It's always fun watching new players - especially kids - get more immersed into the game and expand their understanding of the game environment.
Johnathan
D&D General How Was Your Last Session?
- Thread starter doctorbadwolf
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Johnathan
We played our first quarantine session today, using Zoom video and chat. For most of us - including me - it was our first RPGing since late February (ie 8 weeks!). So I enjoyed it a lot!
We played our second session of a Middle Earth/LotR game, using Cortex+ Heroic, which is an adaptation of Marvel Heroic RP. Cortex+ uses big dice pools with dice of different sizes, and resolution depends partly on the pips showing and partly on the dice size regardless of pips, so we used Roll a Die (sharing screens via Zoom), which shows the individual dice results (which we need) as well as the total (which isn't relevant for this system). Some rolls were also done the old-fashioned way, with purely verbal reports of the outcomes.
There are four PCs - Gandalf; Nehar, a Dunadan ranger of the north; Mirenlea, a Noldor Elf from Rivendell; and Dwalin, a Dwarven traveller. The session began with them IN PURSUIT OF THE ORCs (a scene distinction, which the players had to wear down in order to catch the Orcs) who were (as a result of the events of the first session) carrying the Palantir of Amon Sul from the north of Eriador where it had been recently discovered, somewhere to the south in the vicinity of Eregion. As they travelled south with the Misty Mountains to their left, ALL THINGS WERE SILENT, WITH A SENSE OF WATCHFULNESS AND FEAR.
There were two antagonists - the Orcs, and also a mysterious presence whom the players (and perhaps the PCs) became increasingly certain was Saruman.
Nehar and Mirenlea tried to help the company bear down on the Orcs. But the Orcs were leaving foul marks of their passing (like the damage to the statue of the king that Frodo saw at the cross-roads in Ithilien). Dwalin found himself dismayed at what he saw (significant emotional stress) and threw away his axe in despaire; while Mirenlea nearly left the party driven by her wrath at the Orcs - only Gandalf's words and example (he made a point of keeping Glamdring sheathed) were able to keep her wrath barely contained (she stressed out with emotional stress, but then Gandalf was able to help her recover so she was still badly stressed but not stressed out).
As the company headed south, there appeared in the sky CREBAIN FROM DUNLAND which threatened the PCs with being WATCHED. (This scene distinction had the rider that, if it was still in play when the PCs arrived in Ost-in-Edhil, they would have a WATCHED scene distinction in the next scene that would grow the Doom Pool when it came into play.) Mirenlea sang a song of weather control to try and summon a storm that would drive them from the sky, but failed. So Dwalin led the company into Moria where they could take shelter from the evil birds.
In THE DEEPS OF MORIA MORIA, the company found themselves split up. Dwalin, having returned to the halls from which his people had been exiled, headed off to explore. He encountered a strange old man, with a walking stick and a lantern, who remarked how rare it is to see on of the Dwarvenfolk in Moria, and asked him to join in a search for gold and trinkets. But Dwalin, unmoved by the Dwarven lust for gold, refused. The old man, frustrated, suggested that he had spent too long in the company of the foolish grey wizard, and then turned Dwalin's armour to rust and tried to clock him on the head with his walking stick. But Dwalin avoided the blow, and was able to escape to one of the ancient armouries, where he found a new axe.
Meanwhile, Nehar and Gandalf found themselves confronted by the Orcs, sho had been reinforced by others from within the depths of Moria - the pursued had become pursuers! They were both hard beset (d12 physical stress each), even when Mirenlea, who had become separated in the halls of Moria hunting Orcs in her wrath, found her way back by following the sounds of combat through the halls. She hurled herself into the fray to draw the Orcs away from Nehar, becoming overwhelmed by her wrath and grief in the process (completing a Milestone in the process by stressing herself out while helping an ally). Gandalf was forced to draw Glamdring again, and to fight with sword in one hand while blasting with fire from Narya.
In this way Gandalf was able to defeat and drive away the Orcs. But such a flagrant display of magic also announced his presence, and someone - perhaps the mysterious stranger! - was able to come and take away the palantir, so that it was not found among the defeated orcs. (Between Mirenlea's deeds of grief and Gandlaf's magic, the doom pool had grown to include 2d12, which I spent to end the scene.)
The next session will start with a Transition Scene in Moria. And for anyone who's interested, there's a more technical system-oriented report here, on my Cortex+ LotR thread.
We played our second session of a Middle Earth/LotR game, using Cortex+ Heroic, which is an adaptation of Marvel Heroic RP. Cortex+ uses big dice pools with dice of different sizes, and resolution depends partly on the pips showing and partly on the dice size regardless of pips, so we used Roll a Die (sharing screens via Zoom), which shows the individual dice results (which we need) as well as the total (which isn't relevant for this system). Some rolls were also done the old-fashioned way, with purely verbal reports of the outcomes.
There are four PCs - Gandalf; Nehar, a Dunadan ranger of the north; Mirenlea, a Noldor Elf from Rivendell; and Dwalin, a Dwarven traveller. The session began with them IN PURSUIT OF THE ORCs (a scene distinction, which the players had to wear down in order to catch the Orcs) who were (as a result of the events of the first session) carrying the Palantir of Amon Sul from the north of Eriador where it had been recently discovered, somewhere to the south in the vicinity of Eregion. As they travelled south with the Misty Mountains to their left, ALL THINGS WERE SILENT, WITH A SENSE OF WATCHFULNESS AND FEAR.
There were two antagonists - the Orcs, and also a mysterious presence whom the players (and perhaps the PCs) became increasingly certain was Saruman.
Nehar and Mirenlea tried to help the company bear down on the Orcs. But the Orcs were leaving foul marks of their passing (like the damage to the statue of the king that Frodo saw at the cross-roads in Ithilien). Dwalin found himself dismayed at what he saw (significant emotional stress) and threw away his axe in despaire; while Mirenlea nearly left the party driven by her wrath at the Orcs - only Gandalf's words and example (he made a point of keeping Glamdring sheathed) were able to keep her wrath barely contained (she stressed out with emotional stress, but then Gandalf was able to help her recover so she was still badly stressed but not stressed out).
As the company headed south, there appeared in the sky CREBAIN FROM DUNLAND which threatened the PCs with being WATCHED. (This scene distinction had the rider that, if it was still in play when the PCs arrived in Ost-in-Edhil, they would have a WATCHED scene distinction in the next scene that would grow the Doom Pool when it came into play.) Mirenlea sang a song of weather control to try and summon a storm that would drive them from the sky, but failed. So Dwalin led the company into Moria where they could take shelter from the evil birds.
In THE DEEPS OF MORIA MORIA, the company found themselves split up. Dwalin, having returned to the halls from which his people had been exiled, headed off to explore. He encountered a strange old man, with a walking stick and a lantern, who remarked how rare it is to see on of the Dwarvenfolk in Moria, and asked him to join in a search for gold and trinkets. But Dwalin, unmoved by the Dwarven lust for gold, refused. The old man, frustrated, suggested that he had spent too long in the company of the foolish grey wizard, and then turned Dwalin's armour to rust and tried to clock him on the head with his walking stick. But Dwalin avoided the blow, and was able to escape to one of the ancient armouries, where he found a new axe.
Meanwhile, Nehar and Gandalf found themselves confronted by the Orcs, sho had been reinforced by others from within the depths of Moria - the pursued had become pursuers! They were both hard beset (d12 physical stress each), even when Mirenlea, who had become separated in the halls of Moria hunting Orcs in her wrath, found her way back by following the sounds of combat through the halls. She hurled herself into the fray to draw the Orcs away from Nehar, becoming overwhelmed by her wrath and grief in the process (completing a Milestone in the process by stressing herself out while helping an ally). Gandalf was forced to draw Glamdring again, and to fight with sword in one hand while blasting with fire from Narya.
In this way Gandalf was able to defeat and drive away the Orcs. But such a flagrant display of magic also announced his presence, and someone - perhaps the mysterious stranger! - was able to come and take away the palantir, so that it was not found among the defeated orcs. (Between Mirenlea's deeds of grief and Gandlaf's magic, the doom pool had grown to include 2d12, which I spent to end the scene.)
The next session will start with a Transition Scene in Moria. And for anyone who's interested, there's a more technical system-oriented report here, on my Cortex+ LotR thread.
the Jester
Legend
I ran last night. A group of pcs that is more monstrous than usual for my game- it includes an orc and a kobold- went to root out a grell outpost (I'm using the outpost from 3e's Lords of Madness.) The party fought four grell over three encounters, including one spellcaster with some skeleton minions. They found a pretty good amount of treasure, too.
The Green Hermit
Hero
We probably finished our dungeon. I say probably, because there is still an unexplored room. My players know it, but their characters do not, and we have discovered most of what we were sent to find. The only thing left is a scepter (which isn't even there, but they don't know that). My husband's character was the one that was sent to find it, and he's been napping in a side room. If he wakes up and doesn't believe everybody else truly looked for the scepter, we will go back. However, it has also been proven that the caverns do not always stay cleared and many of the characters are low enough on hit points that they just took a short rest.
We have also successfully kept the replacement characters alive long enough for them to level up to where the original characters were when they went kaput.
The best part of today's game was making a bargain with the roper that not only would we feed him all the kobolds and guard drakes that we killed if he didn't attack us, but that if he let us break the dragon eggs we would let him feast on those as well. (He had made a bargain with the cult, so he couldn't actively attack the kobolds, drakes, or eggs himself.)
We have also successfully kept the replacement characters alive long enough for them to level up to where the original characters were when they went kaput.
The best part of today's game was making a bargain with the roper that not only would we feed him all the kobolds and guard drakes that we killed if he didn't attack us, but that if he let us break the dragon eggs we would let him feast on those as well. (He had made a bargain with the cult, so he couldn't actively attack the kobolds, drakes, or eggs himself.)
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The Green Hermit
Hero
This is when I usually have an auto-save. If it was supposed to be the final battle, though, that's a bit harder of a call.
not-so-newguy
Legend
We finished The Siege of Sukiskyn in B10 Night's Dark Terror. The Red Blade Boss led the final attack just before dawn and the defenders drove off the attack by focusing fire on the Goblin King thus dropping him first which incurred a morale check. Most of the goblins failed their check with the exception of three goblins. Shortly after seeing their comrades flee, the remaining trio threw their weapons to the ground and begged for mercy. Two were executed and the last was saved for interrogation. Using Comprehend Languages, the group discovered that the horses, for which they were initially suppose to escort to Rifflian, had been stolen by the Viper clan. After some ethical and practical debate, the last goblin was executed.
Up to this point the campaign has been a Railroad style campaign, but if your familiar with B10 then you know that it has some sandboxy elements to it. So the session ended very satisfactory for me:
Player: So what are we suppose to do next session?
DM: I don't know. That's up to you.
I'd say the module is working as intended so far
PS We're playing 5e with some House Rules lifted from Into the Unknown supplement.
Up to this point the campaign has been a Railroad style campaign, but if your familiar with B10 then you know that it has some sandboxy elements to it. So the session ended very satisfactory for me:
Player: So what are we suppose to do next session?
DM: I don't know. That's up to you.
I'd say the module is working as intended so far
PS We're playing 5e with some House Rules lifted from Into the Unknown supplement.
OB1
Jedi Master
Had our second session of Frozen Sick on Roll20 (session 1 was the week before). I'd expanded the travel section between the two main adventures to take up a full 4 hour session and get some practice on creating my own maps in Roll20 and to allow the group to focus a bit more on party and NPC interaction. Was a much smoother session than the first as the group is getting used to the steep, steep learning curve with Roll20 (if we weren't also using DDB with the Beyond20 extension I'm positive we would have given up after 1 session).
Highlight of the session was definitely the party beating down a Yeti who'd gotten a surprise round on them, and then the Bugbear/Fighter PC rolling a 23 on his survival check to skin the beast, ended up telling him that he'd created a fur coat that gives him cold resistance when wearing. But they also had great moments on the Longship rowed by Goliaths and avoiding (or at least trying to avoid) the thin ice in Eiselcross.
Left the session just outside the doors to the final dungeon. After next session we will decide whether to keep going in a Wildmount sandbox or switch over to the sandbox Sigil based campaign I'd been working on prior to the pandemic.
Highlight of the session was definitely the party beating down a Yeti who'd gotten a surprise round on them, and then the Bugbear/Fighter PC rolling a 23 on his survival check to skin the beast, ended up telling him that he'd created a fur coat that gives him cold resistance when wearing. But they also had great moments on the Longship rowed by Goliaths and avoiding (or at least trying to avoid) the thin ice in Eiselcross.
Left the session just outside the doors to the final dungeon. After next session we will decide whether to keep going in a Wildmount sandbox or switch over to the sandbox Sigil based campaign I'd been working on prior to the pandemic.
cmad1977
Hero
2nd session of my Al Qadim/Dark Sun/other stuff mashup.
They let the Minotaur warrior who forgets the plan regularly be the first to “sneak” down a well and into a cannibal cavern. First thing he does is light a lantern and alert the entire cave of bloodthirsty.
3 characters KOed, 2 at 1hp and 1 with 7.
Ultimately they made it to the Oasis and intend to spend a week recuperating.
They let the Minotaur warrior who forgets the plan regularly be the first to “sneak” down a well and into a cannibal cavern. First thing he does is light a lantern and alert the entire cave of bloodthirsty.
3 characters KOed, 2 at 1hp and 1 with 7.
Ultimately they made it to the Oasis and intend to spend a week recuperating.
Manbearcat
Legend
Following on from this, we played the Score and Downtime of the above last session.
THE SCORE
The Sparkwright (engineer's guild who manages the infrastructure that keeps the supernatural apocalypse outside from encroaching upon Duskvol) chief administrator of the Lightning Pillar barrier needed the primary module changed out of the Barrowcleft tower (Western wall of the city). He missed an all-important QC check and its failing; reaching critical mass actually (and all hell will break loose if it goes). However, he can't have it done on the books because his negligence will cost him his job and reputation bare minimum.
So the PCs (Smuggler crew) take the job. They're high status with the Sparkwrights (their primary ally chosen at Crew/PC creation is a Sparkwright engineer), but this is going to be a tough job for the low level crew.
Its a big Payout (8 Coins) and Rep gain (due to the differential of Crew and Sparkwright Tier), but that also comes with significantly enhanced difficulty. The Racing Clocks (8 ticks for PC success and 4 ticks for "Critical Mass or The Jig is Up") would be tough and the position of the bulk of Action Rolls would be Desperate (meaning major consequences on complications and failures).
They convince the administrator to arrange for a shindig for the Engineers at the support site while the op goes down, devoting 2 of their 8 Coin Payout to the effort. This throttles back their own Clock from 8 ticks to 6 ticks and will throttle back the bulk of their Action Rolls from Desperate to Risky (normal consequence paradigm).
1) Engagement Roll goes south (grapnel up to a garbage chute on the 3rd floor of the outside of the masonry exterior wall of the U-shaped support structure that surrounds the building) with a pair of 1s (they also got a 2nd Engagement Roll for their Coin investment as the support staff would mostly be serving the shindig).
One tick of the Loss Condition Clock.
2) Support staff member opens the door to the Utility Room they emerge in right as they enter from the chute. She opens the door to fetch the Ectoplasmic lantern just inside and sees a few flitting shadows (so close to the wall, these could actually be phantoms/demons). The Whisper (Warlock type who actually looks like a borderline wraith) distracts her with a portrayal of a phantasm (takes 1 Stress but gives the Lurk +1d to their Action Roll) while the Lurk carefully knocks her unconscious (they don't want a body count). 6 on Prowl = Success.
3) The key highlights beyond that I can think of were as follows:
a) The Warlock's Score loadout included a Spirit Mask and other devices for dealing with the supernatural. When they were on the wood-framed breezeway leading over to the pillar, they were greeted by a Sparkwright engineer who was surveying some framing issues. The Lurk fell back while the Whisper engaged, wearing his Spirit Mask and posing as a Spirit Warden (this masked group collects the bodies of the dead to get them to the crematorium when Duskvol's bells toll...if they fail to recover and creamate the body in time, its spirit is unleashed upon Duskvol).
I (the engineer) asked if he was the Spec Op Warden who was here for an abjure or capture the spirit of the volatile poltergeist child ("Little Petey") that forced them to close down one of the wings of the Lightning Pillar. This plays into the Whisper's vice (which he earns xp for complicating his life with). This was a Devil's Bargain (accept this sidetrack complication that could totally eff up the job) for a bonus die on the social exchange between the Whisper and the engineer NPC (this was their way into the Lightning Pillar...either that or the courtyard...which was now crawling with people coming back from the shindig - a complication from a prior 4/5 roll).
Whisper accepted. This led to a pretty great poltergeist side scene in the R&D/conference wing. Ultimately, the Whisper (i) Attuned with Petey (assuaging him and carrying the little boy out...but earning a complication due to a Desperate Position Roll result 4, throttled back with a Resistance Roll from Haunted Trauma, of a "spook tag-along" for the foreseeable future...one that is now the centerpiece of a Longterm Downtime Project), (ii) bewildered the engineer with his prowess (a critical success, 6 result * 2 on Command Action Roll) such that he brought all of the Spirit Wardens that were on-site and most of the nonessential crew to an alternate wing of the Pillar to tell them the great news of the liberated wing.
b) Because of the above, Skeleton Crew at the beating heart of the Lightning Pillar (where the module that is reaching critical mass is housed). When they arrived, there were 3 NPC engineers in the infrastructure heart working on various tasks. The module was acting funny and the Pillar (which should normally be like a Tesla Coil and constantly on) was blinking in and out at random intervals...sometimes long intervals. Two of them were working on the far end in the corner while the other was sitting on a wood stool, with special goggles, an ectoplasmic bullseye lantern on his head, and tools examining the module through the glass hatch (power of the pillar in the on position..it has to be powered down to remove the bracket, unplug it, plug the new one in).
The PCs decided to wait to see if he would leave. We were at 5 vs 2 on the Clocks (6 ticks vs 4 for win:lose). I conveyed to them the nature of the situation (they already knew due to the mechanics), but I reinforced the fiction with a power down of the pillar. So waiting here, equals Disclaimed Fortune roll to see what happens. 1d6; 1-3 and a major complication for the players, 4-5 some good and some bad, 6 and things go well). 17 % chance was in their favor and a 6 was rolled. When the Pillar powered down (due to the module failing), the examining engineer went to discuss with his other fellow engineers in the corner...something major was happening.
This place is ridiculously loud so conversation is at a yell when you're just a few feet away from a person. The Lurk scurried in with module (he was carrying it so +2 Load for him; 10-15 lbs) and the Whisper's Tinker Tools. The Whisper gave the Lurk his Tinkering Tools he brought as part of his Loadout, Assisted (1 Stress but +1d) by using the Ghost Field to make the engineers conversation more difficult by making them struggle further to perceive each other's words (belaboring their conversation to give ample time). The Lurk Pushed himself (2 Stress and +1d). So the Tinker Action Roll had +1 Position or Effect from the Tools (Lurk chose Risky Position to Controlled) +3d. The Lurk got a 5 max which meant very minor complication. It was going to be a minor Spook manifestation while the Pillar was powered down for the module swap. However, the Lurk didn't want any further issues to deal with (he's allies with the Sparkwrights and the op went well) and wanted a quick and clean getaway, so he Resisted. His Resistance Roll was crap so he ate a bunch of Stress (he's in a bad way...his Downtime effort to Indulge his Vice didn't do enough work to Clear Stress either), but Complication was muted to nothing.
Mission accomplished.
6 Coins, 4 Rep, a bunch of Stress to both PCs, some minor Heat, the fallout of a volatile poltergeist boy in tow as an ongoing complication (but not Haunted Trauma) + now having to deal with his illicit Spirit Mask being renowned after the successful abjure...and he's not an actual Spirit Warden, and some minor Heat.
They didn't pay the "crime boss" of Barrowcleft with their Score take-home of 6 Coin (a matriarch of an ancient farm family...this is the farming and market district who runs in illicit Moonshine operation and has a longstanding Protection Racket to keep crime out of the market), so now they have a ticking Clock with that faction that will inevitably toll at some point.
I don't have time to go over the Downtime phase.
Asisreo
Patron Badass
Okay, so I was a playing Odyssey and I was an Amazonian Ranger. A large six-armed humanoid monster was paralyzed for essentially the entire fight due to hold person. The other npc we were fighting was preoccupied and couldn't threaten the character concentrating on hold person. I, knowing I had advantage, used ensnaring strike since they'd automatically fail the saving throw and take damage and be restrained. Unfortunately, I missed but that's okay it happens sometimes.
Next round, still paralyzed and I'm still concentrating on ensnaring strike so why not attack again? I missed.
So, next round, I had a popsicle, and then I fired, then I missed.
Next round, I was out of popsicles, so I took out a dagger and a throwing weapon that comes back. And then I fired, and I missed. I missed both times. So then I took out another popsicle and I passed out in the snow.
Next round, I woke up with a popsicle in my mouth so then I fired but I missed. Passed out again. Next round I fired, and I actually hit!
So besides passing out and popsicles, that's exactly what happened. I was a whole game grumps reference.
Next round, still paralyzed and I'm still concentrating on ensnaring strike so why not attack again? I missed.
So, next round, I had a popsicle, and then I fired, then I missed.
Next round, I was out of popsicles, so I took out a dagger and a throwing weapon that comes back. And then I fired, and I missed. I missed both times. So then I took out another popsicle and I passed out in the snow.
Next round, I woke up with a popsicle in my mouth so then I fired but I missed. Passed out again. Next round I fired, and I actually hit!
So besides passing out and popsicles, that's exactly what happened. I was a whole game grumps reference.
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