Travel safely/productively, Heldar!
I'll probably post some epilogue-style things, and you're all completely welcome to throw up some RP posts, but, from a mechanical perspective, this adventure is Done.
I hope everyone had a really good time. It took far longer than I anticipated (but then, some of that I brought on myself by adding things to the original adventure), but here we are, and you all survived! Good work, kids. <3
WE WIN!
I think that's the appropriate response. :D
I really appreciate the 8 month party you've hosted for us, D. You've been a gracious and charming hostess. ;) Thanks much!
Agreed. Thanks for leading us through this fun nearly-a-year romp, Dien.
Eight month? :P We started September of 2013. Try a year and nine months, haha. ;)
:D
For the curious:
I ran fairly close to the module until you guys got to the pyramid-- I elaborated a bit on techniques and motives of the other group, and invented the chase scene in the market, but overall we're mostly in the same boat for the first half.
When we get to the pyramid is when I really started making s#*$ up. As written, the pyramid has exactly five fights for you (the Radiant Pharaoh and her golem in the weights room; the dragon; the Pharaoh of Numbers; the swarmy Fiend Pharaoh; and the archer-mummy you meet at the entrance). That seemed disappointing to me! You guys had traveled a long way to get here, so, let's make it worth your while, etc. ;)
Hence:
-Smart (clamors are a 3pp monster, but I really dig them), and the entire throne room sequence (no throne room in the original module);
-The hall of trapped pillars;
-The riddle statues;
-The spider-abomination thing (another 3pp monster) and the room of animate-able soldiers;
-The gas-trap in the vertical shaft;
-The egg was my invention, as was the statue of the girl in the crystal cage;
-And, yes, the blood bowl was mine, as was the much greater role of Nyarlothotep. In the existing module, there's vague implications that the Pharoahs learned some things from someone on Aucturn; I decided to beef that up and make it a stronger element throughout, and out of the whole Lovecraftian pantheon, Nyarlothotep as the Black Pharaoh was the obvious choice to have an Egyptian tie-in, and the sort who would love to have students and disciples.
Probably there's some other things I'm forgetting, but there's a basic run-down, anyway. :P If there's any mystery you felt never got answered in the adventure, feel free to ask!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Eight month? :P We started September of 2013. Try a year and nine months, haha. ;)
Doh! My bad! I checked the date but didn't mark the pesky 'year thing'. :D
I have to say, I agree with you beefing up the pyramid... as written it sounds a bit 'thin' when you think of all the exploring deadly ruins movies, etc.
Five battles and far fewer traps, WTF?!
*sigh* OK, I've been debating for days whether to ask this or not...
Do we get to level up? :D
Yeah, I definitely wanted more traps given, well, deadly ruins, etc.
For the record: as a party, you guys collectively have ridiculously high perception scores-- probably because everyone read 'traps' in my original recruitment and went 's&&#, better pump Perception!'-- and in a way, that's the worst skill you can have in this one, because so many of the encircled runes are based on Perception checks, where if you roll high enough, you do see the rune, but if you roll low, you won't.
Javi missed at least one rune that I can remember off the top of my head because I rolled Per for him and rolled a 2.
But yeah, I was laughing really hard at realizing nobody had a PER lower than +12 when we got to the pyramid. I was like "oh man, they're gonna see ALL THE RUNES."
If you see all four runes, it's a DC 20 Will save, or bam, you're an evil mummy now trying to eat your friends. That would have been fun.
Oh, the other major story element you guys didn't really encounter:
The archway in the first room triggers an anti-life sphere over the entrance, intended to seal parties in and force them to run the gauntlet of the pyramid rather than retreating outside for a rest. However, Heldar dispelled that with a natural 20 when you guys first got to it, haha! I ruled that it came back for Julistar's team, but yeah, you guys avoided the anti-life shell 'door', which was amusing. Assembling the blue stones to read 'exit' disabled it, however.
LOL @ Shaggar!
Er, yes, if you wish to level up, you can. ;)
Sweet! I love to level up!
And now Javi is going to be a sad panda because he hates leveling up and not being able to test out the new build. To which I say - as any true gentleman would - SUCK IT, Javi, neener neener neener!
*laughs* Sorry. I feel similar to Javi, personally-- leveling to do nothing always makes me sadfaec.
As much as I'm glad to wrap up this game with Shaggar and Hatyah alive... I confess to being a bit sad to see it end. I've really enjoyed the characters, the banter, etc. I think a great deal of the memorable-ness of the game goes to your DMing and really enjoyable narrative skills, D. Seriously, my hat is off to you.
*laughs* Sorry. I feel similar to Javi, personally-- leveling to do nothing always makes me sadface.
Ugh! Now I'm guilted by a pair of sad panda faces. PETA will probably start an investigation.
Heehee. Well, I'm not leveling, so it's all the same to me. ;)
You may level up if you DESIRE to, how's that?
And thanks for the kind words. *tip of the hat* We had a good group, and while I'm still sad we lost Rosalia, I'm glad we got Shaggar back for the finale. Here's to seeing each other around on the boards!
Indeed, indeed!
Thanks for a great game, skillfully beefed up, Dien! I particularly enjoyed the visuals you posted from time to time. They made a great addition to the game.
I've now had the pleasure of playing alongside you and playing with you as a GM. I hope to do it again!
Also, guys, it's been a lot of fun. If our lovely and talented GM ever decides to get the band back together, I'd love to run another one with this team!
Scott / Tarondor / Lyrian
Thanks, Scott! One of my favorite parts of PBP is getting to throw in visuals that would be a pain at the table.
(That last image, btw, is an Expressionist artwork called The Black Idol.)
You and I are actually signed up for a PFS module together, but I'm waitlisted, so I'll only be joining you if one of the current six drops.
Wow. You go home for one night and the Discussion blows up.
I do want to dog-pile on your DM'ing style, Dien. You run a good game, but what's really stood out is the way you bring descriptions to life. You have a knack for balancing light-hearted with solid, immersive description. I've enjoyed it immensely (and even stolen a bit from your style, actually ... which is pretty much the most transparent form of flattery, right?).
And about the leveling thing. Instead of leveling Javi, I just went ahead and rebuilt him. He can now see in the dark and never fails will saves. Good times, good times. :D
:: walks off to write an instructional guide "How NOT to help your team as a scout in a tomb. A story by a mind-$&#!# halfling thief." ::
Shucks. *digs toe in dirt* I'm glad you enjoyed it. Steal away. ;)
Haha, yeah, darkvision is just... really nice, sometimes. Mostly when needing to sneak. Live and learn!
*toasts everyone*
Pity Heldar's missing the actual wrapping up, but he's with us in spirit.
1st thought: Damn Dien, you are as fine a GM as they come - thank you for taking the time to add/change stuff to make the module more well rounded for us - all I can say is that you've managed to make what would basically be a dungeon delve (which can sometimes become boring, or dull) into something challenging both mechanically, and to our minds;
2nd thought: Really good group, and yes, it was a shame to lose Rosalia - she brought really nice interaction possibilities to the table. But to everyone else, it was really a pleasure to play with you guys. I would not hesitate at all if another chance presented itself. Some of you already know this, because I have sent out invites to join me in other games ;)
3rd thought: I really enjoyed the introduction of 'Smart' - usually I dislike comic reliefs or similar in my RPG, but Smart was intelligently played, and his interaction with us played out in a really cool and enjoyable way. *claps*
4th thought: I learned a lot of stuff while playing Heldar, and an important one was skills priorities - I don't regret the high Perception (maybe because I was lucky), but I would change some stuff around for sure. And yeah Javi, I once read something about scouts and... No Darkvision hurts :D
Overall I think we did quite well as a group, even without a full Arcane caster, which was something that got me slightly worried from the get go. Heck, we DID win some serious fights - I saw that one against our NPC opponents about to go sour, but then again Dien was cheating, by making them know all about us :P (jk)
I honestly hope to see you all around the boards, and at a renewed chance to play together again. So if anyone wants to step up as a GM, please feel free to do it, hehe.
You guys know I haven't flexed my GM muscles in a long time, but I might consider running something for you guys, if that would suit your fancy, and if you think you would have the patience to bear with my doubts about game mechanics.
Heldar, a belated thank-you for all the kind words and observations. *little bow*
I will definitely be seeing y'all around on the boards. :)
Heldar, a belated thank-you for all the kind words and observations. *little bow*
I will definitely be seeing y'all around on the boards. :)
*nods* and *bows*
Likewise.