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General Tabletop Discussion
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B3 Palace of the Silver Princess, and why (I think) it's great
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<blockquote data-quote="squibbles" data-source="post: 9328789" data-attributes="member: 6937590"><p>Threadjack all you like.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Shadowdark uses gold for XP, no? That makes for a game a lot better suited to the tempo of the module as originally written (orange one, not green one which dungeon of signs is discussing). PCs go to a strange place, loot it, and get stronger. That risk/reward calculus incentivises PCs to avoid fighting, negotiate with NPCs more, and come up with creative solutions to challenges rather than mechanical ones.</p><p></p><p>However, it doesn't fit as well with the heroes on a quest hook you describe. It fits with a more general "Hey, legend says theres a giant ruby in the old ruined palace full of wierd stuff, you're adventurous types, you should go check it out for fun and profit." </p><p></p><p>That's not to say there shouldn't be a curse radiating from the ruby, which PCs could gradually discover, but the encounters in the palace are more compelling if they're uncanny and whimsical rather than actively hostile. You could have a great one shot without neccessarily expecting the PCs to solve the curse during it.</p><p></p><p></p><p>That all tracks.</p><p></p><p></p><p>This is a great way to tie these NPCs together. It would also be a great place for the players to get introduced to the curse, if you didn't include that as part of the hook.</p><p></p><p></p><p>The bubbles in the pool at 1D, the whistling marble snake in room 29 of the 2nd floor, and the protectors in the guard tower are some of the best encounters in the module, mainly by being unexpected and odd. I'd be careful not to cut too much in the interests of making the module more coherent.</p><p></p><p></p><p>As I say in the OP, the best thing about this module is its <em>intriquing ambiguity</em>.</p><p></p><p>You don't actually want to tell the players what happened. You do want to have a story in mind--otherwise you're just doing mystery box BS--but you want to drip out that information as hints and give the players the opportunity to come up with their own explanation. That way they get to actively participate in the creating the fiction, even if their guesses are wrong.</p><p></p><p>Introducing the witch in the illusions would work well, but having the illusions prvide the whole backstory would give too much away.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="squibbles, post: 9328789, member: 6937590"] Threadjack all you like. [I][/I] Shadowdark uses gold for XP, no? That makes for a game a lot better suited to the tempo of the module as originally written (orange one, not green one which dungeon of signs is discussing). PCs go to a strange place, loot it, and get stronger. That risk/reward calculus incentivises PCs to avoid fighting, negotiate with NPCs more, and come up with creative solutions to challenges rather than mechanical ones. However, it doesn't fit as well with the heroes on a quest hook you describe. It fits with a more general "Hey, legend says theres a giant ruby in the old ruined palace full of wierd stuff, you're adventurous types, you should go check it out for fun and profit." That's not to say there shouldn't be a curse radiating from the ruby, which PCs could gradually discover, but the encounters in the palace are more compelling if they're uncanny and whimsical rather than actively hostile. You could have a great one shot without neccessarily expecting the PCs to solve the curse during it. That all tracks. This is a great way to tie these NPCs together. It would also be a great place for the players to get introduced to the curse, if you didn't include that as part of the hook. The bubbles in the pool at 1D, the whistling marble snake in room 29 of the 2nd floor, and the protectors in the guard tower are some of the best encounters in the module, mainly by being unexpected and odd. I'd be careful not to cut too much in the interests of making the module more coherent. As I say in the OP, the best thing about this module is its [I]intriquing ambiguity[/I]. You don't actually want to tell the players what happened. You do want to have a story in mind--otherwise you're just doing mystery box BS--but you want to drip out that information as hints and give the players the opportunity to come up with their own explanation. That way they get to actively participate in the creating the fiction, even if their guesses are wrong. Introducing the witch in the illusions would work well, but having the illusions prvide the whole backstory would give too much away. [/QUOTE]
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B3 Palace of the Silver Princess, and why (I think) it's great
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