Scarred Lands: None Dare Call Them Heroes (updated 12/07/03)

[jonrog1]

Wow! Excellent story! I'm really enjoying reading this storyhour. It's given me a ton of ideas for my own game, though I'm going to have to "step it up" if I want it to compare to your story!

Two questions:

1.) I'm curious as to how many episodes comprise each actual gaming session. From reading this, I can't tell if the 10 episodes posted here occurred in 1 session or in 10!

Hmm, never really keep track of that. I tend to structure the Story Hours based on the best possible cliffhanger or image rather than sessions. To the best of my recollection:

Session 1: Escape to Cambragia
Sesson 2: Accept the job, clean out the Charduni ...
Session 3: Deal with Belloc, etc.

I think it average out to about 3 posts a session. Not always -- each of the DarkMatter adventures were one-offs, and each consumes multiple postings.

2.) How much of the dialog was actually said by the players, and how much are you writing in later? How different is the story you are posting here from the actual game you run? Are you taking any "artistic license" to make it read better? (Ok, that was really 3 questions. Sorry!)

Thanks for the great story. Looking forward to reading the next episode!

As much diaolog as possible is real. It's a room full of writers, and each character is laden with attitude. Even if it's a tweaked joke, the base comment was always there.

Thanks for the compliment. Now that I think I have some time during the holidays, I'll try to catch up. I'm a year and two new players behind!

 

[joshwitz]

Thanks for the answers! I was curious because I always underestimate how long encounters take, and my group is starting to take the logs from our game and post them here. You seem to pace things well, and I learned some things from reading your posts.

Thanks!

ps - about 6 months ago you asked for a spell point system. Here's the one we've been using in our game. It makes 1st level spell-casters more powerful, but weakens high-level ones. I think that the added flexibility makes up for it, but my players are now ~7th level and starting to grumble. (They liked it well enough at 1st level though!)

http://www.ave6.net/joshwitz/dnd/house_rules/spellpoints.txt

pps - our game is "The Scourge of the Ratmen"

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=70272

 

[caixa]

Oathblades....

Jonrog,

First I want to thank you for the Core! Nicely done, and very, very funny. Can't believe I missed it in theaters.

Now, on to the Oathblades. I took them from you for my own homebrewed campaign. Basically the same at first glance (Bastard sword and OA's Samurai class), except I then changed the OA class around a bit. I've taken the liberty of adding in Monte Cook's Oath feats from Book of Hallowed Might, then developed a Bonus Feats Class List which they get on every third level after seventh (i.e. 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th). Using OA's variant rules concerning Honor, along with some homebrewed ones of my own - we've got a pretty good "western samurai" going (western samurai is the label assigned by one of my players).

All in all - I wanted to thank you, for it was this storyhour that inspired me to include the Oathblades into my own game....a game where would-be Paladins distribute justice with a revolver, where arcane spellcasters focus their power through flintlocks, Spirit-seeing Shamans summon lost ancestors, and where the balance of Law and Chaos hang on the hopes of five simple adventurers far too caught up in the pursuit of gold coins to be bother with such "end of the world" politics (again, their words). Oh, and evil is coming....

Peterson (AKA Caixa the Mycabri)

 

[dpdx]

Great Story Hour. Very cool adaptation of Sunless, and big ups to your players for the resolution.

Now update, and make sure Lucas doesn't find out what you called your baddie.

On edit: rented the Core. Loved the movie, very cool to put a face with a UserID, and DJ Qualls stole every scene he was in, but what a coincidence that every 'incident' happened in or near a Major Population Center of the Western World? Doesn't Djakarta, Nairobi or Sao Paulo get such an attack?

 

[jonrog1]

Great Story Hour. Very cool adaptation of Sunless, and big ups to your players for the resolution.

Now update, and make sure Lucas doesn't find out what you called your baddie.

On edit: rented the Core. Loved the movie, very cool to put a face with a UserID, and DJ Qualls stole every scene he was in, but what a coincidence that every 'incident' happened in or near a Major Population Center of the Western World? Doesn't Djakarta, Nairobi or Sao Paulo get such an attack?

Funnily enough, the lightning storm in the movie originally happened in Buenos Aires in my script. It was changed because the FX guys wanted bigger, more universally recognizable landmarks to blow up.

DJ's role was originally much bigger, but was trimmed for length. In the original script, there was a LOT more conspiracy stuff, not about DESTINY but about how exactly one would go about hiding this sort of thing from the world (one of the reasons I took the job, actually). Sadly, what I considered interesting as far as big media manipulation, suits found very, very boring. We were then occasionally pilloried in the reviews for our unrealistic potrayal of the cover-up. Sigh.

By the way, DJ's character took his handle "Rat" after the Stainless Steel Rat. That speech also went by the wayside in the process.

All in all, the people who got that we were doing a 1960's science hero movie have enjoyed it immensely. I'm gratified you took the time to write. Thanks.

 

[threshel]

By the way, DJ's character took his handle "Rat" after the Stainless Steel Rat. That speech also went by the wayside in the process.

YES! Harrison is awesome! I've read every SSR book multiple times.

It sucks that was cut. Although it probably did save me some embarrassment, as I would have lept to my feet and shouted in joy if I had heard that in the theater.

J
PS I really wish they'd just do the movie already (although they are NOT allowed to screw it up).

 

[dpdx]

Funnily enough, the lightning storm in the movie originally happened in Buenos Aires in my script. It was changed because the FX guys wanted bigger, more universally recognizable landmarks to blow up.

Aw, see, Buenos Aires is almost homage to Heinlein after Starship Troopers. Good choice. I had thought to myself, 'OK, if the Western Power Grid was a smoking ruin because one of those major electrical storms messed with it somewhere in Wyoming, that'd be serious and devastating without being cliché.' But Apocalypse already used Paris, Deep Impact already used NYC, so Rome, London and SF work. Shame I can't identify any Roman landmark besides the Coliseum. But I loves me a good science fiction disaster movie, especially when the CG is up to snuff. And it was, in The Core.

DJ's role was originally much bigger, but was trimmed for length. In the original script, there was a LOT more conspiracy stuff, not about DESTINY but about how exactly one would go about hiding this sort of thing from the world (one of the reasons I took the job, actually). Sadly, what I considered interesting as far as big media manipulation, suits found very, very boring. We were then occasionally pilloried in the reviews for our unrealistic potrayal of the cover-up. Sigh.

I thought Tucci was a little over the top for a guy who was sitting on such a secret. But then again, I don't talk to many 'world-renowned scientists.' Maybe they are.

All in all, the people who got that we were doing a 1960's science hero movie have enjoyed it immensely. I'm gratified you took the time to write. Thanks.

I did, and you're welcome. Now, please update.

 

[DrZombie]

Bugger, reached the end of one of his storyhours again.

 

[dsfriii]

Just found ths story hour and all I have to say is....^&*(**&&^^..(Someones mom just deleted this )

This is great stuff...

Thank you...

 

[dsfriii]

Bump

Bumping because this story hour desires to be on the front page so new people can read (like me...)