It’s been a long time since my online Planescape group has been able to get together. With two continents, three time zones, five players, jobs, spouses, significant others, children, holidays, etc, it’s not been easy to keep things going for 10 years. But Sunday afternoon the stars were aligned, and we once again fired up mIRC and MapTools and TinyChat and convened on a tiny moon above the surface of Pandemonium.
I’ve talked about my Planescape campaign here = http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...and-Greenwich-Mean-Time&p=6046718#post6046718" and here = http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?332308-3G-Go-Go-Gadget-Bohemian-Earspoon!&p=6055555#post6055555, for those who are interested in some back story. The last time we played was in March, so it took a lot of discussion and perusing of character sheets before everyone was up to speed again. For the Brits, our Planescape game is the only D&D they have now…no one plays in their area, so most of their time is spent playing Guild Wars. For the California boy, he’s busy with work and his new girlfriend (they just moved in together), so his days off were spent picking out drapes, wining and dining his new lady love, and planning their future together. The rest of us live here in Tennessee, and we play 4E when we get together for tabletop D&D.
Did I mention the Planescape game was 3.5E? Adjusting back to those rules took some time and a lot of, “Is that right? I can’t remember…” Grappling rules, especially, gave me a headache, as well as diagonal movement. It’s so frustrating when the bad guy can’t reach the party, even when charging! But the familiar feeling of Planescape washed over me, and the players slipped comfortably into their characters once more, and a good time was had by all.
A while back I had slowly started to introduce elements of 4E into the Planescape game, mostly because keeping the two rule sets separate was giving me a massive headache while prepping for games. The biggest change was simply converting monsters from 4E back into 3.5E, keeping them as simple as possible to run, but also challenging for the PCs. The players have noticed the difference in their foes, but there have been no overt protests. Below are some examples.
Derro Thug CR 12
Small Monstrous Humanoid
HP 1 (14 HD); a missed attack never damages a minion Initiative +9
AC 26/19/18 Senses Listen +5, Spot +5
Fortitude +14; Reflex +13; Will +14 60 ft darkvision
Speed 20 ft
Immune confusion, insanity
Traits
Sneak Attack
Any time a target is flat-footed or flanked, the derro deals an additional 3 damage.
Standard Actions
m Club (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Melee (one creature); +19 vs. AC
Hit: 14 bludgeoning damage.
Triggered Actions
Mad Sacrifice (psionic) * Encounter
Trigger: The thug misses with an attack.
Effect (Free Action): The attack instead hits, and the thug drops to 0 hit points.
Skills Hide +17, Move Silently +15
Str 13 (+1) Dex 14 (+2) Wis 6 (-2)
Con 18 (+4) Int 8 (-2) Cha 16 (+3)
Alignment Chaotic Evil Languages Dwarf, Undercommon
Equipment leather armor, light shield, club
Warped Slave CR 16
Large Aberration
HP 96 (16 HD) Initiative +11
AC 28/21/22 Senses Listen +7, Spot +7
Fortitude +18; Reflex +15; Will +18 60 ft darkvision
Speed 30 ft (cannot take 5-foot steps)
Traits
Disintegrating Mind (psionic, psychic) * 5-ft Aura
Any enemy that ends its turn within the aura takes 5 psychic damage. Whenever a derro within the aura uses strength of madness, the warped slave can use tentacle as a free action.
Standard Actions
m Bite * At-Will
Attack: Melee (one creature); +21 vs. AC
Hit: 3d12+6 slashing damage.
m Tentacle * At-Will
Attack: Reach 10 ft (one creature); DC 19 Reflex
Failed Saving Throw: 2d12+6 bludgeoning damage, the target is grabbed (+24 opposed Str), and pulled 5 feet.
c Flailing Tentacles * At-Will
Requirement: The warped slave must be below half hit points.
Attack: Close burst 10 ft (enemies in burst); +21 vs. AC
Hit: 2d12+6 bludgeoning damage, and the target is pulled 5 feet.
Str 18 (+4) Dex 16 (+3) Wis 8 (-1)
Con 23 (+6) Int 4 (-3) Cha 23 (+6)
Alignment Chaotic Evil Languages Undercommon
We ended the last session after the PCs passed through a portal to the future, appearing on a lunar base above the surface of Pandemonium (the plane they had just left). They were tracking a longtime nemesis, Doctor Valran, who had fled through the portal. Unbeknownst to them, he turned invisible and is exploring the lunar base, while they had to stop and contend with the derro and failed clones monitoring the equipment near the portal chambers.
Sakor the cleric moved to deal with the derro that looked like it was in charge (he held a staff, while the others were armed with metal pipes as clubs). Orisen the archer used superior invisibility to start picking off the derro thugs, and Pasha the druid shapechanged into her ferocious slayer form and waded into the fray. Farrendel the rogue teleported to the computer terminals and started deciphering the controls (he’s a fey’ri cyborg from the future, so he’s familiar with technology, although not with the controls or race that created these specific terminals).
The derro thugs dropped like flies, thanks to them being minions, and the players were happy at first, but then confused when the derro savant and derro ironguard were much harder to kill. Likewise with the warped slaves. Orisen ended her turn within one of the slaves’ auras and took psychic damage, PMing me to ask how that was possible. Since she was invisible and there was nothing for the other characters to see, I just explained to the player that creatures had evolved in the future, and things wouldn’t be exactly the same as they were in the past…
The biggest surprise was when the derro ironguard managed to spear Elecia the sorceress through the thigh and tried to haul her down to the ground (she’s descended from humans and air elementals, so she’s usually flying, but this time she was just hovering above the ground). Normally, creatures don’t get anywhere near her, let alone survive long enough to engage her in melee. The player seems genuinely concerned for her character’s welfare and has insisted finding a way back to their time should be the first priority.
Alas, Farrendel won’t have time to search through the computers’ files, as the derro savant telepathically alerted his comrades in the neighboring rooms just before he was slain. More creatures are coming, and the distraction of the PCs might give Doctor Valran enough time to discover the cloning tanks and start planning to take his experiments “to the next level.”
I was about ready to give up on this campaign after six months. I’m glad the players were insistent on keeping it going. I hope we can keep the momentum up as we head into the holidays. Planehopping DID get its groove back.
Do you have a long-running campaign? Do you have a group that only games intermittently? Tell me about it in the comments below; I’d like to hear others’ experiences.
I’ve talked about my Planescape campaign here = http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...and-Greenwich-Mean-Time&p=6046718#post6046718" and here = http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?332308-3G-Go-Go-Gadget-Bohemian-Earspoon!&p=6055555#post6055555, for those who are interested in some back story. The last time we played was in March, so it took a lot of discussion and perusing of character sheets before everyone was up to speed again. For the Brits, our Planescape game is the only D&D they have now…no one plays in their area, so most of their time is spent playing Guild Wars. For the California boy, he’s busy with work and his new girlfriend (they just moved in together), so his days off were spent picking out drapes, wining and dining his new lady love, and planning their future together. The rest of us live here in Tennessee, and we play 4E when we get together for tabletop D&D.
Did I mention the Planescape game was 3.5E? Adjusting back to those rules took some time and a lot of, “Is that right? I can’t remember…” Grappling rules, especially, gave me a headache, as well as diagonal movement. It’s so frustrating when the bad guy can’t reach the party, even when charging! But the familiar feeling of Planescape washed over me, and the players slipped comfortably into their characters once more, and a good time was had by all.
A while back I had slowly started to introduce elements of 4E into the Planescape game, mostly because keeping the two rule sets separate was giving me a massive headache while prepping for games. The biggest change was simply converting monsters from 4E back into 3.5E, keeping them as simple as possible to run, but also challenging for the PCs. The players have noticed the difference in their foes, but there have been no overt protests. Below are some examples.
Derro Thug CR 12
Small Monstrous Humanoid
HP 1 (14 HD); a missed attack never damages a minion Initiative +9
AC 26/19/18 Senses Listen +5, Spot +5
Fortitude +14; Reflex +13; Will +14 60 ft darkvision
Speed 20 ft
Immune confusion, insanity
Traits
Sneak Attack
Any time a target is flat-footed or flanked, the derro deals an additional 3 damage.
Standard Actions
m Club (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Melee (one creature); +19 vs. AC
Hit: 14 bludgeoning damage.
Triggered Actions
Mad Sacrifice (psionic) * Encounter
Trigger: The thug misses with an attack.
Effect (Free Action): The attack instead hits, and the thug drops to 0 hit points.
Skills Hide +17, Move Silently +15
Str 13 (+1) Dex 14 (+2) Wis 6 (-2)
Con 18 (+4) Int 8 (-2) Cha 16 (+3)
Alignment Chaotic Evil Languages Dwarf, Undercommon
Equipment leather armor, light shield, club
Warped Slave CR 16
Large Aberration
HP 96 (16 HD) Initiative +11
AC 28/21/22 Senses Listen +7, Spot +7
Fortitude +18; Reflex +15; Will +18 60 ft darkvision
Speed 30 ft (cannot take 5-foot steps)
Traits
Disintegrating Mind (psionic, psychic) * 5-ft Aura
Any enemy that ends its turn within the aura takes 5 psychic damage. Whenever a derro within the aura uses strength of madness, the warped slave can use tentacle as a free action.
Standard Actions
m Bite * At-Will
Attack: Melee (one creature); +21 vs. AC
Hit: 3d12+6 slashing damage.
m Tentacle * At-Will
Attack: Reach 10 ft (one creature); DC 19 Reflex
Failed Saving Throw: 2d12+6 bludgeoning damage, the target is grabbed (+24 opposed Str), and pulled 5 feet.
c Flailing Tentacles * At-Will
Requirement: The warped slave must be below half hit points.
Attack: Close burst 10 ft (enemies in burst); +21 vs. AC
Hit: 2d12+6 bludgeoning damage, and the target is pulled 5 feet.
Str 18 (+4) Dex 16 (+3) Wis 8 (-1)
Con 23 (+6) Int 4 (-3) Cha 23 (+6)
Alignment Chaotic Evil Languages Undercommon
We ended the last session after the PCs passed through a portal to the future, appearing on a lunar base above the surface of Pandemonium (the plane they had just left). They were tracking a longtime nemesis, Doctor Valran, who had fled through the portal. Unbeknownst to them, he turned invisible and is exploring the lunar base, while they had to stop and contend with the derro and failed clones monitoring the equipment near the portal chambers.
Sakor the cleric moved to deal with the derro that looked like it was in charge (he held a staff, while the others were armed with metal pipes as clubs). Orisen the archer used superior invisibility to start picking off the derro thugs, and Pasha the druid shapechanged into her ferocious slayer form and waded into the fray. Farrendel the rogue teleported to the computer terminals and started deciphering the controls (he’s a fey’ri cyborg from the future, so he’s familiar with technology, although not with the controls or race that created these specific terminals).
The derro thugs dropped like flies, thanks to them being minions, and the players were happy at first, but then confused when the derro savant and derro ironguard were much harder to kill. Likewise with the warped slaves. Orisen ended her turn within one of the slaves’ auras and took psychic damage, PMing me to ask how that was possible. Since she was invisible and there was nothing for the other characters to see, I just explained to the player that creatures had evolved in the future, and things wouldn’t be exactly the same as they were in the past…
The biggest surprise was when the derro ironguard managed to spear Elecia the sorceress through the thigh and tried to haul her down to the ground (she’s descended from humans and air elementals, so she’s usually flying, but this time she was just hovering above the ground). Normally, creatures don’t get anywhere near her, let alone survive long enough to engage her in melee. The player seems genuinely concerned for her character’s welfare and has insisted finding a way back to their time should be the first priority.
Alas, Farrendel won’t have time to search through the computers’ files, as the derro savant telepathically alerted his comrades in the neighboring rooms just before he was slain. More creatures are coming, and the distraction of the PCs might give Doctor Valran enough time to discover the cloning tanks and start planning to take his experiments “to the next level.”
I was about ready to give up on this campaign after six months. I’m glad the players were insistent on keeping it going. I hope we can keep the momentum up as we head into the holidays. Planehopping DID get its groove back.
Do you have a long-running campaign? Do you have a group that only games intermittently? Tell me about it in the comments below; I’d like to hear others’ experiences.
