Peni Griffin
First Post
So, y'all, I have now been DMing the Red Hand of Doom for, no exagerration I checked in the old e-mails, almost one year and we're finally, finally edging toward the Battle of Brindol.
I know, I know, but we're a bunch of middle-aged folks with health problems and day jobs who mostly see each other on game day, which we can't do every week, and are hard to keep focused. I really wish everybody could take a week off of work and get an infusion from our younger selves so we could all crash at my house and do nothing but this game, and then we might get through the Battle before summer.
One thing I'm bracing to deal with is, that my players will not be happy if I run the battle as is - i.e., assigned roles for the PCs and the rest of the battle runs on rails. They're full of ideas about using spells, traps, and magic items to defend the city. My husband blew up the map to poster size and marked it out in a 60-foot grid. The Priest of Moradin wants to sap the road, use soften earth and stone to create a quagmire, and reinforce the walls, the rogue wants to flood Talar, and the bard is rehearsing with lower-level bards to see what effect they can pull off. Ah, I can see 'em on the walls now, Tayla up front in a sequinned gown and long gloves, the others shimmying behind her: "Stop them! In the name of Brindol! Before they breach the walls!"
Also, I've set myself up a bit because I introduced what seemed to me logical tactics for the Horde. What can I say, I'm an Air Force brat and I believe in the importance of using your command of the skies. So it's going to be complicated and messy and take forever but hey, there's no deadline and I knew the job was dangerous when I took it.
Anyway, given that no plan survives contact with the players and that many of us also wargame, I don't believe for one moment that I'm the first person in something like this situation, so I thought I'd come on and solicit for:
Reference works that will make my job easier;
Tips for speeding it up without making the players feel cheated;
Stories of how your Battle of Brindol jumped the tracks and roared off in all directions.
Lay it on me, y'all.
I know, I know, but we're a bunch of middle-aged folks with health problems and day jobs who mostly see each other on game day, which we can't do every week, and are hard to keep focused. I really wish everybody could take a week off of work and get an infusion from our younger selves so we could all crash at my house and do nothing but this game, and then we might get through the Battle before summer.
One thing I'm bracing to deal with is, that my players will not be happy if I run the battle as is - i.e., assigned roles for the PCs and the rest of the battle runs on rails. They're full of ideas about using spells, traps, and magic items to defend the city. My husband blew up the map to poster size and marked it out in a 60-foot grid. The Priest of Moradin wants to sap the road, use soften earth and stone to create a quagmire, and reinforce the walls, the rogue wants to flood Talar, and the bard is rehearsing with lower-level bards to see what effect they can pull off. Ah, I can see 'em on the walls now, Tayla up front in a sequinned gown and long gloves, the others shimmying behind her: "Stop them! In the name of Brindol! Before they breach the walls!"
Also, I've set myself up a bit because I introduced what seemed to me logical tactics for the Horde. What can I say, I'm an Air Force brat and I believe in the importance of using your command of the skies. So it's going to be complicated and messy and take forever but hey, there's no deadline and I knew the job was dangerous when I took it.
Anyway, given that no plan survives contact with the players and that many of us also wargame, I don't believe for one moment that I'm the first person in something like this situation, so I thought I'd come on and solicit for:
Reference works that will make my job easier;
Tips for speeding it up without making the players feel cheated;
Stories of how your Battle of Brindol jumped the tracks and roared off in all directions.
Lay it on me, y'all.
