We ran Gem and the Staff (old D&D module) this weekend and it was well received. Anyone done anything like that with 3.5? I was thinking it would actually be a great concept for a modern/future/spy adventure.
The concept is you have one DM and one player. The character has to complete the scenario in 30 minutes (real time) and each encounter in the scenario is scored according to some pre-arranged set of criteria. At the end of 30 minutes, the scenario ends (or when the character is killed/captured or completes whatever task is set up for the scenario -- whichever comes first), and the player gets a score. Several players run through the same, or similar scenarios and compare scores.
The cool thing about it was that it added a level of intensity that you don't always get in a D&D game. There was no fooling around investigating everything (or your time runs out) and you can run several people through it in a typical 4-hour block of gaming time.
Oh, and the adventure includes a set of scale player maps for each encounter, so the DM doesn't have to spend time drawing. Seems perfect for 3.5, actually.
The downside is that it's one character, and it might take some time to develop so the encounters are surmountable for said character... Also, pre-gen characters generally suck, but this one wasn't too bad.
The concept is you have one DM and one player. The character has to complete the scenario in 30 minutes (real time) and each encounter in the scenario is scored according to some pre-arranged set of criteria. At the end of 30 minutes, the scenario ends (or when the character is killed/captured or completes whatever task is set up for the scenario -- whichever comes first), and the player gets a score. Several players run through the same, or similar scenarios and compare scores.
The cool thing about it was that it added a level of intensity that you don't always get in a D&D game. There was no fooling around investigating everything (or your time runs out) and you can run several people through it in a typical 4-hour block of gaming time.
Oh, and the adventure includes a set of scale player maps for each encounter, so the DM doesn't have to spend time drawing. Seems perfect for 3.5, actually.
The downside is that it's one character, and it might take some time to develop so the encounters are surmountable for said character... Also, pre-gen characters generally suck, but this one wasn't too bad.
