Question for Piratecat: Any tips for running OSM? [SPOILERS]

[Grim]

I didn't quite know where to put this, but I figured puting it in general would get your attention...

I'm going to be running Of Sound Mind tommorrow afternoon, and I was wondering if there were any tips its creator could share on how to make it... super-awsome.

 

[Piratecat]

I just noticed this as I was headed for bed. Check back in the am!

 

[Grim]

Will do! Thanks!

 

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

While I'm hardly P-Kitty, I DID run the adventure at the second EN Chicago Gameday.... anyhow.... My best advice is to listen to all of the little boxed text that he throws in with DMing advice--it's pure GOLD.

Any questions for this little mouse while the cat's away?

 

[Grim]

how quickly did your PCs "connect the dots" when it came to destroying the stone? Did you drop them any hints?

And what was the aftermath like? Kill any townspeople? Any goblins escape?

 

[paulewaug]

warning (spoilers!) oh course...duh!

Hey, I just started running this adventure.

The hook for my Players is that a couple of the NPCs they know are from Bellhold, one of them has become a "friend of the group" and she told them about her sleeping well while she was in town (they met away from town and have just now headed there BTW) saying that her dreams were "haunted by a dark presence."
The PCs have just arrived and checked into the inn and had dinner. They think something is stalking the town and that it is after her, one of the pcs is planning on stay up and keeping watch all night in her room while she sleeps. heh heh

The next morning they plan on going around town and searching for information, they are aware that there are currently no wizards in town and that there are seldom any actual clerics there either. (None are there currently.)

Oh and they rounded up the horses on the way into town and declined Othic's invitaion to stay the night on the farm. But they do have plans to meet him for breakfast.

They have found out about the nightmares keeping everyone from sleeping properly and wondered about Othic's happy demeanor and the fact the he did not comment on this.
They know about the missing children and that the horses "wandered off" for a while.

They are following the "Adventure Path" and I have tied them together with the idea that "Copperdeath" is "Ashardalon"
although they have only just started to figure this out,
(Only one of the players has really spoken to me about this idea. if the others have thought anything about this they haven't said. But they are more "we kill stuff players." (Including a resolute "I wanna go up levels" player... but 2 of the others are pretty good at getting into character and the 'newbie' player has shown the most interest in the plot of what is going on in the world )

I have found the advice in the mod, about raising the levels and changing out the psionics to be very useful! Overall it is a wonderfully written module!
Bellhold is going to be a great place to have around.
Good luck with it!
I am looking forward to P-kitty's advice-

 

[hong]

1) Don't fall off.



Oops! Sorry! That's a tip for climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. Never mind.

 

[Piratecat]

Actually, Hong, that's good advice for OSM too.

[SPOILERS APLENTY]


1. This is a better 2nd lvl module than 1st. Some of the encounters can be quite deadly, especially if your players aren't too tactical. The fight in Copperdeath's old home particularly springs to mind.

2. The goblins should have a big pile of ropes and rope ladders piled in the mountain-side entranceway. It lets the PCs get safely down the mountain fairly easily, unless they need to go chat with our friend at the base of the waterfall again.

3. One of the goblins should also have a magical or psionic wand (dorje) of levitation... either that, or those damn cows in the lair are good at mountain climbing. For extra fun, make it a psionic dorje, and make it vaguely intelligent with a passion for being high up in the air ("use me! We can get higher!") and a fear of being used ("nooo! Another charge gone! I'm dyiiiing!"). Fun for the whole group.

4. If they try to dig out a golem, have it try to attack them (with one arm, probably ineffectually) while they're still digging. That might give them the idea.

5. If the entry platform is going to give way, have it groan and creak a bit first.

6. The horses are not so much designed to beat the PCs in combat as they are designed to set the mood and scare the bejeezus out of them. Use them appropriately.

I think that's a good quick summary. Thanks for the kind words, and have a great time!

 

[drnuncheon]

For more tips, read what other people have done in ENworld's wonderful story hour forum. There's one called 'Tales of a Dying World' that uses OSM...

J
pimping

 

[JoeBlank]

An older thread in which PC offered some helpful advice for OSM:

Of Sound Mind

This certainly helped me. Some of the advice concerns the fact that I was running the module on OpenRPG, rather than in person, but much of the info would be helpful either way.

Have fun!