samursus
Explorer
Last night was the first game in my WotBS Campaign. Just thought I would share some of the highlights for anyone starting it themselves.
First of all we have 3 PC's, and I used the DMG 2 Companion rules to have a 5 character party, allowing me to use the encounters as written. After seeing them in action I can honestly endorse this method. I have 2 of the players control the extra 2 Companions in combat, but I control them outside of combat. I created them with the DDI Monster Builder and printed them out, which was only about 3/4 of a page.
Because of the simplified character sheets, they are quite easy to run as a second character.
I had 1 player who had read the Player's Guide, but the other 2 hadn't got around to it, but I REALLY wanted the players to know the setting flavour as it one main draws for me and the reason I chose WotBS.
So I decided to roleplay the time from the Emperor's disappearance to the beginning of the module, using this time to develop backstories for the characters and have them experience the drama unfold. I kinda did it in 4-5 day chunks...revealing the events in the Player's Guide as they happened and affect the residents of Gate Pass. This bit took us about 5 hours! Even without a single combat the players loved it. I also had the characters do a 2 week scouting mission to the West of behalf of a friend who was a member of the Resistance. So it was they who first discovered the presence of the invading Ragesian army; as well as giving them their first look at the Black Horses and their tactics. This worked really well when in the first combat they saw the insignia of their attackers. This also gave me a chance to give the Player's a natural segue into the Resistance, as by now they were so wrapped up in the unfolding events, it was a no-brainer for them to join... which made things a bit easier to initiate.
I must really commend the writer's and the WotBS team for a rich, exciting backdrop. As for most others, the first combat encounter was easy, but the series of encounters that immediately followed really shone. I could see the tension in my players faces as they ran through the district, fires and terrified people everywhere, trying to get to where they needed to go, and being constantly delayed by people in need!
And man! the 2 Arcane characters in the party are SCARED of the Inquisitors and the Scourge! They want to high tail it ASAP!
I also really enjoyed the information supplied for Kalthor, as it gave my players a very memorable conservation and end to the first combat...
About the Companion characters... I really took advantage of the advice on them in the DMG2. I used them to inject some story elements without railroading the players. And it even helped one of my new-to-RPGs players flesh out her own character, as I made the companion her aunt. It helps to have memorable personalities if you can pull it off, and in my case, helps demonstrate to the newbies ways to flesh out their own characters and converse in character.
First time Dm'ing 4e and first time Dm'ing in at least 10 years. I must say I really liked how easy it was to run the out-of-combat stuff without a ton of rules to adhere to. I used the skill checks to indicate levels of success rather than win/lose, preferring to let my players use their imaginations more freely. I think I will end up converting any actual skill challenges to Obsidians SKill Challenge system though.
All in all a great start, with some room for improvement on my part and a greater study of the tactical encounters.
First of all we have 3 PC's, and I used the DMG 2 Companion rules to have a 5 character party, allowing me to use the encounters as written. After seeing them in action I can honestly endorse this method. I have 2 of the players control the extra 2 Companions in combat, but I control them outside of combat. I created them with the DDI Monster Builder and printed them out, which was only about 3/4 of a page.
Because of the simplified character sheets, they are quite easy to run as a second character.
I had 1 player who had read the Player's Guide, but the other 2 hadn't got around to it, but I REALLY wanted the players to know the setting flavour as it one main draws for me and the reason I chose WotBS.
So I decided to roleplay the time from the Emperor's disappearance to the beginning of the module, using this time to develop backstories for the characters and have them experience the drama unfold. I kinda did it in 4-5 day chunks...revealing the events in the Player's Guide as they happened and affect the residents of Gate Pass. This bit took us about 5 hours! Even without a single combat the players loved it. I also had the characters do a 2 week scouting mission to the West of behalf of a friend who was a member of the Resistance. So it was they who first discovered the presence of the invading Ragesian army; as well as giving them their first look at the Black Horses and their tactics. This worked really well when in the first combat they saw the insignia of their attackers. This also gave me a chance to give the Player's a natural segue into the Resistance, as by now they were so wrapped up in the unfolding events, it was a no-brainer for them to join... which made things a bit easier to initiate.
I must really commend the writer's and the WotBS team for a rich, exciting backdrop. As for most others, the first combat encounter was easy, but the series of encounters that immediately followed really shone. I could see the tension in my players faces as they ran through the district, fires and terrified people everywhere, trying to get to where they needed to go, and being constantly delayed by people in need!
And man! the 2 Arcane characters in the party are SCARED of the Inquisitors and the Scourge! They want to high tail it ASAP!
I also really enjoyed the information supplied for Kalthor, as it gave my players a very memorable conservation and end to the first combat...
About the Companion characters... I really took advantage of the advice on them in the DMG2. I used them to inject some story elements without railroading the players. And it even helped one of my new-to-RPGs players flesh out her own character, as I made the companion her aunt. It helps to have memorable personalities if you can pull it off, and in my case, helps demonstrate to the newbies ways to flesh out their own characters and converse in character.
First time Dm'ing 4e and first time Dm'ing in at least 10 years. I must say I really liked how easy it was to run the out-of-combat stuff without a ton of rules to adhere to. I used the skill checks to indicate levels of success rather than win/lose, preferring to let my players use their imaginations more freely. I think I will end up converting any actual skill challenges to Obsidians SKill Challenge system though.
All in all a great start, with some room for improvement on my part and a greater study of the tactical encounters.
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