Has anyone played the Wheel of Time

[William drake]

I'm starting a game, needing to know how it went for most players.

I've read a few of Robert Jordan's books, and those from which he got most of his ideas *Dune: the works by Frank Herbet*


So....what happened? Tell me the good, the bad and the ugly? How did you set the plot? How did you control the male casters? What did you do about the lack of magical healing? And offter any advice you have, thanks.

 

[SWAT]

I didn't run a Wheel of Time game, but for a short while I allowed the WoT channeler classes into normal D&D. Big mistake. There were 2 PC channelers, and they walked right over everyone. The damaging weaves are fine, but the warding weaves can be horribly abused.

"I'm gonna put an impenetrable shell around you. Success is automatic and you get no save. Then I'm gonna tie the weave off. You'll be stuck in there until I say so."

It makes for an incredibly easy divide and conquer combat strategy, and I imagine the same problems happen in a WoT-only game.

 

[theredrobedwizard]

I liked it. The non-channeler classes weren't balanced with the channeling classes, but that's to be expected.

The book is relatively hard to find sometimes, and easy to find at others. Pick it up, simply because it's an interesting read.

If you can find a group to play it, more power to you.

-TRRW

 

[Arrgh! Mark!]

I played the adventure in the back of the book and the prophecies of the dragon campaign.

Overall, the game was a rousing success, but thats because players actually went out to read the books after the first few games and really got into their characters, character histories, and so on. It really makes more sense if this is the case. I would suggest that this be a character motivated game rather than a get the doohickey one.

Also make room for large periods of time when characters are, for instance, training or travelling.

OK - Classes are good, if somewhat front loaded. I quite like the Woodsman, and even prefer him to the ranger, for instance.

Channelling. This is not overpowered in my experience, but can be quite robust. Half the time by the time the channeller touched the source the combat was half over, so that wasn't the issue. The bonus feats the male channelers get also are not so much of an issue because of this fact; before the channelers really get going its all over. The madness wasn't so much of an issue in my game (My sole male channeler had his character not actually knowing he was affecting events, for instance.)

The way our game was successful was more because the players weren't trying to munchkin things, but rather by playing, for instance, an Ogier in a town full of people accusing him of being a trolloc and a group of fellow PC's that are trying to convince the town otherwise.


Also - just be careful to really creep out the PC's with the wrongness of the shadow. Don't be afraid to really hit them with the muscle or creep them with the creepy; don't just have fades or Drakhar as things to come across in a dungeon. I made a party of 8th level PC's shiver inside a half-ruined tower as a Dragkar was singing outside, for instance.

Just try to hit the books feel and it'll work itself out.

 

[Dagger75]

Our game was pretty fun. We had one male channler and an Aes Sedi NPC we were escorting around.

We actually adventured around the Great Hunt for the horn. We were looking for something else and used that as a rouse so nobody would be suspicious as to what we were really after. It lasted like 5 games when the DM ran out of ideas. (Like they all do when I get to play)

 

[DragonLancer]

I played in a short campaign of WoT when it came out, run by a guy who knew the books and the world very well. To be honest it wasn't to my tastes really. Just a little too odd...

Spoiler:

Spoiler

one scenario involved escorting around a chap who makes fireworks!

End of Spoiler:

If it wasn't for the slightly different magic system, I think it would have been better as a one-off setting for D&D rather than a D20 game of it's own.

 

[the Lorax]

I've played it, it was fun. Hope to continue the game the GM was running someday. As mentioned it works if it is a character driven campaign. Channeling is very strong when the Channeler is prepared. I think it can be somewhat hit or miss in some other aspects. Being so strongly character driven, if the PCs dont have good background or other reasons for sticking together, the campaign could easily fly apart. Nice change of pace game.

 

[Grymar]

I was a player in a WoT game. I enjoyed it, but man the channeler's were powerful. Third level my male wilder would like with our female channeler then I would over channel. I was tossing around fireballs all day. The DM gave up and just starting throwing waves at us. The two non-channelers just sat down and watched us cook 20+ mooks without any problem.

But I think it has the best noble/aristocrat class I've seen yet.

 

[The Lost Muse]

I ran a brief WoT campaign using the d20 version of the rules, and it was a fun game. I'd recommend that the players all read at least the first part of the first book. As far as plot setup went, I actually set the campaign after the Aiel War. The nations (particularly Cairhein) were busily trying to pretend that nothing bad had happenned, and there was a dark-friend plot to break the seals and free their master. I may have gotten things started with a trolloc assault, but it's been a long time.

 

[Owen K.C. Stephens]

I've played it, from playtesting to games of my own. I've also ported various rules to other games. Here are my main experiences.

A channeler can take over the party -- two or three can take over the game. You need to use enemy channellers, things designed to oppose chanelers, or the strong social elements that complicate the lives of channelers built into the setting to tone them down. In the best gams I've been part of, the channelers were by far the most powerful characters, and were constantly wishing they could just be armsmen. That matched the tone we wanted pretty well.

There's a lot more flavor to many of the equipment choices, and some players love that.

Algai'd'siswai won't feel book-correct unless you assume they're all several levels higher than local warriors. I now beleive the class to be slightly underpowered even just compared to the armsman and woodsman.