D&D 5E Phandelver first game experience

[Gilladian]

Loved you write up of the dragon alliance. My pcs didn't do so well, but I had dropped the cultists. Instead the dragon was hunting for some treasure his mother had left hidden here. He now thinks the pcs are his runaway slaves.

 

[Nebulous]

I like hearing how other groups can take the same scenario and go in wildly different directions.

 

[Nebulous]

Interesting. After killing a squad of hobgoblins outside the castle, the party learns that the dwarf they're looking for isn't there. And they leave the castle and head straight to Wave Echo. Just skipped everything. Not a problem, but i thought they'd want to loot it.

 

[Nebulous]

Session #8. Wave Echo Cave begins!


https://app.box.com/s/dtzny9k8l8jjvvsyw606

 

[Agglomérante]

Session #8. Wave Echo Cave begins!


https://app.box.com/s/dtzny9k8l8jjvvsyw606

That's an excellent plan for an escaped Iarno!

I do believe Iarno's fate would make for an excellent thread.

 

[Nebulous]

That's an excellent plan for an escaped Iarno!

I do believe Iarno's fate would make for an excellent thread.

Thanks. It came to me abruptly, so I'm glad we had a break between sessions or it would have just been a random human slave.

 

[Agglomérante]

Thanks. It came to me abruptly, so I'm glad we had a break between sessions or it would have just been a random human slave.

I had a rather nice moment at the table when I asked the elven paladin to roll percentage to determine how well he knew the four decapitated elves brought back by that hunting party of hobgoblins. He rolled 96%, so I ruled they were three cousins out with a house servant hunting deer. "They were hunting deer," said the hobgoblin licking his blade, "we were hunting them." Tosses heads.

It was an excellent battle, where we rolled initiative every round -- which really throws combat for a loop. Try it if you gave it up a while ago. We have a very efficient tracking system with whiteboard chips on magnets, so it's quick.

 

[Nebulous]

It was an excellent battle, where we rolled initiative every round -- which really throws combat for a loop. Try it if you gave it up a while ago. We have a very efficient tracking system with whiteboard chips on magnets, so it's quick.

Yeah, we used a magnetic white chip board all through 4e. It's packed away somewhere now. We've done okay without it. Last night I almost used the passive Initiative + Speed Factor from the DMG, but didn't get around to it and we did the old static initiative roll.

Hmm. Initiative every round. So just for PCs or monsters too? I guess to be fair it would have to be both sides. Or just roll once for each side and modify by Dex every round. Worth trying. Certainly throws in some unpredictability.

I've found, at least at low level, who goes first and who gets the jump on who is often the difference between life and death.

 

[Agglomérante]

Yeah, we used a magnetic white chip board all through 4e. It's packed away somewhere now. We've done okay without it.

We've got a couple of these things in our group -- initiative walls with a metal bar running the length of it for attaching magnetized white chip board:

Last night I almost used the passive Initiative + Speed Factor from the DMG, but didn't get around to it and we did the old static initiative roll.

My group reluctantly tried old school speed factor because I was soooo keen to try it again, but having to write down your plan bombed. People just felt stupidly constrained to an action. But rolling initiative every round was a hit and we kept it.

Hmm. Initiative every round. So just for PCs or monsters too? I guess to be fair it would have to be both sides. Or just roll once for each side and modify by Dex every round. Worth trying. Certainly throws in some unpredictability.

Everybody rolls again! But I do monsters in groups. A super important d20 roll every round? Everybody loves it. It retrieves that old school high profile that the initiative roll used to have, because ...

I've found, at least at low level, who goes first and who gets the jump on who is often the difference between life and death.

... precisily! And when you change that up each round, it cranks the tension. I probably should roll for each monster when there are fewer critters than party members.

 

[Nebulous]

I just might do it!