|
To-be first time DM checking on. Writing an adventure is haaaard  So there's this village, Clifftop, imaginatively named because it sits at the edge of an impossibly sheer, tall cliff. For one reason or another the PCs are in this town when it comes under attack by the hideous denizens of the deep. I'm trying to keep this adventure not "fate of the world" at this point, though I'm thinking that if the game progresses well it could turn into that. I'm interested in having the group of PCs defend the town, and then journey towards where the creatures came from into a dungeon set into the cliff face. The BBEG at the end of the dungeon will be some underboss of an Aboleth, who is sending his minions forth to conquer and cover the world in darkness, yadda yadda. I figure its one gaming session for the defense of the town and finding the dungeon entrance, one session or two for the dungeon crawl. My problem is, where do I go from there? Have the PCs work their way up the food chain? The fate-of-the-world factor (should I decide to use it) is that there's a concerted effort among the aboleth to conquer the world, and the PCs were just unlucky and happened to be picnicking in Belgium the day the Nazis rolled into town. Caught up in a huge conflict as the little guys is the feeling I'm going for. How do a transition from "you killed this underboss, he gave you a cryptic clue about some wacky poo poo" without being lame and leading them into "oh there's this other town over here, go save the town/warn the king/whatever". I'm thinking I might have them be the sole survivors of the town - but that cuts down a little on NPCs to guide my party along, and leaves few options as to how to continue once the dungeon is cleared out. Am I over-thinking this? Stuntman Mike fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Mar 29, 2010 |
#
¿
Mar 29, 2010 02:23
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 19, 2024 20:57 |
|
|
I'm about to DM a 3.5 game, and I'm implementing Action Points as they're outlined in the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/actionpoints.htm) Basically players get a pool of ~6 APs and can use them to take another standard action, boost a d20 roll by 1d6, recall a spell, and a few other things. How much is this going to affect challenge ratings and such? Obviously it makes combat easier on the players, but do you think the presence of APs makes combat MUCH easier, or is it a trivial factor? How much can I get away with in regards to amping up the difficulty of encounters basically. VVV  I'm playing with people who won't play 4e, throw me a bone, man.
Stuntman Mike fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Mar 31, 2010 |
|
#
¿
Mar 31, 2010 14:13
|
|
|
Well, good thing I'm not an experienced 3.5 DM, heheheh...heh...heh...poo poo. The 50% rule is all well and good but how would that help me when using larger numbers of easy creatures? Just crunch the numbers on each side, I guess?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 31, 2010 15:49
|
|
|
Liesmith posted:the challenge rating for this monster is: whatever I feel like what do you care. see this cardboard wall? you can't prove I'm lying because everything is behind the wall. have fun Oh...you one-shotted my aboleth with a x3 critical, eh? IT EXPLODES INTO 40 ORC WARRIORS, HAVE FUN KIDS!  But that's a good idea, just making poo poo up.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 31, 2010 16:42
|
|
|
Fenarisk posted:Just write a loving book then. But what about the "fun" factor - I understand the need for fudging the numbers. Fighting the BBEG isn't fun if you end up getting way lucky and killing it in a round. That isn't satisfying. Maybe its just me, but as a player I'd prefer a confrontation that I have to work at and feel a sense of accomplishment when victorious.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 31, 2010 17:52
|
|
|
I'm starting a new adventure with the party sleeping in an inn as a crapton of lizardfolk attack the town they're in. The lizardfolk are torching buildings and so on and so forth - and I want to start off this first encounter with a little excitement. I'm thinking I want the PCs wake up to the sounds of combat, and they see some lizardfolk running towards the inn ready to torch it. My problem is timing - how many rounds do I give them before the lizardfolk throw their torches? How many more until the building burns down? They have to don armor and such, but I want a sense of urgency. Some might have to don hastily with help, others might have to forego armor and just get out asap. My plan so far is: 1d10 rounds before the lizardfolk get close enough to throw the torches, then the PCs have another 1d10 rounds to escape the inn before it collapses/explodes. After half of the second d10 worth of rounds, anyone inside will take 1d6 smoke inhalation damage each round they remain inside, Fort 15 save. Retarded? Not retarded?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 19, 2010 04:26
|
|
|
Maybe you should use some kind of item like the old 3.5e wondrous item Instant Fortress. A little object that upon a spoken command word, transforms into a tower where PCs' can have their home base.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 22, 2010 15:39
|
|
|
My characters are going to be faced with a "go to A or go to B" choice next time we play. A sage is going to point them either in the direction of rumored weirdness going down in a small coastal town (Last Breaths of Ashenport adventure from Dungeon), or towards the capital city in order to meet with an society of aberration-hunters to get more information about and help against the threat they've been fighting so far. My problem is, I've got no idea what to do if they choose to go to the capital. I have an overall idea of a court-intrigue based plotline down the road, but I'm concerned mostly with the immediate. It would take a week for them to travel to the capital from where they are currently, and I've got no clue what to throw at them while they're on the road - random encounter tables seem lame, but I have no plans for that. The coastal town is only two days away so I can gloss over most of that with narration and campfire character interaction, but if they choose the longer route the travelling should take the rest of the session and I need a side-quest or something interesting to give them. Ideas?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 29, 2010 04:23
|
|
|
The flavor of the adventure is really nautical and I'm using it mostly for said flavor, so that would be difficult. But I could put the people they're going to meet in a different city that puts them on the path towards the town anyway... so like you said, then the capital is a longer-term goal. Hmm
|
|
#
¿
Apr 29, 2010 05:21
|
|
|
Mikhail Gorbachev posted:That is New Zealand. Your players are going to recognize that as New Zealand. Dude just flip it 180 degrees vertical and nobody will notice it. I like AutoRealm for map generation software, personally. Fake Edit: unless they're sitting on the other side of the table
|
|
#
¿
May 18, 2010 00:43
|
|
|
I need some help getting around the 1-hour workday problem. I've got my party exploring a small-ish dungeon, and it is not realistic for them to spend 8 hours resting there - its a short crawl, but there's enough encounters that I feel they'll exhaust their spells and healing before the big bad at the end. If they do rest, it is very likely that the big bad will escape or overwhelm them in an ambush. I've supplied them with several Pearls of Power and plenty of healing potions to get them through, but what else can I do to get them to press on and not rest? I want them capable and able to fight the end boss, but if they choose to rest I'll have to ambush them while they're sleeping and that just compounds the issue.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 4, 2010 16:22
|
|
|
Chainsaw, that's totally rad. I like that a lot, luring and pressing the players rather than giving them free reign over the environment.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 4, 2010 18:44
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 19, 2024 20:57 |
|
|
Ulta posted:I'm a fan of what one Dm at our shop did. He levels as a number with two decimals. So you started at level 1.00, and in the first session you had 3 major and one minor encounter, so now your level 1.35. Kept the fill xp bar feeling with none of the math. This is brilliant.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 31, 2010 15:40
|
|