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Tales of the RHC Irregulars [Zeitgeist spoilers through Always on Time]
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<blockquote data-quote="Sbodd" data-source="post: 6285294" data-attributes="member: 6710971"><p>So, we had session one of <em>Always on Time</em> - basically just got through the planning montage. (The first hour-plus of the session was spent with PCs leveling up and spending gear; several had gotten nags during the audit about unspent funds. As a nice bit of fluff, Felix's <em>craft arms and armor</em> feat has been deemed to work via sparring; PCs who spar with Felix find their gear gradually being imbued with Caudecus' blessings.)</p><p></p><p>I had to roll my eyes a bit - after Delft's initial orders to keep things on the down-low at the end of <em>Digging for Lies</em>, Pearce's player emailed me between sessions; his PC was going to pump his local contacts for anyone who needed any off-the-records work done or 'alternative sourcing' (theft) of valuables along the route. Doc's player likewise sent along a memo, saying that he'd get in contact with friends (but explicitly not his family) in Trekhom, as well as casino contacts in Nalaam (newly-established backstory: he's a favored patron of the casinos, having squandered a sizable family inheritance there.) </p><p></p><p>I mean, I appreciate the plot hooks, but <em>dang</em>, people, what part of <em>secret mission</em> did you miss? <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /></p><p></p><p>The montage was a bit chaotic. We had two PCs absent, so Tec and Elhaida will be joining one of the groups at the next session (or coming up with their own cover story). I mentioned OOC that whatever plans they made needed to include room for the other two. I mostly kept the skill-challenge details secret - I explained a couple of things (1-week turns, the three goals I was tracking, the party-wide nature of successes on the secrecy/disguise checks), but didn't reveal the mechanics. I'm curious about how others ran this - how much of the mechanics did your players get to see?</p><p></p><p>During the initial planning, Hannah Jierre declared that there was no way she'd be able to stay incognito in Danor, being as she is a (distant) member of the royal family. Doc decided that he'd take a drinking tour in-character, and take Hannah along with; later they decided that Hannah would be presenting Doc to her family as a romantic interest (there wasn't any connection prior to this). Pearce eventually settled on joining them on Doc's drinking tour.</p><p></p><p>The rest of the party settled on trying to find a Risuri diplomat whose entourage they could join; I thought that was an excellent idea, so now I have to come up with a diplomat who's going to Crisillyr, and a reason for that <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /> Later on, Luthor decided instead to set out early and try and land a job on the train; his mercenary background made him a good enough candidate for a security guard, so he's in. </p><p></p><p>Felix spent his first turn checking for spies, and located the watchers successfully. Later, he used established contacts in the docks to recruit help from a local acting troupe with the party's disguises (Diplomacy check, failed the DC - twice!); hired a set of actors to portray the undercover PCs setting out to return to the Apet ziggurat (their established cover story; Diplomacy check; would've failed the DC, but the party decided to be <em>very</em> generous (~50 gp) to the actors, for a nice circumstance bonus). Two more diplomacy checks located the diplomat the party needed, and got his help providing the bogus paperwork.</p><p></p><p>Doc spent most of his time setting up contacts - the aformentioned friends in Trekhom and casino in Nalaam; arranging for business meetings at various breweries along the train (Prof: Brewer); he also spent two weeks working on custom-brewed beers with 'special' effects, one to act as a 'truth serum' and one to act as a sleeping potion.</p><p></p><p>Hannah, since she was concerned, decided to get 'fired' from the RHC. She spent the first week studiously avoiding work, instead poring over Ancient research with her 'roommate' Xambria (Hannah got Xambria's consciousness). I used the 'miller library burned down' news bit after week #1, and Hannah took severe exception to the arsonists' implied threats; she went down to the prison he was being held in, used her RHC credentials to get in, and doused the lizardman in alchemist's fire and acid. This action got her fired from the RHC, which was her planned cover story. (I made sure Delft gave no confirmation afterward that she was just 'fired' and not <em>no, really, fired!</em>, though OOC it's pretty clear.) After that, Hannah sent letters to her family, arranging a chance to introduce her mother to her beau (Doc), and making arrangements to meet with some of her relatives she's on better terms with. She also spent some time securing a rusted iron amulet (the whole party's getting a bit paranoid about negative energy and the Bleak Gate), and studying the Ancients, trying to figure out where the other two known Ziggurats are.</p><p></p><p>Luthor spent time working on paperwork for his cover identity (successful Bluff check), had a few failed checks trying to get a disguise and more information about the train's operations, and then set out for Danor a few weeks early to try and land a job. A successful Profession: Soldier check was enough, and he's now been up and down the route a few times.</p><p></p><p>Pearce started out filing some fake paperwork to feed to the identified moles; he then spent his time working on the party's disguises, and pumping his local contacts for larcenous opportunities. He set up a fake identity (even though plan A is him traveling openly), and spent time getting to know their diplomat's staff, so he's got cover in case he needs to switch identities mid-trip. He spent his last turn getting an RHC contact hired on the train to pass messages between the party's various groups.</p><p></p><p>After 6 turns, I had Delft mention that there had been a few vessels intercepted along their intended route; they could either stick to their current schedule, or leave a week earlier and go around the Yerasol Archipelago entirely. (I wanted to offer an out to avoid the naval encounter, especially since the party had been split already.) The party decided immediately to leave early; Pearce decided to head to Vendricce and make the trip in the reverse direction to get to Beaumont, instead of taking the boat.</p><p></p><p>I've got a lot of homework: work out the diplomacy angle, figure out mechanics for Doc's brews, come up with a reasonable larcenous task for Pearce, and provide more detailed route information for Luthor and Pearce.</p><p></p><p>For the diplomacy item - I'm thinking that Vendricce would be a good site for a Ber/Crisillyr conference; doing that means I could even potentially bring Brakken into the picture (have him board in Cherage from the Bernese embassy there), just to introduce him before part 5. (...and now that I think about it, his bear could potentially end up being fun at some point during this module...). I'm thinking the Risuri diplomat will be acting as a moderator in a trade dispute between Crisillyr and Ber; my initial thought is that Crisillyr has high tariffs on imports from Ber (since the Clergy appears to have a pro-human bias, from the setting documents), that the Bernese would like to get rid of to help their attempts to modernize their economy; I just need to figure out what leverage they'd be using to try and extract concessons.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sbodd, post: 6285294, member: 6710971"] So, we had session one of [I]Always on Time[/I] - basically just got through the planning montage. (The first hour-plus of the session was spent with PCs leveling up and spending gear; several had gotten nags during the audit about unspent funds. As a nice bit of fluff, Felix's [I]craft arms and armor[/I] feat has been deemed to work via sparring; PCs who spar with Felix find their gear gradually being imbued with Caudecus' blessings.) I had to roll my eyes a bit - after Delft's initial orders to keep things on the down-low at the end of [I]Digging for Lies[/I], Pearce's player emailed me between sessions; his PC was going to pump his local contacts for anyone who needed any off-the-records work done or 'alternative sourcing' (theft) of valuables along the route. Doc's player likewise sent along a memo, saying that he'd get in contact with friends (but explicitly not his family) in Trekhom, as well as casino contacts in Nalaam (newly-established backstory: he's a favored patron of the casinos, having squandered a sizable family inheritance there.) I mean, I appreciate the plot hooks, but [I]dang[/I], people, what part of [I]secret mission[/I] did you miss? :p The montage was a bit chaotic. We had two PCs absent, so Tec and Elhaida will be joining one of the groups at the next session (or coming up with their own cover story). I mentioned OOC that whatever plans they made needed to include room for the other two. I mostly kept the skill-challenge details secret - I explained a couple of things (1-week turns, the three goals I was tracking, the party-wide nature of successes on the secrecy/disguise checks), but didn't reveal the mechanics. I'm curious about how others ran this - how much of the mechanics did your players get to see? During the initial planning, Hannah Jierre declared that there was no way she'd be able to stay incognito in Danor, being as she is a (distant) member of the royal family. Doc decided that he'd take a drinking tour in-character, and take Hannah along with; later they decided that Hannah would be presenting Doc to her family as a romantic interest (there wasn't any connection prior to this). Pearce eventually settled on joining them on Doc's drinking tour. The rest of the party settled on trying to find a Risuri diplomat whose entourage they could join; I thought that was an excellent idea, so now I have to come up with a diplomat who's going to Crisillyr, and a reason for that :p Later on, Luthor decided instead to set out early and try and land a job on the train; his mercenary background made him a good enough candidate for a security guard, so he's in. Felix spent his first turn checking for spies, and located the watchers successfully. Later, he used established contacts in the docks to recruit help from a local acting troupe with the party's disguises (Diplomacy check, failed the DC - twice!); hired a set of actors to portray the undercover PCs setting out to return to the Apet ziggurat (their established cover story; Diplomacy check; would've failed the DC, but the party decided to be [I]very[/I] generous (~50 gp) to the actors, for a nice circumstance bonus). Two more diplomacy checks located the diplomat the party needed, and got his help providing the bogus paperwork. Doc spent most of his time setting up contacts - the aformentioned friends in Trekhom and casino in Nalaam; arranging for business meetings at various breweries along the train (Prof: Brewer); he also spent two weeks working on custom-brewed beers with 'special' effects, one to act as a 'truth serum' and one to act as a sleeping potion. Hannah, since she was concerned, decided to get 'fired' from the RHC. She spent the first week studiously avoiding work, instead poring over Ancient research with her 'roommate' Xambria (Hannah got Xambria's consciousness). I used the 'miller library burned down' news bit after week #1, and Hannah took severe exception to the arsonists' implied threats; she went down to the prison he was being held in, used her RHC credentials to get in, and doused the lizardman in alchemist's fire and acid. This action got her fired from the RHC, which was her planned cover story. (I made sure Delft gave no confirmation afterward that she was just 'fired' and not [I]no, really, fired![/I], though OOC it's pretty clear.) After that, Hannah sent letters to her family, arranging a chance to introduce her mother to her beau (Doc), and making arrangements to meet with some of her relatives she's on better terms with. She also spent some time securing a rusted iron amulet (the whole party's getting a bit paranoid about negative energy and the Bleak Gate), and studying the Ancients, trying to figure out where the other two known Ziggurats are. Luthor spent time working on paperwork for his cover identity (successful Bluff check), had a few failed checks trying to get a disguise and more information about the train's operations, and then set out for Danor a few weeks early to try and land a job. A successful Profession: Soldier check was enough, and he's now been up and down the route a few times. Pearce started out filing some fake paperwork to feed to the identified moles; he then spent his time working on the party's disguises, and pumping his local contacts for larcenous opportunities. He set up a fake identity (even though plan A is him traveling openly), and spent time getting to know their diplomat's staff, so he's got cover in case he needs to switch identities mid-trip. He spent his last turn getting an RHC contact hired on the train to pass messages between the party's various groups. After 6 turns, I had Delft mention that there had been a few vessels intercepted along their intended route; they could either stick to their current schedule, or leave a week earlier and go around the Yerasol Archipelago entirely. (I wanted to offer an out to avoid the naval encounter, especially since the party had been split already.) The party decided immediately to leave early; Pearce decided to head to Vendricce and make the trip in the reverse direction to get to Beaumont, instead of taking the boat. I've got a lot of homework: work out the diplomacy angle, figure out mechanics for Doc's brews, come up with a reasonable larcenous task for Pearce, and provide more detailed route information for Luthor and Pearce. For the diplomacy item - I'm thinking that Vendricce would be a good site for a Ber/Crisillyr conference; doing that means I could even potentially bring Brakken into the picture (have him board in Cherage from the Bernese embassy there), just to introduce him before part 5. (...and now that I think about it, his bear could potentially end up being fun at some point during this module...). I'm thinking the Risuri diplomat will be acting as a moderator in a trade dispute between Crisillyr and Ber; my initial thought is that Crisillyr has high tariffs on imports from Ber (since the Clergy appears to have a pro-human bias, from the setting documents), that the Bernese would like to get rid of to help their attempts to modernize their economy; I just need to figure out what leverage they'd be using to try and extract concessons. [/QUOTE]
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Tales of the RHC Irregulars [Zeitgeist spoilers through Always on Time]
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