Encounter and Adventure building

[Darth Bass]

Greetings fellow testers/gms!

I decided, since I have gone through almost all of the available content so far, that I would try my hand at some encounter building.

An associate requested an adventure when I mentioned it to him, and I figured this would be as good a place to post it up for public consumption.

Match's First Dive

I put together all of the encounters with the GM tools provided and adjusted each one for party size differences.

If the math all works out then this should be runnable for a party size between 2 - 6, all level 1.

Let me know what you think! If the work is acceptable I may continue on with a series focusing on each level. In either case it's a good test of the GM world creation side of things.

[Darth Bass]

Just wanted to make sure this was still here after the maintenance.

[ShadeRaven]

That's outstanding, Darth! We'll give it a try.

Out of curiosity, what are you using to create your maps? I love the classic feel to it and they are very clean, well made.

[Darth Bass]

Sounds good! Please let me know how it goes, but more importantly the developers.

As for the maps I use a free online tool called ANAmap.

Map Tool

I agree with the thoughts on the map. The price is also very attractive.

[ShadeRaven]

Thanks and thanks! I think we'll give it a shot tomorrow night with my online group. My players are collecting a number of thoughts on the new system that we'll be happy to share. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

[Darth Bass]

Now that the forums are back up, how did it go? Did you managed to run it?

[ShadeRaven]

Not yet :( I forgot we had a family get-together this weekend that sapped all our extra time. We are scheduled to play tonight, though, so I will let you know tomorrow, barring any additional interruptions.

[Darth Bass]

Sounds good!

I am cooking up Part 2 already.

[ShadeRaven]

Seemed like every time I came out here to post the last few days, the forums were down. Perhaps another clever and trap to overcome by the unlikable Jaali? It certainly took me several days to thwart it. ;)

First, it was fun though some of what would flow normally is still bogging down as we are looking up rules and double-checking our interpretations of them. The description text for the players was well received and well written.

Second, the classic feel to the little scenario was terrific. I enjoyed seeing how you applied some of the rules related to exploring as it differed from mine. All-in-all, very solid to play through.

Third, okay.. so the first hiccup, and not necessarily on you. We really struggled with Construct Armor. Hardness 7 reduces damage by 7, which was sometimes difficult for players to overcome, which made it difficult to get it to a broken state. I almost felt like as a magical item (animated), it should be allowed at least 1 dent (2 for elite?) before become broken. But the trouble was how construct armor is read:

Quote:

Construct Armor: Like other objects, an animated object has Hardness. This Hardness reduces any damage it takes by an amount of damage equal to the Hardness. The construct armor takes damage equal to the attack’s damage, and might become dented or broken. The construct’s AC and TAC might be lower when it’s broken. The construct armor can’t be entirely destroyed since it’s part of the creature’s construction.

Might become dented or broken? I interpeted it as it could take a dent (1x the hardness+) and then a 2nd dent (twice beyond the hardness) made it broken which then reduced the ACs.

What wasn't entirely clear, either, is whether the Hardness goes away with it being broken. Not entirely sure. Because the Hardness 7 was really giving PCs trouble, I said yes... but there's really nothing to indicate that Breaking Construct Armor means that the creatures innate hardness goes away as hardness is listed with HPs, not Construct Armor. In truth, it really reads to me that Hardness persists after the armor is broken because the creature is a construct and the difficulty in penetrating it is part of its being until destroyed.

So, as you can imagine, Jaali was a big problem for players.. lol.. and discussing the rules and why the party couldn't overcome him became a centerpoint of discussion. The Tool Sets weren't so bad because getting 10 HPs of damage beyond 5 reduction wasn't as tough, but it was the first glimpse into how the Construct Armor might be difficult.

Without a doubt, though, it was a fun playthrough and your efforts were greatly appreciated!

[Darth Bass]

I really appreciate the playthrough and the thorough review! Even down to the descriptive text. It makes my day. And yeah, the forums definitely have a Jaali flavor.

And now that you mention it, I hadn't thought about the exact nuances of that to be fair.

I looked it up before replying and I did find that the hardness does NOT go away. The AC does go down but the hardness will stay according to current RAW.

I had thought that 7 hardness would be a bit much as well, but I didn't change it because that was what the books said was supposed to be that equivalent challenge. In this case an Animated Statue for a "Severe" threat solo-boss. No environmental hazards.

I had thought about offering an adamantine weapon as a possible loot option, but the problem with that is it is a much, much higher level item and worth a fortune. It would be up to the players to stay in agreement with the institute getting all the artifacts, weapons included.

How many players did you end up doing this with, may I ask?

[Darth Bass]

Also, did they eventually defeat him or were they unable to?