Against the Shadows IV - A Faded Glory Story Hour

[Dougal DeKree]

Fantasy and Unions...and PAGE NUMBER NINE IS MINE AND SOON THE WORLD!!! ;-)

Hey OldOne and the other "realists"...

The Union-thing was a real good laugh, but since the discussion about unnerving players with ever the more regulations in forms of "re-sellers-guilds" and so on, i just wanted to remind you that a lot of people have to handle just this kind of problem every day in their RL and sometimes play to escape it for a little while...
Only a thought.

Dougal
"If you are totally down, it can only go in one direction!"
"Sideways?!"

edited to claim page number nine (from outer space?! )

 

[Darklone]

Re Dougal

Ohhhh ... Have to admit Dougal has a point there. As usual. Don't you hate players who always know things better than yourself?


Yooh Old One. Bureacrazyness rules. I have to admit, I learned from a nice player who talked a paladin nearly into suicide after that paladin beheaded a necromancer who was walking around with some undead servants... In a city!

Gladly a silvertongued priest came by and stopped the paladin who was going to kill himself since he was convinced he did something very bad and would never be able to atone... But even the two of them didn't manage to justify the kill

That guy showed me: Brutes who kill whole villages or even cities are the lesser evils without the wits to be really evil. The true joy lies in twisting the minds of lesser beings. Since the truely evil guy is convinced that there are only lesser beings...

I drift of. But I still want to add. The NPC role I liked best was a geased devil who was forfeit to do bad things. So he proceeded to do good things that turned bad for someone else.

 

[Lela]

Re: Re Dougal

Ohhhh ... Have to admit Dougal has a point there. As usual. Don't you hate players who always know things better than yourself?


Yooh Old One. Bureacrazyness rules. I have to admit, I learned from a nice player who talked a paladin nearly into suicide after that paladin beheaded a necromancer who was walking around with some undead servants... In a city!

Gladly a silvertongued priest came by and stopped the paladin who was going to kill himself since he was convinced he did something very bad and would never be able to atone... But even the two of them didn't manage to justify the kill

That guy showed me: Brutes who kill whole villages or even cities are the lesser evils without the wits to be really evil. The true joy lies in twisting the minds of lesser beings. Since the truely evil guy is convinced that there are only lesser beings...

I drift of. But I still want to add. The NPC role I liked best was a geased devil who was forfeit to do bad things. So he proceeded to do good things that turned bad for someone else.

So, was this a repentant Necromancer? Did he make a full confesion? Was he about to make restitution to those he killed, maimed, and sung to? Or, was he [New York accent] just walking here.[/New York Accent]

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Re: More Bureuacracy...

MAke a day trip of it. Roleplay they whole think at your local DNV and your players can truly feel their characters pain.

Or they can do the opposite and decide to let civilization sink into the mire it belongs in and head back out into the wild.

Don't take this the wrong way because I love reading your story hour. You just seem to enjoy screwing with your players too much for my taste.

Darklone is off to a great start...

Other items include:

(1) You have to have a permit for everything! Animals in the city, gear over 10 lbs, carrying weapons, operating a wagon within city limits, transporting goods within city limits. Of course each permit is handled by a different agency (in a different part of the city) and each one costs money. At each agency, the PCs have to wait in long lines and self-important officials ask lots of nosy questions. Sometimes, the paperwork needs the signature or seal of a senior official who is "out-to-lunch".

(2) To add teeth to it, place wall between the different sections of the city with checkpoints where all of the papers are checked. Failure to have the proper paperwork can result in a fine, confiscation of goods or even a night in jail. Regardless, the PCs will be sent back to the agencies they must get paperwork from.

(3) If the PCs meet the right people or pay the right bribes, they can vastly speed up the process. Imagine the PCs waiting in line for half the day, only to have another adventuring group breeze in, hand the official a small sack of coins and be on their way in 5 minutes. Of course, throw in the odd official that won't take bribes and brings charges against them if they try just to keep them on their toes!

(4) A vast underground economy dealing in fake papers and ways around the regulations would probably exist, but penalties for getting caught would most likely be severe. A good scam would be for a thieve's guild to set up a fake, but official looking checkpoint, rip the PCs off, then disappear. Later, the PCs get caught with fake papers and get in a heap of trouble.

Have fun with it!

Old One

 

[Mishihari Lord]

Re: Fantasy and Unions...and PAGE NUMBER NINE IS MINE AND SOON THE WORLD!!! ;-)

Hey OldOne and the other "realists"...

The Union-thing was a real good laugh, but since the discussion about unnerving players with ever the more regulations in forms of "re-sellers-guilds" and so on, i just wanted to remind you that a lot of people have to handle just this kind of problem every day in their RL and sometimes play to escape it for a little while...
Only a thought.

This kind of stuff can be fun, if you're in the right mind set. I've had some killer Paranoia adventure with this kind of set up.

 

[Darklone]

Re: Re: Re Dougal

So, was this a repentant Necromancer? Did he make a full confesion? Was he about to make restitution to those he killed, maimed, and sung to? Or, was he [New York accent] just walking here.[/New York Accent]

Actually the necromancer was another player... and he simply thought everyone will be peeing in his pants (sorry ) when he walks around like this. Wrong guess.
Let's call it evolution. Cleverness survives.

I often tried to repeat or even partially recall how that guy talked to the paladin. I never succeeded. But I liked it!

About the bribes, Old One... Was so consumed by the outlook to confront Dougals group with bureau-crazy... Nearly forgot it.

Well. I prefer wilderness settings to Dungeoncrawling and alleysneaking. But I am tempted

 

[Old One]

Re: Re: More Bureuacracy...

MAke a day trip of it. Roleplay they whole think at your local DNV and your players can truly feel their characters pain.

Or they can do the opposite and decide to let civilization sink into the mire it belongs in and head back out into the wild.

Don't take this the wrong way because I love reading your story hour. You just seem to enjoy screwing with your players too much for my taste.

Doc -

Thanks for stoppin' in! We are just having "speculative conversations" here - I am not saying that I actually make my PCs suffer through this - we don't have that much playing time!

I do like throwing lots of curves at the PCs, but I also solicit regular feedback from them to make sure they are always having fun! Thanks for your continued readership and the comments!

Old One

 

[Lela]

Anyways. . .

So, on the topic of this most exellent Story Hour: When can we expect another update, Great Master of DMness? When do we learn of the Table of Elemental Evil's new foray into the relm of the three Ds (death, distruction and devilry)?


Sorry, we had an in-class Creative Writing assiginment and I got too into it. Still a little. . . into the drama. Don't know how I managed to keep goblins and gnolls out of it though.

 

[Dougal DeKree]

splitting officeworks

...just wondered, how exactly does Rose feel about those union-thingies? Isn't it time he took his axe and...makes cuttings remarks?

On the other hand, having to get a formular for just about everything might save your group, OldOne, since they forgot to get a paper that permits them to die

And now the most imporant question...when will the next installment be here? I want to see the TofEE lose it's power!

Dougal
"Hope shall be the blade that severs our bonds"

 

[Old One]

Update Coming...

Greetings All!

I appreciate the patience, I am out of town on business this week and didn't bring all my notes with me...

I am trying to reconstruct the final parts of Session 12 + an Interlude. I hope to have something out by tomorrow, Sunday at the latest!

Old One