meomwt's page

Their second job was the first part of the "Harlequin" adventure, much adapted so that they do not realise it is the same scenario many of them have played already!

Ehran the Scribe has been replaced with Elucian Caliburn, a prospective candidate for Mayor of Seattle. As a prominent Elf Businessman, he has a good chance to take the city in new directions (but his policies are all hippy, tree-hugging c*** which will bankrupt the place!).

The gang were invited to a swish hotel for a business meet. At the door of the suite, they were accosted by a bunch of ork hard-men, whose sole purpose was to see how the PC's dealt with them. A punch was thrown before calmer heads prevailed, and the orks were paid off with a bucket - each - from the local Chicken Roulette (delivered, with obvious disdain, by the concierge). The Johnson then offered them a contract to steal Caliburn's hard copy of the speech he was due to deliver from his house, and implant a computer virus into his campaign office system. They took the job (little realising that the earlier altercation would cost them nuyen).

Here, they decided to go after the orks, reasoning that if someone wanted to "stop" them getting to Mr Johnson, they needed to know about it. Shadow, the rigger/ hacker downloaded footage from the hotel CCTV and was able to work out where they were going (the local Stuffer Shack). Everyone piled down there and confronted them as they ate. Nebulous Black decided that he wasn't getting answers quickly enough, and cold-bloodedly executed one of the gang. They came up with the goods, that they were getting paid in the service yard of the hotel that evening. They were told to be good little orks and not go to the meet. The runners went to the hotel yard instead and found their Mr Johnson smoking a filthy cheroot, apparently waiting for someone. This left them very confused!

After that, things went smoothly: they researched the campaign office (astral and drone-cams, that they had got from the Killstream job) and managed to finesse a back-door way into the building. Once in, they implanted the chip and sneaked out - all this under cover of an Improved Invisibility spell, with the Inuit Shaman sweating it out in concentration in the van. They managed a similar infiltration into Caliburn's house - they were able to work out a ground plan due to appearances on "Celebrity Lifestyle TV" shows, so they knew where to go, aided by more spells.

All in all, a slick operation with few shots fired, run like clockwork with clever tactics from the players.

Next: The Mud Sorceror's Doom!

The E-Z Burger Bar. Sounds like the SR version of the 'Green Dragon' Tavern (in Greyhawk), where PCs & NPCs gather to get info and go off to the next adventure... Likewise, I've masked old material that the players avoided or didn't choose, and passed it off as something new. Good way to cut down on your work load as GM.

There's also the generic SR StufferShack (full of soy-based nastiness) and - a hangover from a short "Vampire" game we played recently - "Chicken Roulette" the sort of UK-based kebab/ fried chicken/ pizza take-away where the meat on the menu might not be what you get...

So, the group get brought together by a mysterious message on their phones. They hadn't met before, but were pulled together by a fixer, meeting at an office at the E-Z Burger Bar in the Renraku Arkology. Their task: locate a group of runners who had stolen data from a Corp, then reneged on the deal and were trying to hoik it out to the highest bidder.

The new party - a 'Gator Shaman, a Dove Shaman (an aged native Inuit, I kid you not), a Weaponsmith who has a secret identity and runs when in full body armour, a Physical Adept with a Distance Strike ability to go with Killing Hands and a Rigger/ Hacker - get to work, trawling the Matrix for the offer of stolen data, making contact with the perps and negotiating a deal, whilst putting a trace on to find out where they were.

The location was an abandoned factory out in The Barrens, and (Concealed by a City Spirit) the PhysAd scouted it out, spotting a couple of threats and a Server in a ramshackle office. After tooling up, they headed out to the factory and tried to infiltrate the factory. There was, however, a lot of open ground and they got spotted by a hidden guard (a nasty PhysAd). The drek hit the fan and there was a short and nasty firefight, which resulted in the runners taking out the bad guys.

While this was happening, the rigger and the 'Gator Shaman had spotted a suspicious black van near the factory. They checked it out, and found two goons and a rigger preparing a number of camera drones. They killed all the guys and discovered that the van and drones belonged to Killstream, an illegal TV channel which pits teams of runners against each other for the betting pleasure of blood-thirsty viewers. They have stolen the van and all the kit (drones and all) it contains.

Back in the factory, the other runners discover that there was no stolen info after all. The server and all other media was blank. Hmm...

And returning to the E-Z Burger Bar, their contact has mysteriously vanished and the staff have no knowledge of him.

Somewhat disgruntled at a lack of pay (though they were able to loot credsticks off the corpses of the runners in the factory) and being conned, the group start to put out feelers for more work!

Many, many moons ago, I had a PC run through the SR2 Harlequin campaign. It was great. So I thought, when my players wanted a dose of SR, I'd run them through this behemoth.

I tried to do this once before - a couple of years ago - but we disintegrated and everyone wanted to play D&D before I got to the meat of Harlequin, so I thought I'd give it another go.

First scenario, I thought I'd make life easy - an intro to get them used to the rules, as it were. Second scenario was the first part of Harlequin, modified so that the players didn't recognise that they were getting essentially the same adventure. Third one up (which they are tackling now) sees them hunting a deranged elemental: in an homage to an old Dungeon adventure, it is called "The Mud Sorcerer's Doom."

Here's an update of how it's gone so far...

meomwt wrote:

Yup. English and proud. And busy harassing PC's in a game of Shadowrun this evening, hopefully if they come up against a nasty I've whipped up from scratch (a Mud Elemental, no less!), I might be able to toast a couple of them.

Good place to be from. I trust your Shadowrun group wished you were elsewhere by the time you were finished with them...?

Had the pleasure yesterday of watching your 'Reds' from Liverpool handle Norwich. If the Reds can win two of the next (final) three and draw the other, they're due the EPL title for the first time in the last 24 years. About bloody time...

How cruel can be football. Liverpool lead 3-0 with minutes to go and end up lucky to claim a point at 3-3. The Blue half of Manchester play this evening, and a draw will see them atop the table for the final game. We will see what Sunday brings.

Last time I played Shadowrun, my players elected to enter the local sewer system in the hunt for a missing mage and the Mud Elemental he accidentally summoned. There are three on the ground, there is a fourth sustaining buffs on the Physical Adept and other Shaman, and sitting sweating in a van.

The three intrepid sewer rats have already spotted a force of Orks (actually Mages with Illusion spells up) who they left alone, and have now found a bunch of mega-Corp goons, locked and loaded, also after mage and elemental. The rats are out-gunned 2:1 but look up for the fight. Given how lethal SR2 can be, I'm expecting blood on the carpet before long.

Odds may be evened if I can persuade Mrs meomwt to rejoin the fray, her Hacker/ Rigger might be able to even the odds somewhat (even if only by running interference on the opposing drones). We'll see.

Good to see you again Mr. Meomwt. It should be interesting. We missed yesterday's game, but play again next Thursday the 17th. We'll see how many more sheep buy the farm courtesy of "Tamoachan." Never gets old...:) Are you from the UK?

Yup. English and proud. And busy harassing PC's in a game of Shadowrun this evening, hopefully if they come up against a nasty I've whipped up from scratch (a Mud Elemental, no less!), I might be able to toast a couple of them.

Hello, Mr Killer, good to see you again, and good to see that you haven't grown soft in your old age. The variety and brutality of the PC deaths are a joy to behold. Please keep posting, I'd love to see just how many more of the sorry group of ne'er-do-wells "Tamoachan" is able to take out single-handed.

Wow, you go away and forget about MC for a while and just as I'm about to go back and use it in anger some guys are posting here and tapping Rob for information! More than that they're talking about a fan-version of MC! Well, count me in! Rob kindly let me run Warlock's Walk for Gencon in the UK more than a few years ago now and even more kindly gave me a writing credit on the WW version published on the OJ (even though I had precious little to do with it!); he even gave me a name check earlier in this thread :)

I was at GenCon and played WW. I had a blast.

My players won't let their characters go after I finish up Red Hand of Doom. After the Istivin Trilogy from Dungeons 117-119 (they're in Sterich now, so it fits), I'll have them tackle MC.

It might be a while off, though, we're taking a break soon (I've DM'd over a year straight, now) for a spot of Traveller.

We had our second playtest session last week, and here's what happened...

The party took an extended rest and healed up all damage. During the night, they could hear some frightened voices in the area outside: in the morning, they find that the kobold chieftain’s body had gone. They followed a bloody trail outside and found that the tribe were holding a cremation out in the ravine, led by a shaman.

Whilst the tribe were holding their funeral, arrows started flying from another cave in the ravine wall, dropping some of the konolds. The rest of the tribe ran into the undergrowth, the party decided to investigate the cave which had perpetrated the crime.

Scouting ahead, Ifford managed to climb through a tangle of rope bridges leading to the cave mouth, then tied ropes down the ravine wall so that the others could get up easily. They spotted the trip-wire/ net trap (Gash the fighter did: the Rogue can’t find his butt with both hands) and re-jigged it so that they could drop it on the orcs. Ifford ran down the corridor and made noise similar to the alarm on the net: orcs started out of the rooms and the party started slaying.

They were unlucky: only one orc got tangled in the net, leaving five others looking to repel intruders. Gash and Sir Ironbeard manned the front line, with Ironbeard’s Defender ability coming to the fore more than once. Ifford was behind the lines, and managed to Sneak Attack, doing enough damage to see off a couple of orcs in different rounds.
Orcs from the common room joined those from the sleeping chamber: in total there were thirteen opponents facing off against the PC’s, some of the orcs shooting into melee with their crossbows, others charging in to use their additional damage capability to the fullest extent. Gash and Sir Ironbeard both had to absorb charging damage, and it took out a significant chunk of their capability.

Brother Dorkin was outstanding, with Radiant Lance cantrips flying into combat and hitting. Also, Taylendil the wizard hid behind Sir Ironbird, popping out to deliver a Shocking Grasp from cover. That alone saw off about three of them.

Waves one and two destroyed, and the rogue re-set the net trap – his background as a fisherman and thief abilities coming together to ensure that the new arrangement was hidden and would drop when required. Good job: more orcs came piling out. Lots got trapped under the net (with orc bodies from the previous fight), then Ifford set the lot on fire!

The remaining orcs were dispatched in short order: some due to burning damage, others who managed to wriggle out from under the net. This left the party out of healing spells and low on hp only a short time after their Extended rest. Holing up in the deserted orc sleeping chamber, they had a short rest (and regained some hit points by rolling hit dice), but without further healing available, they decided to hide there a while. Which is where we left them.

Positives:
Combat was fast and fluid, even with so many creatures in the first encounter. Even though PC’s didn’t get to 0hp or below, the fact that charging orcs could do so much damage meant that the players thought that the encounter might go against them.

Skill resolution is not limited by the list of skills on a character sheet, but by the imagination of participants. If you can think it, you can have a chance of doing it. Very Old-school, IMO, and all the better for it.

The Cleric of Moradin’s Defender ability was really cool, it was cinematic and mechanically felt fun to play. It offered another combat option than just smacking foes or casting spells.

Comments from Players (both as we finished and by e-mail after):

Rules organisation is a bit of a mess: the Disrupted condition – mentioned on the mage’s sheet as requiring a DC 10 Concentration check in order to cast anything other than an at-will – should be in the “How To Play” guide, but isn’t. Likewise, the clerics don’t seem to have such a prohibition on their spell use – why?

Cantrips seem too overpowered: both Radiant Lance and Burning Hands do 1d8 + Magic Ability damage. With a high Magic Ability modifier (and who wouldn’t have a high Magic stat?), a good roll can take out an Orc in one shot – Taylendil managed this a couple of times during the initial wave of Orcs.

The Healing Word spell, however, may be underpowered: twice in the first session, the Cleric of Moradin used the spell and rolled a 1. It may be better to change the spell so that it does a minimum amount of healing (e.g. Magic Ability score of the caster).

The Rogue seems dreadfully underpowered in terms of skills he can use with the Skill Mastery ability: six, of which three are typically rogue-like.

Rogues are turning out to be underpowered fighters, rather than stealthy, shadowy types. They lack the skills for lurking effectively, and need to strike with Advantage to get the best of a situation. They can only strike every other round, at best, in order to be able to Hide on the battlefield. If they can’t hide, they are going to get pasted. They can only use a limited array of weapons which limits their effectiveness unless they can gain advantage.

Quoted from the Legends and Lore column on Rogue Design Goals: “ask yourself if the new rogue feels like the class you've played and loved.” From feedback of our group, we’d say “NO!” The pre-gen rogue misses some skills and abilities iconic rogues from previous editions have had.

The 15-minute workday is back (oh noes!)! The players fought off 21 orcs, using up all the healing magic available to them during this phase. They had completed an Extended Rest only just before entering the fight. Even with Healing Kit use allowing them to regain hit dice, it meant that they were underpowered and out of healing magic, and wanted another extended rest. And they wouldn’t get that for another twenty-three-and-a-half hours!

That, although the Rogue has Skill Mastery, he doesn't have a trained skill for Searching so it doesn't apply. And he has a wisdom penalty I don't recall offhand if anyone has a Search skill.

The Rogue does have Find/Remove Traps, so he gets his bonus there.

If it's just a straight perception check, then the Cleric's Wisdom bonus makes him the obvious one to search for loot, which seems weird to me.

More generally, it's kind of frustrating to have the skills and their bonuses given, but no information beyond the names about what they can be used for. Obviously, that'll come in a later playtest round, but it makes it awkward now.

That's exactly the point. The Rogue couldn't find his own feet in the shower, but give him a lock to pick and he can do it blindfolded.

It seems to me that the Rogue needs MORE skills with Skill Mastery: in the playtest pack, he gets six, of which three (Open Lock, F/R Trap and Stealth) are Rogue-oriented. 2E Rogues had loads of skills in which to allocate points (Listen, Climb Wall, etc.), and 3E/ Pathfinder rogues get nine or ten (assuming a good INT score).

It's a point to include in my report on the Playtest forum at WotC.

We had our first experience with D&D Next this evening. I DM’ed a small group selected from my normal set of 9 players, with a number of whom had experience of more than one iteration of D&D. The five characters were randomly allocated (although two players swapped behind my back!) and names were picked:

Brother Dorkin of Pelor
Gash (Dwarf Fighter)
Sir Binwinn Ironbeard (Dwarf Cleric)
Taylendil (High Elf Wizard)
Ifford (Halfling Rogue)

After a brief look over the rules, and the casters reviewing the contents of their spell-books, we got going.

I started off by giving them a spot of background. They were from a village near the site of the Keep on the Borderlands, which was being raided by orcs busy stealing their livestock. The Keep had fallen 25 years earlier (after it had been betrayed from within) and now the humanoids were coming back.

After staking out the field, they spotted two orcs rustling livestock. The Human Cleric rolled a huge Survival score and tracked them to the Caves. From a distance, they saw the orcs bushwhacked and murdered, the stolen sheep carried off to feed another band of humanoids: they collected the orcs’ heads (worth 5gp bounty each!) and spotted something moving in the dark. Gash and Ifford headed off to the cave entrance: Gash spotted and jumped over a tripwire but Ifford didn’t and ended up entangled and restrained in a bola. As Gash cut him free, kobolds threw spears at Ifford (they had advantage), though Ironbeard’s Defender Feat came to the good here, and cancelled out the advantage on one attack. Anyway, the Kobolds couldn’t hit squat and retreated into the caves.

Ifford got cautious and checked the entrance for traps. There weren’t any, so the party continued into the cavern. Ifford forgot to check in the cave and triggered the Pit Trap at the T-Junction. He rolled a poor Dexterity Save, but used his Luck ability to re-roll and avoid falling. Gash, in the second rank, failed to beat the Dexterity Check (we role-played that he tripped over the Halfling avoiding the pit) and dropped 10 feet, taking a small amount of damage. The trap door snapped shut above his head.

All this noise alerted the rats from the garbage heap and the kobolds from the guard post. The rats squeaked into the pit, forcing Gash to take evasive action: quickly tying rope to the handle of his axe, he threw it into the edge of the trapdoor and was able to shimmy up the rope (all Strength-based activities, and with 16 Strength, I ruled that they should be no problem).

Meanwhile, the kobolds were swarming over the rest of the party, using Advantage where they could (Sir Ironbeard’s shield meant that at least one attack per turn was not at advantage!). Taylendil got double-teamed and daggered by a kobold, but kept going. Sir Ironbeard, however, swung his warhammer and connected, mightily (rolled 20, therefore maximum damage, which was several times more than the kobold had hit points. Result: kobold pizza.

Gash, down in the pit and hanging grimly onto a rope, pulled hard on the trap door and got it open. The dwarf then tried kicking off the wall and swinging out, but blew the Dexterity check and carried on swinging.

Back in the corridor, Ifford hid behind Sir Ironbeard, then used the Ambusher Feat to sidle up behind a Kobold, deliver an attack with Advantage and slit its scrawny throat. Taylendil managed to use Magic Missile to take down one attacker: Brother Dorkin’s Radiant Lance – which needs an attack roll – proved less effective headed off down the corridor. Sir Ironbeard took down another kobold, and just as Gash emerged from the pit, the last one fell.

Pausing only for a “Gazebo moment” with the planks the kobolds use to bridge the pit, they pressed on. They found the locked store-room full of fetid nastiness (Ifford auto-picks the lock, minimum roll of 16 with a DC15) before venturing down the corridor and spotting light coming from the elite kobold room (I ruled that they’d have a candle or two on the table). Ifford started to plan a stealthy take-down, but Gash charged in, waving the battleaxe and screaming Dwarven war-cries to intimidate the kobolds. It worked.

The last kobold fell at the top of initiative in Round 2. This was the round that the Kobold Chieftain and his minions were scheduled to appear. Initiative was rolled for them and sucked. He charged in, spotted an elf mage (no armour) and waded in, critting on one shot and taking her down to single figure hp. She stepped back out of axe-range and cast Sleep on the emerging minions (which, I now realise, she shouldn’t have been able to do – oops) and four of the six decided to have a brief snooze (they would awake to find their throats cut). Sir Ironbeard cast Crusader’s Strike which improved damage.

Taylendil got targeted again, the kobold minion managed to reduce her to 1 hp. Ifford sneak-attacked the Chieftain and got his attention: he was also briefly double-teamed with another kobold, attacking with advantage, but the kobold didn’t last long. Gash waded in with the trusty axe, dealing significant damage, Sir Ironbeard cast Healing Word (and restored 1hp on Taylendil) before bringing the warhammer into play and smiting. Taylendil stepped out of the fight and cast Magic Missile at the Chieftains: reliable damage, round after round, which wore him out.

After he fell, they checked out his quarters, finding treasure and a tapestry with the insignia of the Elder Elemental God on it…

Having run out of time, we left it there.

First Impressions:

The system seems clean and easy to run, player actions can easily be adjudicated by determining which ability check is required rather than trying to work out which skill from a long list applies. One player commented that taking away the skill lists gives more freedom to imagine an action, rather than being constrained by a skill set from which to pick.

Advantage/ Disadvantage seems to work well in play. It’s easy to remember, doesn’t fiddle with numbers or maths and can be worked in as things change (e.g I’d rolled an attack on Taylendil when Sir Ironbeard said he was using Guardian to interpose his shield – I then had to roll disadvantage – and missed – without having to remember what the first roll had been).

Everyone was able to contribute, although Brother Dorkin rolled really poor dice all night and didn’t hit squat. There were significant differences between the two clerics: Sir Ironbeard is a definite heavy hitter, not afraid to wade into battle, with buff spells available to support his strong arm. Brother Dorkin is set up as a spell casting cleric, though there seem to be more “damage enemy” spells in his arsenal than normal for a cleric.

There were a couple of areas of concern – the character sheets showed no consistency in layout and design, the fact that a poor set of stats could create a disparity between characters, the Rogue with Wisdom as a dump stat meaning that Searching (for traps or treasure) has become very tricky (no Skill Mastery and minimum die roll here!). It suddenly makes a Cleric the trap-finder general!

As a first pass it worked well, we’ll play again in a couple of weeks and see how the next set of caves tests them…

After a foray into the Ice Queen's crumbling artillery chamber (and an unfortunate encounter with some green slime), they found a few clues in a barracks, then came face to face with the leader of the humanoids - an Ogre Barbarian with a Greatsword who could lay the smack down when he hit.

His "guards" fared less well, dispatched quickly. The Ogre, made of sterner stuff, lasted longer but still fell.

They then arrived at a room with a strange carving, with silvered shards all over the floor. They worked out quickly that it was a magical lock to open a door, and the staff guarded by the Stone Ogre was part of the key. Havendir "volunteered" to work it, but got it badly wrong, and the silvered shards flew around his unfortunate head, doing lots of damage. I think it was enough to drop him, temporarily, though Pierre managed to get him back on his feet. Eventually, they managed to work out the trick and get the door to the deepest level of the fortress open...

More soon!

Lazar's player took me to task last night for not updating the Journal for a couple of weeks. I've been busy.

So while he's gone on holiday, here's another entry...

The secret passage led to a guard post, in which an Orc Witch-Doctor (actually a Favoured Soul with a couple of arcane-flavoured spells in the mix, to make him "feel" like the kit from the 2nd Ed Complete Book of Humanoids) and contingent of warriors were waiting. The heroes were busy picking them off, and the invisible gnome Illusionist spotted a passageway leading off the chamber, from which could be heard the sound of someone - or something -approaching...

Whilst his comrades butchered the Orcs, Skittles headed down the passage and encountered a large Orcish Battle-Champion (high level barbarian) - who, unable to see his Small foe, promptly tripped over him and landed flat on his face! The kerfuffle allowed other combatants in the guard room to rush over and hand the flattened Orc his arse on a plate.

Nearby, they found a strange staff (which they would need to get down to the next dungeon level) guarded by a statue of an ogre. One player had said, some weeks earlier, he'd never fought an stone ogre. Well, here was his chance.

The creature was really an Ogre with the Half-Golem template tacked on, slow but hard-hitting, and surprising a couple of the martial types before being taken down. They also came across an Orc Cleric of Gruumsh, busy "renovating" a chapel (removing idols of Tiamat and replacing them Gruumsh-style).

If I remember rightly, it was here that Lazar got hit and dropped below zero hp, getting caught in the crossfire of the fight. Whilst "dead" he had a discussion with a beautiful, dark-haired elf, who asked for his help in getting her fortress back. He agreed, and stood back up again, all wounds healed.

Invidious Locke, the party's expert on undead, is very suspicious of this turn of events!

To Be Continued!

Next Time - they encounter the Ogre in charge of the fort, and Havendir demonstrates his prowess at disarming traps. Don't miss it!

a band of very hungry Grimlocks, lead by a capable Fighter, armed to the teeth and wearing better armour than one might expect.

He didn't last long :( I think he got Spleened.

With the leader lying in a messy heap, the other grimlocks gave up the fight and were interrogated. As the module was inherited from 4E, there were instructions for a Skill Challenge right here - so I modified the encounter to work in 3.5E and rolled right along. The PC's demonstrated how superior to the grimlocks they were, and the degenerates "rolled over."

The PC's went to the grimlock's lair, a filthy cave which smelled of Ogre. There, they found a Wanted - Dead or Alive poster for an ogre who had been running a highway robbery gang. The grimlocks seemed to hint that the Ogre was up at the top of the hill. They also found a partial map, indicating a secret door into the lair at the peak.

And so, on they trudged. They arrived at the Great Gates of the fortress, nearly set off the traps, got molested by a fighter hiding behind an arrow slit and firing at them, before finally finding the secret door in and sneaking into the fortress. This tactic worked admirably: they arrived at a secret door inside the chambers, and were able to perpetrate an ambush of their own...

To Be Continued!

The Illusionist managed nothing more than putting the Dwarf on guard. Luckily, he managed to fly back down the mountain before his sorry ass got peppered with arrows.

The team headed back up the pass again. They were nearly ambushed a squad of Dwarves wearing the insignia of the Mountain King, but eventually overcame them. Skittles used a Fog spell to try and make the ambush fail, but all it did was make the fight last longer, as the mists hampered chances for everyone to hit each other! Highlight of the mess were Anneka the Swashbuckling Halfling Jumping and Tumbling onto ledges where the marksmen were holed up and taking them out, and the Warlock Lazar Spider Climbing the ridge to finish off the rival Warlock in the ambush party. Inconceivable!

Further up, they came to the area that the Dwarf had been sighted, but the ruined tower was empty. They tried a furtive approach, but the Dwarf (a Ranger) was in hiding, and her mountain-lion animal companion dropped one of the party (I forget who) and stood over the corpse. They were forced to parlay with the ranger for the life of their comrade, and agreed to work for her, scouting out the fortress hidden at the top of the mountain and finding out the reason for high levels of Orc activity here. She let them on their way, promising to meet them in Wildsgate later. So on they headed, looking out for orcs, not expecting a ambush from...

To Be Continued!

Next adventure up was DCC54: Wyvern Mountain. Anyone who has this or knows of it might recognise it as a 4E module, an indeed it is. However, I did a spot of back-conversion into 3E - and it was relatively painless - which is available over on the Goodman Games forum. I'll post a link to the conversion notes another time - that forum is firewalled while I'm at work, and I'm on my lunch-break right now!

Havendir, our beloved Dwarven rogue had blotted his copybook somewhat, being discovered by the Baron's Chamberlain while trying to pickpocket - erm - the Baron's Chamberlain. So, he was brought to trial the next day, and guess who was Witness for the Prosecution, Judge and Jury? Yup, the Baron's Chamberlain!

Havendir got off lightly: all he had to do was a spot off Community Service - scout up Dragon Hill (the re-skinned Wyvern Mountain) and see why there were lots of Mountain King's troops moving around there.

The Mountain King features in a few 4E DCC's - he's the ruler of a Dwarven Mountain state, on the borders of human civilisation, with Plans for Expansion. In this case, however, he's looking more to secure his realm against a possible incursion...

The team head up the mountain. Here, we have our first Victim: Havendir. The group approach a large gorge, with a bridge across it. He scouts the bridge and finds the mid-section is trapped to collapse when walked on. He tries to make the planks safe, botches his disable check, botches his Reflex check to avoid the drop, and falls 70' to what might be his Doom...

Except in this game, I use Action Points, a way of letting PC's and important NPC's get extras. They can confirm a crit, negate a fumble (natural 1), get a used-up ability back or - when in peril - save a player's sorry ass. Here, Havendir was able to "stabilise" on negative hp, the fall having done around 35hp damage and him having slightly less than that.

But that left a badly injured comrade 70' down at the bottom of a ravine. No problem: Skittles the Illusionist used Alter Self and turned into an Aarakokra (man-bird), flew down and adminstered a Healing Potion, allowing the shaken rogue to recover and get back to safety.

And so, the Illusionist flew up the mountain, scouting ahead, and spotted a Dwarf lurking in a ruined building further up the trail...

To Be Continued!

The story to Into The Wilds focuses on three artifacts (crown, sword and sceptre, from memory) of the Barony of Wildsgate, stolen over 100 years ago by a Master-Thief and hidden ever since. And the first baron has cursed the family line to sicken and die until they are returned. With the current Baron bed-ridden, his over-ambitious sister, Lady Aborn has been plotting and scheming to take over.

The return of the artifacts - and the Baron's recovery - would hole her plans under the waterline somewhat.

The group having managed to fend off bat-riding goblins, undead dwarves, Lady Aborn's scouts, cannibals and an ooze, finally managed to rescue the artifacts from their decades-long hiding place. At which, the Baron started to get stronger, and Lady Aborn got a little upset.

Along with some trusted troops, she rode out to take (by fair means or foul) the artifacts from the PC's.

The gang were traipsing back to Wildsgate and Lady ABorn stopped them. She asked for her family's property to be returned: having encountered mercenaries loyal to her, the group said that they would give them back to the Baron. She cast Charm Person on Invidious, the Dread Necromancer, and he totally blew his Will save, so much so that he grabbed the sack with the goodies and started to give them to her. Spleen the Half-Orc tried to grab him, but he wriggled away. So Skittles cast Enlarge Person onto the barbarian, who promptly sat on Invidious and stopped him handing over the goodies.

Meanwhile, Anneka and Havendir had been taking pot shots at Lady Aborn and her troops, and were wearing her down. She managed to cast Invisibility and Expeditious Retreat and make good her escape, whilst her loyal troops had their asses handed to them on a plate. Only the Warlock (with his See the Unseen invocation running) could make out where their quarry was, and he couldn't keep up with her.

They returned the items to the Baron - now recovering nicely - and were rewarded. They also managed to loot Lady Aborn's room for spellbooks and the like and were awarded a party in their honour.

It was just a shame that Havendir, the Rogue, tried to pick pockets at the party, and ended up fumbling whilst trying to relieve the Chamberlain of his purse...

To Be Continued - in our next episode we climb Dragon Hill and find out who - or what - lives there...

Edited highlights from Into The Wild

The Bat Riders
On more than one occasion, the party were harassed by goblins riding bats. The party includes a Halfling swashbuckler, who was small and light enough for the Half-Orc Barbarian not to notice when she ran up his back and used him as a launching pad to get up close and personal with the goblin whilst avoiding the nasty biting bats.

The Rainbow of Colours
Or: How the Gnome Illusionist got his name. Week One, with bats and goblins dropping in from out of the sun, he sighed and cast Colour Spray at a couple of likely targets. The player, in casting this spell, shouted out “Taste The Rainbow!” at once prompting cries of “Skittles!” from around the table. He is now called Skittles universally, and his original name is forgotten and unremarked.

The Flying Druid
Whilst assaulting the Goblin encampment, the Bat Riders took to the air to defend their territory. During one fight, a Bat Rider swooped in to grab an invader and carry him off. However, he picked up the Druid, who (whilst in the bat’s cruel claws) used his Animal Empathy ability to bring the bat under his control. Result: it was the Goblins, not the Druid, who ended up plastered all over the scenery.

How to Win Friends and Influence Vampires
Although the party is numerous, they sometimes have difficulty in hitting the broad side of a barn with a banjo. So, for the climactic encounter with Azubal, I turned him down somewhat and made him a half-vampire (I forget which book that’s in, it’s a template) but upped his Fighter levels to retain him at CR5. Result: a foe who can be hit, but who still has DR and a fair few hit points to back it up. I was also using the Solo Monster and Elite Monster rules from Trailblazer, which meant that he had even more hp to absorb when the Barbarian and Fighter waded in with two-handed weaponry.

Or so I thought.

We have with us a Dread Necromancer, who can Rebuke Undead. And Azubal counted as undead. The Necromancer rolled high enough not merely to Rebuke, but to Control Undead, and sent Azubal for a walk in the sunshine. Whilst everyone else was enjoying watching him get a Tan with Extreme Prejudice, I was busy rolling Will Saves (and failing!) to get him to break the Control Effect. After his excursion Outside, he managed to get back in the shade, but with a bagful of hp missing and that made him easy pickings.

“Uh… We’re the Bad Guys… Honest!”
So, they get into the Dwarven complex and find a dormitory full of Lady Aborn’s troops (Lady Aborn is the sister of the Baron in charge of Wildsgate, the town where the PC's are based, and trying to usurp her sibling). At this point, they didn’t know who they worked for, so they started to ask them questions about troop numbers, who was in command, and so on, all the while pretending to be reinforcements of the same force. It was going well, and they learned about Lady Aborn’s perfidy… until the Barbarian got bored and started the attack early!

Dinner Fights Back
The party get into the Valley of the Flesh-Eaters, on the trail of adventurers (former members of Steele's mercenary band, as it turned out) kidnapped for food. They get to the Fire Pit, where the dancers are hitting frenzy point around the fire. The Dread Necromancer then decides to cast Summon Undead and make a skeleton walk out of the fire pit towards the uncomprehending natives. Result: Flesh-Eaters scared out of their wits and running, screaming, for cover.

Curse of the Witch-Doctor
The climactic battle against the Witch-Doctor (enhanced to a Level 6 Cleric to improve challenge) was very back and forth. He cast Summon Skeletons and managed to get a dozen best – at which point the Dread Necromancer cast Rebuke Undead and managed to Control about half of them. Result: skeletal civil war and a Witch-Doctor left without meatless shields. His Death Touch domain ability took out the Fighter, and Hold Person kept the Barbarian out of the way. He even cast Blindness on the Necromancer, in an effort to make him drop control of the skeletons.

It didn’t work.

Sheer weight of numbers overcame the remaining loyal skeletons, and the emaciated Witch Doctor was unable to stop the invaders tearing him limb-from-limb.

Next up: the climax to the module, as the PC's uncover ancient artifacts and find out the extent of Lady Aborn's villainy!

First up: the characters. Nine of them (good grief), but it seems that one or another is not there some weeks. When we get all nine around the table, it's quite a squeeze...

Spleen - Half-Orc Barbarian (weapon of choice: 2H Great Hammer, effectively a Blunt Great Sword).

Steele - Human Fighter (with a Great Sword, formerly a member of a mercenary company and rescued from being a Vampire's Dinner)

Invidious Locke - Human? Dread Necromancer. Devotee of Vecna, searching for the Libris Mortis.

Lazar - Human? Warlock (Has Fiendish Heritage as a Feat, so who knows).

Skittles - Gnome Illusionist. Not his real name, as how he came by this appellation will be revealed...later!

Havendir - Dwarf Rogue. Always looking to Stonecun something.

Anneka - Halfling Swashbuckler, great at Jumping and Tumbling.

Pierre - Favoured Soul of Corellan Larethon. Healing machine with a longbow.

Saeth - Human Druid, whose animal companion is a Wolf called Dog.

Those are our heroes. And quite a cast they make. It can be difficult giving them all screen time at times...

I'm mad.

No, don't argue: I'm running D&D 3.5 for 9 players. For roughly 150 minutes every Thursday night (children and work schedule permitting).

From memory I started about a year ago, and I have a few notes on the initial stages of the campaign which I can share now. There will be more detail when we get into the meat of the Red Hand campaign.

Here's the set-up:

Knowing that the game was headed towards RHoD, I needed a base of operations for low levels with which the PC's could make a connection. Given that the game would be set on Greyhawk (Sterich, as suggested in the book), I decided to use the Goodman Games Module DCC28 Into The Wilds as a starting point. Into that, I would insert where appropriate warning signs, notes and premonitions regarding the Horde.

As that module brings adventurers up to Level 3, I back-converted DCC54 Wyvern Mountain into 3.5, re-naming it Dragon Hill in the process. Once this was closed out, I would start the PC's facing off against the Horde.

Would it work? Read on...

Just found the thread and back on board again. Please don't forget to post details of the Serpent Folk Monk with 300+ hit points, I might want to use him in my game.

Presently running Red Hand of Doom with 9 (nine!! good grief!) player-characters, and trying to find a happy medium between extreme lethality and keeping them happy. So far, nearest I've come to killing off a player was the Fighter/ Dragonslayer (5/2) falling 60' off the back of a flying manticore, but having the hp to suck it up darnit. Oh and the Dread Necromancer who only survived a claw/claw/bite combo from a lizard abomination because he'd previously taken out one with a Deadly spell and had gained two temporary levels in the process (otherwise he'd have been a Dead Necromancer).

I think the Ettin Druid and Barbarian Lizardfolk they are due to come up against this evening might prove more resolute, however...

You, sir, are an evil, evil man.

I must remember the dragon on a ledge/ boiling hot pool combo. Good show!

In Today's 4th session of the Campaign Classics campaign, there WAS a TPK, which involved 6 PC Fatalities :D This encounter began during the last game session and was completed early this morning. The encounter began last week with SIX 3rd level player characters entering a hedge maze to tangle with a CR 5 (Ranger 1/Fighter 4) evil Knight and his two 1st level wizard helpers.

That, dear gentles, is how to kill a party with finesse.

I described the above events to Mrs meomwt (currently playing a half-orc barbarian in my 3.5 game, currently DCC 28 Into The Wilds) and she described it as "hitting the players over and over again with a large hammer."

YMMV!

I look forward to reports of multiple fatalities when A2 hits the divers meatheads and doofuses. You may want to add a 3.5 Warlock with the See The Unseen invocation running, just to upset the Ninja. As a first level power, it is so broken... ;)

Haven't been round these parts for a while, then I come back and find the Killer DM is at it again.

Long may it continue!

When is your next session take place: I'm all agog to see how the poison ratchets up the body count...

I'd love to see this one in print. If it don't win (and for sheer spirit and joie de vivre in the proposal, it should), I'd love to see Clark pick this one up for the Necromancer line - it might need to be bigger than 32 pages, as the Judges have said, but Necro aren't constrained by the Pathfinder format...

So, Clark, what do you think??

Tattoo Needles of the Vanja Brujak

Aura moderate evocation; CL 7th
Slot —; Price 140,000 gp; Weight —

These rune etched tattoo needles are crafted of unknown materials. A closely guarded secret of the nomadic Vanja Brujak, these needles are passed down from master to apprentice. The ‘Art of the Mark’ as the tattoos are called by them is seen as a gift to be used only in times of great peace or great strife.

Creating a tattoo costs the same as creating a scroll of the same spell. The spell tattooed is of the caster’s level and takes 1 hour/level of the spell to create. This results in one point of temporary constitution damage/spell level—the effects of mystical energy infusion into the character’s body.

A tattoo can be used a number of times equal to the character’s undamaged constitution modifier. Activating a tattoo is a Swift Action and is treated as a spell-like ability. A tattoo gives a permanent +2 to the character’s Charisma score. Once the tattoo is used up, the tattoo remains, but the magic fades.

Requirements: Craft Wondrous Item, eagle’s splendor, imbue with spell ability, creator must have ranks in Profession (Tattooist); Cost 70,000 gp

Alright, I can't seem to fall asleep as my mind is swimming through the possibilities of my failed wondrous item. So Sir Peterson, at your leisure, feel free to take the gloves off and give it to me straight. I'm a 1st degree black belt and have taken hefty blows to my ego before, giving me +2 to will saves vs fear and intimidation (not that you are either, I just like thinking this). The same goes for anyone else who feels like criticizing my work of 'art'.

I have some criticisms that I came up with and chewed my lip over since submitting, but I'll wait to hear what you have to say first, as you are much more of an expert that I am.

Tattoo magic cropped up in the early 3.0 supplement Relics and Rituals, but (of course) that isn't SRD. There were rules in there for what you could do with Tattoos - several pages' worth, IIRC - and trying to cover tattoo casting in 200 words doesn't really cut it.

+2 CHA bonus for having a tattoo? That screams Bard Abuse to me, I can see heavily tattooed bards with Perform skills in the stratosphere thanks to those. Agreed, it's compensated by CON loss, but even so it's abusable. Also, would the +2 also apply to clerics using CHA to Turn Undead - since when were zombies aesthetes?

OK, firstly thanks to Clark for taking time out to give feedback on this stuff. I can only guess how busy he and the others have been since entries closed.

Right: here's mine.

Kingsbane Decanter

Aura: faint transmutation. CL 5th
Slot –
Price 14,140 gp

At times, an assassin needs to attack a subject in plain view. The Kingsbane Decanter offers such an opportunity.

Fashioned in a regal style, it can hold any potable liquid, and is designed to be easily poured from behind a person. The contents are quite safe to drink, and the almost everyone served from the Decanter will safely enjoy their refreshment.

A Kingsbane Decanter functions once per day. When the Command Word is spoken (even under one’s breath), the liquid inside the Decanter becomes subject to a Poison effect, as per the spell. When this transformed liquid is consumed, the target must make a Fortitude Save (DC 16) or suffer 1d10 CON damage: a second save one minute later is also required, else the subject suffers the same effect. The taste, smell and appearance of the liquid are not affected by the enchantment.

On speaking another Command Word, the liquid becomes safe to drink again. Thus, many people can be served before and after the target, allaying suspicion that the victim’s drink was responsible.

Construction: Requirements – Craft Wondrous Item, Poison, Neutralise Poison
Cost – 7070 gp
-------------------------------------------------------
From feedback on earlier items and the Also-Ran Thread, I can guess why the Judges passed on this one.

Still, it was a great experience and has fuelled thoughts for next year.

Did I get through? Hmm, what does my screen name say.

Ah well. I haven't read through half of the Top 32 yet, and they all seem great so far. Good choices.

I'm already working on 1,000,001 kewl ideas for next year. I'll probably forget them, by then, and lash something together at the last minute. But I enjoyed the writing of my item and the anticipation of tonight's announcement that I'm in next year.

I think "design a wondrous item" is perfect for the round 1 entries, and gives some nice consistency to the contest year-to-year. You can do anything with a wondrous item, which can bestow powers akin to new feats, new spells, new monster powers, etc.

Seconded.

Plus, everyone is busy working on next year's Wondrous Item NOW, so changing horses in mid-flow wouldn't go down well with the natives.

Personally, I think Clark's a great chap, and I wouldn't want to see gamers burning his effigy because he'd said "Well, why not have them design a new PC race in 200 words..."

;p

There is one, and ONLY one, reason to write: because if you didn't do it, you would have to jam your thumbs into your eye-sockets until you could touch your brain, and then rip it out of your skull through the front of your face.
And then set your own brain on fire, just to make the voices stop.
If you are writing for any other reason, stop right now.

I just read The Writer's Tale by Russell T Davies & Benjamin Cook.

Davies is the guy responsible for bringing back Doctor Who to the TV screen after it had been in limbo (one TVM aside) since 1989, and turning it into must-watch TV on 14 nights a year.

He has to work to production deadlines, screen time, FX budgets, casting availability and 1001 other constraints. And, last season, wrote four of the best scripts the series has seen.

He, too, writes because it would pour out of him somehow, anyway. Even at 3 in the morning, when he can't work out how to fit an extra character into Episode 13 and he's about to fall over with Chicken Pox, he's writing.

Both the book, and this contest, have fired my creative juices. I just need to find the time to do some writing properly.

The ten minutes waiting to collect take-out food I spent scribbling on the back of an envelope last night don't really count ;)

Then, I will be happy to start a new thread and if you want to ask why yours didnt make the cut I will be happy to answer with my comments about your item. I cant agree to share the thoughts of the other judges, but they may come in and join the party if they want :)So there you have it. Once the top 32 are announced, I will personally answer any questions anyone might have on why their item didnt make the cut.

I have my idea for next year lining up already: so if I don't make the grade this time out, you can be sure that I'll be picking your brains as to why... :)

I think I avoided most of the pitfalls Clark has mentioned.

Whether my spell-in-a-can-with-a-cool-name is good enough for the Top 32 is another matter.

Might have to start out the 2010 process early...

The table is adjusted for your time zone. However, if you're not logged in, or haven't set your time zone, it defaults to GMT.

Now that's interesting. I'd assumed that the time on the table was one of the US Times, not GMT.

Perhaps you could add a line on the front page telling people that the table is in their timezone (if set). I wasn't sure when the deadline was from the table.

Not that it mattered, my entry was in before Christmas...

Mine's gone in.

Who knows? Someone might like it!

I love iterative attacks: especially the look on my players' faces when they discover their opponents have them...

KEEP 'EM!
(but let the tanks move around as well as get them)

I've just skimmed through the document, but it seems to me that the new skills system lacks something.

If a rogue takes 'Pick Lock' at first level, at Level 10 he will have the same modifier to his d20 roll as if he'd picked it at Level 10. This seems wrong.

My modifier: note at which level the Skill was taken, and deduct that number from the modifier.

So, a L10 Rogue with pick lock would be:

1d20 + 3 (class skill bonus) + 9 (class level-level picked) + DEX bonus + racial bonus if it was taken at first level

1d20 + 3 (class skill bonus) + 0 (class level - level picked) + DEX bonus + racial bonus if it was taken at tenth level

In other words: picking things up later in your career means you aren't as good at them.

Does it make the book-keeping trickier? Yes, a bit. But it means that your initial skill choices become more important over time at defining your character. If you think you'll use it, pick it early!

Wanted! Mature (twenty-something and upwards) roleplayer for established group, based in Southport (Merseyside), UK.

We meet weekly on Thursdays between 7pm and 10pm. We will be playing Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, but are willing to try out other games and genres as the inclination takes us. I will be taking up the DM Chores, and we will be starting a bright, shiny new campaign at L1 when we get going again.

Due to other commitments, two of our group have had to step down, and we are short-handed now that they've gone. If you are up to the challenge, please get in touch with me via e-mail - pjfniles at fastmail dot co dot uk

We play at my house, and we have two children under four living here, so non-smokers only, please.

Necro isnt really set up to do Adventure Paths in a monthly format. The Iron Tower series is something that I conceptualized some time ago but lost steam as our then print partner WW wanted a narrower and narrower product schedule.

In any event, our 4E freebie--Winter's Tomb--will be sort of a lead in to the series of adventures. Of course, it will be its own stand alone too.

By the way, I certainly havent "announced" that we are doing it. I am thinking about it and I would like to do it but it is hardly an announced product. The only announced products so far are Winter's Tomb--a pdf freebie at 4E launch, Tome of Horrors 4th Edition and Tegel Manor.

Dont tell Erik I am announcing things. It gets him all nervous. :)

Clark

Well if this was the product that had you stoked and you wanted to write, go for it.

The World needs more of your adventure writing.

And of course my eyes lit up at the concept of the Hopping Prophet masquerading behind the facade of a shrine of Heironeous...

Mine are popping out of their sockets! Hopping Heironeous indeed!

I haven't yet managed to guide my PC's in the direction of the AA Templated Bad Guys, I'll report when I do. It certainly made me sit up and take a long hard look at the Ogre after I'd finished.

They had plenty of trouble last night, swarmed by tiny monterous spiders and lots of poisonous bites. Those 1d2 STR ability damages sure add up after a while.

And only a DC 10 poison as well - heh!

I am so loading my bad guys up with The Good Stuff before they meet them :evil:

Due to the lack of evidence supporting Victoria Waterfield, I think you may have isolated my favorite companion outfit on the hotness scale right there.

--Erik

There's lots of folks on the Outpost Gallifrey boards would agree with you.

We've recently been discussing new companion Catherine Tate's <ahem> bosom on those boards. It stemmed from a comment she made that breasts weren't designed for running.

If you're a menber at OG, check out this thread and see what the fuss is about.

I've just used Turin's Augmented Creature template to make a couple of the bad guys in the Upper Levels of 'Lost City of Barakus' even badder.

I like the results! Thanks for the mechanic, Turin, it will really make things tough for the party.

The Ratman Wizard now has a killer ranged attack (using darts) that the Intuition Bonus from her newly increased INT score makes rock hard. Her Rogue Consort should likewise inconveniance some of the less-able characters, again from range (and, I hope, with some sneak attack added).

Now a really evil DM would add Poison to those ranged attacks... (wanders off to consult Poisons Table in DMG)

'Lost City of Barakus' is not immediately familiar, care to refresh my memory please ?

It's a Necromancer Games module (2004 Gold ENnie Award winner for best Adventure) - check here and scroll down for some blurb on it, and this thread for my (poor) write-ups of the game to date.

Hi Turin,

I like your Augmented Critter Template. I'll have to remember to copy and print it, for those times when I need a quick fix to damage the players with.

On a side note, I managed to take TWO PC's below 0hp in our last sessions of 'Lost City of Barakus' - regrettably, the Colour Sprayed Druid came round soon enough to save the Hexblade's sorry butt. And, once again, the Rogue got healed before he hit -10 (that's like the seventh time he's dropped).

On the plus side, the Rogue is now third level with a mere 10hp. <rubs hands gleefully>.

I'll be buying.

Of course, my children won't eat for a week, but that isn't Greg's problem. Oh no.

Right there with you. Anyone who holds "Trial of a Timelord" up as quality Doctor Who is immediately suspect.

Quoted for Truth.

In case anyone in the US hasn't heard, Kylie Minogue will be appearing in the 2007 Christmas Special episode of Doctor Who. She wears a maid's costume.

At least two of my non-Who watching friends are suddenly interested!

Due to amazon.co.uk taking 6 months to decide they couldn't sell me the SCAP h/c at the low price they'd quoted in February, when I get round to running SCAP I'll be using the Dungeon versions.

That means that I won't have the Drakthar's Way adventure to help boost the PC's for Adventure 3.

I'd like suggestions for modules to run in its place (from Dungeon preferably) to fill in the gap. I'm already planning to add in a couple of old 2e adventures converted to 3.5e, but they're only short so I'll need something else a bit meaty.

Requirement Spec: city-based, appropriate level, minimal backstory (so that I can plug in the SCAP plot where required), edition irrelevant (conversion no problem!).

Thanks to everyone who provides suggestions!

Congratulations to Allen & his wife on the arrival of their daughter.

These are wonderful times. I hope you both enjoy them.

Tom Baker, I'm afraid, is my Doctor, he was the one I grew up watching. Indeed from ages 7 to 14 he was The Doctor, I was lucky that he didn't regenerate during earlier as I don't know how I'd have taken it.

Tennant, I think, is running a close second. He's a fine actor with great range and he's playing the part well.

Eccleston I don't care for. The excitement of watching Doctor Who again after such a long gap made his episodes great, but on a re-watching, Eccleston's shortcomings as an actor are wilfully exposed. While he can do dark, brooding anger very well, he can't switch to charming or funny so well as Tom Baker, Tennant, Troughton (or even Hartnell) could. Whilst he was a great 'name' to re-launch the show with, he was a bit of a flop, IMO.

Well, I had a blast playing the scaenario at GenCon UK. Thanks to Stuart for running it (and doing well) and thanks to the mighty RJK for writing such a challenging and entertaining level of the castle.