I killed our campaign

[der_kluge]

Well, that's too bad, I guess, but it doesn't sound like you're really disapointed in the outcome. I can see people getting sick of WLD after a period of time. Our first 3e campaign had a big dungeon in it that we spent considerable time in, and by the time it was done, we were totally ready to leave the thing. I'll be surprised if anyone finishes the entire WLD while maintaining their sanity.

That aside, it does sound like the DM has some monty haul problems he needs to work on if you guys can take a 659 hit point chimera. But, although it sounds like it might be a CR 20 creature, the CR system isn't precise, and so adding hit points to a creature doesn't necessarily make it invincible. It just means that it has a ton of hit points, and thus takes longer to kill.

 

[Gentlegamer]

Cool. Isn't that game kinda deadly? I only played once and I felt like a sort of "dungeon in reverse" where my character was the encounter area and the slimy alien was the adventurer. I hope it got a lot of Xp for eating my scientist. I'd like to think that somewhere the alien is building a stronghold and attracting followers.

*clap* *clap* *clap*

This should be a testimonial cover blurb for that game . . .

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I also killed a campaign recently. Though it only had a couple of hit points, and was poisoned.

It was an all-evil ravenloft game (not a good idea, really). Very little equipment, but gestalt charakters. Monster races were possible. You can guess that the characters weren't really all that weak (we also had 35 PB), and one player seemed to try everything to get his power DC's and AC to godlike levels (mind flayer telepath/psychic warrior), and would exhaust his power points at a lightning-fast rate and then whine for rest.

Anyway, the DM seemed to be unable to get to us with the challenges, even when he'd equip the enemy with "drow items" (strong stuff they could use but that would disappear).

Finally, I played a mage/rogue (after we retired all non-standard characters and Aeon, my succubus mindblade left the party), and after I managed to get the whole party invisible (the kind that doesn't wear off after attacking), and then paralyzing 2 of 4 of our enemies for a minute (and one other got stunned), he hust said "I don't want that campaign any more.*


And as you, I'm relieved by it, I think. The DM really was unable to deal with resourceful (high-leveled, high-powered) characters. He'd play against us, would railroad us and metagame us so we couldn't use our powers when it wouldn't be convenient for him. Now we start with good characters, with 30 points, level 3 and less-than normal character wealth. I wonder how long he can keep it up (and I'm thinking of quitting as his stile doesn't really suit me. Only problem is, it's one of my two only gaming circles, and the other will dissolve later that year, so I might end up without any game).


(edit)
* The best part was that
- The Elements of Magic spell system was still in its trial period. I liked it, wanted to test it, and told him that I'll play a mage, since I had to make a new character, anyway. We agreed that if it wouldn't fit, we'd take it out immediately.
- He got my spell book - the list with my signature spells and some other stuff I wrote up and could cast with my spell lists - in advance and could have checked on the spells to see stuff like "paralyze up to 10 target creatures for 1 minute" in advance. He chose not to do that but instead to complain later.

 

[Storm Raven]

*latest example: In the WLD game, we have a bowl of water elemental summoning. You get better monsters with salt water. He claims we should be able to put a piece of food (e.g., beef jerky) in the water and have salt water (since the jerky is salty) and, thus, be able to conjure a much stronger elemental. The DM said no. I (player of the PC with the bowl) said no. And he whined so much that the DM finally said, "Yes" (just to shut him up). But I still refused to do it.

If I were DM, I would have pointed out to the player that it works better with sea water, not just salt-water (an added limitation I would place just to deal with this sort of thing). How does the bowl know the water came from the sea and isn't just water with salt added? That's the nature of magic.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Thanks for all the thoughts.

I think CoC will be o.k. If it's a problem (meta-gaming), I'll just kill that campaign, too. It'll be easier since I'm the Keeper (yep, we're using BRP CoC, not D20).

Barendd - was the WLD responsible for making your characters too powerful at 9th level, or was it the DM?

No, I think it was a combination of things. First, the DM "restricted" the game to WotC stuff only. That opens up a lot of power right there. Then, three of us rolled really well for stats. We all used the same dice and rolled in front of the DM, so it was fair--just three of us kicked butt on the stats. Two of us took Leadership. The power-gamer made the characters for one of the other players, who took Leadership and played a Gnome wizard/maester with a human/wereboar barbarian for his wife.

Some of the combats were tough, and for a while I thought it would be like when we started--death was a real possiblity. But then the DM would get unlucky die rolls (missing on 5 out of 6 attacks) or we would get very lucky die rolls (the Ogre barbarian is at -9 and he stabalizes; the Pixie Warmage (with all of 29 hp) manages to cast Otto's Irresitable Dance on the big honkin' chimera--that was just damn lucky and gave us 3 or 4 rounds of free attacks on it--otherwise, it would easily have killed 3-4 party members out of 8 (5 PCs, 2 cohorts, one effigy)).

Well, that's too bad, I guess, but it doesn't sound like you're really disapointed in the outcome. I can see people getting sick of WLD after a period of time. Our first 3e campaign had a big dungeon in it that we spent considerable time in, and by the time it was done, we were totally ready to leave the thing. I'll be surprised if anyone finishes the entire WLD while maintaining their sanity.

I am a little disappointed, since I've wanted to take a character from 1st to 20th level in 3rd edition, but it never works out (a TPK due to a DM mistake; now this). And we also had a lot of fun at the beginning (you know--one encounter, rest for the night, one encounter, rest for the night--the usual first level silliness). And the second or third level we did in WLD was fantastic (the level with the outpost)--great role-playings, fun/scary combats, etc. But this level just seemed to denigrate into an "exercise in number crunching." The fighters hit, the clerics heal (even remotely, through Greater Status), the bad guy goes down. Even the Otyugh monk.

That aside, it does sound like the DM has some monty haul problems

No, I don't think he did. He left the treasure pretty much as what's in the WLD--which is a lot of masterwork items and +1 items. Which was really exciting when we were 1st and 2nd level. He also slowed down the xp a lot. He said that if he gave us all the xp for level 1, we would have been much too high (8th level, maybe?) at the end of just that one level. So he just had us level up once at the end of each level (and ocassionally once in the middle of a level)--that would have taken us from 1 to 20 while going through the 16 levels of the dungeon.

Of course, the "any WotC product allowed" was sort of a Monty Haul buffet with regards to classes and feats. And, yes, I ate heartily at that feast (as did others)! (Gnome Cleric with a few minor Exalted feats--I was hoping for a heoric death and then Risen Martyr; Pixie Spellfire Wielder).

If anything, it seems Cthulhu has even greater tendency to metagame knowledge intruding than D&D. You already know that the premise of the game is to kill you, so you play completely wacky to try and survive as long as you can.

It's just a personal thing. Some people play that way, and it's difficult to make it stop.

We will see. I remain optimistic. And if it doesn't work out, well a fishing trip near Devil Reef should do the trick! I'm planning on starting slowly, before getting them immersed in a longer story arc. Everyone (even the very new role player, the power gamer, and the young high school student) seem excited about CoC. They're ready for something different, and some of them have expressed an interest in a "more role-play less combat" game. So, hopefully, this will work.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

See you next week.

Thanks for the session. I feel better already.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

If I were DM, I would have pointed out to the player that it works better with sea water, not just salt-water (an added limitation I would place just to deal with this sort of thing). How does the bowl know the water came from the sea and isn't just water with salt added? That's the nature of magic.

Right. And most of us were fine with that. I mean, god forbid we're not even more powerful. :\

Though it was partly just dumb luck, we were walking through WLD. We didn't need more power. And using beef jerky (or salt tack or whatever) to cheese-weasel more power was just ludicrous. I think I even told him he had left the land of "cheese-weasel" and was now a "cheese dire weasel"

 

[Jaws]

We will see. I remain optimistic. And if it doesn't work out, well a fishing trip near Devil Reef should do the trick! I'm planning on starting slowly, before getting them immersed in a longer story arc. Everyone (even the very new role player, the power gamer, and the young high school student) seem excited about CoC. They're ready for something different, and some of them have expressed an interest in a "more role-play less combat" game. So, hopefully, this will work.

Man, I wish I could play. I haven't played CoC in years.


Peace and smiles

j.

 

[Mercule]

How much salt does it take to make salt water? What about beef bullion cubes? Does the beef flavor from the jerky do something to the elemental?

I like this. A broth elemental.

PC: And, then the elemental attacked.
Bard: What kind of elemental?
PC: Urm... Well, a liquid one.
Bard: Oh. So it was a water elemental, then?
PC: Not exactly.
Bard: Must have been one of those nasty blood elementals.
PC: Not quite.
Bard: So, what was it made of, then?
PC: Um.... Well... It was kinda beef-flavored.
Bard: Bard flavored? WTF?
PC: Yeah, it was pretty much made out of beef broth.
Bard: Okay, this'll be a fun story to write.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Man, I wish I could play. I haven't played CoC in years.


Peace and smiles

j.

Joe, you are welcome to join the game! We're starting on Monday, May 2. Email me if you want to join.