Playing tabletop games online through formats like Roll20 has intrigued me for some time.
By and large, this is due to what I would consider my number one problem as of late with gaming in my local area: Paizo and WOTC rule the realm. If it's not Pathfinder or 5e, it seems to be a hard sell on getting new people to give it a shot. I am sure there are a lot of private/home groups that play all kinds of other games, but from a perspective of mostly dealing with public/open games, it can be hard to indulge my interest in other games.
Back in 2012, when this blog was first active, there was a local gaming convention that started up called Forge. It was an excellent experience that had a pretty broad representation all across the sphere of gaming. I got to play DCC for the very first time, join in an excellent Labyrinth Lord game, be introduced to Savage Worlds and also met SFR and learned all about Dragon Dice. Those were only some of the highlights, but it was an excellent convention. Sure, they had a ton of tables for Pathfinder and D&D but there was plenty of other stuff too. Sadly, the con wound up being a one and done. I'm not sure of all the particulars, but they weren't able to keep it going.
Jump to today and we have a yearly gaming convention called Lexicon that to date I have never been to. While I'm happy to play board or card games, my #1 interest is in RPG's and every year their offerings amount to an endless sea of Pathfinder Society and 5e Adventurer's League and maybe a table here and there for "lesser" games. The schedule for this year went up and browsing through the RPG section it seems to be almost exclusively Society (Starfinder now included) and League games. The few that don't flag under those banners are just one-shot "unofficial" games.
I'm not sure why that is. Honestly, I suppose I should be doing something about it and volunteering to run games and offer up some more obscure selections. We're only a week or two out from Lexicon 2018 so perhaps that's an idea for next year. But it is nice to sometimes get to play the games you love, instead of running them. And that's really the rub, I suppose. As hard as it seems to be to sell people on trying something else, finding another person willing to run that game is a far greater task.
To date, Dungeon Crawl Classics is still my favorite Fantasy Roleplaying Game. Until two weeks ago, I had only played DCC two times since its launch. Once, in 2012, at Forge right around when the game launched (Doom of the Savage Kings ran by Dieter Zimmerman) and then participating in a one-shot playtest by Mark Bishop for his excellent Nebin Pendlebrook's Perilous Pantry. I have run DCC extensively, but as far as getting to experience the game as a player that's it.
So all that is to say recently I had been looking a lot at Roll20 and similar services and wondering if that might be an avenue to deal with my issue. So I managed to get in on a one-shot DCC funnel with the potential to roll on into an ongoing campaign. How was it?
My experience was mixed.
The adventure itself was fine. A little original adventure involving a crashed ship surrounded by eerie mist. The story wound up being a riff on Herbert West: Re-Animator and being such a big Lovecraft fan I got a lot of enjoyment out of the parallels.The Judge even name-dropped Freeport which is a setting I love. My little band of 3 guys, generated with the excellent Purple Sorcerer tool, had rolled up surprisingly well so I would have been happy carrying on with any of them. But then, of course, there must be some bad or I wouldn't have said mixed.
I must admit I haven't run DCC in about a year. I may be a little rusty on the rules, but the Judge was allowing us a Luck Check to roll over the body on our Level 0's. I'm pretty sure that's not a thing. As a result of our band of 15 only lost four members when it was all said and done. It hardly felt like the typical funnel as a result and even the Judge lamented that he was surprised we lost so few. Maybe I should have said something early on? It was my first experience so I really didn't want to be that guy coming in all "Um, actually..." and throwing down the rule book.
But that's a minor thing, right? I'm sure someone wanting a more survival heroic tone might even use that as a house rule and that's fine. There was some disconnect between a few of us players. In one room my Dwarven Chest-maker ran into an illusory trap depicting "the most beautiful woman we had ever seen" and was forced to make a Will Save. In sheer luck, I crit the roll. It was a really cool moment and riding on that I roleplayed it up having the Dwarf grunt and state that he had still seen better.
Another player chimed in "Yeah, he's probably gay" and this was followed by jaunty laughter all around from the other players and Judge. Not only did it steal the thunder of the moment, but it rubbed me the wrong way. It's definitely not the kind of comment that would be welcome at my table. I generally don't think of myself as a prude or really militant about any agenda. I try to get along with everybody, see both sides to any issue, make my own conclusion but still respect a differing opinion. We have a great player that pops in from time to time who is gay and at that moment I thought of him. How it would be if he had been at this Roll20 game. How might that make him feel?
So it wasn't cool in my book. I commented that it wasn't really funny, but we glossed on.
The biggest issue, to my mind, was the general flow of things. I know some people play with webcams and maybe that helps with this, but we were just using headsets and frequently had a problem with people talking over top of one another. Then, both would immediately start again trying to get through what they were saying. It was a bit of a disorganized chaos. I didn't get to say or do near as much as I wanted. I tended to defer to the other person planning to state my thing next, but then someone else would chime in and I was skipped over.
I'm a bit introverted, I know that. Running games is a thing that gets me out of my shell. Knowing that, when I run a game if I notice someone is being trampled over by more outspoken players I will make it a point to give them time to shine or try to reign in other people so they can get their bit in too. Dividing up loot was a nightmare of people talking over people and not paying attention to what had been taken or what was already there to take. I tried to help by typing up a list whenever there was loot and posting that to the game chat so the Judge wouldn't have to keep repeating it. As a result, none of my guys really acquired anything other than Padded Armor that we all received as a mercy sort of thing and the gear of my Squire when he went down during the final battle.
The Judge himself was pretty heavy into the online scene, it seemed. Our game ran a bit over time and we got the ending cut to just a "you killed the guy, you were successful" because he was scheduled to play in a different game and was going to be late for it. To be so flushed with great games you're excited for must be a great experience, but I felt that ours was cheapened by just sort of fizzling things out to break the game.
Maybe the Judge could have done more to organize that chaos? I will definitely keep trying on Roll20, but I am not so sure what to think after this first experience.
I'd really like to hear some other experiences and see if I just had a bad draw or if these are typical issues to online roleplaying.
Showing posts with label dccrpg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dccrpg. Show all posts
Saturday, April 7, 2018
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
DCC: Sailors on the Starless Sea Play Report
And without as much delay, it's time to talk about the second session of the DCC store campaign. I intended to play up "Sailors on the Starless Sea" for level 1's as our second outing.
I named the village after one of the cities in Blackmarsh since I toyed with using it as a DCC campaign setting. Of the original party all the players turned back out save one (Falcor) so I was pretty pleased. In addition, we had three new players at the table as well. One happened to be one of our Encounters players, another wanting to try DCC before he went to Gen-Con and the final, to my surprise, the guy who used to be over the Encounters program and passed the torch on to me. He happens to be moving away and has been in-between places for a bit. He took part in the level-0 demo and basically turned out for a final hurrah with a revised version of his level-0 survivor before the move was finished; a very pleasant surprise for me.
Of the three new players, they rolled up a Dwarf, another Elf and another Wizard. The surge of spellcasters was not much of an issue since I had rolled up a Thief for Markav's player to swap over to and try out. Still, without Falcor's player present it meant that the party had no Cleric. None of the new players seemed that interested in running a Cleric and nobody else wanted to change their character. Keeping to the DCC mantra, I decided to roll with it and let things fall as they may.
Of the three new players, they rolled up a Dwarf, another Elf and another Wizard. The surge of spellcasters was not much of an issue since I had rolled up a Thief for Markav's player to swap over to and try out. Still, without Falcor's player present it meant that the party had no Cleric. None of the new players seemed that interested in running a Cleric and nobody else wanted to change their character. Keeping to the DCC mantra, I decided to roll with it and let things fall as they may.
Character creation went smooth and even had some hilarious moments spawned by the random rolls. Our surprise guest was crafting the Wizard with a concept, as you'll see below, that he is a clone spawned through a spell by a once powerful sorcerer. When doing the rolls for Mercurial Magic effects, he got the result for one spell where casting it called forth seven copies from alternate dimensions. Given the history he came up with, it could not have been more perfectly fitting.
The session itself went great. The only real hang-up on my end was a question about how much HP was restored by camping for the night. I felt it was 1 HP, but wasn't confident and ran into trouble looking it up in the book. The lack of an index was felt. Regardless, a little downtime for that wasn't too bad and overall I felt much more at home with the rules. I didn't have a chance to print any spells out for people so for the time being we continued with the results being a surprise for our spellcasters.
The session itself went great. The only real hang-up on my end was a question about how much HP was restored by camping for the night. I felt it was 1 HP, but wasn't confident and ran into trouble looking it up in the book. The lack of an index was felt. Regardless, a little downtime for that wasn't too bad and overall I felt much more at home with the rules. I didn't have a chance to print any spells out for people so for the time being we continued with the results being a surprise for our spellcasters.
Speaking of the spellcasters, surprisingly not a single 1 was rolled during the entire game. Thus far, every game I have ran or played in has always had at least one instance of a fumble or spell misfire. It was a little disappointing. I don't wish ill on my players but I think the spell misfires and corruption happen to be one of the most exciting elements to the magic system, but I suppose that just happens sometimes. Unlike last time, the party actually bypassed several areas in the module and missed some of the secrets so there was less concern about a bloat of magic items.
I had one instance of going easy on the group. I re-positioned the green powder that could be used to making healing potions and placed it within the secret compartment of the chest in the secret vault. At that point, they had multiple characters sitting around 2 HP and knowing what was ahead I tried to show a little mercy on the lack of a Cleric. The group will be losing Zaronius and Ozwald due to the above mentioned move; although they really want to play DCC more and we've talked about looking into the logistics of playing some through something like Roll20 so this might not be the last time their exploits are spoken of. Markav's player was pleased with the Thief so the party won't be without one. However, I worry for their future if they continue on without a Cleric.
Next time, I'll be starting them on "People of the Pit" and it will likely be the final module before I advance them to second level. I've come to realize that there will be a lack of modules going forward if I want to increase the time it takes for each level to come; matching the way XP goes. I will likely have to delve into third party level 0/1 modules and work out scaling them up to some degree. However, that's a bridge to cross when it comes.
First, some updates to to the general information since this session saw several new characters added to our cloud of heroes:
New Heroes:
7) Dagnabbit: A dwarven astrologer. Discontent with having to leave the caves where he lived to view the heavens only to return at night, Dagnabbit took up the life of an adventurer so he could study the sky from all across the land freely.
8) Gerard: A thief belonging to a widespread crime organization with branches located throughout the known world. Under the guise of a bard travelling to spread the joys of music to everyone, Gerard seeks news of gold and treasure for the profit of his gang and the hopes of rising through the ranks.
9) Sheldon Silvermoon: Another Elf and follower of the King of Elfland. Like Jace, he too wanders the lands. However, he seeks to defeat powerful monsters and the forces of Chaos that prey upon innocent people.
10) A to Zaronious: The 26th incarnation of Zaronious the Destroyer, one of the most intelligent mages to walk the lands and who has contributed much in the study of magic. In his old age, he felt he still had much to offer the world, but not enough time to do so, so he created the Infinite Me spell. The spell was supposed to make him immortal by returning his body to a much younger version of himself, but it started spawning young clones instead. Although the original is long dead, young Zaronian copies still occasionally poof out of thin air, creating a somewhat unconventional form of immortality. These adult copies posses the same magical inclinations, though their powers development seem to vary with each copy. A to Zaronious is one such clone, and is a drunk who loves the ladies and his herbs, and has an extensive knowledge of both. He is fearless (partly from the herbs and partly because he knows his death is meaningless as another would eventually appear in his place) and is prone to taking unnecessary risks, especially if they would impress a woman. He often experiments with his herbs and magic, sometimes to fantastical, and other times to disastrous results.
New Locations:
-Ethanfeld: A simple village situated near a large hill that overshadows the town. The hill holds a massive keep that overlooks a small sea. There are abundant rumors suggesting that the keep was once the hold of Chaos Lords. Recently, beastmen began descending from the keep and kidnapping villagers though for what purpose remained unclear.
And then the session itself:
Chapter 02: Sailors on the Starless Sea
I. Parting Ways
-The party spent the following week relaxing at the Wolf Spear Inn and reveling in their victory over The Hound. With Hirot no longer stalked by the beast, trade began once more. Dealing with merchants, the party was able to sell some of the treasure gained from the savage king's tomb. Jarppie made a particularly profitable exchange fetching a large sum of gold for the silver wolf pelt he had lifted from the tomb.
-During this time Sylle Ru, adviser to the Jarl, passed away. It seemed that his fervor in trying to stop the hound had rapidly withered away what remained of his life. Tension seemed to rise as the town realized that, once the party moved on, they would have no one present to deal with matters of the arcane.
-Growing ready for another adventure, the party prepared to head forth from Hirot seeking rumors. As luck would have it, Lloré returned to the village from a small trek bringing with him four adventurers that were on their way southwest. It seemed there were rumors that the town of Ethanfeld was being plagued by beastmen descending from a ruined keep that rested on a hill overlooking the village.
-Lloré introduced these adventurers, Dagnabbit, Gerard, Sheldon Silvermoon and A to Zaronius to the heroes that have saved Hirot suggesting it might be beneficial for them to pool their efforts. After some discussion, the two parties agreed to work together as one. However, it seemed not everyone intended to go along.
-Feeling the call of Aristemis guiding him elsewhere, Falcor gave the party his blessing stating his plans to travel elsewhere. He assured them that if they ever crossed paths again, they could count on his aid. More surprising, however, Markav decided to stay behind in Hirot. He had taken a fondness for the remote town and felt worried for their future after the loss of Sylle Ru. Instead, Markav planned to become a permanent resident and take up Sylle Ru's position as an advisor on all things magical to the Jarl.
-Parting ways with two of their companions, the new party set forth from Hirot heading southwest. After several days of uneventful travel, finding the weather slowly growing warmer, the party reached the tiny village of Ethanfeld. They found the town gripped with fear and villagers confirmed that for the past week or two beastmen had been raiding Ethanfeld and stealing away its citizens. So far the beastman had not attacked anyone so it was unknown whether they were killing their captives or storing them for something worse.
-Asking around the village, the party learned various rumors about the keep including tales of vast treasure hidden underneath and whispers that it was once ruled over by two Chaos Lords. Wasting little time, the party advanced on the keep.
II. The Ruined Keep
-Dealing with the harsh conditions of vine overgrown paths and a foul miasma the party pressed on past the pestilence of thousands of insects filling the air to reach the battered keep on the hill. Fearing traps, the party opted to sneak around to the western side of the keep rather than approach the front gates directly.
-From the western side, the party discovered an area of the keep's wall that had collapsed in becoming a massive pile of rubble and debris. With his knowledge of stonework, Dagnabbit quickly identified weak areas that might cause an avalanche and was able to guide the party over the rubble and into the courtyard of the keep.
-In the courtyard, the party discovered various tracks depicting human and wolf-like footprints, talon like prints of a bird and even a single straight line that slithered from side to side. Presuming these to be signs of the beastmen, the party began to proceed cautiously.
-From the courtyard the party approached a nearby well with a block and tackle situated to leave a chain going down into the well itself. Carefully studying the well, the party drew up the chain to find nothing on the end. Another party member tossed a rock down the well never hearing the sound of impact.
-Coming closer, Sheldon peered within the well itself and began to feel an unnatural draw in his mind pulling him closer. However, he was able to overcome this compulsion and warned the group of the danger. This came just in time as Zaronious had been preparing himself to dive down the well.
-Realizing the well could only be trouble, Jarppie retrieved the chain and added it to his pack before the party continued exploring the keep's courtyard.
-Noting a ruined building marked by gargoyles within the keep, the party moved to explore it. Inside they found the room heated as if it was still burning. They also found several charred skeletons as well as some blackened weapons and armor. In the center of this small chapel rested a fountain depicting a squat demonic toad that had a foul black ichor pouring from its lips into a basin at the foot of the construct.
-Ulfric carefully approached the fountain finding the heat grew the closer in proximity he came towards the statue. Meanwhile, Sheldon discovered a golden censer along with 3 incense cones which was quickly claimed by Zaronious after noting its purpose. Curious about the black ooze, Ulfric donned his blacksmith gloves and tried to examine the fountain.
-To his surprise the foul ichor sprang to life, in fact a living ooze, and quickly tried to wrap around Ulfric's arm igniting him aflame. As he worked to put the fire out, the rest of the party pulled together to dispatch the foul creature.
-With only a nearby tower remaining to explore, the party studied it from the outside noting movement within. With a feat of strength, Jarppie managed to use a grappling hook with some rope and get a firm hold on one of the openings higher up the tower thinking such an entrance might avoid troubles caused from waltzing in the front door.
-Once the party safely made the climb, they found the inside of the tower held a spiral staircase ascending to the top. Along the walls, battered and in poor condition, were chained the villagers from Ethanfeld. As Zaronious began to zealously free any women among the captives, a snarling horde of beastmen emerged at the top of the tower. Led by a much larger bull-like beastman, they raced down the stairs hoping to stop the intruders from freeing their captives.
-Charging ahead, Dagnabbit and Jarppie took the front defending the rest of the party as they engaged the beastmen on the narrow tower steps. The rest of the group attacked at range or slung spells marveling the captives with their show of power. Ultimately, the beastmen were put to rest as Jace summoned a massive blast of flames engulfing their Champion and sending him stumbling over the edge of the steps hurtling to the tower floor.
-In the aftermath, the rest of the villagers were freed. An old man mentioned that some of their friends had been taken to the top of the tower and never returned prompting the party to realize their task was not yet complete. Meanwhile, Zaronious chatted up one of the women he had freed receiving a promise that she would reward his heroic efforts upon the party's return to Ethanfeld.
-With the villagers saved, the party searched the rest of the tower in hopes of uncovering some of the rumored treasure. Some small caches of coins were found along with an ornate short sword likely worth something. On the body of the beastmen's Champion the party discovered that he had been wearing an imposing silver torc hung with bleached skulls. The spellcasters in the group could sense the power of Chaos radiating from the relic. Jokingly, Zaronious donned the torc.
-Moving to the top of the tower, the party discovered the stairs lead into a small room in the side of the keep itself. From here stairs descended down further and further moving into total darkness revealing a dungeon below. Aware of the side effect to one of his spells, Sheldon mumbled a few words causing his forehead to alight from a shining blue star. Using this as guiding light, along with a torch lit by Jarppie, the party explored below.
-Reaching the bottom of the steps, the party discovered a few stray gold pieces. Carefully searching the room, they found the door to a secret vault. Within, three treasure chests were discovered alongside coins strewn everywhere. It seemed the that this had once been a treasure vault, but was recently raided.
-Between the chests and the stray coins, the party managed to gather a hefty bit of treasure. Studying the center chest carefully, Gerard was able to notice a hidden compartment on the bottom. Ever cautious from his guild's training, Gerard detected the compartment was trapped and devised a solution to spring the trap without harming anyone.
-Within, Gerard found some valuable rings and a steel vial with two doses of Black Lotus Oil which he kept secret from the group. Inside was also a silk tabard stitched with sigils of Chaos, which Zaronious donned to further his mock attire, and a leather pouch containing a granular green powder.
-The party puzzled over the powder until Zaronious, in a moment of seriousness, identified it as a reagent that when mixed with wine or water could form a healing poultice. Working together with Jace, who provided several empty vials being an alchemist, the two took some time to brew up the poultices and distribute them among the party.
-With exhaustion setting in, many injured from their multiple bouts of combat and the spellcasters in sore need of studying their spells, Dagnabbit and Jarppie noted that the vault could be a safe place to rest. Sealing the vault door from the inside, the party camped for the night alternating watches to ensure beastmen did not come back for any reason.
III. The Starless Sea
-The night passed without incident and the party awoke ready to continue. Though some were still injured, there was little they could do with only the few poultices to rely on for healing. Falcor's presence was sorely missed.
-Returning to the original path, the party entered a large hall with elaborate tile mosaics covering the walls and a large pool in the center of the room filled with thick sludge and black algae. Ozwald, Sheldon and Gerard felt a strange compulsion to check the pool and eventually each retrieved human skulls that seemed to glow slightly; these lined the bottom of the pool.
-Sensing a tie to the forces of Chaos, the party dissuaded the three from holding onto them and instead moved to explore the room and study the mosaics. Three distinct scenes were depicted. First, a hooded form standing atop a towering stone on the edge of a vast lake; seven tentacles waving from the water. Second, two armored figures holding up a single flail together, commanding legions of hunched, beast-like warriors. Finally, a low island set in the center of a black lake with a golden pyramid set atop the island and a figure armed with a flail preparing to sacrifice a maiden; this sight troubling Zaronious.
-Strewn about the room, the party discovered four black robes stitched in silver thread with bizarre sigils. Zaronious donned a robe to complete his imposing Chaos-inspired appearance while the party held on to the other three.
-Proceeding forward, the party descended more steps until the dungeon gave way to, of all things, a dark-sand beach. The beach appeared to be part of a vast underground sea. Far our, across the water, the party thought they could see a golden glow. At the water's edge an enormous menhir rested.
-Past this standing stone, a dragon-prowed longship emerged with its hull scratched full of forbidding sigils and runes that glowed with a sickly green light. Slowly, the ship came in and stopped about fifty feet from the shore. Most troubling of all, in the distance the party began to hear the beat of distant drums and wails of terror mixing in with the sound of the waves crashing into the shore.
-As the party began to explore the beach, Sheldon inspected the menhir. Carved with mesmerizing spirals, the Elf couldn't help but be drawn in by the designs and within moments seemed to snap. Drawing his blade, he turned it on Jarppie attempting to attack him as he mumbled something about a sacrifice to the great Leviathan.
-Unable to snap Sheldon from the trance, the party attempted to restrain him. Zaronious summoned up one hundred feet of rope to tie up the Elf and they left him on the beach for awhile until he managed to calm down. Sheldon seemed to have no memories of the last few minutes nor the Leviathan that he spoke of.
-While exploring the beach, the party discovered a small cave that seemed to run under the dungeon they had exited from. Inside, the inky cavern was mostly submerged with water. Curious at what was obscured by the water, Sheldon dove in and began to dig around the bottom of the pool. With luck, he lifted a plain iron ring set with three rubies that pulsed like faint embers.
-Marveling at the ring, Sheldon hoped to put it on but began to feel the effect of his iron allergy. Quickly, Sheldon tossed the ring to Zaronious who boldly put it on without examining what arcane energies might lie within the rubies. He was pleased to find that the band was imbued with several fire-related spells.
-Returning to the beach, the party decided they needed to reach the dragon ship and investigate the glow in the distance. After Ulfric failed with a complex scheme to use the wolf spear as a harpoon, Jarppie used some rope, called forth by Zaronius' magic, and cast it out at the boat with his grappling hook eventually taking hold. The party then used this rope as a safety line so they could swim out and board the boat.
-Once every member stood upon the deck, the oars of the boat sprung to life rowing on their own and pulling the dragon ship away from the shore and into the open sea. Once the ship was nearly halfway towards the island in the distance, the beat of drums growing louder, all out chaos occurred. The seas began to churn and with a thunderous screech the party came face to face with the Leviathan that Sheldon had spoken of in his trance.
-Two powerful tentacles seized the front of the dragon ship halting its advance as the party flung into action. Taking the direct approach, Jarppie led the charge as they attacked the tentacles. Meanwhile, Zaronious cast a spell summoning an orca in the waters. The orca was promptly devoured by the Leviathan buying some time, but it seemed far from enough to sake its hunger.
-As more tentacles emerged from the water, the situation began to turn against the party. Ulfric and Dagnabbit found themselves grasped and crushed by tentacles. Jarppie quickly realized the Leviathan was out of the party's league combat-wise and began suggesting the party study what items they had gathered thus far and seek for an alternative solution.
-With the gold censer coming up, Zaronious decided he might as well light it up given that they were facing impending death. As incense began to burn from the censer, the Leviathan released those held captive and spared the boat. Its tentacles paused for a moment at Zaronius' feet as if accepting him as one of the Chaos Lords and then sank back into the ocean. Unrestrained, the dragon ship continued on to the island as the party licked their wounds.
-As the island drew near the party noticed the source of the bright glow. Sitting in the center of the small landmass was a towering golden ziggurat. Hordes of beastmen crowded the steps that spiraled around the outer edge of the temple and ran to its peak. As some beastmen howled and others beat on massive hide drums, terrified prisoners were being marched up the steps in line towards the top. High atop the temple, the party could make out the fearsome silhouette of a large armored figure.
-Realizing the beastmen greatly outnumbered the already injured party, they began devising a scheme to infiltrate the ritual that seemed to be proceeding. In the end, they opted to use the other three robes to disguise some as chaos priests led by Zaronious. The others would remove their weapons and let the "priests" hide them under their robes so they might be led as prisoners.
-As they approached the ziggurat, the beastmen ushered the chaos priest to guide his sacrifices up the temple. Zaronius eagerly played his part well. One paused the group casting a discerning eye upon Zaronious, but saw fit to let them pass allowing the party to internally sigh with relief. In this way, the party slowly worked their way to the top of the temple.
-At the top, the scene was horrifying. Several beastmen were being guided by one that seemed to be a Shaman. Prisoners and a vast wealth of coins were being plunged into the opening atop the ziggurat. Within, lava was melting all that entered and swirling energy together. The party knew they would have to act soon as the ritual was nearing completion.
-Placing himself next in line, Jarppie triumphantly revealed himself as Ozwald tossed him his cleaver and the warrior attacked the Shaman. Howling with madness, the Shaman alerted those present to the attack. As some continued the ritual, the other acolytes attacked the party while the beastmen below began crowding past to ascend and join the fight.
-Amid the frenzy of battle, the magma had slowly started to rise and form into a large shape as it cooled into a hard blackened-form. Moments later, the rock crust shattered revealing the fully armored body of the Chaos Lord that the beastmen had been trying to revive: a hellish, horned humanoid, with a single cyclopean eye that blazed with infernal light. Wielding a massive black flail and clad in black plate armor the Chaos Lord proclaimed his name as Molan and swore that the forces of Chaos would once again raze the lands above before striding into battle.
-The battle was hard fought, but after taking several powerful blows Molan's body began to break down into magma. It seemed the Chaos Lord's spirit was unable to sustain its hold on a physical form so soon after the ritual's completion. With Molan and his acolytes defeated, the party worried how they might escape from the horde of beastmen below.
-However, it seemed Molan's defeat held far greater consequences. Beneath their feet, the entire temple began to shake as it started coming apart. While stone slabs began to peel away from the ziggurat, all out chaos began. With beastmen fleeing for their lives, the party began to descend the temple trying to guide what survivors they could. Noticing all the coins strewn about, unused in the ritual, most of the party tried to snatch up what they could in their descent. Jarppie happened to snatch up Molan's flail thinking it might have some value.
-As the party ushered the survivors onto the dragon ship, massive waves began to crash against the island. Finally, as the temple fell into complete ruins, a massive tidal wave surged propelling the dragon ship through the underground sea and towards a cavern wall. Ahead, through the maelstrom, the party noticed the mouth of a narrow cave. As if the gods themselves smiled upon the party for their victory, the dragon ship rode down the crest of the wave and shot through the rocky maw until the surf brought them back to the outside world.
-The ship smashed against the ground destroying it, but the party and the survivors pulled through. However, they found that the cave had dumped them out in an entirely unknown area. Ethanfeld was nowhere in sight. There was not a single familiar landmark. Who could say where they had appeared.
-In the distance, chimney smoke could be seen and with his keen eyes Sheldon noticed a town in the distance. After taking a short rest, they began gathering up the survivors. Zaronious made certain that the women stuck close to him. Together, the party marched on towards the village hoping to find a place to rest, safety for the villagers and information about where in the world they were. Regardless, the party had once more triumphed against the forces of Chaos.
First, some updates to to the general information since this session saw several new characters added to our cloud of heroes:
New Heroes:
7) Dagnabbit: A dwarven astrologer. Discontent with having to leave the caves where he lived to view the heavens only to return at night, Dagnabbit took up the life of an adventurer so he could study the sky from all across the land freely.
8) Gerard: A thief belonging to a widespread crime organization with branches located throughout the known world. Under the guise of a bard travelling to spread the joys of music to everyone, Gerard seeks news of gold and treasure for the profit of his gang and the hopes of rising through the ranks.
9) Sheldon Silvermoon: Another Elf and follower of the King of Elfland. Like Jace, he too wanders the lands. However, he seeks to defeat powerful monsters and the forces of Chaos that prey upon innocent people.
10) A to Zaronious: The 26th incarnation of Zaronious the Destroyer, one of the most intelligent mages to walk the lands and who has contributed much in the study of magic. In his old age, he felt he still had much to offer the world, but not enough time to do so, so he created the Infinite Me spell. The spell was supposed to make him immortal by returning his body to a much younger version of himself, but it started spawning young clones instead. Although the original is long dead, young Zaronian copies still occasionally poof out of thin air, creating a somewhat unconventional form of immortality. These adult copies posses the same magical inclinations, though their powers development seem to vary with each copy. A to Zaronious is one such clone, and is a drunk who loves the ladies and his herbs, and has an extensive knowledge of both. He is fearless (partly from the herbs and partly because he knows his death is meaningless as another would eventually appear in his place) and is prone to taking unnecessary risks, especially if they would impress a woman. He often experiments with his herbs and magic, sometimes to fantastical, and other times to disastrous results.
New Locations:
-Ethanfeld: A simple village situated near a large hill that overshadows the town. The hill holds a massive keep that overlooks a small sea. There are abundant rumors suggesting that the keep was once the hold of Chaos Lords. Recently, beastmen began descending from the keep and kidnapping villagers though for what purpose remained unclear.
And then the session itself:
Chapter 02: Sailors on the Starless Sea
I. Parting Ways
-The party spent the following week relaxing at the Wolf Spear Inn and reveling in their victory over The Hound. With Hirot no longer stalked by the beast, trade began once more. Dealing with merchants, the party was able to sell some of the treasure gained from the savage king's tomb. Jarppie made a particularly profitable exchange fetching a large sum of gold for the silver wolf pelt he had lifted from the tomb.
-During this time Sylle Ru, adviser to the Jarl, passed away. It seemed that his fervor in trying to stop the hound had rapidly withered away what remained of his life. Tension seemed to rise as the town realized that, once the party moved on, they would have no one present to deal with matters of the arcane.
-Growing ready for another adventure, the party prepared to head forth from Hirot seeking rumors. As luck would have it, Lloré returned to the village from a small trek bringing with him four adventurers that were on their way southwest. It seemed there were rumors that the town of Ethanfeld was being plagued by beastmen descending from a ruined keep that rested on a hill overlooking the village.
-Lloré introduced these adventurers, Dagnabbit, Gerard, Sheldon Silvermoon and A to Zaronius to the heroes that have saved Hirot suggesting it might be beneficial for them to pool their efforts. After some discussion, the two parties agreed to work together as one. However, it seemed not everyone intended to go along.
-Feeling the call of Aristemis guiding him elsewhere, Falcor gave the party his blessing stating his plans to travel elsewhere. He assured them that if they ever crossed paths again, they could count on his aid. More surprising, however, Markav decided to stay behind in Hirot. He had taken a fondness for the remote town and felt worried for their future after the loss of Sylle Ru. Instead, Markav planned to become a permanent resident and take up Sylle Ru's position as an advisor on all things magical to the Jarl.
-Parting ways with two of their companions, the new party set forth from Hirot heading southwest. After several days of uneventful travel, finding the weather slowly growing warmer, the party reached the tiny village of Ethanfeld. They found the town gripped with fear and villagers confirmed that for the past week or two beastmen had been raiding Ethanfeld and stealing away its citizens. So far the beastman had not attacked anyone so it was unknown whether they were killing their captives or storing them for something worse.
-Asking around the village, the party learned various rumors about the keep including tales of vast treasure hidden underneath and whispers that it was once ruled over by two Chaos Lords. Wasting little time, the party advanced on the keep.
II. The Ruined Keep
-Dealing with the harsh conditions of vine overgrown paths and a foul miasma the party pressed on past the pestilence of thousands of insects filling the air to reach the battered keep on the hill. Fearing traps, the party opted to sneak around to the western side of the keep rather than approach the front gates directly.
-From the western side, the party discovered an area of the keep's wall that had collapsed in becoming a massive pile of rubble and debris. With his knowledge of stonework, Dagnabbit quickly identified weak areas that might cause an avalanche and was able to guide the party over the rubble and into the courtyard of the keep.
-In the courtyard, the party discovered various tracks depicting human and wolf-like footprints, talon like prints of a bird and even a single straight line that slithered from side to side. Presuming these to be signs of the beastmen, the party began to proceed cautiously.
-From the courtyard the party approached a nearby well with a block and tackle situated to leave a chain going down into the well itself. Carefully studying the well, the party drew up the chain to find nothing on the end. Another party member tossed a rock down the well never hearing the sound of impact.
-Coming closer, Sheldon peered within the well itself and began to feel an unnatural draw in his mind pulling him closer. However, he was able to overcome this compulsion and warned the group of the danger. This came just in time as Zaronious had been preparing himself to dive down the well.
-Realizing the well could only be trouble, Jarppie retrieved the chain and added it to his pack before the party continued exploring the keep's courtyard.
-Noting a ruined building marked by gargoyles within the keep, the party moved to explore it. Inside they found the room heated as if it was still burning. They also found several charred skeletons as well as some blackened weapons and armor. In the center of this small chapel rested a fountain depicting a squat demonic toad that had a foul black ichor pouring from its lips into a basin at the foot of the construct.
-Ulfric carefully approached the fountain finding the heat grew the closer in proximity he came towards the statue. Meanwhile, Sheldon discovered a golden censer along with 3 incense cones which was quickly claimed by Zaronious after noting its purpose. Curious about the black ooze, Ulfric donned his blacksmith gloves and tried to examine the fountain.
-To his surprise the foul ichor sprang to life, in fact a living ooze, and quickly tried to wrap around Ulfric's arm igniting him aflame. As he worked to put the fire out, the rest of the party pulled together to dispatch the foul creature.
-With only a nearby tower remaining to explore, the party studied it from the outside noting movement within. With a feat of strength, Jarppie managed to use a grappling hook with some rope and get a firm hold on one of the openings higher up the tower thinking such an entrance might avoid troubles caused from waltzing in the front door.
-Once the party safely made the climb, they found the inside of the tower held a spiral staircase ascending to the top. Along the walls, battered and in poor condition, were chained the villagers from Ethanfeld. As Zaronious began to zealously free any women among the captives, a snarling horde of beastmen emerged at the top of the tower. Led by a much larger bull-like beastman, they raced down the stairs hoping to stop the intruders from freeing their captives.
-Charging ahead, Dagnabbit and Jarppie took the front defending the rest of the party as they engaged the beastmen on the narrow tower steps. The rest of the group attacked at range or slung spells marveling the captives with their show of power. Ultimately, the beastmen were put to rest as Jace summoned a massive blast of flames engulfing their Champion and sending him stumbling over the edge of the steps hurtling to the tower floor.
-In the aftermath, the rest of the villagers were freed. An old man mentioned that some of their friends had been taken to the top of the tower and never returned prompting the party to realize their task was not yet complete. Meanwhile, Zaronious chatted up one of the women he had freed receiving a promise that she would reward his heroic efforts upon the party's return to Ethanfeld.
-With the villagers saved, the party searched the rest of the tower in hopes of uncovering some of the rumored treasure. Some small caches of coins were found along with an ornate short sword likely worth something. On the body of the beastmen's Champion the party discovered that he had been wearing an imposing silver torc hung with bleached skulls. The spellcasters in the group could sense the power of Chaos radiating from the relic. Jokingly, Zaronious donned the torc.
-Moving to the top of the tower, the party discovered the stairs lead into a small room in the side of the keep itself. From here stairs descended down further and further moving into total darkness revealing a dungeon below. Aware of the side effect to one of his spells, Sheldon mumbled a few words causing his forehead to alight from a shining blue star. Using this as guiding light, along with a torch lit by Jarppie, the party explored below.
-Reaching the bottom of the steps, the party discovered a few stray gold pieces. Carefully searching the room, they found the door to a secret vault. Within, three treasure chests were discovered alongside coins strewn everywhere. It seemed the that this had once been a treasure vault, but was recently raided.
-Between the chests and the stray coins, the party managed to gather a hefty bit of treasure. Studying the center chest carefully, Gerard was able to notice a hidden compartment on the bottom. Ever cautious from his guild's training, Gerard detected the compartment was trapped and devised a solution to spring the trap without harming anyone.
-Within, Gerard found some valuable rings and a steel vial with two doses of Black Lotus Oil which he kept secret from the group. Inside was also a silk tabard stitched with sigils of Chaos, which Zaronious donned to further his mock attire, and a leather pouch containing a granular green powder.
-The party puzzled over the powder until Zaronious, in a moment of seriousness, identified it as a reagent that when mixed with wine or water could form a healing poultice. Working together with Jace, who provided several empty vials being an alchemist, the two took some time to brew up the poultices and distribute them among the party.
-With exhaustion setting in, many injured from their multiple bouts of combat and the spellcasters in sore need of studying their spells, Dagnabbit and Jarppie noted that the vault could be a safe place to rest. Sealing the vault door from the inside, the party camped for the night alternating watches to ensure beastmen did not come back for any reason.
III. The Starless Sea
-The night passed without incident and the party awoke ready to continue. Though some were still injured, there was little they could do with only the few poultices to rely on for healing. Falcor's presence was sorely missed.
-Returning to the original path, the party entered a large hall with elaborate tile mosaics covering the walls and a large pool in the center of the room filled with thick sludge and black algae. Ozwald, Sheldon and Gerard felt a strange compulsion to check the pool and eventually each retrieved human skulls that seemed to glow slightly; these lined the bottom of the pool.
-Sensing a tie to the forces of Chaos, the party dissuaded the three from holding onto them and instead moved to explore the room and study the mosaics. Three distinct scenes were depicted. First, a hooded form standing atop a towering stone on the edge of a vast lake; seven tentacles waving from the water. Second, two armored figures holding up a single flail together, commanding legions of hunched, beast-like warriors. Finally, a low island set in the center of a black lake with a golden pyramid set atop the island and a figure armed with a flail preparing to sacrifice a maiden; this sight troubling Zaronious.
-Strewn about the room, the party discovered four black robes stitched in silver thread with bizarre sigils. Zaronious donned a robe to complete his imposing Chaos-inspired appearance while the party held on to the other three.
-Proceeding forward, the party descended more steps until the dungeon gave way to, of all things, a dark-sand beach. The beach appeared to be part of a vast underground sea. Far our, across the water, the party thought they could see a golden glow. At the water's edge an enormous menhir rested.
-Past this standing stone, a dragon-prowed longship emerged with its hull scratched full of forbidding sigils and runes that glowed with a sickly green light. Slowly, the ship came in and stopped about fifty feet from the shore. Most troubling of all, in the distance the party began to hear the beat of distant drums and wails of terror mixing in with the sound of the waves crashing into the shore.
-As the party began to explore the beach, Sheldon inspected the menhir. Carved with mesmerizing spirals, the Elf couldn't help but be drawn in by the designs and within moments seemed to snap. Drawing his blade, he turned it on Jarppie attempting to attack him as he mumbled something about a sacrifice to the great Leviathan.
-Unable to snap Sheldon from the trance, the party attempted to restrain him. Zaronious summoned up one hundred feet of rope to tie up the Elf and they left him on the beach for awhile until he managed to calm down. Sheldon seemed to have no memories of the last few minutes nor the Leviathan that he spoke of.
-While exploring the beach, the party discovered a small cave that seemed to run under the dungeon they had exited from. Inside, the inky cavern was mostly submerged with water. Curious at what was obscured by the water, Sheldon dove in and began to dig around the bottom of the pool. With luck, he lifted a plain iron ring set with three rubies that pulsed like faint embers.
-Marveling at the ring, Sheldon hoped to put it on but began to feel the effect of his iron allergy. Quickly, Sheldon tossed the ring to Zaronious who boldly put it on without examining what arcane energies might lie within the rubies. He was pleased to find that the band was imbued with several fire-related spells.
-Returning to the beach, the party decided they needed to reach the dragon ship and investigate the glow in the distance. After Ulfric failed with a complex scheme to use the wolf spear as a harpoon, Jarppie used some rope, called forth by Zaronius' magic, and cast it out at the boat with his grappling hook eventually taking hold. The party then used this rope as a safety line so they could swim out and board the boat.
-Once every member stood upon the deck, the oars of the boat sprung to life rowing on their own and pulling the dragon ship away from the shore and into the open sea. Once the ship was nearly halfway towards the island in the distance, the beat of drums growing louder, all out chaos occurred. The seas began to churn and with a thunderous screech the party came face to face with the Leviathan that Sheldon had spoken of in his trance.
-Two powerful tentacles seized the front of the dragon ship halting its advance as the party flung into action. Taking the direct approach, Jarppie led the charge as they attacked the tentacles. Meanwhile, Zaronious cast a spell summoning an orca in the waters. The orca was promptly devoured by the Leviathan buying some time, but it seemed far from enough to sake its hunger.
-As more tentacles emerged from the water, the situation began to turn against the party. Ulfric and Dagnabbit found themselves grasped and crushed by tentacles. Jarppie quickly realized the Leviathan was out of the party's league combat-wise and began suggesting the party study what items they had gathered thus far and seek for an alternative solution.
-With the gold censer coming up, Zaronious decided he might as well light it up given that they were facing impending death. As incense began to burn from the censer, the Leviathan released those held captive and spared the boat. Its tentacles paused for a moment at Zaronius' feet as if accepting him as one of the Chaos Lords and then sank back into the ocean. Unrestrained, the dragon ship continued on to the island as the party licked their wounds.
-As the island drew near the party noticed the source of the bright glow. Sitting in the center of the small landmass was a towering golden ziggurat. Hordes of beastmen crowded the steps that spiraled around the outer edge of the temple and ran to its peak. As some beastmen howled and others beat on massive hide drums, terrified prisoners were being marched up the steps in line towards the top. High atop the temple, the party could make out the fearsome silhouette of a large armored figure.
-Realizing the beastmen greatly outnumbered the already injured party, they began devising a scheme to infiltrate the ritual that seemed to be proceeding. In the end, they opted to use the other three robes to disguise some as chaos priests led by Zaronious. The others would remove their weapons and let the "priests" hide them under their robes so they might be led as prisoners.
-As they approached the ziggurat, the beastmen ushered the chaos priest to guide his sacrifices up the temple. Zaronius eagerly played his part well. One paused the group casting a discerning eye upon Zaronious, but saw fit to let them pass allowing the party to internally sigh with relief. In this way, the party slowly worked their way to the top of the temple.
-At the top, the scene was horrifying. Several beastmen were being guided by one that seemed to be a Shaman. Prisoners and a vast wealth of coins were being plunged into the opening atop the ziggurat. Within, lava was melting all that entered and swirling energy together. The party knew they would have to act soon as the ritual was nearing completion.
-Placing himself next in line, Jarppie triumphantly revealed himself as Ozwald tossed him his cleaver and the warrior attacked the Shaman. Howling with madness, the Shaman alerted those present to the attack. As some continued the ritual, the other acolytes attacked the party while the beastmen below began crowding past to ascend and join the fight.
-Amid the frenzy of battle, the magma had slowly started to rise and form into a large shape as it cooled into a hard blackened-form. Moments later, the rock crust shattered revealing the fully armored body of the Chaos Lord that the beastmen had been trying to revive: a hellish, horned humanoid, with a single cyclopean eye that blazed with infernal light. Wielding a massive black flail and clad in black plate armor the Chaos Lord proclaimed his name as Molan and swore that the forces of Chaos would once again raze the lands above before striding into battle.
-The battle was hard fought, but after taking several powerful blows Molan's body began to break down into magma. It seemed the Chaos Lord's spirit was unable to sustain its hold on a physical form so soon after the ritual's completion. With Molan and his acolytes defeated, the party worried how they might escape from the horde of beastmen below.
-However, it seemed Molan's defeat held far greater consequences. Beneath their feet, the entire temple began to shake as it started coming apart. While stone slabs began to peel away from the ziggurat, all out chaos began. With beastmen fleeing for their lives, the party began to descend the temple trying to guide what survivors they could. Noticing all the coins strewn about, unused in the ritual, most of the party tried to snatch up what they could in their descent. Jarppie happened to snatch up Molan's flail thinking it might have some value.
-As the party ushered the survivors onto the dragon ship, massive waves began to crash against the island. Finally, as the temple fell into complete ruins, a massive tidal wave surged propelling the dragon ship through the underground sea and towards a cavern wall. Ahead, through the maelstrom, the party noticed the mouth of a narrow cave. As if the gods themselves smiled upon the party for their victory, the dragon ship rode down the crest of the wave and shot through the rocky maw until the surf brought them back to the outside world.
-The ship smashed against the ground destroying it, but the party and the survivors pulled through. However, they found that the cave had dumped them out in an entirely unknown area. Ethanfeld was nowhere in sight. There was not a single familiar landmark. Who could say where they had appeared.
-In the distance, chimney smoke could be seen and with his keen eyes Sheldon noticed a town in the distance. After taking a short rest, they began gathering up the survivors. Zaronious made certain that the women stuck close to him. Together, the party marched on towards the village hoping to find a place to rest, safety for the villagers and information about where in the world they were. Regardless, the party had once more triumphed against the forces of Chaos.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Pitching DCC to 4e Players & Doom of the Savage Kings Play Report
As mentioned back in the first post of this blog, one of the reasons I wanted to start blogging was because of the excitement DCC put in me for the hobby. Since getting back into the swing of things, it has been rare for me to consider hopping onto newer games solely for the fact that I wouldn't know anyone around here that plays it and would have to sell them on it person by person. DCC's charm struck me, however, and I was determined to put forth the effort. I see a lot of horror stories here and there about awful FLGS, so I feel pretty lucky to have a really awesome one in my area. The store doubles as a cafe so it has nice atmosphere, good food and drink and best of all those of us there for RPG's don't have to worry about any kinds of issues such as renting table space.
Since I started going there, up to this point, the store had pretty much exclusively featured 4e events. Encounters and Lair Assault are both sent to us from WOTC to be ran and we have a semi-frequent LFR group on the weekends. When there were just a few weeks left on the pre-order for DCC, I decided to put out some info and see if it caught anyone's interest. Several people were intrigued so I ended up running a Level 0 demo using "Portal Under the Stars" from the original Free RPG Day quick-start.
Surprisingly, it went over very well. Most players had previous experience in other editions so they noticed the similarities. Overall, all the feedback was praise. People enjoyed the lack of battle maps/fooling with minis and fast combat for a change of pace. One player remarked that he enjoyed having the random occupations because it got him to think and roleplay outside his comfort zone of the usual classes/character types he would expect to play. The overall conclusion was that people wanted to see more of DCC and especially what it was like once you had proper character classes and magic; all that other fun stuff.
Two months later or so, DCC has been out for awhile. I had a lot of time to pour and re-pour over the book and was fortunate enough to play in a session of "Doom of the Savage Kings" at Forge-Con ran by Dieter Zimmerman; excellent session and I met some great people. I finally felt like I was ready to dig down and run something beyond a demo. However, quite a bit had changed in that short time. Most of the players from the Level 0 demo had either moved away or were in the process of doing so. In short, I'd have to pitch DCC a second time to our new players; several of which were only experienced with later editions of D&D.
So I put out the word again, I tried to play up the gonzo style and unique elements DCC had. I also wanted to format what I was running to work in such a way that it could work in a store-ran style, meaning players could drop in and out between sessions without seriously hampering the story, to match the appeal of stuff like LFR. I love ongoing games as much as the next person, but there's a commitment involved and then you get people missing who are plot-relevant and have to either trash stuff or just put things on hold. I wanted something that could churn along on its own while also still working as a story.
With LFR on the mind, I decided to construct things similar to its format. Since Goodman-Games is supporting DCC with an ample supply of modules, and so many third party publishers are embracing that as well, I felt I could pretty safely pitch this "store campaign" as one where I'd be running those 99% of the time. I presented the concept as an episodic story, much like how LFR is set up but with a bit more cohesion between adventures, and drew comparisons to the stories of Conan as an example. We would have a cloud of heroes and there would at least be some lead-in between adventures but for each "story" as it were the primary cast might have some people gone and others present each time. After one conquest, the wizard decides to stick around in town and pour over some tome the group recently discovered while the party moves on seeking rumors of lost treasure. That kind of stuff.
My other plan in kicking things off was to start from Level 1 right away. I love the funnel, don't get me wrong. However, of the few remaining players I had there was a sentiment that they'd rather "get to the good stuff" than run another funnel. I also hoped that having the exciting spellcasting system upfront would wow people. Though I have not ruled out doing some original adventures that are more tailored story-wise to the characters, in the hopes of keeping things tied to the modules I decided to take a page from Pathfinder Society and abstract XP. Rather than keeping exact count, I am merely going to declare they gain a level after X number of modules. To keep the scale DCC uses I suppose that X will have to inflate with each level.
I settled on running "Doom of the Savage Kings" and ended up with a nice turn out of six players. We spent the first hour of so creating their characters as I used various instances to go over some of the rules. I wanted everyone to have that old school experience so I required rolling 3d6, but was a little forgiving allowing them to do 3d6 then arrange to your liking. We had one player turn up late so we quickly had him work up a Warrior and I placed him in as a citizen of Hirot. For lack of currently having a means to print a lot of stuff, I went with keeping the spell tables to myself so the magic would be more surprising to the players in the end. Page flipping for the spells, even with my bookmarks, was the only real drag I felt like I had on my end. On that note, I can't wait for Purple Sorcerer's Crawlers Companion app to roll out.
Overall, it was a huge hit. The first question when we wrapped up was when was the next session and could it be ran more often; my initial pitch has the game set once a month. I stumbled over some rules, but I expected that. Even though I have been constantly reading stuff about DCC since back last fall, it is sometimes hard for me to remember that it is a fairly new game actually. There were no major issues. Everyone had a lot of laughs with the spell misfires and corruption. The Zocchi Dice were a point of marvel when things began; with bit of disbelief cast on the existence of a d24. Where possible I tried to share my set to the players so they could experience using them. Both Warriors sat side by side so I let them use my d3 between them for the deed die, for example.
The only real downside is that our Wizard player was rather unhappy with his character. He didn't enjoy having mostly 0's and negative modifiers. His first spell check resulted in a very harsh corruption spiking his Personality stat with a permanent -1 and he spent a lot of the module feeling like there wasn't much he could do. That being said, I don't think it was really a case of just not enjoying DCC; though that is a possibility. This player took part in the Level 0 demo and enjoyed it quite a bit.
I haven't seen a lot of talk about it, but I do think there is something of an acquired taste with spellcasting in DCC. It's a high-risk, high-reward system. If you're not the type of person to potentially have something extremely negative happen to your character, permanently, for doing what your class is designed to do and then be able to laugh it off then I could see where playing a spellcaster might be frustrating. I don't play certain classes in 4e because there are elements to them I do not enjoy; really the same thing.
Me personally, I love it. I love that tension that seems to come in at higher levels where every spell really counts and there's a struggle of "do I cast this now or not? Is it really necessary?" going within. However, not everyone may feel that way. Some time after the fact, I noticed I overlooked the rule about using luck to offset corruption and the player opted for that though he was still not very happy. I am going to get the player to try out a Thief in our next session and I have a feeling it might be more to his taste. The only other real negative thing to report is that everyone felt the name "The King of Elfland" was very cheesy and not that impressive for a Patron. I may just end up referring to him as the Archfey or something.
Regarding the plot, I did shorten the module down some. I mentioned going in that sometimes we may not always finish the module in one session. However, for our first outing I really wanted to finish things up in one shot and give them a complete story. To condense things, I took a page from the game I played in at Forge which also had the module shortened to fit our time slot. After escaping from the tomb, I excised the encounter with Iraco and the ensuing chaos it might cause regarding the Jarl.
The players never discovered the big twist with the lottery box where names were drawn so other than some initial suspicions of Sylle Ru the party just considered the Jarl to be a man stressed beyond his means due to the Hound. The party was eager to take the place of the girl at the Standing Stones and were generally forward and helpful so I decided to roll with that. Instead of the trek into the Fens after the Hound, the party gathered outside Hirot for a final epic showdown. While I was sad to skip that part, I really liked how things played out. On the plus side, I could always recycle that segment into something different.
My only complication, on the Judge's end, is that the party was pretty thorough in exploring the town and being determined with talking to everyone. They accepted the help of the hag, but between some not trusting her item would actually work and some convinced that only the spear would work the party was determined to go to the tomb as well. Between things like that and lots of high checks at the right moment, the party gathered the majority of magic items in the module. I saw there were some concerns on the number voiced over at the Goodman-Games forum. It felt wrong to outright remove some from the module; especially at the cost of punishing good roleplaying and die rolls. So my players might be sitting high in the power category for level 1's. However, I am not too worried about it. DCC is an unpredictable game so I have faith that things will balance out; one way or the other.
What follows is the summary document I have up in our store's facebook group for roleplayers. In the future I may not always update the NPC and location stuff here, but I will continue to post session summaries and likely new hero profiles; who knows. After the darker turn Encounters has been taking this season, I was very surprised that we had a mostly Law aligned party; that also tended towards the good/heroic side of things to boot. Odin also became one of the important deities for our known world as the character Jarppie kept hailing him as he rushed into battle. With all the Norse dressings already in the module that might just become an ongoing thing.
Where are we going from here? I set up Lloré with a bit more importance and made him more of a wanderer despite Hirot's isolation (he's essentially their only source of outside news) so he could be an ally to the party with regards to rumors. We'll be running through "Sailors on the Starless Sea" next.
Enjoy:
Heroes:
1) Jace: An Elf who spent much of his younger years studying Alchemy. This eventually led into the study of the arcane arts and ultimately to Jace accepting the King of Elfland himself as a Patron. Now a Wanderer, he travels the world seeking knowledge and to use his sorcerous talents to aid those tormented by foul beasts.
2) Falcor: A Falconer who became a Cleric of Aristemis after hearing the demi-goddess' call. Still accompanied by his trusted falcon, he set out upon a pilgrimage to spread the teachings of Aristemis and also to see to the destruction of the forces of Chaos.
3) Markav: Once a rope maker, Markav eventually stumbled upon an ancient tome filled with the long lost secrets of a powerful Wizard. Studying these, he began following in the ancient sorcerer's footsteps and set out to adventure and discover more arcane secrets. Learning of the Three Fates through the tome, he was able to contact and negotiate a pact with them accepting the trio as his Patron.
4) Jarppie Meatshield: A simple butcher from the lands far to the north who left his home to adventure as a Warrior. One day, when his village was under siege he joined the battle wielding only his meat cleaver and using a rack of ribs as a makeshift shield. From that day forward, Jarppie felt the desire to live an adventurer's life. His shield remains emblazoned with the symbol of a rack of ribs in honor of his first taste of combat and he continues to wield his cleaver into battle.
5) Ozwald: A former court jester turned Thief. Cruel in combat, Ozwald favors skulking around the battlefield waiting for the proper opportunity to strike with his garrote. Skilled at sleight of hand and con games, he also has a penchant for dressing up as a woman.
6) Ulfric: A Blacksmith working in the village of Hirot. Displeased by the Jarl's failure to remove the threat the Hound posed on their village, he masterfully forged his own two-handed sword and began training to become a Warrior. When the party arrived in Hirot seeking to save the town, he joined them in their cause. Unable to return to his mundane life, Ulfric has decided to join these adventurers.
Locations:
-Hirot: A lonely village set at the foot of the Trolltooth Mountains. The village was once home to some three hundred souls, but since the depredation of the hound the population has shrunk to nearly two hundred. The remaining village folk lived in constant fear, cowering in their homes most nights and emerging at dawn. The majority of buildings in Hirot are timber framed, wattle-and-daub constructions. Many of the smaller homes are mere hovels with families and livestock sharing the hard-packed earthen floor. In contrast, the homes of prominent merchants are two or even three stories in height. Many buildings are abandoned, their former inhabitants slain by the Hound of Hirot. Key to Hirot's character is its isolation. For most of its folk, knowledge of the world ends roughly twenty miles from the village gates. Hirot is ruled by its Jarl, his trusted advisor Sylle Ru and his seven Thegns.
Important Deities:
-The King of Elfland: Master of the verdant realm glimpsed only through sun-dappled groves, the mist of great waterfalls,and the moments of dusk and dawn, the King of Elfland rules all elf-kin from his throne of mist and ice. Fierce once roused, the white-bearded regent keeps watch over the dreaming land, protecting against incursion. He grants fearsome powers to his champions on the material plane, but can often seem fickle and sanguine; neglecting affairs not immediately pertaining to the Elflands.
-The Three Fates: Beholden to neither god nor man, the Three Fates weave the collective destinies of the universe upon the loom of time. As wardens of order, they strive against the diabolic powers, wicked gods, and forces of the outer dark that seek to undo the work of creation. Their anathemas are fell magics and the chaos-born corruption these magics unleash; supplicants of the Three Fates must exercise great discipline lest they become the monsters they seek to vanquish. Those that align themselves with the Three Fates tend to one of two archetypes: either the wizened arch- paladin, marshaling white magic against the forces of chaos, or the fiercely paranoid witch-hunter, seeking—and often finding— corruption behind the illusive masks of the world.
Since I started going there, up to this point, the store had pretty much exclusively featured 4e events. Encounters and Lair Assault are both sent to us from WOTC to be ran and we have a semi-frequent LFR group on the weekends. When there were just a few weeks left on the pre-order for DCC, I decided to put out some info and see if it caught anyone's interest. Several people were intrigued so I ended up running a Level 0 demo using "Portal Under the Stars" from the original Free RPG Day quick-start.
Surprisingly, it went over very well. Most players had previous experience in other editions so they noticed the similarities. Overall, all the feedback was praise. People enjoyed the lack of battle maps/fooling with minis and fast combat for a change of pace. One player remarked that he enjoyed having the random occupations because it got him to think and roleplay outside his comfort zone of the usual classes/character types he would expect to play. The overall conclusion was that people wanted to see more of DCC and especially what it was like once you had proper character classes and magic; all that other fun stuff.
Two months later or so, DCC has been out for awhile. I had a lot of time to pour and re-pour over the book and was fortunate enough to play in a session of "Doom of the Savage Kings" at Forge-Con ran by Dieter Zimmerman; excellent session and I met some great people. I finally felt like I was ready to dig down and run something beyond a demo. However, quite a bit had changed in that short time. Most of the players from the Level 0 demo had either moved away or were in the process of doing so. In short, I'd have to pitch DCC a second time to our new players; several of which were only experienced with later editions of D&D.
So I put out the word again, I tried to play up the gonzo style and unique elements DCC had. I also wanted to format what I was running to work in such a way that it could work in a store-ran style, meaning players could drop in and out between sessions without seriously hampering the story, to match the appeal of stuff like LFR. I love ongoing games as much as the next person, but there's a commitment involved and then you get people missing who are plot-relevant and have to either trash stuff or just put things on hold. I wanted something that could churn along on its own while also still working as a story.
With LFR on the mind, I decided to construct things similar to its format. Since Goodman-Games is supporting DCC with an ample supply of modules, and so many third party publishers are embracing that as well, I felt I could pretty safely pitch this "store campaign" as one where I'd be running those 99% of the time. I presented the concept as an episodic story, much like how LFR is set up but with a bit more cohesion between adventures, and drew comparisons to the stories of Conan as an example. We would have a cloud of heroes and there would at least be some lead-in between adventures but for each "story" as it were the primary cast might have some people gone and others present each time. After one conquest, the wizard decides to stick around in town and pour over some tome the group recently discovered while the party moves on seeking rumors of lost treasure. That kind of stuff.
My other plan in kicking things off was to start from Level 1 right away. I love the funnel, don't get me wrong. However, of the few remaining players I had there was a sentiment that they'd rather "get to the good stuff" than run another funnel. I also hoped that having the exciting spellcasting system upfront would wow people. Though I have not ruled out doing some original adventures that are more tailored story-wise to the characters, in the hopes of keeping things tied to the modules I decided to take a page from Pathfinder Society and abstract XP. Rather than keeping exact count, I am merely going to declare they gain a level after X number of modules. To keep the scale DCC uses I suppose that X will have to inflate with each level.
I settled on running "Doom of the Savage Kings" and ended up with a nice turn out of six players. We spent the first hour of so creating their characters as I used various instances to go over some of the rules. I wanted everyone to have that old school experience so I required rolling 3d6, but was a little forgiving allowing them to do 3d6 then arrange to your liking. We had one player turn up late so we quickly had him work up a Warrior and I placed him in as a citizen of Hirot. For lack of currently having a means to print a lot of stuff, I went with keeping the spell tables to myself so the magic would be more surprising to the players in the end. Page flipping for the spells, even with my bookmarks, was the only real drag I felt like I had on my end. On that note, I can't wait for Purple Sorcerer's Crawlers Companion app to roll out.
Overall, it was a huge hit. The first question when we wrapped up was when was the next session and could it be ran more often; my initial pitch has the game set once a month. I stumbled over some rules, but I expected that. Even though I have been constantly reading stuff about DCC since back last fall, it is sometimes hard for me to remember that it is a fairly new game actually. There were no major issues. Everyone had a lot of laughs with the spell misfires and corruption. The Zocchi Dice were a point of marvel when things began; with bit of disbelief cast on the existence of a d24. Where possible I tried to share my set to the players so they could experience using them. Both Warriors sat side by side so I let them use my d3 between them for the deed die, for example.
The only real downside is that our Wizard player was rather unhappy with his character. He didn't enjoy having mostly 0's and negative modifiers. His first spell check resulted in a very harsh corruption spiking his Personality stat with a permanent -1 and he spent a lot of the module feeling like there wasn't much he could do. That being said, I don't think it was really a case of just not enjoying DCC; though that is a possibility. This player took part in the Level 0 demo and enjoyed it quite a bit.
I haven't seen a lot of talk about it, but I do think there is something of an acquired taste with spellcasting in DCC. It's a high-risk, high-reward system. If you're not the type of person to potentially have something extremely negative happen to your character, permanently, for doing what your class is designed to do and then be able to laugh it off then I could see where playing a spellcaster might be frustrating. I don't play certain classes in 4e because there are elements to them I do not enjoy; really the same thing.
Me personally, I love it. I love that tension that seems to come in at higher levels where every spell really counts and there's a struggle of "do I cast this now or not? Is it really necessary?" going within. However, not everyone may feel that way. Some time after the fact, I noticed I overlooked the rule about using luck to offset corruption and the player opted for that though he was still not very happy. I am going to get the player to try out a Thief in our next session and I have a feeling it might be more to his taste. The only other real negative thing to report is that everyone felt the name "The King of Elfland" was very cheesy and not that impressive for a Patron. I may just end up referring to him as the Archfey or something.
Regarding the plot, I did shorten the module down some. I mentioned going in that sometimes we may not always finish the module in one session. However, for our first outing I really wanted to finish things up in one shot and give them a complete story. To condense things, I took a page from the game I played in at Forge which also had the module shortened to fit our time slot. After escaping from the tomb, I excised the encounter with Iraco and the ensuing chaos it might cause regarding the Jarl.
The players never discovered the big twist with the lottery box where names were drawn so other than some initial suspicions of Sylle Ru the party just considered the Jarl to be a man stressed beyond his means due to the Hound. The party was eager to take the place of the girl at the Standing Stones and were generally forward and helpful so I decided to roll with that. Instead of the trek into the Fens after the Hound, the party gathered outside Hirot for a final epic showdown. While I was sad to skip that part, I really liked how things played out. On the plus side, I could always recycle that segment into something different.
My only complication, on the Judge's end, is that the party was pretty thorough in exploring the town and being determined with talking to everyone. They accepted the help of the hag, but between some not trusting her item would actually work and some convinced that only the spear would work the party was determined to go to the tomb as well. Between things like that and lots of high checks at the right moment, the party gathered the majority of magic items in the module. I saw there were some concerns on the number voiced over at the Goodman-Games forum. It felt wrong to outright remove some from the module; especially at the cost of punishing good roleplaying and die rolls. So my players might be sitting high in the power category for level 1's. However, I am not too worried about it. DCC is an unpredictable game so I have faith that things will balance out; one way or the other.
What follows is the summary document I have up in our store's facebook group for roleplayers. In the future I may not always update the NPC and location stuff here, but I will continue to post session summaries and likely new hero profiles; who knows. After the darker turn Encounters has been taking this season, I was very surprised that we had a mostly Law aligned party; that also tended towards the good/heroic side of things to boot. Odin also became one of the important deities for our known world as the character Jarppie kept hailing him as he rushed into battle. With all the Norse dressings already in the module that might just become an ongoing thing.
Where are we going from here? I set up Lloré with a bit more importance and made him more of a wanderer despite Hirot's isolation (he's essentially their only source of outside news) so he could be an ally to the party with regards to rumors. We'll be running through "Sailors on the Starless Sea" next.
Enjoy:
Heroes:
1) Jace: An Elf who spent much of his younger years studying Alchemy. This eventually led into the study of the arcane arts and ultimately to Jace accepting the King of Elfland himself as a Patron. Now a Wanderer, he travels the world seeking knowledge and to use his sorcerous talents to aid those tormented by foul beasts.
2) Falcor: A Falconer who became a Cleric of Aristemis after hearing the demi-goddess' call. Still accompanied by his trusted falcon, he set out upon a pilgrimage to spread the teachings of Aristemis and also to see to the destruction of the forces of Chaos.
3) Markav: Once a rope maker, Markav eventually stumbled upon an ancient tome filled with the long lost secrets of a powerful Wizard. Studying these, he began following in the ancient sorcerer's footsteps and set out to adventure and discover more arcane secrets. Learning of the Three Fates through the tome, he was able to contact and negotiate a pact with them accepting the trio as his Patron.
4) Jarppie Meatshield: A simple butcher from the lands far to the north who left his home to adventure as a Warrior. One day, when his village was under siege he joined the battle wielding only his meat cleaver and using a rack of ribs as a makeshift shield. From that day forward, Jarppie felt the desire to live an adventurer's life. His shield remains emblazoned with the symbol of a rack of ribs in honor of his first taste of combat and he continues to wield his cleaver into battle.
5) Ozwald: A former court jester turned Thief. Cruel in combat, Ozwald favors skulking around the battlefield waiting for the proper opportunity to strike with his garrote. Skilled at sleight of hand and con games, he also has a penchant for dressing up as a woman.
6) Ulfric: A Blacksmith working in the village of Hirot. Displeased by the Jarl's failure to remove the threat the Hound posed on their village, he masterfully forged his own two-handed sword and began training to become a Warrior. When the party arrived in Hirot seeking to save the town, he joined them in their cause. Unable to return to his mundane life, Ulfric has decided to join these adventurers.
Locations:
-Hirot: A lonely village set at the foot of the Trolltooth Mountains. The village was once home to some three hundred souls, but since the depredation of the hound the population has shrunk to nearly two hundred. The remaining village folk lived in constant fear, cowering in their homes most nights and emerging at dawn. The majority of buildings in Hirot are timber framed, wattle-and-daub constructions. Many of the smaller homes are mere hovels with families and livestock sharing the hard-packed earthen floor. In contrast, the homes of prominent merchants are two or even three stories in height. Many buildings are abandoned, their former inhabitants slain by the Hound of Hirot. Key to Hirot's character is its isolation. For most of its folk, knowledge of the world ends roughly twenty miles from the village gates. Hirot is ruled by its Jarl, his trusted advisor Sylle Ru and his seven Thegns.
Important Deities:
-The King of Elfland: Master of the verdant realm glimpsed only through sun-dappled groves, the mist of great waterfalls,and the moments of dusk and dawn, the King of Elfland rules all elf-kin from his throne of mist and ice. Fierce once roused, the white-bearded regent keeps watch over the dreaming land, protecting against incursion. He grants fearsome powers to his champions on the material plane, but can often seem fickle and sanguine; neglecting affairs not immediately pertaining to the Elflands.
-The Three Fates: Beholden to neither god nor man, the Three Fates weave the collective destinies of the universe upon the loom of time. As wardens of order, they strive against the diabolic powers, wicked gods, and forces of the outer dark that seek to undo the work of creation. Their anathemas are fell magics and the chaos-born corruption these magics unleash; supplicants of the Three Fates must exercise great discipline lest they become the monsters they seek to vanquish. Those that align themselves with the Three Fates tend to one of two archetypes: either the wizened arch- paladin, marshaling white magic against the forces of chaos, or the fiercely paranoid witch-hunter, seeking—and often finding— corruption behind the illusive masks of the world.
-Aristemis: The Law-aligned demi-goddess of true seeing and strategy. Also known as the Insightful One.
-Justicia: The Law-aligned goddess of justice and mercy. She seeks to bring aid to those suffering and for her followers to head the charge against the forces of Chaos.
-Odin: A powerful god associated with not only war, battle, victory and death, but also wisdom, magic, poetry, prophecy, and the hunt. His power is considered supreme among even the gods.
Important NPC's:
-Justicia: The Law-aligned goddess of justice and mercy. She seeks to bring aid to those suffering and for her followers to head the charge against the forces of Chaos.
-Odin: A powerful god associated with not only war, battle, victory and death, but also wisdom, magic, poetry, prophecy, and the hunt. His power is considered supreme among even the gods.
Important NPC's:
-Lloré: Hirot's sole bard and storyteller. Fond of entertaining crowds within the Wolf-Spear Inn, he is also the only source of news and information from beyond the walls of Hirot.
Chapter 01: Doom of the Savage Kings
I. The Village of Hirot
Chapter 01: Doom of the Savage Kings
I. The Village of Hirot
-Having crossed paths in the wilderness Jace, Falcor, Markav, Jarppie and Ozwald began travelling together since they shared the same destination: the village of Hirot. The small vale where the village rested seemed ever-filled with thick fog and mist when freed from the forests surrounding the area.
-The party came upon a grim procession marching a young woman bound and gagged. Our heroes met the Jarl of Hirot and first learned of the malicious Hound: a creature of Chaos plaguing the village. For the past few months, the Hound would prey every night on the village killing its citizens. The beast seemed to be immortal as although the Jarl and his seven Thegns had killed the beast, it merely turned into mist only to reform and return the following night. Eventually, the Jarl's advisor Sylle Ru, a elderly sorcerer, had determined that by staging sacrifices at the standing stones beyond the village the Hound would only come every three days.
-Using a lottery to decide who would be the tribute, in this way Hirot has slowly been marching down the path to destruction at the maw of the Hound. Unable to stand by and allow the village to sacrifice one of their own the party requested a chance to stop the Hound. Cynical, the Jarl refused giving them the sole option of standing in the woman's place as a sacrifice.
-The party consented and the young woman, named Morgan, thanked the heroes mentioning that her father ran the Wolf-Spear Inn in town and they would be welcomed there for their kindness. As the procession departed, the party gathered at the standing stones to stage an ambush on the Hound.
-Between a sneak attack by Ozwald and a powerful casting of Magic Missile by Jace, the party managed to get the drop on the Hound and defeat it. However, true to the Jarl's words it turned into mist and vanished. With no means of tracking it, the party marched on to Hirot.
-The party thoroughly explored the village of Hirot making many allies. Though some feared the Hound would come for the village tomorrow due to the party's actions, many felt encouraged by the heroes' attempt to bring an end to the curse plaguing Hirot. Nothan, leader of the night watch informed the party that a local blacksmith had been training in hopes of facing the Hound himself.
-The party met with this blacksmith, named Ulfric, and ended up recruiting him to their cause banding together to seek a means to slay the Hound for good.
-At the Wolf-Spear Inn, the party met Morgan's father, the inn keeper, Broegan and the local bard Lloré. Meanwhile, Ozwald showed interest in the fair Morgan. While the rest of the party questioned Broegan, they learned that some local thugs by the name of Ilham, Kej and Stein had recently tried to seek out and discover the Tomb of Ulfheonar. Many eons ago, Ulfheonar was a savage king who ruled over the very lands where Hirot had been founded. His tomb was rumored to have many riches for anyone brave enough to discovery and explore within. Above the mantle at the Inn rested a replica of a relic known as the Wolf-Spear; a weapon Ulfheonar was claimed to have owned which could slay any creature.
-While in the Inn, they also learned of several other areas of interest within the city that could be useful in their quest including the local Chapel of Justicia and the hovel of an old woman named Ymae; who was known about town as the Mad Widow and rumored to be a witch.
-Seeking more information, the party visited the Mad Widow. Inside her hovel, which was curiously larger on the inside, she confirmed that Ulfheonar's spear could slay the Hound if it were found. She also offered to spin the party enchanted threads that could be used to bind the Hound and defeat it that way. However, such a one of a kind magic artifact could only be parted with in exchange for one of the party members agreeing to marry the hag.
-Aloof of human customs, from living so many years already being an Elf, Jace agreed to the Mad Widow's bargain. Ymae informed the party that once the Hound was defeated they were to return to her at which time Jace would have to make good on his promise.
-Next, the party visited the Chapel of Justicia. There they met Father Beacom, a cruel seeming man who was warry at the party initially until Falcor began conversing with him about the forces of Law and their struggle against Chaos. Noticing a mural within the Chapel that depicted a holy warrior wielding a warhammer against a beast of Chaos, the party inquired about its meaning.
-Father Beacom was reluctant at first, but after some discussion with Falcor he took the Cleric aside to show him the Chapel's secret. They were in possession of a holy relic, the head to the very warhammer depicted in the mural. Though he was wary to give away such a sacred object, Father Beacom wished to see an end brought to the Hound as much as the rest of the village. He informed Falcor that a new shaft would need to be crafted for the warhammer and then, if it were rededicated to the services of Law, its power would return.
-Returning to his smithy, Ulfric helped to reform the warhammer into proper form. Then, praying to Aristemis, Falcor dedicated the weapon to championing the forces of Law and destroying the minions of Chaos. In an instant, the warhammer regained its magical property as a weapon to slay demons and devils.
-Moving on, the party visited the Three Rats; a Inn of ill-repute. There they met the opportunist Master Jenks. He confirmed that some of his men had went to find the tomb of Ulfheonar, but had never returned. However, he knew where they were headed and could easily give the party a map for the low price of one hundred gold.
-Clearly realizing that Master Jenks was trying to extort the party for all they were worth, our heroes began trying to negotiate for the directions. However, they made little progress. Eventually, Ozwald dressed as a woman hoping to win over Master Jenks favor with "her" charm, but even then he offered little discount on his valuable information. The party tried to gamble for the prize, but remained wary that Jenks might cheat.
-Ultimately, Ozwald realized Master Jenks had to be a fellow thief and negotiating in Cant, managed to come to an agreement wherein the party might borrow the information as a favor between two experts of the "trade."
-Armed with the information they needed, but tired from their conflict with the Hound and exploring the village the party rested at the Wolf-Spear Inn planning to set out early in the morning for the Tomb of Ulfheonar. The majority of the party remained convinced that the spear alone would bring victory and were wary of trusting the Mad Widow's aid.
-In the morning, before setting out, the party visited the Jarl's great hall known as Meadhold. There they found little patience from the Jarl who had long been stressed at his inability to find a solution to the curse upon Hirot. The party also met with Sylle Ru under some suspicion that he might be behind the Hound. However, they quickly came to realize that Sylle Ru was quite sincere. A former adventurer himself, he had met great despair when his party bit off a little more than they could handle and he escaped as the sole survivor. Though he desperately wanted to save Hirot, he was taxing himself day and night in research looking for a solution.
II. The Tomb of Ulfheonar
-Heading north, the party traveled until they came to a small pool where several streams met before a large earthen mound. Set in the face of the mound was a large stone door decorated with serpentine spirals. In a feat of great strength, Ulfric managed to open the tomb entrance. However, this awakened a serpent spirit within the pool of water that quickly engulfed the blacksmith.
-The party found themselves in a desperate fight as Ulfric slowly began to drown trapped within the water serpent. Ultimately, Falcor managed to shove their companion free as the party's combined might slayed the beast.
-Exploring Ulfheonar's tomb, the party cleverly bypassed several traps while finding a large cave bear pelt and skull fashioned a a cloak and helmet. Granted to Ulfric, he could feel the power surging through it allowing him to enter a berserk rage upon his choosing.
-The party also faced off against two gruesome ghouls who seemed to have some alien being crawling beneath their very skin. As the first ghoul fell the source of their odd condition became clear, within each body was a smaller serpent-like creature that busted forth at its host death to strike the party.
-After dispatching these creatures, our heroes came to a small chamber that had been caved in. Sifting in the rubble, Ulfric found a magical shield emblazoned with the crest of a lion which he gave to Jarppie. However, it came at great cost as a large stone fell due to Ulfric's sifting of the area striking the blacksmith and injuring him.
-Moving deeper into the tomb, the party discovered a dead end but noticed a small crawlspace leading up. It's small size proved a detriment for the party forcing anyone wanting to enter to have to remove their armor and push or drag it behind them. Initially wanting to send Ozwalrd, fearing for traps, the party became stumped as the thief refused such a dangerous task.
-Jace, followed by Jarppie for protection, eventually took the lead hoping his infravision would help spot any trouble along the way. Crawling through several bends the duo discovered what appeared to be the main chamber of the tomb which also held a large spear and shield. Fearing traps, they called back for Ozwald to advance.
-Crawling through, Ozwald was surprising by another ghoul dropping down from a secret crawlspace leading higher up that no one had noticed. Fearing for his life, Ozwald retreated out allowing Ulfric, Falcor and Markav to deal with the creature before everyone advanced to Jace and Jarppie's location. A lengthy feat regarding time due to the small size of the crawlspace.
-There, the party claimed the spear finding it entirely non-magical as they triggered a magical trap that began collapsing the chamber; making it more than clear that this was a false tomb designed to deter tomb robbers. Markav managed to barely escape at the last minute before being crushed under the entire weight of the mound above the tomb.
-Taking the upper crawlspace that the goul had come from, the party managed to find the true chamber of Ulfheonar; the skeletal remains of the savage king seated upon his throne. In his lap rested the legendary Wolf-Spear. Already posessing the bear hide cloak likely worn by Ulfheonar, the Wolf-Spear was entrusted to Ulfric. Jace also claimed a drinking horn whose mysterious liquid could give resistance to poison and even heal wounds.
-Reaching out to his patron, Jace contacted the King of Elfland questioning the powerful being if the Wolf-Spear would truly be able to slay the Hound. Busied with a lavish party being thrown, the King of Elfland had little time to spend on Jace and merely offered a confirmation that with the spear they could achieve victory granting the spellcaster a small boon of the King's power to use when they faced the beast.
III. The Hound of Hirot
-After exiting the tomb, the sun was already starting to set. Moving quickly, the party reached Hirot just in time as Nothan was beginning to lock down the gates in fear of the Hound. Seeing Ulfric decked out in the gear of Ulfheonar, only spoken of in legend, the villagers rejoiced. As the gates to Hirot closed, the party took a short moment to rest outside the village as they awaited the Hound. Falcor did his best to patch up the party's injuries.
-True to its nature, the Hound emerged from the mists surrounding the village slowly approaching the party as if it sensed that this would be their final showdown. Wielding the Wolf-Spear, Ulfric bravely stared down the Hound ready to put an end to its curse upon Hirot. Rushing forward, Ulfric pierced the Hound with the Wolf-Spear pinning it helplessly to the ground.
-Taking advantage of this, the party proceeded to lay into the Chaos beast with blow after blow. Ultimately, Markav sacrificed some of his very essence in spellburn to the Three Fates allowing him to summon a powerful sphere of force energy blasting the Hound and destroying the creature. Rather than shrinking back into mist, this time the beast merely burned into ash leaving only the Wolf-Spear in its wake.
-Having defeated the Hound, the party was given a heroes welcome in Hirot. Even the reluctant Jarl offered thanks while Broegan informed the party they would have free room and board at his Inn for as long as they needed. Making good on his promise, Jace went off to visit the Mad Widow Ymae. To his surprise, she was no longer an old hag but young and beautiful with flowers in her hair.
-However, beside her stood a creature of pure flames; both a demon and her true husband. Angered at her antics, the demon swore no creature of the material plane would ever have her and bid the Elf to depart. Running forward, Ymae kissed Jace farewell and gave him a parting gift: an enchanted shirt of golden mail.
-Returning to the Wolf-Spear Inn, Broegan gave drinks all around as Ozwald began cozying up to Morgan. Meanwhile, Lloré started a new song, of his own design, hailing their new local hero Ulfric joined by his companions that had traveled to Hirot from far away banding together to slay the Hound of Hirot.
-The party came upon a grim procession marching a young woman bound and gagged. Our heroes met the Jarl of Hirot and first learned of the malicious Hound: a creature of Chaos plaguing the village. For the past few months, the Hound would prey every night on the village killing its citizens. The beast seemed to be immortal as although the Jarl and his seven Thegns had killed the beast, it merely turned into mist only to reform and return the following night. Eventually, the Jarl's advisor Sylle Ru, a elderly sorcerer, had determined that by staging sacrifices at the standing stones beyond the village the Hound would only come every three days.
-Using a lottery to decide who would be the tribute, in this way Hirot has slowly been marching down the path to destruction at the maw of the Hound. Unable to stand by and allow the village to sacrifice one of their own the party requested a chance to stop the Hound. Cynical, the Jarl refused giving them the sole option of standing in the woman's place as a sacrifice.
-The party consented and the young woman, named Morgan, thanked the heroes mentioning that her father ran the Wolf-Spear Inn in town and they would be welcomed there for their kindness. As the procession departed, the party gathered at the standing stones to stage an ambush on the Hound.
-Between a sneak attack by Ozwald and a powerful casting of Magic Missile by Jace, the party managed to get the drop on the Hound and defeat it. However, true to the Jarl's words it turned into mist and vanished. With no means of tracking it, the party marched on to Hirot.
-The party thoroughly explored the village of Hirot making many allies. Though some feared the Hound would come for the village tomorrow due to the party's actions, many felt encouraged by the heroes' attempt to bring an end to the curse plaguing Hirot. Nothan, leader of the night watch informed the party that a local blacksmith had been training in hopes of facing the Hound himself.
-The party met with this blacksmith, named Ulfric, and ended up recruiting him to their cause banding together to seek a means to slay the Hound for good.
-At the Wolf-Spear Inn, the party met Morgan's father, the inn keeper, Broegan and the local bard Lloré. Meanwhile, Ozwald showed interest in the fair Morgan. While the rest of the party questioned Broegan, they learned that some local thugs by the name of Ilham, Kej and Stein had recently tried to seek out and discover the Tomb of Ulfheonar. Many eons ago, Ulfheonar was a savage king who ruled over the very lands where Hirot had been founded. His tomb was rumored to have many riches for anyone brave enough to discovery and explore within. Above the mantle at the Inn rested a replica of a relic known as the Wolf-Spear; a weapon Ulfheonar was claimed to have owned which could slay any creature.
-While in the Inn, they also learned of several other areas of interest within the city that could be useful in their quest including the local Chapel of Justicia and the hovel of an old woman named Ymae; who was known about town as the Mad Widow and rumored to be a witch.
-Seeking more information, the party visited the Mad Widow. Inside her hovel, which was curiously larger on the inside, she confirmed that Ulfheonar's spear could slay the Hound if it were found. She also offered to spin the party enchanted threads that could be used to bind the Hound and defeat it that way. However, such a one of a kind magic artifact could only be parted with in exchange for one of the party members agreeing to marry the hag.
-Aloof of human customs, from living so many years already being an Elf, Jace agreed to the Mad Widow's bargain. Ymae informed the party that once the Hound was defeated they were to return to her at which time Jace would have to make good on his promise.
-Next, the party visited the Chapel of Justicia. There they met Father Beacom, a cruel seeming man who was warry at the party initially until Falcor began conversing with him about the forces of Law and their struggle against Chaos. Noticing a mural within the Chapel that depicted a holy warrior wielding a warhammer against a beast of Chaos, the party inquired about its meaning.
-Father Beacom was reluctant at first, but after some discussion with Falcor he took the Cleric aside to show him the Chapel's secret. They were in possession of a holy relic, the head to the very warhammer depicted in the mural. Though he was wary to give away such a sacred object, Father Beacom wished to see an end brought to the Hound as much as the rest of the village. He informed Falcor that a new shaft would need to be crafted for the warhammer and then, if it were rededicated to the services of Law, its power would return.
-Returning to his smithy, Ulfric helped to reform the warhammer into proper form. Then, praying to Aristemis, Falcor dedicated the weapon to championing the forces of Law and destroying the minions of Chaos. In an instant, the warhammer regained its magical property as a weapon to slay demons and devils.
-Moving on, the party visited the Three Rats; a Inn of ill-repute. There they met the opportunist Master Jenks. He confirmed that some of his men had went to find the tomb of Ulfheonar, but had never returned. However, he knew where they were headed and could easily give the party a map for the low price of one hundred gold.
-Clearly realizing that Master Jenks was trying to extort the party for all they were worth, our heroes began trying to negotiate for the directions. However, they made little progress. Eventually, Ozwald dressed as a woman hoping to win over Master Jenks favor with "her" charm, but even then he offered little discount on his valuable information. The party tried to gamble for the prize, but remained wary that Jenks might cheat.
-Ultimately, Ozwald realized Master Jenks had to be a fellow thief and negotiating in Cant, managed to come to an agreement wherein the party might borrow the information as a favor between two experts of the "trade."
-Armed with the information they needed, but tired from their conflict with the Hound and exploring the village the party rested at the Wolf-Spear Inn planning to set out early in the morning for the Tomb of Ulfheonar. The majority of the party remained convinced that the spear alone would bring victory and were wary of trusting the Mad Widow's aid.
-In the morning, before setting out, the party visited the Jarl's great hall known as Meadhold. There they found little patience from the Jarl who had long been stressed at his inability to find a solution to the curse upon Hirot. The party also met with Sylle Ru under some suspicion that he might be behind the Hound. However, they quickly came to realize that Sylle Ru was quite sincere. A former adventurer himself, he had met great despair when his party bit off a little more than they could handle and he escaped as the sole survivor. Though he desperately wanted to save Hirot, he was taxing himself day and night in research looking for a solution.
II. The Tomb of Ulfheonar
-Heading north, the party traveled until they came to a small pool where several streams met before a large earthen mound. Set in the face of the mound was a large stone door decorated with serpentine spirals. In a feat of great strength, Ulfric managed to open the tomb entrance. However, this awakened a serpent spirit within the pool of water that quickly engulfed the blacksmith.
-The party found themselves in a desperate fight as Ulfric slowly began to drown trapped within the water serpent. Ultimately, Falcor managed to shove their companion free as the party's combined might slayed the beast.
-Exploring Ulfheonar's tomb, the party cleverly bypassed several traps while finding a large cave bear pelt and skull fashioned a a cloak and helmet. Granted to Ulfric, he could feel the power surging through it allowing him to enter a berserk rage upon his choosing.
-The party also faced off against two gruesome ghouls who seemed to have some alien being crawling beneath their very skin. As the first ghoul fell the source of their odd condition became clear, within each body was a smaller serpent-like creature that busted forth at its host death to strike the party.
-After dispatching these creatures, our heroes came to a small chamber that had been caved in. Sifting in the rubble, Ulfric found a magical shield emblazoned with the crest of a lion which he gave to Jarppie. However, it came at great cost as a large stone fell due to Ulfric's sifting of the area striking the blacksmith and injuring him.
-Moving deeper into the tomb, the party discovered a dead end but noticed a small crawlspace leading up. It's small size proved a detriment for the party forcing anyone wanting to enter to have to remove their armor and push or drag it behind them. Initially wanting to send Ozwalrd, fearing for traps, the party became stumped as the thief refused such a dangerous task.
-Jace, followed by Jarppie for protection, eventually took the lead hoping his infravision would help spot any trouble along the way. Crawling through several bends the duo discovered what appeared to be the main chamber of the tomb which also held a large spear and shield. Fearing traps, they called back for Ozwald to advance.
-Crawling through, Ozwald was surprising by another ghoul dropping down from a secret crawlspace leading higher up that no one had noticed. Fearing for his life, Ozwald retreated out allowing Ulfric, Falcor and Markav to deal with the creature before everyone advanced to Jace and Jarppie's location. A lengthy feat regarding time due to the small size of the crawlspace.
-There, the party claimed the spear finding it entirely non-magical as they triggered a magical trap that began collapsing the chamber; making it more than clear that this was a false tomb designed to deter tomb robbers. Markav managed to barely escape at the last minute before being crushed under the entire weight of the mound above the tomb.
-Taking the upper crawlspace that the goul had come from, the party managed to find the true chamber of Ulfheonar; the skeletal remains of the savage king seated upon his throne. In his lap rested the legendary Wolf-Spear. Already posessing the bear hide cloak likely worn by Ulfheonar, the Wolf-Spear was entrusted to Ulfric. Jace also claimed a drinking horn whose mysterious liquid could give resistance to poison and even heal wounds.
-Reaching out to his patron, Jace contacted the King of Elfland questioning the powerful being if the Wolf-Spear would truly be able to slay the Hound. Busied with a lavish party being thrown, the King of Elfland had little time to spend on Jace and merely offered a confirmation that with the spear they could achieve victory granting the spellcaster a small boon of the King's power to use when they faced the beast.
III. The Hound of Hirot
-After exiting the tomb, the sun was already starting to set. Moving quickly, the party reached Hirot just in time as Nothan was beginning to lock down the gates in fear of the Hound. Seeing Ulfric decked out in the gear of Ulfheonar, only spoken of in legend, the villagers rejoiced. As the gates to Hirot closed, the party took a short moment to rest outside the village as they awaited the Hound. Falcor did his best to patch up the party's injuries.
-True to its nature, the Hound emerged from the mists surrounding the village slowly approaching the party as if it sensed that this would be their final showdown. Wielding the Wolf-Spear, Ulfric bravely stared down the Hound ready to put an end to its curse upon Hirot. Rushing forward, Ulfric pierced the Hound with the Wolf-Spear pinning it helplessly to the ground.
-Taking advantage of this, the party proceeded to lay into the Chaos beast with blow after blow. Ultimately, Markav sacrificed some of his very essence in spellburn to the Three Fates allowing him to summon a powerful sphere of force energy blasting the Hound and destroying the creature. Rather than shrinking back into mist, this time the beast merely burned into ash leaving only the Wolf-Spear in its wake.
-Having defeated the Hound, the party was given a heroes welcome in Hirot. Even the reluctant Jarl offered thanks while Broegan informed the party they would have free room and board at his Inn for as long as they needed. Making good on his promise, Jace went off to visit the Mad Widow Ymae. To his surprise, she was no longer an old hag but young and beautiful with flowers in her hair.
-However, beside her stood a creature of pure flames; both a demon and her true husband. Angered at her antics, the demon swore no creature of the material plane would ever have her and bid the Elf to depart. Running forward, Ymae kissed Jace farewell and gave him a parting gift: an enchanted shirt of golden mail.
-Returning to the Wolf-Spear Inn, Broegan gave drinks all around as Ozwald began cozying up to Morgan. Meanwhile, Lloré started a new song, of his own design, hailing their new local hero Ulfric joined by his companions that had traveled to Hirot from far away banding together to slay the Hound of Hirot.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Just Ten?
I came across an interesting blog post via DungeonsMaster that was posted from Untimately. A rather simple question is posed that took a lot more thought to answer than I expected. That question was simply this: if you could only keep ten of your printed RPG books, which would you pick? I don't think I have the viewership to pose that question myself, but I can certainly offer an answer.
Initially, I spent a good deal of time reading other people's responses. It might just be based on my own perception (check), but it seemed like a lot of people clung mostly to one game line (D&D for example) or one sort of broader linked area (OSR games) barring an exception here or there. I suppose I don't fall into any sort of norm with that. After a lot of deliberation my own list is all over the place. Some old, some new, OSR, fantasy, horror, anime inspired and beyond. In the end, my list also ended up skewing solely towards core rule books. I noticed in a lot of the lists, people had selected modules or source books. There's certainly nothing wrong with that approach and when weighing the actual physical RPG books I own there were some tough calls.
I guess when it came down to the bottom line, when I began to consider the idea of only having ten printed RPG books my train of thought led me to the idea that I should just be selecting core rule books. At the end of the day, I can make up additional content (whether it is as good as printed content is a different story) and I can design my own plots and adventures. The core rules for a certain genre or style could go a lot further, in my eyes. I also tried to avoid grouping multiple books together. I saw a lot of that and while I get the logic, I wanted to adhere to the base question as much as possible (though in one instance I had to break my own rule). Again, neither approach is wrong. This is just the mindset I went into while parsing down my collection into ten books. And to be honest, it was pretty tough. I think every official DCC module I have picked up since the new RPG launched are all top notch five star material. It would be rough to let them go.
Initially, I spent a good deal of time reading other people's responses. It might just be based on my own perception (check), but it seemed like a lot of people clung mostly to one game line (D&D for example) or one sort of broader linked area (OSR games) barring an exception here or there. I suppose I don't fall into any sort of norm with that. After a lot of deliberation my own list is all over the place. Some old, some new, OSR, fantasy, horror, anime inspired and beyond. In the end, my list also ended up skewing solely towards core rule books. I noticed in a lot of the lists, people had selected modules or source books. There's certainly nothing wrong with that approach and when weighing the actual physical RPG books I own there were some tough calls.
I guess when it came down to the bottom line, when I began to consider the idea of only having ten printed RPG books my train of thought led me to the idea that I should just be selecting core rule books. At the end of the day, I can make up additional content (whether it is as good as printed content is a different story) and I can design my own plots and adventures. The core rules for a certain genre or style could go a lot further, in my eyes. I also tried to avoid grouping multiple books together. I saw a lot of that and while I get the logic, I wanted to adhere to the base question as much as possible (though in one instance I had to break my own rule). Again, neither approach is wrong. This is just the mindset I went into while parsing down my collection into ten books. And to be honest, it was pretty tough. I think every official DCC module I have picked up since the new RPG launched are all top notch five star material. It would be rough to let them go.
Likewise, I feel a little bad that as important as 4e is to me (got me back into the hobby, I have played or ran it almost weekly since then and it takes up a majority focus with this blog) it didn't manage to get a book into this list. I think that is in part due to how much content for the game is available in digital format. When you never consult the books 95% of the time, they tend to not keep much of a hold on you. However, the fact does remain that in this scenario losing the 4e books I own would not really impede my playing of running of it due to the digital tools available. I suppose then that if I could give an honorable mention it would go to the Rules Compendium which is excellently put together and probably my, and many 4e players', most used resource at the table.
So if I could only keep ten of my printed RPG books here are my picks, in no certain order:
1) Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG: Easily the game I am most excited about right now. DCC won me over with its Free RPG Day preview. If I could only keep playing one game this might be very strong in the running. I like the feel the game tries to present and the gritty sword & sorcery tone it has. To me, this is my D&D NEXT. I haven't posted anything on this blog about my feelings on 5th but they are not positive. Rather than being a proper evolution (which is what a name like NEXT suggests to me) it feels like WOTC is backpedaling to try and win back old fans. DCC on the other hand is a step into new territory while also holding to a lot of old school (and OSR) conventions while still being new and fresh. The artwork is also gorgeous and the best I have seen in an RPG product for quite some time.
2) World of Darkness Core Rules: For a long time, White Wolf's World of Darkness was the only tabletop RPG I would play. After moving away from D&D I bounced around trying a lot of games and finally settled on WoD. I have always been a fan of horror stories/films and I liked how simple the game was to run and deal with. At the time, it really felt like it was the first thing I played that was outright designed to put the story first. Ultimately, I ended up riding out the "Time of Judgement" that heralded the current (new) World of Darkness and though there are differing opinions, I prefer it over the old (though I enjoy both still to this day). The rules were super streamlined and fixed a lot of the quirks in the old system. It also helped that, this time, the game was designed from the ground up to better handle crossovers between the various supernatural splats. The core rules (blue book) alone is extremely useful in my opinion. With it alone you could easily run a lot of different styles of horror games or even other genres like a cop drama or some high action mob film style affair.
3) Big Eyes, Small Mouth Revised 2nd Edition: Being such a big fan of anime, it is only natural that some of the picks in my ten would be anime-themed RPG's. I initially discovered Guardians of Order, believe it or not, through their Sailor Moon Roleplaying Game & Resource Book which used a modified version of the BESM system. Sailor Moon happened to be one of the earliest anime that I had a chance to see. Call it mass appeal or my friends and I were just weird, but we all enjoyed and once we stumbled across a tabletop RPG for it several of us picked it up. We played a surprisingly lengthy, given the source material, game with the PC's cast as members in the Negaverse and though it played out much more light-hearted and comical it was probably my first taste of a villain/chaotic campaign. I enjoyed the system and how well it hit the feel of Sailor Moon that I always kept a look out for the GOO logo.
That led to stumbling across BESM2R which was basically more of the same, but with even more content and broad enough to cover any type of anime. It is my go to game for running anything anime-related barring the Mecha genre. While the rules aren't that bad (and much less of a nuisance than the overbearing rules-heavy approach of stuff like Mechwarrior or Mekton; just not my style), they also don't feel to me like they are (or act out in play as) very evocative of the Mecha genre in anime.
4) Chris Perrin's Mecha: So if I don't use BESM to cover Mecha anime (perhaps my favorite genre) then what? I have spent a very long time looking over systems and trying them out to find that one game that really struck me for running an anime Mecha rpg. I first stumbled across mentions of Chris Perrin's Mecha through a thread on rpg.net about what system to use for a mecha game. It was the only one in the thread that was unknown to me and after stumbling on the actual site and the drivethrurpg page I was intrigued. I ended up downloading the quick start and instantly fell in love. It was rules-light (my favorite), but still captured the feel of the genre.
It even included built in rules to really hammer home the feel of watching a Mecha anime such as having an opening theme to play at each session's start, using background music for combat and constructing the story into Episodes that follow a similar flow in construction. I ran a short-lived play-by-post game and it was a lot of fun, but I'd really like to try a game at the actual table with the music and everything. It's just a matter of finding the right people I suppose. Chris Perrin is a pretty cool guy, in any case, and there's actually a sourcebook on the way called Mecha Combiners which caters to the combining giant robot genre for stuff like Voltron.
5) Weird West RPG: One of the main points of discussion here at this blog! I sort of picked up Weird West on a random whim. For a long time I frequently checked drivethrurpg for reviews or info on RPG products, but I just never made that leap to getting digital releases beyond freebie indie stuff that was distributed online by the creator. With the release of DCC I decided to finally bite the bullet and picked up Perils of the Sunken City, the first 3rd-party release for the system by Purple Sorcerer Games. Aside from being an excellent module (it's hard to pick a favorite 3rd party publisher for DCC because all of it is so good, but Purple Sorcerer would be in the running for #1 in my book), it also warmed me up to the idea of owning RPG material just in digital format. So one day, in boredom, I was scrolling through the best seller list for small press publishers and happened upon Weird West. The low page count and dollar price tag made it seem like a joke, but it had several good reviews and also some references to OSR so I decided on a whim to pick it up.
It turned out to be an excellent little game. It's pretty much a stripped down version of the original D&D, in my eyes, flavored for the weird west genre. I love the genre and I love how fast the game plays as well as how easily it lends itself towards making up new rules, content and what not. The PocketMod concept is a great idea too and yes, pictured here is one of my own printed out copies of the PocketMod. They say a dollar doesn't go a long way anymore, but if you use to buy this game I think you can get far more gaming hours back than what you put in.
6) Call of Cthulhu 6th Edition: H.P. Lovecraft is one of my all time favorite authors so Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu being on this list is not a big shocker. I picked up this book, yes it's a hardback copy, years ago and never had a chance to try it out. BRP is a nice straightforward system though it gets a bit wonky in combat to me; I'm looking forward to see how the 7th Edition will change things. While World of Darkness might be my top choice of all time for horror roleplaying, I think it is just easier to turn to CoC for something rooted solely in the Lovecraftian realm of focus. A lot of us buy RPG books and they end up sitting shelves and never being used. Sometimes we wonder about getting rid of them and sometimes we do.
Call of Cthulhu sat on my shelf for probably six years or so without seeing any play. Then, just a few months ago I got invited to play in a game and I was so glad that I always held onto this book. The campaign has been pretty fun. it is set in the Modern Era and the Keeper has basically worked out much of the standard Cthulhu Mythos (wiping them out or having them pretty much put out of focus back in the 1920's) and instead replaced them with a modern sort of Mythos drawing from things like J-Horror, Creepypasta and popular internet media like Slenderman. Like DCC, it's on my list to get around talking about eventually as I have had a lot of fun with the system.
That led to stumbling across BESM2R which was basically more of the same, but with even more content and broad enough to cover any type of anime. It is my go to game for running anything anime-related barring the Mecha genre. While the rules aren't that bad (and much less of a nuisance than the overbearing rules-heavy approach of stuff like Mechwarrior or Mekton; just not my style), they also don't feel to me like they are (or act out in play as) very evocative of the Mecha genre in anime.
It even included built in rules to really hammer home the feel of watching a Mecha anime such as having an opening theme to play at each session's start, using background music for combat and constructing the story into Episodes that follow a similar flow in construction. I ran a short-lived play-by-post game and it was a lot of fun, but I'd really like to try a game at the actual table with the music and everything. It's just a matter of finding the right people I suppose. Chris Perrin is a pretty cool guy, in any case, and there's actually a sourcebook on the way called Mecha Combiners which caters to the combining giant robot genre for stuff like Voltron.
It turned out to be an excellent little game. It's pretty much a stripped down version of the original D&D, in my eyes, flavored for the weird west genre. I love the genre and I love how fast the game plays as well as how easily it lends itself towards making up new rules, content and what not. The PocketMod concept is a great idea too and yes, pictured here is one of my own printed out copies of the PocketMod. They say a dollar doesn't go a long way anymore, but if you use to buy this game I think you can get far more gaming hours back than what you put in.
I settled on Demon for the simple fact that I could not pick just one Dark Ages book and this game will always have a special place for me due to a rather long running campaign I ran during high school. It was my first time really running something long term and serious. The first time where I held a session solely devoted to sitting down and coming up with a background for each player's character and figuring out who these people were within the confines of our story. Time of Judgement was launched amid our campaign so I picked up the book and we had a fitting and highly epic conclusion.
It was a very satisfying experience and I think particularly so because it did end. So often we start a tabletop RPG and things never come to fruition. Like a long running television show, issues arise and eventually things just stop never to continue or be resolved. So while this wasn't some spectacular multi-year game, it was a defined story with a start and a finish; something I will always remember.
I was lucky enough to take part in a game at Forge-Con this year and it was excellent; especially hanging out with some other people just as passionate about a game that a lot of people I encounter have never heard of. It tends to be one of my go to suggestions when those interested ask about free games as the offer of no-art pdf copies is an excellent idea. While I enjoy B/X as well and the core LL book is great, AD&D just has that nostalgia pull for me so I have to list the core book and its expansion as a "set" for this entry.
Could I run a zombie apocalypse with WoD? Yes. However, AFMBE just has that perfect feel for the genre built right in with its mechanics and how the book presents things. I guess that seems to be a trend for me. Like Chris Perrin's Mecha or Call of Cthulhu some games just perfectly capture that feeling of the genre they represent within the system itself and I find that really appealing. With the surging popularity of The Walking Dead I'd like to think this book might be seeing some more use in the future.
So that's my list. If I could only keep ten of my printed RPG books, the above would be my choices. I stuck primarily to core rule books because I felt that would get me the most mileage; of course any approach would work so long as you were pleased with what you kept. It's certainly an eclectic mix of games covering a lot of different genre. Again, this goes back to why I decided to name this blog after an old collection of Sword & Sorcery tales that hit in all across the wide range of the genre.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
What is a Name?
An excellent thread on the Goodman Games forum brought The Spell of Seven to my attention. It is actually the second in a series of Sword & Sorcery anthologies edited by L. Sprague de Camp. While a fan of the genre, it has never been something that I delved into extensively and, despite having access to the book, I never paid much attention to Gygax's Appendix N until the advent of Dungeon Crawl Classics. What really struck me about The Spell of Seven is just how wide of a range its stories cover and how broad the Sword & Sorcery genre really can be. For example, before the interest was sparked by DCC I would not have personally considered any of Dunsany's tales to fall under the Sword & Sorcery label. Naturally, appearing in anthologies like this and being among the authors listed in Appendix N proves otherwise. Having looked into reading more of the Appendix N authors and their stories, I can see the reasoning now.
To me The Spell of Seven is really this eclectic mix of stories across the Sword & Sorcery genre as a whole, which is really awesome in my opinion; and that's not even starting to talk about how awesome both pieces of cover art are. In part, that is what I hope this blog to be. It's a my own little space on the net to talk about tabletop rpg's and I personally have quite the eclectic mix of interests within the hobby. So much of the hobby, particularly with D&D, is stuffed with Edition Wars and other negativity. That's something I have never been able to understand. There are games I dislike and those I prefer over others, but I try to see the value in any game; first and foremost that means having a good time. I am just as comfortable sitting down for a game of 4e and then sliding the battle-map aside to play some Labyrinth Lord.
So moving ahead, welcome to what I hope becomes my own Spell of Seven. Dungeon Crawl Classics is now without a doubt my top interest when it comes to tabletop rpg's, but I plan to talk about all the games I am running/playing or have an interest in. I'll post session write-ups, review some stuff and maybe just muse about the hobby a little now and again. My time to read for personal pleasure is at a premium these days thanks to graduate school, but if the chance arises I might also discuss works from Appendix N that I have the luck to check out; sufficiently relevant given its importance to DCC. I have a lot of backlogged content I was tossing together weeks ago when this was still just a vague idea, so there might be a flood of posts over the next week before things slow down into a more normal pace.
Still new to this whole blogging thing so if you have any advice on how to improve the look of things or requests for future posts comment away!
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