Hey everybody! Long story short, I'll be running SS and have some basic questions I need advice on. Sorry if some of these are really simple, but I don't have a lot of RPG experience - but I really love the idea of GMing one of these great stories!
Anyway, here's my questions!
Good questions!
Fellow Passenger NPCs:- Do I share the attitude and moral levels to my players? As well as what to do about it?
I don't think there's really any hard-fast rules on these questions you asked. My answers are how I'd do it.
Generally, saying "This NPC is currently indifferent and shaken" is not as game friendly as saying something more like "This NPC doesn't really seem to trust your group yet. They also seem on edged, you notice that they jump a bit at most noises from the jungle." Liven it up a bit, it helps to bring people into the world more. If you get into the habit of just listing things in game terms, your players will begin just thinking in game terms. Which is a) not as much fun usually and b) can actually lead to problems.
- Do I explain the personal quests and boons?
Again, I'd suggest you do this in game. Once you they make an NPC friendly, that NPC says "Hey, btw since we're friends now, I'll let you in on a little secret, I have this hear treasure map..." etc etc. Once the PCs accomplish it, you inform "He thanks you greatly and also teaches you a few things about blah blah blah" etc. After one NPC gives them a boon, most parties will quickly figure out that the other NPCs may do so as well.
- Do I explain the XP gained by helping them and keeping them alive to be rescued?
Same. If you say "Here's 5 people, if you keep them alive you'll get X XP at the end." Not really necessary and takes their mind out of the game. At the end of the adventure, you reward them the XP and tell them why. If it's a novice group and they didn't really think about the NPCs and let them all die, you can say "Here's the xp for this and that, you would have gotten more but you didn't keep the other people alive" Lesson learned. (:
Camp Life / Survival:- Do I explain the specific roles around camp, or must they ask?
When they are setting up their camp, I'd just pick each NPC who is indifferent or better and say, "This one over here says that they'd like to help out, they're good at either doing this or that, which ever you think is best they'll do"
- Do I explain the food/water necessary to survive, or must they guess?
This is something that the characters would know (that they need to eat and drink water to not die) so yes this information should be given. Let them know how much water they need (or hand wave it off if someone has create water) and that they need to hunt or scavenge for food as well.
- Must they return to the camp each night, or set up new ones, as they explore?
There's no need to return to camp each night, they don't really need a camp at all, it's just much better with one. And more fun too. (: As they move further and further out, they may not have the time to return to camp, which then increases their chances of wandering encounters and also higher chance of getting a disease. Then camp starts to feel more like home. Yes, there's no reason that couldn't set up another camp, the book mentions how long it takes to set up a camp I believe, but that's a lot of time too. You may want to add time to each addition camp as it becomes harder and harder to find adequate supplies. Or at least left over supplies.
- After the first couple nights – do you continue with the minutia of survival, disease and camping or just play through it? Or, at what point do you move past this, if ever?
I believe that the idea of the first adventure is that yes, you're playing through day by day, if not hour by hour. But, fun is the point. If it's too much to track for a new DM or your players aren't having a good time, feel free to change it. Look through this thread I believe other people have already posted up some resources that they've created which will make your job as a DM easier.
- At what rate does the group traverse through the jungle? ie, how do I keep track of time (simply) while exploring?
The answers in the book (not looking at it right now) but I believe it says that they can travel either 1 mile every 2 hours or was that 2 miles every hour...darn dyslexia! (: Anyway, it's one or the other and it's near the beginning of the book. Good luck and have fun!
Got ninja'd by a little plastic warrior mini...oh the same...;)
Only thing I would add, is I would tell the party there will be extra XP for keeping the NPCs alive. The amount would be kept secret, and I would try to not make a big deal about it, but just let them know. Were I a player in this, unless I was playing someone overly goody-goody, I would never really think of it, and probably be a little annoyed to find out about it later. (so my true neutral ranger missed out on a chance to get XP by not holding the hand of a bunch of cry baby city folk?)
See, that's the reason why I wouldn't tell them. (:
True Neutral who thinks of the NPCs as a bunch of cry baby city folk probably shouldn't care. Dangling XP in front of the Players can change how the Characters react. But too each his own as well and everyone has different playing styles. (: So really Stomp you can get all the advice that you want but it's mostly going to be, whatever you and your friends like best go for it. (:
I agree with TZ that everyone will do it differently, and I can only add what I did.
NPC attitudes and morale were expressed to the players strictly as role playing elements. Morale checks were allowed after good roleplaying attempts to engage the npcs, but only the first attempt of the day counted. I awarded a small bonus to attempts that specifically played on story elements learned from the npcs.
I award experience after every session, so the PCs learned that they gained experience when they first befriended Gelik. I handled it as a story award, which I often give out for good roleplaying, like the award I gave them for burying the dead crew members recovered from the wreckage. The quests and boons all came out in roleplaying.
I did explain the camp mechanics as a metagame element since the roles needed to be chosen. But I explained how each role contributes but left the bonuses numbers out of the discussion. Except the Hunter, food gathering was discussed in how the hunter differed just using the Survival skill.
There is a chart on this forum that really helps track weather/health/morale/and wandering monsters hourly. Very Helpful! Usually my days move in four hour shifts unless the group is on the move. Trailblazing in the jungle is at 1/2 mile an hour or on an established trail at 2 miles an hour. There is a map available on this forum that placed a hex grid over the map, and the grid is close enough to call it a 1/2 mile per hex scale. Very Helpful!
The camp is not mandatory, and really depends on if the group feels it is getting a benefit from it. Red Ache almost killed Aerys to the point that they used a potion of cure disease on her (they have not yet learned that this cured her alcoholism as a bonus. They hid her rum jug, but she has not yet asked for it and they are chalking it up to her weakened condition.) and now a party member is about to show symptoms. Recovering from disease and recovering ability damage from the numerous poisonous creatures have been big reasons to keep the party in camp for a full day occasionally. Other days the PCs trailblaze with the npcs (Sasha) following their trail while carrying the camp supplies and then everyone setting a camp at the end of the day (there is enough Survival skill in the party to knock the time down to a reasonable effort at the end of the day.
Hope that helps, and definitely look at the resources others have provided here on the site.
I agree that it should be more something for the good party members to come up with and earn XP...though is there anything in there for non good party members to earn XP for acting on their alignments?
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We're starting next week!
I think I'm square on most things, but had one major question on treasure.
How is this handled on an AP? I picked up the Serpent's Skull Item cards, to sprinkle themey stuff throughout that they might find. But how is treasure handled in general?
I don't really see Jungle Goats carrying gold or anything... :)
You are right the creatures on the Island do not have treasures. The cannibles do. So do some of the wrecks. I am sure if you total out the 'Treasure' entries in the adventure, they will equal the amount need to raise the party to the correct wealth for 4th level characters.
We're starting next week!
I think I'm square on most things, but had one major question on treasure.
How is this handled on an AP? I picked up the Serpent's Skull Item cards, to sprinkle themey stuff throughout that they might find. But how is treasure handled in general?
I don't really see Jungle Goats carrying gold or anything... :)
You are right the creatures on the Island do not have treasures. The cannibles do. So do some of the wrecks. I am sure if you total out the 'Treasure' entries in the adventure, they will equal the amount need to raise the party to the correct wealth for 4th level characters.
jungle goats don't have treasure, but ghouls do and smuggler's shiv is cursed so a high instance of ghouls will solve treasure problems
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Ran the first session! Went great and we had a blast! But now i have more questions!! :)
1. NPCs - how "in character" are you when you run them? Do you do voices and have full conversations, or do you just let them interact through descriptions of "you do this? ok, I do this."?
2. NPCs and Camp Life - I have a player asking why he can't just intimidate the NPCs into helping around camp. I said I would look into it. My thought is to let him, but it would drop their attitude each time. Eventually one would run off, and he might stop... thoughts?
3. Another player is a druid with the scent ability. How should this interact with "suprise" encounters and whatnot down the road? Seems like it will spoil everything.. or am I missing something?
Thanks guys for all the help!
-jake
1. I'm running my first game as well on Saturday and I'm planning on doing voices and full conversations with those who want to, and descriptions for players who aren't interested in that sort of thing. It depends on what the PCs want. I'm still working on accents and mannerisms, but I want to cut back a bit on NPCs interacting with each other, I'd rather have them deal with the PCs.
Here's some of the mannerisms I'm thinking of adapting:Gelik Aberwhite=Paul Williams circa Smokey and the Bandit with a higher pitched voice, with Don Rickle's wit.
Sasha=Lesley Ann Warren circa Clue (Miss Scarlet).
Haven't worked out the rest yet, but I've got time.
2. If someone tries to intimidate an NPC, do exactly as you suggest, but different characters might do different passive-aggressive things to 'get back' at the PC. Gelik might put snakes in his bedroll, or use presdigitation to humiliate the PC, or use insults. Any NPC cook might overcook (or undercook) his food, or even more harmful things before running away. Use that to show the drop in attitude if that's what your PCs feel comfortable with.
3.Scent is a powerful force in this game. I might use it to give them a bonus in Perception checks to find ambushers, but I wouldn't use it as an automatic finder.
As I understand it, Scent is just the ability to use your sense of smell in other ways than humanoids usually can. It doesn't give you an inherent bonus to Perception and just allows you to use your existing Perception skill to do things others can't, like detect the presence of hidden creatures by scent and follow a trail by sniffing it out. Use the write up of the Scent ability in the Bestiary to learn it's capabilities, and if the player wants to be any good at it, he's gonna have to beef up his Perception skill. Then just allow him Perception checks whenever scent might notice something important.
Look at it this way... not everyone with 20/20 vision is as perceptive as everyone else. They have one of their 5 senses as "maxed out" as it can be, yet they may not be as perceptive as their peers. Maybe they have a short attention span, maybe they tend to focus on one thing at time, maybe they've just learned to tune things out. Just because you have good senses doesn't mean you know how to use them.