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Tabletop/Pen & Paper RPGs (Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, etc.) • Page 3

Discussion in 'Entertainment Forum' started by Shrek, Apr 10, 2017.

  1. clucky

    Trusted Supporter

    I think that's totally fine. Module definitely gives you everything you actually need to tell the story. And once I get to running encounters I'm probably gonna keep those by the book to ensure things stay balanced. But I also enjoy putting my own creative spin on things so when the opportunity to add new characters pops up I'm like "weeeee"
     
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  2. clucky

    Trusted Supporter

    did you have for first session today? Curious how it went for you :-)Got my first session tomorrow and both excited and nervous.
     
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  3. Shrek

    can't be made fun of Prestigious

    i did! it went really well for the most part- im fortunate that my party are my oldest friends so im pretty comfortable.

    after some fucking around in Phandalin they took on the Umbrage Hill and Dwarven Excavation quests. they actually beat the Manticore in Umbrage because i misunderstood his attack patterns, but it was real close and they felt cool so it worked out.

    role-playing Dwarven Excavation was tougher. its not that interesting of an area in terms of moment to moment scenery. a big chunk of this was fighting the ochre jellies and trying to plant natural hooks that got them to the hidden chamber with the greed statue.

    overall i think it fails as a starting adventure from a DM's perspective. it has 6 total branches it could head down between the notice board and the townsfolk tales. im fortunate that my players stuck to the notice board as that's really where my prep time went.

    it's fun though. i just wish it were a good deal more reined in and linear and scope. very curious to hear how it goes for you!
     
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  4. clucky

    Trusted Supporter

    I'm gonna try end my session zero by showing the players the notice board and asking where they want to go so I know what to prep >-p

    how long did you play for? was hoping to get a session out of each quest line (especially so you don't have to level up between sessions) but definitely some of thing look like they might only take an hour or so I might need to rethink that plan or find other ways to pad a session out
     
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  5. Shrek

    can't be made fun of Prestigious

    we played for four hours almost exactly. Umbrage Hill was very fast, id say that took less than an hour? then excavation took 2 or more and the rest was intro and prep stuff in Phandalin
     
  6. clucky

    Trusted Supporter

    Session 0 went really well. Ended it by having a quick RP bit where Cyrovain attacked Phandalin. One of the NPCs I introduced was supposed to sacrifice himself driving the dragon back while everyone else got to safety but enough of the players decided to attack that they drove the dragon off themselves :-O

    course now the dragon will be pissed off next time it sees them but hey they'll be stronger then ;-p
     
  7. clucky

    Trusted Supporter

    Nearly killed my party today. For the most part they've managed to easily dispatch of everything I've thrown at them but they made an absolute clusterfuck off the Woodland Manse aggroing basically everything at once. Had to pull a couple of punches and even then they barely escaped by the skin of their teeth while the Manse burned down behind them :scream:
     
  8. Zach

    Trusted Supporter

    Surprised this thread isn’t more popular! I had my session 0/1 with my group last Thursday and it was awesome. For my first time DMing, everyone seemed to have a blast. My sister got some badass kills with burning hands (she decapitated a wolf in their first encounter, and she completely ripped open the chest cavity of a goblin raiding the town festival in one attempt after getting a critical hit). They got to do some investigating and they enjoyed my pervy old gnome bookstore owner.

    Very much looking forward to the next session as this one went better than I could have ever hoped
     
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  9. Zach

    Trusted Supporter

    Anyone played around with the underworld dimension? Looking like way down the line, that will more than likely be in play for us
     
  10. swboyd

    are we still lucky to be here? Prestigious

    Currently level 12 with my group playing a fun Mountain Dwarf battlemaster/battlerager hybrid that's just pure fun with clobbering the shit out of people and then tripping and taunting them. We're still working through the same 1-20 5e adaption of 3.5's Shackled City Adventure Path. My group just cleared out the town's Temple of Myrkul two sessions ago fighting the temple's high priest, a sword wraith commander, and two flesh golems while looking for the reposed corpse of a rival adventuring gang. Our last session was a downtime session playing gambling games and moving the story forward. It's been a fun campaign so far since we've been on lockdown for in person sessions. We've been playing this campaign almost a year now which is crazy...

    To reiterate my last post - I'm always down for a Chorus.fm 5e campaign if anyone wants to go and we can make the timing work. I miiiight even be able to DM. Keyword there being might.
     
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  11. swboyd

    are we still lucky to be here? Prestigious

    You referring to the Underdark? We've had some fun encounters with drow, duergar and driders in a previous arc of the campaign I talked about above. Haven't dabbled too much further into it than that though.
     
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  12. Zach

    Trusted Supporter

    Not necessarily under dark, I’m talking more like hell, for lack of a better term? I may need to do more research

    One of the PC’s backstories involves their family being killed by a demon when she was a child, which she fought and broke the sword on that same night, and she reforged a shard of it into her own sword, which she since has lost. Her main goal is retrieving the sword to kill the demon. I’m thinking of making that demon be one of the main big bads, who is also seeking the sword.

    My character I made to weave in and out of the story (and show up in the nick of time if a fight goes more poorly for them than planned), is also in possession of a powerful ancient spell book (beyond his capabilities), which I plan to have stolen at some point near when they get the sword, which will kind of interlink the main story arch with her PC, maybe more if I can find ways to link everyone else into it. My sister’s character is a half-elf of a elf group called the Sunguards, who I think I could easily find a way to link that into them fighting this demon in the ancient times or something. The other three PCs, I have no clue how I will link them yet lol. May have the wizard PC become powerful enough to unlock some of that books secrets maybe?

    Lots of room for story telling though, which is nice.
     
  13. Zach

    Trusted Supporter

    Idk if anyone still frequents this thread at all, but if you are bored, I made this timeline for my world, since the players are starting to settle in and become interested in the more. They know pretty much nothing, so everything in this timeline they will learn along the way.

    I’m just worried that they might not find it engaging/want to know anything more about what happened? I want the world to feel lived in, even if they are starting the quest in the early years of the world. If anyone reads it and has suggestions/things they didn’t like, that would be great! Thanks ahead of time.

    Telreon Timeline

    Our next campaign will take place after the event at the end of this one, with a time jump, so I want to keep a log that they/I can reference in the future!
     
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  14. swboyd

    are we still lucky to be here? Prestigious

    As someone who's struggled to explain the background of a homebrew world before to mu players, I can empathize way too well. I'll give it a look tomorrow when I get some free time and PM you with my feedback.
     
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  15. Zach

    Trusted Supporter

    I appreciate it! I’m open to review stuff for you as well if you ever need it!

    I do plan on adding stuff like battles and dungeons they can explore based around the battles, but I don’t want to put all of that extra work in unless they start asking about the history. Given that the campaign starts only 200 years after the end of the war, I hope that will drive some questioning. They are all new players, so I have no clue what to expect/what will draw them in.
     
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  16. swboyd

    are we still lucky to be here? Prestigious

    I'm excited to get back to my first in-person DND session in 14 months tomorrow now that everyone in my group is vaccinated. It's been way too long, and I feel like a part of me is finally returning.
     
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  17. Henry

    Moderator Moderator

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  18. swboyd

    are we still lucky to be here? Prestigious

    I wish I was into Magic because that looks sick.
     
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  19. theagentcoma

    yeah good okay Prestigious

    Don't do it, it's like crack
     
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  20. swboyd

    are we still lucky to be here? Prestigious

    Not planning on it. Between analog music media, DND, and my kid, I have enough money sinks in my life.

    Plus isn't the barrier of entry to actually having a viable Magic deck pretty expensive to begin with because you need specific cards that are a tier above everything else?
     
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  21. Henry

    Moderator Moderator

    If you want to play in tourney's and stuff, sure. I have a mess of "just for fun" decks that would get WASHED if I tried them anywhere but kitchen table. MTG Arena is free to play and an easy way to jump in if you want to see how it all goes. They have free decks and you can earn cards easily with little financial commitment. I haven't paid for shit on there and constantly have a viable deck. I don't ever hit the highest tier, but its competitive.
     
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  22. theagentcoma

    yeah good okay Prestigious

    Yeah Arena is a great way to try it for free without having to own physical cards. And it's got a mobile app now which is crazy
     
  23. xapplexpiex

    sup? Supporter

    Just finished my first session of D&D. It’s an Adventure League ran by a game store. Super cool guy running it. I’m a tiefling warlock. Only three others, not including the DM, but still fun.
     
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  24. swboyd

    are we still lucky to be here? Prestigious

    Small groups are generally better for newcomers honestly. It's a lot easier for the DM to manage and get more facetime with players. Welcome to the hobby!
     
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  25. theagentcoma

    yeah good okay Prestigious

    Warlocks are fun. Eldritch Blast the shit out of everything
     
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