Grim Tales: SLAVELORDS of CYDONIA - Advance Copy: Taking Q&A!

[Wulf Ratbane]

Thanks! I still need to read completely through my Grim Tales.

I very strongly recommend that.

There are a lot of little changes to the rules. You might think you know the rules, but one little tweak can change a lot. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that a lot of the "core" Grim Tales rules are pulled from three different SRDs-- the original 3.0 D&D, then d20 Modern, then 3.5 D&D-- looking for the best rule for the job at any given time.

And then, of course, the little design changes I couldn't resist.

There's another thread running in this forum about restricting the armor bonus and the "Fewer Dead Heroes" rule. I had a player point out to me that the armor penalty applies, not only to skills, but also to attack rolls.

A little tweak even I forgot was there...


Wulf

 

[GlassJaw]

There's another thread running in this forum about restricting the armor bonus and the "Fewer Dead Heroes" rule. I had a player point out to me that the armor penalty applies, not only to skills, but also to attack rolls.

And something I had missed as well, event though I thought I had read through the whole book. Power Attack is another big change - GT uses the 3.0 version.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Review

So let's see...

After the party wiped out Malakar, they'd already cleaned out the secondary ruins. They were approached by Mika (Mina?) about hunting down those savage beasts that were killing people. They did pretty good against them but due to a few fumbles, didn't manage to get the big win in.

Then, to my surprise, instead of taking up the mystery of the sudden illiness that hit the Sutu of the encampment, only those working with those strange muds that Professor Andors was having mined, they spent three weeks trying to hunt down the jaguars to no avail.

With such a wide span of time open, it turns out that all the Sutu who stayed with the professor, died under mysterious circumstances while those who went to their village recovered. All this while the PC's checked in with Andros because they didn't trust Sabib.

Now when they came back to their encampment, they had their first encounter with the Sil'ess and went down pretty quick.

When they woke up, they discovered that they were slaves! Yeah slavery. They spent some time learning the language and I won't say befriending Bree'Son, but at least trusting him. When Bree'Son was called away on duty, they got to be tortured to insure that they weren't holding out on any information. Then they got a quick tour of the city and the arena where they'll be fighting next week.

At this point, because I had the characters in charge of a small unit of Black Company soldiers, I've told the players that they may want to make 'fighter' styel characters for the arena competition next week.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Review

Thanks.

Then, to my surprise, instead of taking up the mystery of the sudden illiness that hit the Sutu of the encampment, only those working with those strange muds that Professor Andors was having mined, they spent three weeks trying to hunt down the jaguars to no avail.

On the bright side, you have the mystery of that "mud" to hold over them for a while. They may feel a sense of pride when they realize the mud is the power source they need to get the pylon system working.

Now when they came back to their encampment, they had their first encounter with the Sil'ess and went down pretty quick.

That's rough. I don't think I could spring it on them that way. I'd want them to see the gate open.

How did they go down pretty quick? Can you give a little more detail on the fight itself, as well as the reaction of the players? Were they just outnumbered or did the advanced weaponry of the sli'ess make the difference? How did they react to all those reptilian headed aliens? Was it an exciting "reveal" or are your players too jaded for that?

At this point, because I had the characters in charge of a small unit of Black Company soldiers, I've told the players that they may want to make 'fighter' styel characters for the arena competition next week.

Don't forget that even leader-style characters have a place in team combats-- as could a Smart hero if you run the right kind of "game"-- you could play "living chess," with some of the PCs as pieces and the Smart hero standing on a platform, responsible for directing the action. (And to make it a timed game, if he doesn't make his move quickly, something nasty gets released into the arena...)


Wulf

 

[JoeGKushner]

That's rough. I don't think I could spring it on them that way. I'd want them to see the gate open.

How did they go down pretty quick? Can you give a little more detail on the fight itself, as well as the reaction of the players? Were they just outnumbered or did the advanced weaponry of the sli'ess make the difference? How did they react to all those reptilian headed aliens? Was it an exciting "reveal" or are your players too jaded for that?

Wulf

Well, I'm using the insanity rules from Black Company but since these are humanoids, I think only one dude lost 1 point of Sanity.

The technology made the difference as I had them using the stuff that stuns/paralyzes your opponent. One guy ran and left his comrades for dead. He ran to Andros camp though and got what was coming to him. The other players didn't hold it against him though. Survival of the fittest and all that.

The players were pretty surprised. I did want to have them be there for the opening of the Pylon but it didn't make any sense that Andros would wait weeks after the mud had been mined on the off chance that the players would return. I figure that he'd send in his minions first with the amulets. In my mind, the aliens had probably been in camp for about a week and had already taken down the other members of the unit, leaving only the village of the sutu behind on this expedition.

 

[scourger]

Review

Read and appreciated. A couple of questions.

How familiar does a DM need to be with Grim Tales to make use of Slavelords of Cydonia? I don't have GT, but I'm interested in GT for story and use with other systems: core D&D, Star Wars, Judge Dredd and/or Omega World. Can I use it without knowing GT, and how much conversion works would you anticipate?

How much reliance is there on the PCs being enslaved? I have long thought it a poor plot device and usually avoid it like the plague, but I recently listened to the 1st 3 ERB Mars books and am intrigued. Does the slavery happen to the PCs early on arrival? Is there a way do run it without enslaving the PCs? Do they lose a bunch of "stuff" or equipment (which usually seems to be the biggest problem)?

Thanks.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

How much reliance is there on the PCs being enslaved?

You could get around it to varying degrees of "enslavedness."

Theoretically they could open the gate to Cydonia, enter the Pylon Stronghold, and by good fortune meet a member of the resistance early on. (There's one working right there.)

It's important to get the PCs hooked up with Vert'jaal, who will certainly start hunting them ere long, but it's not necessary he enslave them even if he does catch them. He's a crafty bastard, he might take them immediately into his own "protection."

Most of Book Two involves the PCs as gladiators, so unless they have a special arrangement ("We'll fight as ringers for a cut of the purse...") they pretty much have to be slaves there.

Do they lose a bunch of "stuff" or equipment (which usually seems to be the biggest problem)?

Pfft. Well that's easy enough to take care of. Don't start them with anything they'll miss.


Wulf

 

[JoeGKushner]

Read and appreciated. A couple of questions.

How familiar does a DM need to be with Grim Tales to make use of Slavelords of Cydonia? I don't have GT, but I'm interested in GT for story and use with other systems: core D&D, Star Wars, Judge Dredd and/or Omega World. Can I use it without knowing GT, and how much conversion works would you anticipate?.

This is a hard question for me to answer because of a Catch 22. I've read and used GT so anything I may assume you don't need to know, maybe in in Grim Tales. For me, because I'm using Black Company, which is pretty D&D, I read over the stat blocks carefully. If there's something I see that I don't recongize, like an armor class bonus based on level, I remove it. If you've got core D&D, you should have a pretty good founding, but it'd probably be better to have d20 Modern as it has Talent Trees and other bits.

Having said that, the conversion guide at the front of the book will give you most of the information you need to know. This will involve a little more work for you as a GM, making notes and when necessary, substitionts, but will save you pain in the long run.

Never played Judge Dredd or Omerga World, but there might be less conversion work for Star Wars in some aspects as it has a level based AC bonus no? Been a while since I played. On the other hand, it uses Hit Points with a Massaive Damage Threshold as opposed to Vitality Points, so something else to keep in mind.

How much reliance is there on the PCs being enslaved? I have long thought it a poor plot device and usually avoid it like the plague, but I recently listened to the 1st 3 ERB Mars books and am intrigued. Does the slavery happen to the PCs early on arrival? Is there a way do run it without enslaving the PCs? Do they lose a bunch of "stuff" or equipment (which usually seems to be the biggest problem)?

Thanks.

On the enslavement.... I'd say pretty heavy. There are a few ways around it, but at that point, you're really rubbing against the grain and most of chapter two will be useless without massive rewriting and at that point, you might be mining it for setting information on Cydonia and the creatures that dwell there. Latter chapters could really go against the whole culuture of Cydonia and have the players be freemen, but unless they're leading their own armies, it doesn't make a lot of internal sense.

Having said that, there are probably ways around it. Wulf has mentioned some, but I'd probably just have the players approach their enemies from a position of power. I mentioned in my review that the players had 10 other members with them. Make it a few units and have them be 'invited' to Cydonia and then have to 'proof' themselves in the arena.

 

[scourger]

Thanks, Joe & Wulf. I still plan to get the book (if my FLGS ever gets my order completed), but it sounds as if it may be a bit more work to run it without Grim Tales. I'll read it & see.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Thanks, Joe & Wulf. I still plan to get the book (if my FLGS ever gets my order completed), but it sounds as if it may be a bit more work to run it without Grim Tales.

For the record, I disagree with Joe on that point. It's d20. You'll be fine; you'll see.


Wulf