Skywalker
Adventurer
I opened with a group dream sequence filled with all kinds of signs and portents. I ran it as a Skill Challenge and it granted a form of drama points in the form of rerolls.
Demon Queens Enclave - Session Reports
- Thread starter Mathew_Freeman
- Start date
I opened with a group dream sequence filled with all kinds of signs and portents. I ran it as a Skill Challenge and it granted a form of drama points in the form of rerolls.
Mathew_Freeman
Adventurer
We played last night - huzzah!
Two players couldn't make it - boo!
The Avenger and the Bard couldn't make it last night, so two players were running two characters. This meant the Undead vs Drow vs PC battle was probably slower than any of us would have liked, but Ian (the newcomer to the group) took it all in good heart and seems to be adapting well to 4e.
Firstly, I want to mention a brilliant idea that I had. During the course of last night I suddenly realised an excellent way to sort out this problem of missing players - create companion character versions of their characters. This means if they're not there someone else can take on their character (with a couple of at-wills, 1 encounter, 1 daily and a utility, maybe) without getting bogged down in all the 14th level powers and magic items. I'd like some opinions on this, please!
The actual fight went well. The elite Ghoul chowed down merrily on the Paladin, the Wights went down fairly quickly and the Drow flittered around the edge of the combat. The Wizard got to use his Penetrate Fire Resistance Feat, the Paladin got to use Divine Sanction to deal radiant damage and the Ranger shot arrows at everyone.
I also sucessfully got the Drider talking to the PC's and asking for help, and after the battle they had a further conversation. The PC's were asking the Drider & Co to assist them, and I had the brilliant idea of saying the Drider was heading off to try and gather reinforcements (this also means I can bring it back later, if I wish). Taking a hint from the Adventure book, I also added in the detail about it's wish for a more Lolth focused Drow society.
We finished the session just as the spiders clambered over the side of the bridge to attack the party. I've also introduced the idea of the Abyssal Breach over Phaervorul, and the PC's are intending to get to Matron Urlvrain to talk to her. This means it's likely that they'll run into the big poster-map encounter in the centre of the town early on, which will be an excellent big fight to get into. Plus, they're not at full strength so we'll have to see how well they cope with it!
I hope that it'll continue to be fun, and that with companion characters we can cut down on the amount of time it takes to do each combat round. The players are all keen, but it has been noted that they're finding it hard to get the best of their characters so far. I think that'll come, and I hope they're enjoying the fights so far.
Here's my main talking point, though: How do you turn a PC into a companion character? All advice welcomed!
Two players couldn't make it - boo!
The Avenger and the Bard couldn't make it last night, so two players were running two characters. This meant the Undead vs Drow vs PC battle was probably slower than any of us would have liked, but Ian (the newcomer to the group) took it all in good heart and seems to be adapting well to 4e.
Firstly, I want to mention a brilliant idea that I had. During the course of last night I suddenly realised an excellent way to sort out this problem of missing players - create companion character versions of their characters. This means if they're not there someone else can take on their character (with a couple of at-wills, 1 encounter, 1 daily and a utility, maybe) without getting bogged down in all the 14th level powers and magic items. I'd like some opinions on this, please!
The actual fight went well. The elite Ghoul chowed down merrily on the Paladin, the Wights went down fairly quickly and the Drow flittered around the edge of the combat. The Wizard got to use his Penetrate Fire Resistance Feat, the Paladin got to use Divine Sanction to deal radiant damage and the Ranger shot arrows at everyone.
I also sucessfully got the Drider talking to the PC's and asking for help, and after the battle they had a further conversation. The PC's were asking the Drider & Co to assist them, and I had the brilliant idea of saying the Drider was heading off to try and gather reinforcements (this also means I can bring it back later, if I wish). Taking a hint from the Adventure book, I also added in the detail about it's wish for a more Lolth focused Drow society.
We finished the session just as the spiders clambered over the side of the bridge to attack the party. I've also introduced the idea of the Abyssal Breach over Phaervorul, and the PC's are intending to get to Matron Urlvrain to talk to her. This means it's likely that they'll run into the big poster-map encounter in the centre of the town early on, which will be an excellent big fight to get into. Plus, they're not at full strength so we'll have to see how well they cope with it!
I hope that it'll continue to be fun, and that with companion characters we can cut down on the amount of time it takes to do each combat round. The players are all keen, but it has been noted that they're finding it hard to get the best of their characters so far. I think that'll come, and I hope they're enjoying the fights so far.
Here's my main talking point, though: How do you turn a PC into a companion character? All advice welcomed!
Skywalker
Adventurer
Nice idea. I am going to explore this myself.
I would convert them into a mosnter first (there are rules for this in the DMG) and then use that a Cpmpanion Character.
gribble
Explorer
What's wrong with using the rules on p30 of the DMG 2? Sure, the numbers won't be an exact match for the PC being replaced, but they should capture the feel and provide a simpler version of the character. Isn't that the point?
Skywalker
Adventurer
If there are specific rules in the DMG2, even better.
gribble
Explorer
Well, not rules for turning a PC into a companion character, per-se, but there are rules for creating a "custom" companion character.
Essentially you choose the role for the companion (striker, leader, etc) along with level and ability scores and the numbers fall out of the process.
As I said - the numbers probably won't match up perfectly with the actual PCs, but they should be good enough and capture the feel of the characters well (unless your PCs are seriously atypical).
Skywalker
Adventurer
Sounds good. Do they incorporate the Class templates from DMG1?
gribble
Explorer
Nope. They work on a lower level than that - companion characters don't have classes, just roles.
Skywalker
Adventurer
Cool. I was looking through the DMG2 in the store and there is scope of choosing class powers when creating a Companion. I guess that's what I was looking for
Mathew_Freeman
Adventurer
Cool. I was looking through the DMG2 in the store and there is scope of choosing class powers when creating a Companion. I guess that's what I was looking for
Yup, and I'm going to make sure I include all the most "iconic" powers that each class has to make this as easy as possible. With the next game a week from today it should work well.
And thanks for picking up on my comments! It means I have a reason to reply and finally remember to subscribe to my own thread!
Similar Threads
