Planescape Enhancing Turn of Fortune's Wheel

[pukunui]

Chalk this one up to character generation actively stating that PCs start with an uncommon magic item of their choice, and I didn't kibosh it. Note for next time!

Aha. I usually don't follow those sorts of instructions. If the PCs get to start with a magic item, I'll work with the player to figure out what the item is, usually suggesting a few options. (But then most of my players are fairly casual and don't know what all the options are anyway.)

I've seen where "just pick whatever you want" leads, especially when you throw in D&D Beyond - because that platform makes it difficult to see item sources. I was in a game where one of the other players had given themselves some tangler grenades, which are a nonmagical item from Dungeon of the Mad Mage. They had no clue - and neither did the DM - that those weren't just generally available items because DDB lists them under Adventuring Gear, even though there's no price for them.

 

[abirdcall]

I had them start with a random uncommon item. Worked out well.

Otherwise enspelled items for everyone. Or even worse setting your primary score to 19 after leaving at 8.

 

[pukunui]

Otherwise enspelled items for everyone.

Yeah, I'm going to be super-cautious with allowing those into my games.

Or even worse setting your primary score to 19 after leaving at 8.

I had a player do that once. He left his STR at 18 and used gauntlets of ogre power instead. I think there was a time when either the PCs got captured and his gauntlets were removed or he entered an antimagic zone or something. I described the effect as being like his big buff muscles deflated, revealing his true weak form.

 

[pukunui]

Reviving this thread because my players have indicated they'd like me to run this adventure next after we finish The Wild Beyond the Witchlight.

A common improvement is "expanding on the Mortuary". Is the official DDB-only Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary product a good way to do that?

Also, I can't decide if I want to combine it with the Vecna adventure or not. Late in this adventure, there's a random table that includes a clue to Vecna's return. Could be used as a way of foreshadowing the Vecna adventure.

I'm also thinking of padding out the Outlands part with other adventures. I'm not a big fan of mixing the official campaign settings together, so I might just make Sigil and the Outlands the setting. Eberron, Toril, Krynn ... they won't exist. Anything in the Vecna adventure set on those worlds would just be in the Outlands somewhere.

EDIT: Something else I am thinking about: I’m not sure I like the idea of the glitch only producing three distinct variations of each PC. I might just tell the players that each time their PC dies, they have to change one or more of the following: species, gender, background, class, subclass, feats.

Each time their glitch produces something subtly or radically different (or something in between).

 

[pukunui]

This is a really cool, well thought out remix of the adventure: Spin of the Wheel

I might just run this!

EDIT: @TheSword This remix sounds a lot like what you were talking about previously (making the adventure more about finding out the PCs' identities). Did you ever make any progress on your Turn of Fortune's Wheel + Vecna: Eve of Ruin idea?

Having read most of the remix now, I still like it a lot ... but it's got a lot of moving parts, and I'm concerned about the whole "The PCs were originally the villains but now, because of a memory wipe, they're suddenly the heroes seeking to undo everything their previous incarnations did."

There's a definite Jason Bourne vibe to it, but I would want some way to make it clear to the players that they are now playing heroes, so they aren't tempted to just go "F* this. Let's finish what we started!"

 

[TheSword]

This is a really cool, well thought out remix of the adventure: Spin of the Wheel

I might just run this!

EDIT: @TheSword This remix sounds a lot like what you were talking about previously (making the adventure more about finding out the PCs' identities). Did you ever make any progress on your Turn of Fortune's Wheel + Vecna: Eve of Ruin idea?

Having read most of the remix now, I still like it a lot ... but it's got a lot of moving parts, and I'm concerned about the whole "The PCs were originally the villains but now, because of a memory wipe, they're suddenly the heroes seeking to undo everything their previous incarnations did."

There's a definite Jason Bourne vibe to it, but I would want some way to make it clear to the players that they are now playing heroes, so they aren't tempted to just go "F* this. Let's finish what we started!"

Hey, our groups other DM @GuyBoy said he was interested in running Vecna for our group so I’ve stayed away from it. I’m a player instead about 3 sessions in and enjoying it a great deal.

I personally think Sigil is the jewel in the crown of the Planescape setting and when I run it I think I will attempt to make it more sandbox in the city with trips to the various outlands and planes as appropriate. Yo-yo-ing back and forth to Sigil. There’s so much there to enjoy. I’m not sure what the structure would be.

Though I would kinda like to incorporate some of the more fantastical heists from golden vault that don’t fit in my more grounded Waterdeep campaign.

 

[TheSword]

Wow, just read that remix you linked. It sounds awesome. That is just a straight up upgrade. I’d probably add some more random city elements but it’s hard to think of a better base for the campaign.

 

[pukunui]

Wow, just read that remix you linked. It sounds awesome. That is just a straight up upgrade. I’d probably add some more random city elements but it’s hard to think of a better base for the campaign.

Yeah, I'm really glad I stumbled across it. If I end up running this adventure, I will most likely use that remix.

The solution to my quandary above is that I will make it clear to the players at the outset that the campaign is about redemption. The memory wipe has given their PCs a fresh slate, and the multiverse is giving their new heroic selves a chance to make right what their previous villainous incarnations put wrong.

 

[TheSword]

I think a question that potentially isn’t address enough is how to manage the glitch itself.

I feel like it should be worked into the difficulty and tactics of the game. I kind of feel if characters don’t glitch at least once then they are missing out on a big part of the game. However it’s how to do this in a cool way and not in a clumsy way.

My players are very competent and I can really see them not dying. So I either up the difficulty or create/modify some encounters to take this into account. A bit like the trapped tomb in Torment.

 

[TheSword]

Another thought I had. Making the BBEG a fallen devil seems a bit cliche. What if the BBEG was an adventurer. A simple man or woman from a humble beginning who just had the force of personality to shape the multiverse once they learnt enough about it. A prime so disgusted by the grand and lofty ideals of the movers and shakers that they decided to rip it all up using the planar creatures ideals, beliefs and powers against them.

To be clear, I think they could still use fiends to corrupt the gate towns but not because they’re an arch devil.