Con assistance needed ASAP

[thedungeondelver]

Okay, my back is against the wall...and it's what I get for putting things off this long, but here we go:

I have a con coming up this weekend. The original plan (HA!) was to have a neat little troika of encounters that would permit the group (4-8 players) to go from 1st to 2nd level, straight by the AD&D rules. An encounter with a very young black dragon (like, 14 HP that had used it's breath weapon once that day already) with a small treasure hoard (including a scroll with a couple of resurrection spells on it) - enough loot and monster XP to get them to the 2nd level.

In town, a local pawn shop that'd sold a ring of protection +1 to the mayor is run by a wererat. He's gotten his trinkets from an outpost of dark creepers led by a dark stalker, and they're not keen at having been robbed, so they've taken to doing some B&E in the town looking for their goods. And they've kidnapped the mayor's wife, to boot.

So the 2nd "part" or "act" is outing the wererat (if possible) overcoming him, and then finding out about the dark creepers and overcoming them. Again, if possible. I'm not going to railroad the party in any one direction. Or at least I wasn't, anyhow.

The problem now is that the signups for the game have balooned from the expected 4-8 to 12.

I'm thinking of ditching the little subplots and so forth and going for a straight dungeon crawl with a low-level party.

Any thoughts, anyone?

 

[Flynn]

If you posted a maximum for your game, you can stick with your original plan and just limit the number of players to your posted maximum.

Otherwise, I would suggest that you organize them into teams of four, with a caller or leader for each team. If you need to, create an NPC that is the ultimate leader and insists on it. He leads them through encounter one, then bites it at the beginning of encounter two, after the group is used to working with callers/leaders. That should help you have an in-game reason for the out-of-game organization to help move your game along.

With that many people, I'd suggest making the game more tactical/combat-oriented and less roleplay-oriented, just because you can't possibly give everyone a good RP experience without leaving everyone else just sitting around twiddling their thumbs.

Just some thoughts,
Flynn

 

[Valiant]

what Con is this?

 

[thedungeondelver]

what Con is this?

Hurricon, in Orlando.

 

[bento]

If you can't push back to the original size, ditch the subplots and put them into a killer dungeon crawl. Your players will get more participation with combat-intensive game than waiting for the more social characters to parlez with the NPCs looking for clues.

Is there a first edition module that's low leveled and runs like Tomb of Horrors?

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Don't forget that not everyone will show. However, I'd still go with your original number, and be polite but firm. It's not incumbent upon you to adapt to a glut of players. (In the alternate, you'd be better off splitting into two groups of six and offering to run the adventure a second time for the second group.) It's nice of you to do so if you want to, but I think you'll enjoy your original plan.

 

[AuraSeer]

Is there a first edition module that's low leveled and runs like Tomb of Horrors?

How about Tomb of Horrors?
I know it's intended for 10th-level PCs, but c'mon, it's not as if low-level ones could be any less likely to survive...

 

[thedungeondelver]

How about Tomb of Horrors?
I know it's intended for 10th-level PCs, but c'mon, it's not as if low-level ones could be any less likely to survive...

Heh, I already ran that one - I barely had enough Dwarven Forge to do the whole layout!

I think I'm going to just ditch the little stories and go with a straightforward dungeon crawl and hope for high mortality...er, fun!