summer castle of some long-dead noble who had too much money and not enough sense. Now the villagers, a superstitious and solitary bunch, have reported some kind of disturbance in the ruins.
We had a strong showing to this session - a total of six 8th-level PCs and two observers. Here's the party line-up:
Silver Company PFCs
Aranelle (Rachel) the eladrin wizard
Elora (Carly) the halfling rouge
Marianna (Maggie) the human cleric
Shun Wei (Kelly) the dragonborn paladin
Silver Company LCs
Aukan (Alex*) the goliath barbarian
Iriena (Katja) the dryad ranger
The party sneaked into the courtyard of the ruins and found a sleeping guard dog... well, Cacklefiend Hyena. To-may-to, to-mah-to. When they attacked the hyena, it yelped awake and alerted the Gnolls within the ruins to attack. I did a big dramatic entrance for the HBIC - a Gnoll Demon Scourge. I was standing up out of my seat, swinging an imaginary flail over my head, and making (a very ominous, I assure you) "whum... whum... whum..." sound. I rolled my big light-up d20 - critical hit! I felt like the Universe was rewarding me for good flavor text.
The PCs progressed into the upper level of the ruins, only to be trapped in a corridor by a Harpy and her minions. But the rolls were not in my favor in this encounter, and soon the Gnolls' numbers were so reduced that they could no longer use their pack attack feature to do extra damage. No one fell unconscious, though I think I brought most of them down to bloodied at one point or another. A couple of my PCs dropped Daily Powers - which is completely appropriate, since at this level you shouldn't be able to save everything for the boss fight. Speaking of which...
Next time, on Silver Company: Dunsmere Ruins Boss Fight!
Back story: There is trouble in the county of Corbais – monsters are making unusually aggressive attacks on towns and villages. In defending Corbais, you have met many interesting characters: a gnome innkeeper named Findle Wimrocket, a capricious pixie known as Mistlethrush, a mysterious swamp witch and a retired half-orc adventurer, Reis Uleka. In order to combat the monsters, Reis has put together a fighting force called the Silver Company, of which you are all members. Two of you are Lance Corporals stationed out of the Eastern Outpost, under the guidance of a half-elf named Ingrid. The rest of you are Privates who have just been dispatched to the outpost. From there, you will all proceed to investigate rumors of a disturbance in Dunsmere ruins. Located just outside of the tiny village of Vervaine, the ruins were once the summer castle of some long-dead noble who had too much money and not enough sense. Now the villagers, a superstitious and solitary bunch, have reported some kind of disturbance in the ruins.
We had a strong showing to this session - a total of six 8th-level PCs and two observers. Here's the party line-up:
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| *Token Male. |
Silver Company PFCs
Aranelle (Rachel) the eladrin wizard
Elora (Carly) the halfling rouge
Marianna (Maggie) the human cleric
Shun Wei (Kelly) the dragonborn paladin
Silver Company LCs
Aukan (Alex*) the goliath barbarian
Iriena (Katja) the dryad ranger
The party sneaked into the courtyard of the ruins and found a sleeping guard dog... well, Cacklefiend Hyena. To-may-to, to-mah-to. When they attacked the hyena, it yelped awake and alerted the Gnolls within the ruins to attack. I did a big dramatic entrance for the HBIC - a Gnoll Demon Scourge. I was standing up out of my seat, swinging an imaginary flail over my head, and making (a very ominous, I assure you) "whum... whum... whum..." sound. I rolled my big light-up d20 - critical hit! I felt like the Universe was rewarding me for good flavor text.
The PCs progressed into the upper level of the ruins, only to be trapped in a corridor by a Harpy and her minions. But the rolls were not in my favor in this encounter, and soon the Gnolls' numbers were so reduced that they could no longer use their pack attack feature to do extra damage. No one fell unconscious, though I think I brought most of them down to bloodied at one point or another. A couple of my PCs dropped Daily Powers - which is completely appropriate, since at this level you shouldn't be able to save everything for the boss fight. Speaking of which...
Next time, on Silver Company: Dunsmere Ruins Boss Fight!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
A Bard's Tail: Kismet's Journey
In one of my home campaigns, my friend Mac and I switch off DM duties. When I am not running the game, I play a Tiefling Bard named Kismet - I consider him my "main." I love him to pieces, and he is so much fun to roleplay. He's grandiloquent, sometimes to the point of foppishness, but there is a darkness lurking just beneath his polished surface. Kismet's back story can be found on our Obsidian Portal site (link).
Currently (while I'm DMing), Kismet is on a solitary journey through the Kadagast Mountains, in search of the ruins of Bael Turath - the tiefling empire - exploring his heritage. His adventures bring him into contact with other teifling pilgrims, and for the first time he is surrounded by his own people. A lifetime as outcasts has made many of them bitter, and their suffering affects Kismet greatly. He begins to think that life might not be an epic adventure, and a seed of misanthropy enters his heart (setting up for his Cunning Prevaricator paragon path).
At the same time, his nobility and romanticism wins him a special place in his new friends' hearts. While his own lineage has been lost to the ages, he records the histories of everyone he meets, building them into a enormous compendium. Kismet being Kismet, he sets most of the stories to song - inadvertantly beginning an oral tradition that preserves and disseminates knowledge about the tiefling race that was all but lost after the fall of Bael Turath.
Eventually, he will become a household name wherever tieflings meet - Kith and Kin Kismet, since he wants to know all about your kith and kin (setting up for his Heir to the Empire epic destiny). A few even go so far to send him letters with their family stories, with requests that he pen another ballad in their honor. These usually end up being forwarded back to his home, the old library where he grew up. His mother is touched at his interest in this heritage, and the head librarian is surprised and proud at his thirst for knowledge. Both feel certain that Kismet is destined for great things.
Currently (while I'm DMing), Kismet is on a solitary journey through the Kadagast Mountains, in search of the ruins of Bael Turath - the tiefling empire - exploring his heritage. His adventures bring him into contact with other teifling pilgrims, and for the first time he is surrounded by his own people. A lifetime as outcasts has made many of them bitter, and their suffering affects Kismet greatly. He begins to think that life might not be an epic adventure, and a seed of misanthropy enters his heart (setting up for his Cunning Prevaricator paragon path).
At the same time, his nobility and romanticism wins him a special place in his new friends' hearts. While his own lineage has been lost to the ages, he records the histories of everyone he meets, building them into a enormous compendium. Kismet being Kismet, he sets most of the stories to song - inadvertantly beginning an oral tradition that preserves and disseminates knowledge about the tiefling race that was all but lost after the fall of Bael Turath.
Eventually, he will become a household name wherever tieflings meet - Kith and Kin Kismet, since he wants to know all about your kith and kin (setting up for his Heir to the Empire epic destiny). A few even go so far to send him letters with their family stories, with requests that he pen another ballad in their honor. These usually end up being forwarded back to his home, the old library where he grew up. His mother is touched at his interest in this heritage, and the head librarian is surprised and proud at his thirst for knowledge. Both feel certain that Kismet is destined for great things.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Sexist Gamer of the Week
I sincerely hope that experience will put lie to the title of this post. C'mon, my fellow gamers, man/woman/gender-queer up!
So, I was at a happy hour with my friend Kim the other day, and we were talking (bragging) about how many women we have at our session of D&D Encounters. And by "many" I mean at least one per table of six, including the sole female DM. One of her friends starts complaining loudly about girls in D&D - apparently, we bring up the level of conversation too much for his tastes. Kim assured me he was joking when he said, "I mean, when's the last time someone at your table raped a wench?"
What dudes like this don't understand is that I'm not offended by their "blue humor." I'm offended by the fact that they consider it humor. It's easy to throw out a curse word, an innuendo, or a poop joke - I do it all the time. But it still has to be funny. And the idea that female gamers make the game less fun for "everyone else" (e.g. egocentric male gamers like this one) is unfunny, and out-dated, and Just. Plain. Wrong.
The other happy hour attendees were not subjected to this rant, however. I think my exact response was: "You clearly have never played with my all-girl group. They are the filthiest people I know."
So, I was at a happy hour with my friend Kim the other day, and we were talking (bragging) about how many women we have at our session of D&D Encounters. And by "many" I mean at least one per table of six, including the sole female DM. One of her friends starts complaining loudly about girls in D&D - apparently, we bring up the level of conversation too much for his tastes. Kim assured me he was joking when he said, "I mean, when's the last time someone at your table raped a wench?"
What dudes like this don't understand is that I'm not offended by their "blue humor." I'm offended by the fact that they consider it humor. It's easy to throw out a curse word, an innuendo, or a poop joke - I do it all the time. But it still has to be funny. And the idea that female gamers make the game less fun for "everyone else" (e.g. egocentric male gamers like this one) is unfunny, and out-dated, and Just. Plain. Wrong.
The other happy hour attendees were not subjected to this rant, however. I think my exact response was: "You clearly have never played with my all-girl group. They are the filthiest people I know."
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Encounters Recap: Session 9
Or: Grumpy Healer is Grumpy.
In last night's session, my party was both clever and lucky - in other words, we hardly took any damage. While this sounds awesome, as the party's healer it made me feel pretty useless. We started with a skill challenge - we had to get past a set of portcullises guarded by two ogres. We were able to bribe one with food and the other with gems, and they toddled off like good little monsters. All that remained was to deal with the drow within the fortress.
There were some opportunities for relatively cool moves - our defender climbed up a battlement, defeated one enemy, then leapt across to another battlement to engage two more. Our controller skulked around the corner and sniped at everyone else. And one of our strikers turned insubstantial, sauntered up to two baddies, and dropped a killer Daily power on the asses.
And then there was me. I charged in and missed, then was bloodied, shifted, and knocked prone by a single attack. I'm a melee combatant, so there wasn't a great way to get back into the fray - I spent the next round healing myself. After that, I was immoblized by an area attack and couldn't do anything to save my comrades from ongoing damage. By the time I was finally free to actually do something, the session was over.
I know I shouldn't complain - the healer (aka leader) is a somewhat reactionary role, and if there's nothing for me to do that means my allies are doing pretty well. However, when I ask the table if anyone needs heals at the end of the session and they all turn me down, it's kind of depressing. My "main" is a leader (a tiefling bard) that I have a lot of fun roleplaying, even when he doesn't do much in a battle. However, Encounters is not the forum for role-playing (sadly).
Coming soon: Exclusive details about my main, Kismet. It will make me feel better.
In last night's session, my party was both clever and lucky - in other words, we hardly took any damage. While this sounds awesome, as the party's healer it made me feel pretty useless. We started with a skill challenge - we had to get past a set of portcullises guarded by two ogres. We were able to bribe one with food and the other with gems, and they toddled off like good little monsters. All that remained was to deal with the drow within the fortress.
YAWN.
There were some opportunities for relatively cool moves - our defender climbed up a battlement, defeated one enemy, then leapt across to another battlement to engage two more. Our controller skulked around the corner and sniped at everyone else. And one of our strikers turned insubstantial, sauntered up to two baddies, and dropped a killer Daily power on the asses.
And then there was me. I charged in and missed, then was bloodied, shifted, and knocked prone by a single attack. I'm a melee combatant, so there wasn't a great way to get back into the fray - I spent the next round healing myself. After that, I was immoblized by an area attack and couldn't do anything to save my comrades from ongoing damage. By the time I was finally free to actually do something, the session was over.
I know I shouldn't complain - the healer (aka leader) is a somewhat reactionary role, and if there's nothing for me to do that means my allies are doing pretty well. However, when I ask the table if anyone needs heals at the end of the session and they all turn me down, it's kind of depressing. My "main" is a leader (a tiefling bard) that I have a lot of fun roleplaying, even when he doesn't do much in a battle. However, Encounters is not the forum for role-playing (sadly).
Coming soon: Exclusive details about my main, Kismet. It will make me feel better.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Touch of Madness Campaign, Con'td
On Sunday I met with a couple of my players for the next installment of Touch of Madness. We had some last-minute cancellations, but because of our dual-character system we were able to forge ahead with just two PCs. Spoilers ahoy!
An interesting facet of this particular module is that several of the "bad guys" - the Stormcrows - are actually victims of the "touch of madness" themselves, and therefore can be saved. So far, we have rescued three out of the four Stormcrows (if the PCs remember to go back and collect them on their way out, that is). As an aside, IMHO the two female NPCs seemed more salvageable than the male NPCs. Is this an indication of the "damsel in distress" mentality on my part? Or on the part of the writers of the story? Anyway, something to think about.
In this session, the PCs advanced into the second level of the Forlorn Tower. They met two more of the Stormcrow mercenaries, and they confirmed that the Tear of Ioun is no longer there. However, since their primary goal is to protect the town of Wellspring from this tower's monsters, it makes sense to continue. I think we've got about one more session left, but I'm getting a bit nervous. With our spotty attendance, I'm not sure that all of my PCs are going to be at a high enough level to deal with the final battle. Will this be my first TPK???
An interesting facet of this particular module is that several of the "bad guys" - the Stormcrows - are actually victims of the "touch of madness" themselves, and therefore can be saved. So far, we have rescued three out of the four Stormcrows (if the PCs remember to go back and collect them on their way out, that is). As an aside, IMHO the two female NPCs seemed more salvageable than the male NPCs. Is this an indication of the "damsel in distress" mentality on my part? Or on the part of the writers of the story? Anyway, something to think about.
Either way, it is now incumbent upon me to write a story with
all female monsters and a dude in distress.
In this session, the PCs advanced into the second level of the Forlorn Tower. They met two more of the Stormcrow mercenaries, and they confirmed that the Tear of Ioun is no longer there. However, since their primary goal is to protect the town of Wellspring from this tower's monsters, it makes sense to continue. I think we've got about one more session left, but I'm getting a bit nervous. With our spotty attendance, I'm not sure that all of my PCs are going to be at a high enough level to deal with the final battle. Will this be my first TPK???
Murder in Grisly Gulch
To the townsfolk of Grisly Gulch, you
are all cordially invited to join me for a night of celebration and
surprises at my home, across from the Bank on Main Street. I have an
important announcement to make that I know will be of interest to you
all. I daresay it will shake the very bedrock of our little community!
Sincerely,
E. Feingold, Esq.
Banker
Last Saturday I put on another murder mystery party, this one with a Wild West theme. These are something of a tradition amongst my friends, which got started two years ago when I asked Maggie and Mac to throw me a murder mystery themed birthday party. Since then, several of our friends have taken turns writing and/or hosting these parties - we've done Sci-Fi fantasy, Greek gods and goddesses, 20's gangsters and Vegas casino themed parties. They're always a blast, and we keep improving the format with each iteration.
Typically, the writer (me!) plays the victim and then comes back as a minor character. This time, I divided the rest of the cast into five categories: Detective, Suspects, Allies, Adversaries, and Observers. The role of the Detective is to to actively solve the mystery (and finish the story). Suspects put the "who" in "whodunit" - they are the main characters. Allies and Adversaries are more like minor characters - they participate in the story by either helping or hindering the Detective. Finally, the Supporting Cast can just sit back and watch the shenanigans. I usually ask people what role they are willing to play, and assign parts accordingly. This is what the final cast list looked like:
DETECTIVE
ADVERSARIES
I hoped the physical evidence I planted would exonerate two of the suspects, but I'm afraid I fell into the trap of, "Well, I don't want to make it too obvious!" I always have these big revelations about how I should've written these things as soon as we're done solving them. Which, I suppose, is how we can keep improving the model... Anyway, the most important thing was that people had fun!
Sincerely,
E. Feingold, Esq.
Banker
Last Saturday I put on another murder mystery party, this one with a Wild West theme. These are something of a tradition amongst my friends, which got started two years ago when I asked Maggie and Mac to throw me a murder mystery themed birthday party. Since then, several of our friends have taken turns writing and/or hosting these parties - we've done Sci-Fi fantasy, Greek gods and goddesses, 20's gangsters and Vegas casino themed parties. They're always a blast, and we keep improving the format with each iteration.
Typically, the writer (me!) plays the victim and then comes back as a minor character. This time, I divided the rest of the cast into five categories: Detective, Suspects, Allies, Adversaries, and Observers. The role of the Detective is to to actively solve the mystery (and finish the story). Suspects put the "who" in "whodunit" - they are the main characters. Allies and Adversaries are more like minor characters - they participate in the story by either helping or hindering the Detective. Finally, the Supporting Cast can just sit back and watch the shenanigans. I usually ask people what role they are willing to play, and assign parts accordingly. This is what the final cast list looked like:
DETECTIVE
- Marshall Frederick (Mike) is a Federal Marshall fresh out of training. He is on a routine visit to one of the small towns in hisjurisdiction, Grisly Gulch. The banker, Ephraim Feingold (Sri), invites you to a party where he plans to make a "big announcement. When Feingold is suddenly murdered, it's up to Marshall Frederick to solve the case!
- Barry Cade (Zach) is the mayor of Grisly Gulch. He is a notorious flirt, but his wife keeps him on a pretty short leash. He is up for re-election this year, and will probably use this party as an opportunity to campaign.
- Miss Sugar (Maggie) is the madam of the town brothel, the Heart of Gold. Everyone knows that the banker, Ephraim Feingold, has been mooning after her for years. But she considers herself married to her work, and is fiercely proud of what she’s built.
- Powell P. Lay (Chris) is a successful rancher. Currently, he is attempting to buy out several other smaller ranchers. He is an influential man in Grisly Gulch.
- Cassie Cade (Lauren) is the wife of the Mayor, Barry Cade, and is an avid missionary. She frequently makes proselytizing trips to the nearby Indian reservation, plans fundraisers for starving orphans, and leads the Women's Bible Study group.
- Charles "Sleepy" Knapp (Mac) is the sheriff of Grisly Gulch. While he excels at breaking up barroom brawls and chasing down train robbers, he's never had to deal with something as complex as drawing-room murder.
- Suzanna Spice (Sri) is a saloon girl at The Heart of Gold, and a voracious reader of the Old Sleuth dime novels.
- Anita Lay (Priya) is the daughter of influential rancher, Powell P. Lay. Her father's connections got her the job of schoolmarm, and he never lets her forget it. Also, he is constantly trying to marry her off.
- Growling Bear (Chuck) is the Chief of the local American Indian tribe. He is openly dismissive of the authority of the White Man.
- She-That-Is-Pleasant (Amy) is the sister of Chief Growling Bear. She is much friendlier than her brother.
- Fast Fanny (Carly) is a female gunslinger with a chip on her shoulder.
- Ian Briate (Alex) is the town preacher who loves his communion wine
- Kitten Kaboodle (Katja) is a traveling entertainer, whose song and dance routine is being hosted at the Heart of Gold brothel.
- Vani Singh (Nalini) is a vaudeville magician.
- Ranch Hands (Mike and Monique) just stopped by for the free booze.
I hoped the physical evidence I planted would exonerate two of the suspects, but I'm afraid I fell into the trap of, "Well, I don't want to make it too obvious!" I always have these big revelations about how I should've written these things as soon as we're done solving them. Which, I suppose, is how we can keep improving the model... Anyway, the most important thing was that people had fun!
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