Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="SquareKnot" data-source="post: 5440012" data-attributes="member: 79524">The game was this past Saturday (22 Jan). The library predicted around 40 people (based on their showing at an anime event they recently ran) and the game store owner predicted 10 people. Reality split the difference with 21 people in attendance. Most were 12-14, with a few older kids. Interestingly, 9 were girls, 12 were boys. The boys had mostly read fantasy books while several of the girls were writing their own vampire fiction.As people arrived at the event, they picked characters from the pre-gens. The FLGS owner brought a ton of pre-gen cards from some Encounters seasons and game days. This really saved time.The FLGS gave away 4 D&D 4E hardbacks (PHB1 and Forgotten Realms Players Guides were what I could see). Everyone else got a copy of the D&D Comic Book -- with a game store label on it.The intro took about 10 minutes and hit on the key mechanics and mentioned D&D Encounters, then the games started. The game store owner had each DM run their own adventure, but suggested that they focus on undead enemies. Apparently, moral ambiguity over killing the enemies is something he wanted to avoid. That, and angry parents.My adventure featured a ghost that appeared in the center of an isolated mountain town. It demanded that its idol be returned before a magic hourglass (filling with snowflakes) ran out. It then disappeared, leaving the huge glowing hourglass in the town square.The party had to figure out where the idol was as a skill challenge, then fight their way into an icy crypt, facing Chillborn, a Spectre with cold powers, and some skeleton archers. There was a trap that caused an ice wall to appear in front of the party. It slowly filled foot by foot but I ran it real time, so if they hesitated, the wall filled one foot higher. By that time, they knew what the characters could do mostly, but I wanted someone to yell out what to do rather than stare at the character sheets. In a moment of panic, the rogue jammed something into the water spigot and the warlock tried to magically counteract the freezing magic. They ended up with a big ice slick, but were able to continue on.I used tiles (including 3D), minis, and maps (the town was the one from Essentials Monster Vault). I also used props (a bag full of coins with a tiny jade idol hidden in it).My best idea was to use Knowledge Check cards. I went through the adventure and figured out what knowledge checks were likely to occur. I then wrote down what the character would learn on the back of some old business cards. For example, when fighting the Chillborn, I had a card that mentioned when a Chillborn dies, it explodes in an icy blast. When a character made a successful check, I would hand the player the card. This way, the character had to explain to the party what was going on, rather than me just telling the player while everyone else listened. It gets away from the "I tell everyone what the DM just said" kinds of moments. This worked really well to draw out some role-play and let each character shine for a moment. The player would read the card, then say something like "Oh &*%&^" Every other character would immediately know something bad was coming, but it wasn't until the character explained the hideous curse/overwhelming monster power/hidden trap/whatever that the party knew what was going on. I also had cards that said "You don't know anything about this." I only used the failure card once, but the party was sure the player was holding out on them. I highly recommend this approach for beginning role players. Overall, it was a lot of fun. It will be interesting to see if any of these people show up at the game store for Encounters or to buy stuff.Thanks to everyone for your helpful ideas and encouragement.</blockquote>

Verification