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

[JoeGKushner]

The Black Company spell system has rarely come up to be honest. I have one player whose a pure wizard and he worked him from level 1 to about level 5, before the substitition for the pits.

He rarely used any of his magic, instead using the good old crossbow for most combat oriented issues.

Now that the characters are about level 7/8, that may change. In the background he's been healing the gladiators, giving them an unfair advantage in that they can go back to the arena much quicker than other gladiators.

 

[Old One]

The Black Company spell system has rarely come up to be honest. I have one player whose a pure wizard and he worked him from level 1 to about level 5, before the substitition for the pits.

He rarely used any of his magic, instead using the good old crossbow for most combat oriented issues.

Now that the characters are about level 7/8, that may change. In the background he's been healing the gladiators, giving them an unfair advantage in that they can go back to the arena much quicker than other gladiators.

Hmmm...OK, food for thought. The PCs for the one-shot will be 8-9 level and I am toying with things to make one of the 3 with magic talent a 2nd magnitude caster just to stretch things a bit. They will be going up against some decent magic opponents (Fire Witches of Sythia) and I would like to have one cabaple of summoning up some medium artillery.

Back to the drawing table...

~ OO

 

[tameszu]

Hey Joe, any chance you have an update on your game for us?

 

[JoeGKushner]

Last time we played, we decided it was enough. The players didn't like the whole slavery bit and were good enough to go with it for Chapter Two, but didn't want to do it for the next book and we decided to move back to the Forgotten Realms.

As I noted in my review, you have to have a group willing to accept the fact that for about 85% of it, they are slaves in a low magic world. Now you can rewrite it so that it's not the same, but then you're not really running Slavelords anymore but a heavily modified version. For me, if I'm going to be doing that much conversion work, I'd rather just start from scratch.

I'll probably be using some of the material, like the world of Cydonia and it's inhabitants, in my regular Forgotten Realms campaign.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Last time we played, we decided it was enough. The players didn't like the whole slavery bit and were good enough to go with it for Chapter Two, but didn't want to do it for the next book and we decided to move back to the Forgotten Realms.

I'm sorry to hear that, Joe. I think your 85% estimate is off since the players should have proven themselves as allies to the Sli'ess before the end of Book Two-- books Three, Four, and Five are especially empowering. They aren't really slaves in any sense of the word-- perhaps it's the sense of being captive...?

Wulf

 

[JoeGKushner]

I'm sorry to hear that, Joe. I think your 85% estimate is off since the players should have proven themselves as allies to the Sli'ess before the end of Book Two-- books Three, Four, and Five are especially empowering. They aren't really slaves in any sense of the word-- perhaps it's the sense of being captive...?

Wulf

Well, I don't have the book in front of me, but book three clearly has the PC's still as slaves-captives. It even notes that if the party is free due to joining the rebellion or the other faction, medicant, that they go back and 'recant' their ways and become slaves again.

They feel that an 'empowered' slave is still a slave.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

It even notes that if the party is free due to joining the rebellion or the other faction, medicant, that they go back and 'recant' their ways and become slaves again.

That doesn't sound familiar to me at all. I can't even imagine what you're talking about. Wish I had the book in front of me at the moment, too.

They feel that an 'empowered' slave is still a slave.

Ugh. I'd hate to see an adventure derailed by a completely semantic point.

You could replace the word "slaves" with "alien barbarians" and the adventure would play the same. Their status as "slaves" doesn't mean they're fetching food and drink or toiling away in the crystal mines; it's simply a descriptor of their political status. In many ways, I would liken it to the status of Blackthorne and his Dutch crew in "Shogun." (Hmmm... Actually that's an excellent analogy-- especially since your PCs also had a "crew" in their care.)

Unless, of course, you were really laying it on thick on them and making them feel like slaves.

Wulf

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

That doesn't sound familiar to me at all. I can't even imagine what you're talking about. Wish I had the book in front of me at the moment, too.

Well, I have it in front of me and I think this is the passage referred to... 3rd paragraph on p. 61:

Spoiler

"The PCs are drawn to the front lines of the conflict, first acting as spies and researchers, and eventualy being among the first to engage lethid forces. They may begin this section of the campaign simply as slaves asked to aid their master on a 'special assignment' and work from there to a more prominent and trusted role in the coflict. Alternatively, the party may have ended Book Two with rebels or mendicants, in which case, they may play many of the adventures in this Book directly as rebel agents or posing as human slaves (by allowing themselves to be recaptured and penitent). ..."

If this is it, I'd say that it doesn't require the PCs to go back and actually recant. They'd be posing as slaves so they'd only pretend to be penitent while they are actually agents for another organization the whole time.

Regards,
Eric Anondson

 

[JoeGKushner]

Well, I have it in front of me and I think this is the passage referred to... 3rd paragraph on p. 61:

Spoiler

"The PCs are drawn to the front lines of the conflict, first acting as spies and researchers, and eventualy being among the first to engage lethid forces. They may begin this section of the campaign simply as slaves asked to aid their master on a 'special assignment' and work from there to a more prominent and trusted role in the coflict. Alternatively, the party may have ended Book Two with rebels or mendicants, in which case, they may play many of the adventures in this Book directly as rebel agents or posing as human slaves (by allowing themselves to be recaptured and penitent). ..."

If this is it, I'd say that it doesn't require the PCs to go back and actually recant. They'd be posing as slaves so they'd only pretend to be penitent while they are actually agents for another organization the whole time.

Regards,
Eric Anondson

Eric, that's one way to take it, but at that point, the rewriting involved would be trying to turn steak into chicken. They pretend to be penitent. Which doesn't necessarily protect them from say, being put into more dangerous situations where they really have little control or little cash. One of the early investigations gets them some odd $3K in funds but depending on what the party does, they can spend all of that money getting info here and there, but that leaves them broke for getting others things unless they now find another outside source of funds, which starts to get like the Shield Season 3 where you have to explain where you're getting the money.

I love steak. I love chicken. However, if I'm going to take that effort to do something like that, I'd rather just have one or the other. Rewriting material is not one of my favorite bits.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I don't think it's as difficult as Joe's making it out to be, but there doesn't seem to be much point in dragging back and forth with him.