Well, I was finally able to run the first session of Zeitgeist last night.
My characters:
Pieter's player is new to D&D, but the other 4 have been playing a SoW campaign with me for the past couple of years. I think they enjoyed the change of pace that Zeitgeist allowed, though it took them a while to get out of the 'railroad' mindset - they weren't used to dealing with so many choices of what to do next.
The one downside, and I blame myself for not catching it, is that no one in the party has CHA as either a primary or secondary stat. The highest in the party is a 12 - which makes things difficult for an investigative squad! I think we're going to reboot Sam as an Inspiring Warlord.
Spoilers ahead:
The docker challenge was a miserable failure - with only 3 successes out of 15 (partially due to poor rolls), but they noticed Grimsley at the 1st checkpoint, and he was able to help the identify the 4 troublemakers before they got across the bridge. The troublemakers were angry at being shot at by Slate, but bringing a knife to a gunfight didn't help them much. They were quickly subdued, but one needed clerical attention after the fight.
Coaltongue went well - the party started off split, with Ash & Slate checking out the engine deck (I had inadvertently described the wards & ammunition as being on that deck, so I swapped the fore part of the engine & berth decks when I drew out the map) while the rest were fetching the duchess. Sokana went first, bloodied Bendaren, and threw up a wall of fire and released a few fire sprites, all on her way out of the room. Poor Ilton, though, went down in two hits and whiffed on the one attack he got to make. The fire sprites grab attack was useful - Ben steeled himself against the fire wall, but a sprite managed to grab him in an opp attack, making him waste the turn of fire resistance he had.. Ash went up to warn PM Lee, but at that point all she'd seen was the body of a guard behind some barrels - enough to put Lee on guard but not enough to start an evacuation. The engineers never attacked the party, doggedly sticking to their task of sabotage. Between them and Sokana, they managed to close both valves, and the furnace door (with the rod inside), and rust closed the door & one of the valves. The countdown was down to 10 rounds, and Ben frantically ran abovedecks to warn the king's party when the tide turned. The squad managed to subdue the attackers, and with Engineer Massarde's help, shovel out enough firegems to save the ship. Hooray!
I left them enjoying themselves at a docker street party (word had gotten back that they'd passed along Grimsley's message to the Governor). Next session is in 4 weeks..
My characters:
- Human, Noble, Tactical Warlord - Count Sam Worthington
- Razorclaw Shifter, Spirit Medium, Centered Breath Monk - Ash
- Razorclaw Shifter, Gunsmith, Vengeful Seeker - Slate (Ash's cousin)
- Dwarf, Yerasol Vet, Resilient Battlemind - Bendaran
- Human, Docker, Earth Domain Warpriest - Pieter
Pieter's player is new to D&D, but the other 4 have been playing a SoW campaign with me for the past couple of years. I think they enjoyed the change of pace that Zeitgeist allowed, though it took them a while to get out of the 'railroad' mindset - they weren't used to dealing with so many choices of what to do next.
The one downside, and I blame myself for not catching it, is that no one in the party has CHA as either a primary or secondary stat. The highest in the party is a 12 - which makes things difficult for an investigative squad! I think we're going to reboot Sam as an Inspiring Warlord.
Spoilers ahead:
The docker challenge was a miserable failure - with only 3 successes out of 15 (partially due to poor rolls), but they noticed Grimsley at the 1st checkpoint, and he was able to help the identify the 4 troublemakers before they got across the bridge. The troublemakers were angry at being shot at by Slate, but bringing a knife to a gunfight didn't help them much. They were quickly subdued, but one needed clerical attention after the fight.
Coaltongue went well - the party started off split, with Ash & Slate checking out the engine deck (I had inadvertently described the wards & ammunition as being on that deck, so I swapped the fore part of the engine & berth decks when I drew out the map) while the rest were fetching the duchess. Sokana went first, bloodied Bendaren, and threw up a wall of fire and released a few fire sprites, all on her way out of the room. Poor Ilton, though, went down in two hits and whiffed on the one attack he got to make. The fire sprites grab attack was useful - Ben steeled himself against the fire wall, but a sprite managed to grab him in an opp attack, making him waste the turn of fire resistance he had.. Ash went up to warn PM Lee, but at that point all she'd seen was the body of a guard behind some barrels - enough to put Lee on guard but not enough to start an evacuation. The engineers never attacked the party, doggedly sticking to their task of sabotage. Between them and Sokana, they managed to close both valves, and the furnace door (with the rod inside), and rust closed the door & one of the valves. The countdown was down to 10 rounds, and Ben frantically ran abovedecks to warn the king's party when the tide turned. The squad managed to subdue the attackers, and with Engineer Massarde's help, shovel out enough firegems to save the ship. Hooray!
I left them enjoying themselves at a docker street party (word had gotten back that they'd passed along Grimsley's message to the Governor). Next session is in 4 weeks..
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