Darkos's page

hi to all!!
as promised, i'm back to told the end of the story.
oficially, i call my "mole" player for a drinks and told him to "please stop pre reading" he tried to argue, (i don't do that, and the like) but i stated that we're not there to argue about if he did it or nit, just to stop a fun ruining situation. I told him i wouldn't mind what happened until this point, but please i don't want to see more "inusual clever ideas" if it happens to go trought a situation he already knows, please stay silent and leave the other players to solve.

He said a gruffy, "if thats what you want...."

And result is that he has missed all sessions for nearly two months!!! he politely excused himself as being busy or working, but the fact is that i had to run a copy of his character for last 9 sessions (as npc)

i think i annoyed him, but i really hope he can pass it off. other players are begunning to ask abou find another player to fill the gap....

so that's all for now.

greetings and thaks to all!!

we had a funny time time in the very first session. our half-orc barbarian Rahegar get impressed by Lavinia. then, when she ask them to stay in the vanderboren's manor, he states "in my tribe, if a woman agrees to share her home, also agrees to share her bed".
First, i think he wants to rush on Lavinia's room and force her, but he only start walking around her door all nigth. Finally other player (an human swasbuckler born in sasserine), tryed explain him how the things work in civilised lands. They keep going about one hour!! we have lots of laughs!
now, the relationship Rahegar-lavinia it's some kind of savage seduction, much like King-kong with his girl, with the half orc doing lots of silly things to impress her (like eructing loudly in the dinner, or trying to drink a whole berrel of beer one shot).
finally, i'm not sure if Lavinia is going to get interested a lot....

i planned to make lavinia show my pc the map (wich comes with the dragon), and give them any information through conversations with her. I don't plan give them the whole article, but reading this thread, i start to think that give them some home-made "journal" could be great.
very good ideas here!!

thank you to all

i've decided to have "the conversation". after all, we are friends, and i hope i can approach him the soft way. At least, perhaps i can convice him to not metagame even if he continues pre-reading. i will post what happens finally.

puntualizing devil's advoacte, he tried to torch blue nixie. i figure he did the numbers and decided that 7 pirates and a raghodessa were too much to deal with at first level (i have only 3 players).

so thank you to all again. as promised, you will know about the ending of this.

i've been thinking a bit on it.
For linking the kobold attack with Harliss, you could have her attacked first. While PC walk the street a kobold turns an alley, shriek surprised seeing the PC, throws his dagger and turns back, leading the pc where the whole rogue party is attacking Harliss. it's more like kraken's cove encounter and players are more helpful than pirates.

then you could spread the rumor that Vanthus is still in the lotus dragon's guild (as Curaigh said) wich may be enough to make PC go back there. if not, spread the rumor that lotus dragons had adquired some strange and mystical black pearls. none of these has to be true at all.

about the ship, be careful. if Harliss has already occuped it, it may end in a battle between her and the pc (sometimes players are obsesed with something), specially if Lavinia ask them to retrieve it. If it's what you want, great. if not, consider having a replacement ship for pc. (even a paty of 5-6 level characters could end dead confronting harliss and a pirate crew)

most of you advice me to talk with this player about his actitude. may be a solution (none of us has done it, and i'm the second GM who has to deal with him in an adventure path), but i've been playing with him about 15 years, and i'm almost sure than he will deny any foul playing. i cannot present any proof, save the suspicious actitude. when he buye the infamous antitoxin i asked him what he want to do with it, he said "may be poisoned traps, or something". wich is relatively fair answer.
I'm considering simply get his character killed again and again until it makes sense to him, and stops pre-reading. i really don't want to rework all AP. it likes me very much as it is, and i fear to make mistakes that ruin the spirit of AP.

thanks to all for your comments. It's true than best solution is changing things so he doesn't know what o expect. But i also had troubles changing things. Last summer, my players want to run a old-flavored adventure, so i agreed to run "the mud sorcerer's tomb", published in dungeon. Expecting this player reads it in advance, i'd do some changes in the setting. with many others, one of this was changing one illusory trap (teleporting)into a real trap (blade barrier). the result was that two other players (not him) were killed in the trap.
days later, talking about this player with them, y confess the changes, saying i put that trap willingly. One of the players get angry (i must admit i killed his favourite 15 level bladesinger), and said that changing adventures on my own was unbalancing and foul play. i argue that if changes are not on th fly, its fair play, but he states that he don't want to play more modified "unbalanced adentures".

of course, this is one of my savage tide players.

Also, i don't want to change the plot, and, even if i move secret chambers and encounter locations, he still knows most of the big picture (like malcathet plot with the fang, and shadow pearls peculiarities), not to mention the riddles and misteries, wich are my players favourite. I fear i face a full campaign rework, or some bad arguing with him (out of play).

hi to all!!
i recently read about a DM who has problems dealign with a too smart player. a difficult issue. i have a similar problem. I thik one of my players read the adventures in advance. As long as it goes, it's only a suspicion, but i've asked our last DM (who now plays savage tide with him, and were Age of worms Ap DM)) and he said he is near sure that this player readed age of worms in advance. I can't have evidences of dirty play, but what happend until now is this:

[/spoiler]
he is runnig a rogue
in first encounter, aboard the blue nixie, he wants to set the hold on fire "trapping the pirates in ". Luckily, other players convinced him that the mission was recover the ship, not destroying it.
the he figured the vanderboren's vault combination at the very first moment of finding the ring. Another player readed the handout aloud, and he inmediatly states "looks like a combination. could be tied to the number of eyes".

he buyed 4 vials of antitoxin (with lavinia's payment) before entering the vault. (of course, opening the vault was 30 secs of roleplaying)

he insisted in exploring parrot's island, even before lavinia ask them to find vanthus (i not allow them to find nothing until the informant revealed) and then he said that " must leave some guards on the entrance, or find another acces, maybe underwater". inside, P4 was the one and only room in all dungeon he cares to search for secret doors.

He was the first and only player to say "looks like an illusion" whe Roblach animated his animals.

Now, they just enterd the Lotus drangons guild, but i guess things will stay the same.

i don't know what to do. If i kill his character (diabolic laugh here)he will simply roll a new one and leave me with the problem. if posible, i'd like to keep him in the group (we've been playing for 15 years, from second edition, and also are close friends). i don't know why he does it, but is ruining fun for me and some other players (specially the other DM, who helps me a lot pulling him again into the story)
so, that's the question. I eternally thanks any advice you can give me.

Hi! I've recived last Savage Tide adventure, and after revising the whole campaign path, i think it needs a new setting for my games. It's namely "low magic", but i think the word is "low magic avaliability". Those are the changes i pretend to do, i will thank some comments about it. I try to made it simple, rather than balanced, and i'm afraid some quirks escape me and ruin the game.
It's mostly a "pirates of the caribbean" setting, while magic exist, its not common. I plan to do this:

-use Defense bonus from unearthed arcana.
-Firearms exist (using rules from Dragon magazine #321)they are Simple, touch attack weapons.
-Remove most permanent magic items (except those needed for the storyline, and some scarce ones)
-Cut treasure 20% down (after all, don't need armor nor magic items)
-Expendable magic items exist (wands, potions & scrolls) but cost double. I aslo been thinking about reducing avaliability.
-Magic is exhausting. Every spell causes 1 point of subdual damage per spell level. spelcasters can cast one spell per spellcaster level ignoring this damage.
-Rangers has no spellcasting. Instead they have d10 hit points and a bonus feat at levels 5, 10, 15, 20.

For balancing purposes, I adapted character creations as follows:

-Use action points from unearthed arcana(they could be equivalent to magic items in some way)
-They gain a bonus feat every 2 levels, instead of every three.
-They gain an atribute increment to all atributes at level 6, and every four levels (6, 10, 14, 18) in adition to the normal increments.
-a feat, Armor Compatibility, allows to stack half your defense bonus with your armor bonus.

So long, that's all. I'll thank your advice and comments.

I get a copy of Conan rpg some months ago, and i've been serously thinking about playing Savage Tide in Hyboria.The thing is i'll have to rework the entire campaign, wich is far more difficult and time consuming that just adjust the setting. Also, magic system in Conan don't convinces me too much.

About firearms, i plan to include renaissance firearms (muskets and flintlock pistols) wich is about what the article is. Esentially one shot weapons, one standart action to reload. I essentially plan to change all crossbows for firearms, wich leaves bows with its inherent advantages (faster fire rating and damage bonuses)

Hi! I've recived last Savage Tide adventure, and after revising the whole campaign path, i think it needs a new setting for my games. It's namely "low magic", but i think the word is "low magic avaliability". Those are the changes i pretend to do, i will thank some comments about it. I try to made it simple, rather than balanced, and i'm afraid some quirks escape me and ruin the game.
It's mostly a "pirates of the caribbean" setting, while magic exist, its not common. I plan to do this:

-use Defense bonus from unearthed arcana.
-Firearms exist (using rules from Dragon magazine #321)they are Simple, touch attack weapons.
-Remove most permanent magic items (except those needed for the storyline, and some scarce ones)
-Cut treasure 20% down (after all, don't need armor nor magic items)
-Expendable magic items exist (wands, potions & scrolls) but cost double. I aslo been thinking about reducing avaliability.
-Magic is exhausting. Every spell causes 1 point of subdual damage per spell level. spelcasters can cast one spell per spellcaster level ignoring this damage.
-Rangers has no spellcasting. Instead they have d10 hit points and a bonus feat at levels 5, 10, 15, 20.

For balancing purposes, I adapted character creations as follows:

-Use action points from unearthed arcana(they could be equivalent to magic items in some way)
-They gain a bonus feat every 2 levels, instead of every three.
-They gain an atribute increment to all atributes at level 6, and every four levels (6, 10, 14, 18) in adition to the normal increments.
-a feat, Armor Compatibility, allows to stack half your defense bonus with your armor bonus.

So long, that's all. I'll thank your advice and comments.