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Gatto Grigio posted:Has there ever been a successful 5e module for PCs over level 10? I don't think there has been a D&D module, adventure path, or homebrew campaign in the entire history of the hobby that accurately accounts for the capabilities of a high-level party.
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Sep 18, 2020 13:48
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SkeletonHero posted:I don't think there has been a D&D module, adventure path, or homebrew campaign in the entire history of the hobby that accurately accounts for the capabilities of a high-level party. I mean, I'd argue that the Illithiad modules pretty well do. There aren't any real points where the players can break the module by being able to fly/teleport and they're expected to potentially be able to kill an evil god's proxy by the end.
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Sep 18, 2020 19:53
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Breaking a staff of the magi will result in The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 72: The Deck of Dragons and Elementals 363: Everything Was White There’s a blizzard on the tundra, and the PCs must seek shelter or die! Of course, with a Survival or Intelligence check, you might find… a steeply-inclined cavern in that rock-faced hill over there. How convenient! It would be a shame if an adult white dragon happened to live there, and was woken up by your arrival! All so cliche. At least the dragon has 8,000 gp and a sword +3, frost brand. Obvious? Yes, but I appreciate when treasure is themed to the encounter. I’ll keep, just because this is a high-level encounter and it’s perfectly plausible that the PCs have other tools to deal with a random blizzard besides getting railroaded. 364: Draco Petrificus - Its Life and Habits The PCs have been hired to escort a snobbish elderly sage specializing in petrification, to investigate the habitat of a dracolisk. He travels very slowly and likes his comfort. When they finally reach their destination, they’re attacked by a dracolisk. Go figure. Acceptable as a quest. 365: Elemental Risks #1: Whirlwinds The PCs are trudging across a huge desert and find an oasis. There are no nomads or travellers making camp next to it, which is weird. As they get closer, the wind picks up; it’s guarded by an 8HD air elemental, which a wizard put in place during an old wizard war. The air elemental can be dispelled, but you need the bones of the wizard to make it work; not sure how the PCs are supposed to figure that out. Probably Spellcraft checks or something. The wizard’s bones are right over there, though, buried in the sand. Also buried in the sand (with the bones, presumably?) is a grimoire containing conjure air elemental, and a staff of the archmagi [sic]. A staff of the magi!? drat! Does every Deck of Encounters need one encounter where you can just pick one of these babies up? A little too Monty Haul for me. Keep the encounter, drop the staff. Sorry, players. 366: Elemental Risks #2: Nowhere to Run “The PCs are in a sandy wasteland area not far from a wizard’s tower and a quarry.” There’s an earthquake, and then an hour later a huge earth elemental emerges from the ground and asks for help being sent back to its home plane. They need to use a stone… presumably one of controlling earth elementals? ...which is on a wizard’s corpse down a 70-foot deep mine shaft in the quarry. No details about how any of this came about. Eh. It’s one of those “please do this” / “ok we do that” / “cool thanks” kind of quests. There’s no actual conflict, challenge, or interesting choices. Keep if I want to follow-up on it later, but it’s a little thin. 367: Elemental Risks #3: Rage Like a Fire The PCs are in “an ancient Sylvan grove,” negotiating with the high elves who live there about something or other, when the far side of the grove starts to burn! It’s a fire elemental (12 HD), spreading around normal fires, and it needs to be contained. If the PCs help, “the elves give them undying friendship and allegiance” so that’s cool. It’s a high-level card so a 12 HD fire elemental doesn’t seem like that big a deal, but keep I guess? Obviously, dropping the set-up of them needing something from the elves. Maybe they just see the fire and come to the rescue. 368: Elemental Risks #4: A Proper Sacrifice “The PCs needed to get home swiftly and had to go by sea. As a result, they didn't check into the ship they hired. The captain is stingy and sly, and hasn't made proper sacrifices to the sea deities. Those powers are not happy.“ Yeah but what if that’s NOT what’s going on in the campaign? Geez. Am I the rear end in a top hat here for insisting that these cards not have detailed setups? Would this not have been a problem for other AD&D DMs? I just want to be able to draw a card when the PCs are at sea and have something happen, no matter what their exact seafaring situation is! Anyway, a 16 HD water elemental starts attacking the ship in general and the captain in particular, who begs for help and feigns ignorance as to why this could be happening. It can be destroyed, but flinging money over the side “as some sailors suggest” will appease it as well. I guess we can keep, since “booked passage on a rando ship” isn’t an uncommon sea adventure occurrence and the gameplay with the elemental gunning for the captain sounds entertaining. Also, I kind of love the idea of an rear end in a top hat sea god demanding DIRECT FINANCIAL COMPENSATION for every sea voyage like some kind of mob boss running a protection racket. Makes me salivate at the thought of what kind of riches are accumulated in the sea god’s deep-sea treasure palace. Now there’s an adventure/heist idea. Dallbun fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Sep 18, 2020 |
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Sep 18, 2020 21:00
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SkeletonHero posted:I don't think there has been a D&D module, adventure path, or homebrew campaign in the entire history of the hobby that accurately accounts for the capabilities of a high-level party. Well, there's "The Dreams of Ruin," which was designed to challenge not just a high-level D&D party, but the high-level D&D party of the grognards I know whose characters in a "low-level" game still have dragon companions half the time and whose AD&D 2E house rules heavily feature material from the Arduin Grimoire. The phrase that sticks in my mind from the book is "self-replicating clusters of 9th-level spells."
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Sep 18, 2020 21:12
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"Hello traveller. a mage bound me here and then fell down this mine shaft, leaving me stranded. I can't pay you for retrieving the magic stone and releasing me but his corpse is sure t o have some valuables on it. " Is definitely an old-school CRPG quest , maybe even have the elemental offer to lower the PCs in an improvised elevator part of the way down.
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Sep 18, 2020 21:18
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Libertad! posted:However, the adventure itself can use a little more polish, particularly in handling circumstances where the PCs go off the beaten path or resolve things in ways the plot didn’t intend. What if the party attacks the warband? What if they subdue the Rathi and bring him back to the Raja? What if after learning about the government’s brutality, the PCs decide that they’re being used as pawns and give up the hunt for the Rathi to instead confront the Raja? Nima is also in need of a stat block or stat block reference, and the Rathi is surprisingly a glass cannon for the level at which he appears. Four attacks per round and sneak attack is nothing to sneeze at, but his low Armor Class and Hit Points mean that the average 15th level martial character is probably a better fighter than him. I like this adventure, but I agree that it could use some polish to it and the player level is way off. This feels like a level 7 or 8 adventure at most and probably lower. I could see running this with level 5 players who use a combination of NPC support and plot magic to beat the Raksha boss. The monsoon mechanic is an interesting way to help give the adventure a sense of time urgency so PCs don't dawdle.
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Sep 18, 2020 22:17
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PurpleXVI posted:I mean, I'd argue that the Illithiad modules pretty well do. There aren't any real points where the players can break the module by being able to fly/teleport and they're expected to potentially be able to kill an evil god's proxy by the end. It’s a great adventure path but it’s designed for adventurers lvl 6-10.
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Sep 19, 2020 02:40
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I really like the monsoon mechanic for the Lost Rathi, and that mucking about and being incompetent but extremely dangerous detectives will shortcut the investigation part (aka your party makes it clear they don't care about that). The lack of some details if the party goes off rails at some parts is bad but not adventure derailing per se because it won't be too hard to retrack them with "newly confident rakshasa is being a grade a jerk". Excited for Mahjong because I love mahjong.
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Sep 19, 2020 02:44
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SkeletonHero posted:I don't think there has been a D&D module, adventure path, or homebrew campaign in the entire history of the hobby that accurately accounts for the capabilities of a high-level party. Of course, it did it by broadly nerfing magic abilities and items. The Drow modules took place in the Underdark, where teleport spells didn't work and your enemies carried +4 swords and armor that lost its abilities if you took it out of the caverns. The final module took place in a level of the Abyss, where a whole bunch of magic spells were modified to have diminished or no effect. So, um, maybe that isn't the best example.
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Sep 19, 2020 02:53
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FMguru posted:The tail end of the Gygax Giants/Drow/Spiderweb GDQ series handled high-level play pretty well. To be fair, I think that's a good example of why a lot of high-level modules fall flat. So much of their text has to be devoted to arbitrary effects that exist only to *deprive* PCs of the magic that you wonder why they didn't just run it as a low-level module in the first place. Good example is the 2e version of A Paladin in Hell, which is full of bullshit like automated sailing ships surrounded by Walls of Force and anti-teleportation measures just to stop high-level PCs from getting off of the boat under their own power. (And, wouldn't you guess, it's a Monte Cook joint)
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Sep 19, 2020 03:18
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Gatto Grigio posted:To be fair, I think that's a good example of why a lot of high-level modules fall flat. So much of their text has to be devoted to arbitrary effects that exist only to *deprive* PCs of the magic that you wonder why they didn't just run it as a low-level module in the first place. Well, in terms of the GDQ series, you're fighting pretty potent bad guys on their home turf. "Realistically" it should be tougher and should require you to think outside the box instead of using the usual "Fireball the site from orbit" tactics. Figure when PCs build their strongholds, they'll spending some their thousands (millions?) of GPs to put custom scary-rear end defenses in them as well. Still, there is a difference between making things a little tougher for tough PCs by making them thinking outside their usual tactics and negating their abilities just to stick them on a "prison adventure train" which is what it sounds like A Paladin in Hell does.
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Sep 19, 2020 05:33
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Dallbun posted:Well, there's "The Dreams of Ruin," which was designed to challenge not just a high-level D&D party, but the high-level D&D party of the grognards I know whose characters in a "low-level" game still have dragon companions half the time and whose AD&D 2E house rules heavily feature material from the Arduin Grimoire. I really, really wish that Dreams of Ruin wasn't quite so closely tied to 1e AD&D/Labyrinth Lord. A lot of its material is free of particular attachment to particular edition of D&D (or any game, really) and then suddenly the exact capabilities of 15th level illusionist opponents become important.
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Sep 19, 2020 05:42
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FMguru posted:The tail end of the Gygax Giants/Drow/Spiderweb GDQ series handled high-level play pretty well. Right, taking away spells and magic items is exactly how not to run a high-level adventure well. In order to have a good high-level adventure the story has to have encounters and dilemmas that let you keep your stuff, but doesn't allow you to use spells and magic items to solve problems trivially.
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Sep 19, 2020 05:57
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Reminded that OG Drow are basically anti-adventurers; they move in small units with specialisations and have fancy magic gear that only really works for them.
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Sep 19, 2020 07:15
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  Den of Broken Tiles This rather short adventure is suitable for 4 12th level PCs. One of the party members has been invited to a top-tier mahjong tournament at the Den of Broken Tiles. This gambler’s guild is actually a secret society that uses the games as a front to make clandestine deals and control national politics. Organized by the wizard Jaan’dik, his mysterious grand prize is the servitude of a captured wish-granting spirit by the name of Pilandok, who he plans on selling to the highest bidder after demonstrating its power to the lucky winner. The adventure takes place in Illrooco Province, a rather mountainous region populated mostly by tribes living in rather large villages. While the PCs are venturing to the local tournament they come upon a talking rizali dragon (pseudodragon) by the name of Kiza in need of help. She mentions that her friend Pilandok has been kidnapped by a wicked sorcerer. She only managed to escape said spellcaster’s mental control, and given that the sorcerer is capable of changing their physical appearance she’s reluctant in accompanying the party to the tournament or anywhere else she can be easily seen. The tournament itself is held at a traveler’s hostel by the name of Sinigang house, and is populated by guards who will search people coming in for weapons. There are also representatives of the Den of Broken Tiles who act as referees, as well as three contestants eager to participate in the mahjong tournament who have guards of their own. Jaan’dik also disguises himself as Mama Esca, Sinigang House’s original owner, who he left for dead in a cave after her refusal to host the tournament in the first place. Each contestant is a person of rather notable political power, even if their role is not obvious: we have the representative of a corrupt official, a nobleman who plays not for the money but for the thrill, and the daughter of a gambler whose father is believed dead and she’s hoping to use the grand prize as a means of finding him. This last character is rather important, so we’ll mention her by name: Daiami. Before the tournament begins the PCs can interact with them and gather rumors of varying truthfulness about recent goings-on and can also hear said rumors while playing. Jaan’dik appears to introduce the rules and mention the prize, claiming that the winner will get to meet a diwata in the flesh and request their heart’s desire from it in addition to the buy-in gold of all the contestants. If asked why he didn’t make use of the power himself, Jaan’dik claims that he has “already made his wish.” There are two means of resolving the mahjong tournament: either it’s done as a skill challenge where the contestant PC must roll 5 successes before rolling 3 failures, and can use any skill with which they are proficient provided that it can be justified. Cheating and getting away with it counts as 2 successes, but the tiles (which are a mimic in disguise) are capable of detecting both mundane and magical means if the PC fails a Deception check and will come to life and attack the guilty party for 5 rounds. Regardless of the fight’s outcome, said cheater will be ejected from the tournament. The other means of playing is simulating a real mahjong game, with suggested alterations in a sidebar:  I do not know the rules of mahjong, so I cannot comment one way or another as to the fastidiousness of these house rules. If the contestant PC loses then Daiami will win. Jaan’dik will teleport into the room and invite everyone to follow him into an underground chamber, even the losers. The trail eventually ends at an arcane circle surrounding Pilandok, a sleeping mouse deer. The truth of the matter is that Pilandok is not bound by the circle’s powers and can leave at any time, but is pretending to be captured because he thinks it will be funny to see the reaction on Jaan’dik’s face when he nonchalantly walks out of the circle and says “no” to the wish. When this happens then Jaan’dik will fly into a rage and use his magic to try and kill all of the witnesses. The three Den members will attempt to defend him during a bout of confusion, although being weaponless they can’t do much and will surrender once Jaan’dik escapes or is subdued. The wizard himself casts spells as an archmage and has access to some pretty powerful magic including but not limited to Time Stop, Globe of Invulnerability, and the quintessential Fireball. He also cast a few long-term buff spells before combat, and he can summon elementals to fight at his side. As for Pilandok, he is more of a mobile support character, possessing little in the way of direct offense (besides the vicious mockery cantrip) but can heal targets by rubbing his fur against them, and grant inspiration once per year to a target in the form of luck, and has a few utility spells. Pilandok will explain to surviving PCs that a renowned gambler by the name of Esca lived at Sinigang House in a life of post-fame anonymity, and refused the idea for the tournament being held at the place. Jaan’dik overpowered and left her for dead in a cave in order to host the tournament, and Pilandok did his part in helping her recover before his fake-capture. The real Esca, once found, can wrap up a loose plot thread by telling Daiami the real fate of her father, which is meant to be a future adventure hook. Pilandok will not offer a wish, but he will give the PCs a Ring of Steady Nerves that grants advantage on Dexterity/Charisma checks involving finesse and saves vs psychic damage, but transforms the wielder into a mouse deer for a limited time if they fail said save. In addition to Jaan’dik, Pilandok, and the Tile Mimics, we also have stats for a mouse deer. It’s a CR 0 tiny beast that has 1 hit point and a bite that deals 1 hp of damage, but like Pilandok has a yearly lucky aura inspiration ability. Thoughts So Far: I am a sucker for competitive mini-games as a change of pace from the dungeon-crawling faire of D&D, so I love the idea of a high-stakes mahjong tournament. The adventure’s weak point is that it has only one real combat encounter, and depending on the party make-up can be very easy or very difficult. PCs who have been disarmed of essential offensive gear by the guards may have little choice but to retreat, but otherwise they may be able to overwhelm Jaan’dik if they get lucky on initiative. The tie-in hook with Kiza talking about a wicked sorcerer is a premonition, but barring her use as the sample adventure hook in the first place (PC receives a letter for help) her presence may seem like a red herring if the party decides that this “evil mage on the loose” is a higher priority than a mahjong tournament. Jaan’dik’s impersonation of Esca feels a bit unnecessary in complication, and there’s no real means of tipping the PCs off to something being amiss unless they have reason to use divination magic directly on his disguised self. Given that Jaan’dik appears as his real self upon the tournament’s completion, I feel that said plot element could be excised. It would be far more straightforward for Kiza to know what Jaan’dik looks like, but given the hostage situation cannot immediately make a scene at the tournament without risking the ire of everyone else in the house and the safety of her friend. A more covert approach can give the rest of the party time to snoop around while the contestant PC plays and buys them time. Join us next time as we perform food delivery service to Chinese Hell in A Cargo of Melons for the Courts of the Dead! Author’s Notes & Acknowledgements posted:When my dad first told me about a deer in the Philippines the size of a mouse that he held in his hand when he was younger, I thought he was joking or just making stuff up or maybe even just talking nonsense, like he was remembering a dream and confusing it with a memory of something real. And although I have traveled there on several occasions, so much of the Philippines is still a mystery to me, and the line between fantasy and reality is easily blurred. The plants and wildlife especially can seem far-fetched in concept but often stranger than fiction in reality. The flying lizard and the mouse-deer are just two such examples. Author Bio posted:Anthony Alipio has recently stumbled into a nexus of TTRPG creativity and hopes never to escape. He is the author of Seven Grains of Rice for Mike Myler’s Mists of Akuma setting, Dreams and Nightmares for Onyx Path’s Slarecian Vault, along with several collaborations with the creators of the Uncaged Anthology (including A Riddle in Time found in Volume IV of the series). You can find him on twitter @dm_fromscratch and support his caffeine addiction via http://ko-fi.com/insomna.
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Sep 19, 2020 10:21
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So this one is kind of an overcomplicated mess. You can make this way way way simpler, jaandik hosts the tournament and promises a wish to the winner.Players meet the other characters and learn their tragic backstory reasons for needing the wish. Play mahjong as needed and let players purposefully throw matches in the tournament to help their favored candidate if needed. At the end, the 4 characters seated at the final table are invited by Jaandik downstairs and the rest plays out as normal. PCs not invited will need to fight their way in while PCs stuck with Jaandik need to keep the NPCs alive. Boom, done, and no red herring but plenty of plot hooks for future adventures. As for how Mahjong is played the rules aren't, like, wrong, just playing 5 rounds of mahjong per table in a tournament that has, presumably, at least 16 entrants is going to take way too long. Even using a winner takes all approach thats 5 total rounds of mahjong for a 16 person tournament and unless you're playing with my family of degenerate chinese hillbillies thats gonna take a bunch of novices probably 30 minutes. Unless its considering a game to be a full dealer rotation (The official way the gambler plays) in which case no, no no no no Im not playing 20 rounds of mahjong per table to determine the winner much less 20 rounds for the smallest possible tournament size. Barudak fucked around with this message at 13:45 on Sep 19, 2020 |
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Sep 19, 2020 13:42
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You'd best believe that the next session of Exalted I run is going to be centred around a high stakes mahjong tournament. If I can't work out a way to play a game of mahjong using the martial arts rules, I don't deserve to be running Exalted.
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Sep 19, 2020 13:57
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Dallbun posted:Breaking a staff of the magi will result in That's how Umberlee rolls. I think every major harbour has a treasure pile somewhere in it from ships tossing some tribute in. Tempting, but you have to deal with the issues of A: Gathering and transporting potentially millions of copper and silver coins and trinkets. B: Escaping whatever awful vengeance comes after you. Merrow? Kraken? Dire Sea Lice? C: Never being able to go sailing again.
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Sep 19, 2020 14:03
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Only the most foolhardy would brave the demi-plane of The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 73: The Deck of Curses and Shadows 369: What’re You Looking At? The PCs find a silver amulet at the side of the road - the medallion features a face with a “wide-eyed, wide-mouthed” expression. It’s cursed and makes everyone the wearer encounters to save vs spell or be “deathly afraid” of them, as the group will discover when they reach the next town and people stay far, far away from them and refuse to serve them. Furthermore, “The effect is contagious among the PCs,” meaning everyone is afraid of the others as well, I guess? It can be de-cursed by a cleric of 17th-level or higher (!!!), but then loses its magic forever. So how did the last person get it off, then? What a weird thing to throw into the game. I foresee the PCs trying to find a way to safely abuse its power, and the DM pushing back because it’s not supposed to be useful to them. Kind of campaign-warping for a random encounter. I’ll pass, myself. 370: Shadow Series #1: This Outline is Familiar As night falls, the PCs discover that they cast no shadows! They’re still not back the next morning, though magic can be detected where they should be. The next night they’re attacked by creepy shadow copies of themselves, with shadow spellcasters using cold or dark-themed versions of fire or light spells. Cool. What’s next? 371: Shadow Series #2: Not Quite Bunny Rabbits This is supposed to happen the day after the first card. The PCs reach a border castle & castle town, but their shadows start making rude gestures, reshaping themselves into monstrous shapes, etc. The townsfolk certainly notice. The next day the guards come, backed up by a cleric, and “have a stern talk with them about the laws against witchcraft.” Oh, do go on - I’m very curious where the line is drawn between ”witchcraft” and “totally okay magic” in AD&D-land. The card’s not going to answer that, though. If the PCs don’t come up with a good excuse, they might be thrown out of the castle. 372: Shadow Series #3: Flat Out Evil So the PCs are still at the castle (guess they didn’t get banished), and after breakfast another creepy shadow thing happens. In this case, they suddenly find themselves looking up at the world from the ground, as 2-D, full-color images of themselves, as 3-D, inky black shadow copies of themselves run around causing havoc. It wears off in an hour. The guards are not amused, and want to imprison the PCs until a wizard can be summoned to deal with this. The card seems to assume the PCs will want to fight their way out. There’s little that the PCs can do to interact with this situation, which is a little frustrating. 373: Shadow Series #4: Shady Characters The PCs are in the countryside near the castle from the previous Shadow Series cards, and they wake up one morning to discover that they are living shadows themselves! Still 3D, but all black shadow, and mute. Also they slowly (1d4 HP/hour) take damage in the sun. They also have a mild compulsion to go northwest, and if they follow it it’ll lead them to a short, heavyset guy in a tower messing with something called the Orb of Shadows, which is very difficult to control. He’s as surprised as the PCs are. They’ll turn back to normal shortly after reaching it. Can I get something about what this guy was trying to accomplish? No? Or why all these shadow effects have been hitting the PCs specifically? No? Suggestions for future plot hooks stemming from this Orb? Nothing? [sigh] The idea of “weird stuff starts happening with the PCs’ shadows” is kind of cool, but this sort of drops the ball at the end. “A wizard did it! Accidentally.” Most of the cards also suffer from not giving the PCs any particular ways of interacting with the events. I might pass on the latter three but keep the first one - it’s a forced combat with no explanation, but it’s a nifty one, and I’m sure I can tie it in to some enemy of the PCs or ongoing plot thread or something.
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Sep 19, 2020 16:30
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IshmaelZarkov posted:You'd best believe that the next session of Exalted I run is going to be centred around a high stakes mahjong tournament. Let's be honest here, if you're running Exalted, you should be able to simulate anything from mahjong to competitive dating to tax law with the martial arts rules. And if you can't you are a failure both as a GM and a human being.
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Sep 19, 2020 17:38
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Dallbun posted:Only the most foolhardy would brave the demi-plane of Well, while the amulet is cursed, there's nothing that says they can't just take it off. Maybe the way the curse works is that 17th level Cleric aside, the other way to avoid the curse is to have somebody else pick it up and take possession of it. Personally, I'd Keep it just to see how the PCs tried to weaponize it. One of the bits I liked from Lawrence Watt-Evans's The Misenchanted Sword was one magic-user's suggestion that one way to beat a curse was to receive a second curse. Someone cursed to emit a foul odor might be cursed to have everyone within 20 feet of him lose their sense of smell. Dallbun posted:370: Shadow Series #1: This Outline is Familiar This initial fight is a little cool but the rest just seems like stuff that will piss off the PCs. One way to turn it around might be to put strip the combat out 1, then do 2 and 3 before they hit 4 and learn that they only way to deal with the shadow stuff is to fight their own evil shadow as per 1. Still with 3, especially there needs to be additional work to let the PCs have some way to do interesting stuff (2-dimensional encounters or something). If your game makes the PCs into powerless spectators, something is wrong with your game. Overall, I'd still say Pass because the Deck of Encounter is theoretically there to save GMs from work, not make them a do a lot of extra work for the encounters to be functional. But if you want to make it work, I'd turn it into something of a Quest. Maybe change #3 to have it be other people(who were previously identified as Good or friendly like a Paladin or something) who turn "shadow nasty" and have to be take down but not killed. Maybe these encounters all lead to the idea that the Shadow Orb is actually an evil artifact that needs to be destroyed. Maybe let the PCs be the ones who found it and think it's some other kind of magical orb and then all this crap starts happening to them and the wizard from #4 is the one to clue them in that "Yeah, evil artifact. You'll need to carry to the Demi-plane of Light and implore Ra to run it over with his chariot or something." Everyone fucked around with this message at 18:19 on Sep 19, 2020 |
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Sep 19, 2020 18:08
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 A Cargo of Melons for the Courts of the Dead The power spike in Unbreakable’s latter adventures continues as we reach the penultimate module, suitable for 4 PCs of 17th to 20th (!) level. It begins simply enough: deliver a giant salamander-demon’s melons to her bureaucrat son in Chinese Hell so her tears will stop flooding the land. Errr...not so simple. The immediate adventure hook is that a series of dangerous floods are plaguing the surrounding region, and the PCs get caught up in the middle of one while in a village (and requiring skill checks to stay safe). Given that they’re probably one of the few high-level people in the entire world, the party’s taken to be the best suited to handling the problem. Tracking the floods to their source finds a giant salamander demon (she’s not evil) by the name of Niangniang weeping by the riverbed. Once the PCs get her attention she stops crying, causing the water levels to suddenly drop, and she expresses genuine remorse for the destruction she’s caused. Visiting her at home, she describes the source of her woes: her son Xiao Wei is a high-ranking bureaucrat in Diyu. Niangniang sought to grow him the best cantaloupe melons she’s ever made, his favorite food, upon his return for a family reunion. But he’s too busy to leave on account of his job and she’s upset at the fact that said melons will spoil given that she’s too old to make the trip herself. She says that her son is rather wealthy, and would surely compensate the PCs for their trip. The hook presumes that the PCs agree to this errand, and they will get 2 giant cantaloupes (20 pounds each, 1 more via a simple Persuasion check) per PC. They might be giant demon-brewed melons, but they’re still normal melons and can break easily especially in combat and damaging environments. Taking precautionary measures such as a Bag of Holding or extradimensional storage space can avert this scenario. Diyu can be trivially reached via Plane Shift, although if the party does not have access to such a spell then they can either go through a nearby dragon turtle’s underground stream or drink vials of poison supplied by Niangniang to go there themselves. She mentions that they will surely be resurrected by her son because “the Yama Kings owe him a favor.” Although the adventure doesn’t exactly spell it out right now, food and other objects can spawn with souls passing through the afterlife provided that they’re nearby. Diyu is its own plane of existence whose primary purpose is in sorting out the spirits of the dead. It is a rather grim place, where mortal souls are put into various layers of Hell dedicated to specific tortures (Hell of the Mountain of Knives, Hell of Boiling Feces, etc) to cleanse them of sin in order for them to be properly reincarnated. The will of the Yama Kings is such that those who enter Diyu cannot leave without going through the reincarnation process, showing proper paperwork that indicates an error in their entry, or being an immortal creature who can come and go as they please. Furthermore, people’s bodies can still decay and feel pain, but nobody dies here, meaning that characters that are “killed” are restored to full health in 8 hours. The PC’s first obstacle is the DEVIL GATE OF THE WORLD OF DARKNESS* where two giant animal-headed sentries usher in newly-arrived souls. They are not very fond of spellcasters who use resurrection magic to “cheat death,” and any PC who benefited from such a spell has disadvantage on all Charisma checks with them. They do not recognize the name and description of Xiao Wei, and will bar entry to suspicious visitors unless they actually died. The party in this case must find another way in, which can include disguise, skill checks, fighting through a legion of demonic guards, or convincing them that the melons are offerings for the festival as several possible routes. *the letters of the gate’s sign are huge and in gold. Youdu is the capital city of Diyu, and there’s a big festival being set up: an approaching holiday in the mortal world involving almsgiving and sacrifice to the spirits will cause said items and food to manifest in the afterlife, and everyone’s looking forward to this. Xiao Wei can be found via the ol’ sleuthing and divination magic routines, although failed checks will take up time and “fail forward” in making a future encounter difficult. Eventually the party will find said salamander-demon being shaken down for late loan payments by mogui thugs (use oni stats). Xiao Wei will come clean once the PCs explain their mission: his real name is Yiwei, and Xio Wei is merely an affectionate nickname his mother calls him all the time. He’s but a low-level functionary in Diyu’s government struggling to get by, but he exaggerated his position in order to avoid disappointing his mother. His parents always placed high standards on him, and he avoided coming home because he knows that he’s a terrible liar when it comes to family. As such, he cannot pay an appreciable sum for delivering the melons (which he does appreciate, by the way) and that the only real way to get out of Diyu is via the reincarnation process and outlines the restrictions of Diyu’s planar properties mentioned above. Yiwei suggests that inspecting the Birth & Death records in Senluo Palace is their best bet in making a case to the Yama Kings, but nobody will be allowed within there due to the festival unless they bring food. PCs can “buy” their way in if they have any remaining melons, although if they dawdled a bit in their investigation then everyone’s stuffed and only 2 PCs total can be permitted via the melon gifts. The Record Halls are a vast featureless room stretching as far as the eye can see, with shelves full of scrolls holding the names and identities of every mortal creature that exists or has ever existed stretching for just as long. The party will eventually find their records with the salamander-demon’s help (and he can forge them to appear as a clerical error if the PCs did indeed die to come here), although failed skill checks will bring suspicious guards down upon them. The PCs are more than free to leave upon showing the Yama Kings this evidence, who are in a good mood after the feast. They’ll ask what clerk caught the error, saying only someone perceptive and dedicated to their work could have noticed this. Recommending Yiwei to them will be great for his career, although he’s now conflicted given that he won’t be home for a very long time as a result and asks the PCs what he should do. Should he visit his family, but at the risk of having some other dedicated worker pass him by in the otherworldly hierarchy? Or should he stay and take this opportunity while it’s certain? The adventure has two resolutions based upon this: if he stays then Yiwei will send a letter back to Niangniang explaining the truth, and she’ll be disappointed at this but mentions they’re always welcome to visit. If he comes home, then they’ll reunite in a tearful reunion, and he’ll tell the truth. This causes an argument, but their relationship will be better long-term as opposed to the letter route as they’ll eventually make up. PCs will be rewarded eventually with a 30,000 gp bank note from the underworld if Yiwei stayed, or that amount of gp worth of giant cantaloupes due to him helping out his mother in the garden. This adventure’s appendix has stats for a giant salamander demon. It’s a Challenge Rating 13 fiend that can actually be of any alignment. Its primary offensive methods include physically powerful bite and tail attacks along with a rechargeable AoE acidic spit that deals damage over time. Their strongest stat is a 27 Wisdom, and they have a small array of innate spells ranging from utility (control weather, water breathing) to debuffs (poison spray, blindness/deafness, grease). Thoughts So Far: A thing I’ve noticed about Unbreakable’s higher-level adventures is that they appear built around providing solutions to challenges for parties that may have few or no spellcasters. There’s not much in the way of shutting down entire spells like is normally the case in a lot of high-level modules, although being unable to Plane Shift out of Diyu is a rather notable exception. Barring the mogui thugs it’s also a combat-lite adventure, much like the Lost Children or Bamboo in the Dark. For what it’s worth the ten Yama Kings do have stats (as pit fiends) meaning that it is theoretically possible that the PCs may opt to get their release from Hell via force. Otherwise I don’t have very strong feelings one way or another. I can see many groups try to find more immediate solutions to the flood problem, including killing Niangniang, although that approach is rather callous. Join us next time as we gather all the animals of the Chinese Zodiac to attend a legendary hermit’s going-away party (to the spirit world) in The Last Guest! Author’s Notes & Acknowledgements posted:This is a story based less on Chinese mythology than Chinese-American mythology. It’s about leaving home, not understanding your parents, not understanding your children, and the little ways we say “I love you” when we don’t know how to say “I love you.” My dearest, heartfelt thanks to my mom, who’d bring me peaches when we ran out of cantaloupe. Author Bio posted:KC Shi is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. You can contact her at kcaishi@gmail.com, or find her on Twitter at @kc_shi_.* Ask her about bees. *This twitter account URL doesn’t seem to exist, but this seems to be her Twitter proper.
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Sep 19, 2020 23:35
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Libertad! posted:
This feels like an adventure that could likely be used for a much lower level party. There doesn't seem to be much combat unless the PCs push the issue. Figure a group of 5th levels who owe a favor to some Priest (with Plane Shift) could pull this off without too much trouble.
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Sep 20, 2020 02:59
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 The Last Guest This adventure is designed for 4 PCs of levels 18 to 20 and marks the final chapter of Unbreakable. The Jade Hermit, a legendary monk and long-time friend of the PCs, is aware of his final hours and seeks to bring his old friends together for one last “going away” party before he must depart from this world. Beyond our heroes, twelve of the Jade Hermit’s animal friends are ascended godlike exemplars of their animal species who correspond to the Chinese Zodiac. There’s also Peydan, the Lord of Cats. Said Cat Lord was pranked by the Prince of Mice and Rats some time ago, which caused him to be unable to achieve the same vaunted status as the other animals. This has made Peydan very resentful, and over the years he’s sabotaged things from behind the scenes to break up their friendships and prevent anyone besides himself from attending the Jade Hermit’s final celebration. The PCs must visit with as many animal lords as they can, handling their problems in order to help them attend the party. The PCs do not have an infinite or vague timeframe in order to complete this task. The Jade Hermit will pass away in 4 days once the adventure begins, and visiting the various zodiac animal realms, completing their challenges, and failing checks on said challenges eats up a predetermined amount of hours in addition to the ones the PCs spend doing rests, casting lengthy spells, and so on and so forth. We even have a Fate Clock handout to keep track of time, divided into 4 12-piece circles with each piece representing 2 hours. There is no binary success/failure in regards to the zodiac animals’ recruitment, but the more animals that attend the banquet the more magic items the party can get from them as a reward. When the PCs come to the lonesome monastery in which the Jade Hermit resides, he’ll exchange pleasantries and treat them to hospitality. He’ll then tell them of how much time he has left in the mortal world, as well as his relationship with the various zodiac animals and the Lord of Cats. Most of the monastery’s students have long since graduated, leaving the monastery in a state of disrepair over the years, and the relationships between his animal friends grew more bitter over a series of small arguments and disputes that blew up over time. As a favor he asks the PCs if they can reach out to the animals and convince them to come together for a banquet one last time. To make good on this, the Jade Hermit gives the party a Zodiac Compass that can manipulate a portal in the monastery’s garden to lead them to the Misty Wilds. In this extraplanar realm of beasts and nature, the compass can direct the party to the twelve zodiac realms in any order they please. As for the Lord of Cats, he’s been visiting the Jade Hermit frequently and should be coming soon to help with preparations according to him. Peydan, the Lord of Cats, is a recurring foe in this adventure. He’ll appear initially as the PCs enter the Misty Wilds and then two more times after they complete 4 and 8 of the zodiac animals’ tasks, his efforts subtle at first but growing more desperate and confrontational along the way. There’s also a d12 table of random encounters the PCs can come upon, although thankfully said encounters do not take up any time on the Fate Clocks regardless of their resolution. There’s even sidebars for how to roleplay each zodiac animal, as well as a table of what Peydan has said to each animal in order to keep them preoccupied in their realm. Peydan’s words become more spiteful, abusive, and harmful after the aforementioned 4 and 8 marks pass. This serves as a gradual revelation that the Lord of Cats is a terrible person. The Snake Realm is home to Bailel, who is afflicted with a powerful toxin that prevents her from reincarnating. If she dies she will be forever slain. Her apprentice can brew a cure but they’re currently estranged from each other, so the PCs will have to track her down and win her over to save Bailel. As for the party using their own magic and skills...there’s no information given on this route even though they can very well have access to the best spells in the game. :/ The Boar Realm is home to Chengfu, who is searching for a mythical golden truffle to present as a gift to the Jade Hermit. Payden fed him the idea to keep him on a perpetual hunt for an item that most certainly could not exist, although said truffle does indeed exist if the PCs get really good at finding it on a skill challenge. Alternatively they can convince the boar to abandon his quest, making him realize that being at the banquet is a gift all its own. The Dog Realm is home to the hound Gin, an elderly canine who worked with the zodiac rabbit Tourou on building a rocket ship to go to the moon together. But arguments and accusations of sabotage made the project a failure. Upon hearing rumors from Peydan that her friend completed the rocket without her, she found little motivation to do anything else besides living day to day. The PCs can resolve this via helping build a rocket ship as a skill challenge, instilling a sense of hope in her and lifting her spirits to attend the banquet. The Ox Realm is home to the bovine Po, who perpetually rages on a stormy flat plain. He’ll charge and attack the PCs, and can be subdued via combat as well as a variety of spells and other similar features that can bring reason to his addled mind. Once subdued he’ll apologize for his behavior, explaining that his rage stems from failing the Jade Hermit in an important task. Eve since Po’s been unable to look him in the eye. Role-playing and Charisma skills can help convince him to let bygones be bygones, although failing a check causes him to angrily attack the character (a shove that’s damaging due to his strength, not outright combat). The Rooster Realm Is a beautiful tower with innumerable hallways and chambers. The fully-staffed palace has workers and guards who will escort the party to the owner of the house, the Rooster Mei (who is female but the zodiac title of Rooster can be held by those of all genders). She is afflicted with a terrible curse and will not meet the party unless they consent to being blindfolded in her presence (a skill check convinces them to look upon her to help her), and is thus too ashamed to visit the monastery. The PCs can help her out via a combination of skill checks and appropriate spells, with more powerful healing magic removing more layers of the curse. See, something like this could’ve been helpful game design in the Snake Realm! The Dragon Realm is the dominion of Fou Long, a magnificent specimen of dragonkind afflicted with a years-long illness. Like the snake realm the only cure is gathering local herbs to brew into a potion which is done via a series of skill checks. Although said checks have some rather trivial set-ups that can easily be overcome via a trifling spell or low-level solution: berries growing on a tree jutting out from a sheer cliff face? Have your familiar fly up and pluck them off! The other dragons of the realm are starting to be affected from their lords’ illness and are losing their sense of reason, and as such are why they could not do this task themselves for Fou Long. The PCs can try to drag the dragon’s body to the monastery in his sick state (which he’ll consent to), but this will cost more time than finding a cure and the local dragons will attack what they view as a kidnapping. The Rabbit Realm is home to Tourou the hare. He’s fallen into a depression from the loss of his friendship with Gin, and Payden has been telling him lies to make things seem more hopeless than they are. As such he has no inclination to visit the monastery. The party can help alleviate Tourou’s depression by looking around and finding items symbolizing happier times and good old-fashioned Persuasion checks. Failed results will only draw him further into his shell. The Horse Realm is a rather strange island dotted with mirror-like crystal shards and surrounded by a sea of acid. Jie the zodiac horse has fallen in love (platonically) with his own reflection and is trapped in a prison of his own ego. He will be spooked by the party and dash off at a fast gallop or cast teleport if they can keep up. He will also do this if they try to break the crystals, but they can snap him to his senses by using Charisma skills. But in order to do this they will first need to bait him into a trap (using pretty and rare items as bait helps). The Tiger Realm is a flight of stars stretching infinitely in both directions amidst a starry void. Zhen Yao the tiger is stumped on a riddle which will help her reach the top, and although she’s stuck on it for years she feels that at any moment she’ll solve it. Physical travel in either direction will cause one to loop back eventually should they not solve the riddle: “Journey without it and you will never prevail, but if you have too much of it you will surely fail.” An Insight skill check can help decipher the riddle’s answer as confidence if the PCs cannot guess it on their own. The climber of the stairs needs just enough confidence to undertake the seemingly impossible trek, but not enough to the point that it blinds them to their own failures. Thus, completing the riddle requires a Charisma saving throw to climb the stairs to the end, although failing this check imposes disadvantage on all ability checks and saving throws until someone reaches the top of the steps. An Amulet of the Planes awaits as the reward, and Zhen Yao lets the party keep it now that she can go to the banquet. The Monkey Realm is appropriately a rainforest filled with stone ruins. Monkey statues pointing in specific directions lead the PCs to a rather strange court proceeding. The zodiac monkey Demao is arguing against copies of himself, as judge, jury, defendant, and plaintiff. The PCs are asked to represent the Accused as a neutral third party, and the charges revolve around the situation of the ends justifying the means. In fighting a greater evil, the Accused resorted to evil acts themselves, including property damage and unintentional deaths. Without such actions the greater evil would’ve won and done more harm in the long run. The trial is conducted via opposed skill checks, and Charisma saving throws are done during cross-examination to avoid disadvantage on future checks. When the trial ends Demao will thank the party for ensuring that justice is done regardless of the outcome, but if he’s been found guilty then a Charisma ability check will be needed to get him to attend the banquet instead of performing a centuries-long self-penance for his wicked ways. The Sheep Realm is a scenic grass field which can induce sleepiness even in those immune to such bodily functions. The zodiac sheep Bo is in a deep dream somewhere in the field, and the party must find her either physically or contact her via a shared dreamscape. Skill challenges are performed to find her, and failing a check still makes progression but takes more time on the Fate Clock and forces a fight with a nightmare balor demon. Bo will apologize for the inconvenience once found and awakened, giving them a Mantle of Spell Resistance for their troubles. The Rat Realm is strangely bereft of its zodiac animal, Hao. The rat is unable to escape an intricate dungeon-trap constructed by Payden, for he’s the most aware of the Lord of Cat’s bad behavior and our feline friend didn’t want him blabbing his mouth off to the other animals. The dungeon is a small 3-room course: each room has a puzzle and accompanying trap and guardians necessary to overcome to progress further, and Hao is held in an adamantine cage at the end. Once freed he’ll reveal the reason for the Lord of Cat’s enmity with him and not to trust Peydan if they’re still in need of recruiting the other zodiac animals. Once the final hours are nearly upon the party and they recruited as many zodiac animals as possible, Payden confronts them in the monastery’s garden. He’s angry at their interference and gives them a set of demands: leave the monastery and don’t inform the Jade Hermit the reason for their departure, give Payden the Zodiac Compass (so that he can destroy it), and destroy the portal in the garden so the rest of the animals cannot arrive. How the PCs deal with Payden affects the outcome of the ending. The PCs can comply with Payden’s demands, which will leave the Jade Hermit a saddened, hopeless man as he realizes he will die alone (if told the truth) or be happy that at least Payden and the PCs are there and begins the festivities (if lied to about the animals’ being unable to come)...which kind of makes Payden’s threat empty if he doesn’t do anything and the PCs stay. Probably doesn’t want to murder them while within the Jade Hermit’s vicinity is my guess. If the PCs trick Payden into thinking they’re on his side in order to get past him or otherwise are able to inform the Jade Hermit of the Lord of Cats’ treachery without violence, then the Jade Hermit will banish Payden from the world of mortals forever via calling upon the authority of spirits. If the PCs manage through some clever role-playing to get Payden to realize the error of his ways and at least try to hope that he’ll be forgiven, he’ll come clean to the Jade Hermit and Zodiac Animals of his bad behavior. He’s forgiven, and everyone’s happy. If the PCs take the violent option and fight Payden, then the last zodiac animal the PCs helped will join them in battle, capable of taking a special lair action on behalf of the party dependent upon their specific animal form. Payden also has his own lair actions, ranging from summoning distracting ethereal cats imposing disadvantage on attacks and saves, a psychic AoE screaming meow, and a sphere of concealing darkness. Once defeated, the rest of the zodiac animals will have mixed feelings upon hearing the news of his death, but will understand that Payden brought this on himself. The Jade Hermit hopes that his next life is pleasant and gives him a proper funeral. The adventure also has a stat block entry for Zodiac Nobles representing the pinnacle of said animals, and Payden also uses this stat block even though he’s not part of the vaunted order. They’re very tough CR 23 fey whose lowest ability score is an 18 Constitution, and they have a powerful primary slam attack for melee and an elemental bolt that can deal a variety of damage types for ranged. They also have a variety of druid and nature-based innate magic with a focus on utility and AoE elemental damage. In addition to Legendary Resistance they also get Legendary Actions: there’s the typical bonus Attack and Teleport, but they can also burn a spell slot to cast Dispel Magic or regain a spell slot of 3rd level or lower which is really nice. Each specific zodiac animal also has a short entry of minor unique abilities, from proficient skills and saves to movement speeds and immunities. Snake has a rather peculiar ability, for she can use sorcerer metamagic to enhance her spells, which makes me wonder if snakes are associated strongly with magic in Chinese folklore or something. Thoughts So Far: I really like this adventure. The use of time tracking really lines up nicely with 5th Edition’s rest-based system and D&D’s resource management as a whole. I also like how there’s no binary win condition, where PCs can get more rewards the more animals they recruit. I cannot honestly see most groups complying with Peydan’s demands, and I can also see a lot of them going straight to violence. The open-ended nature of how to accomplish the various challenges is something I like, although the snake and dragon felt a bit samey and oddly railroady. The other zodiac lairs that leave things open-ended are the best means of adventure writing when it comes to high-level campaigns. Concluding Thoughts: Unbreakable is a great book. The adventures have a lot of variety and can be fun for one-shots or a short arc. The authors and artists do a great job in bringing their own personal touches to the product in a way that any single person would not be able to so easily replicate. For the first volume of a larger project this is a very promising start, and I look forward to seeing what else the Unbreakable Anthology has to offer us in the future. As for what I’ll review next, I have several ideas but I’ll have to think about it. For the next few days I’m going to relax and see what inspires me. Author’s Notes & Acknowledgements posted:This adventure was written and dedicated to my late great-grandmother. She was a wonderful caretaker and lived a vibrant, full life. She will always be missed. Inspired by the story of the twelve animals of the zodiac, including additional media such as Fruits Basket and Journey to the West, this is a story of forgiveness, redemption, and accepting the death of a loved one. This adventure was also inspired by my great grandfather, who held a banquet with his friends and family several days prior to his death, making the trip to see them despite his failing health. To quote Gandalf the White, “End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take.” Death of a loved one can be especially difficult trauma for many; when running this adventure, please take extra care with the players. Author Bio posted:Jacky Leung is a best-selling freelance RPG writer and designer who has contributed to numerous publications, including the Uncaged Anthology, Artifacts of the Guild, and more on the DMsGuild. You can find his indie RPG projects at deathbymage.itch.io. Additionally, Jacky has editorial credentials for several publications on DriveThruRPG, including Godkillers and Power Outage. Jacky also writes articles about D&D and other RPGs on his blog at deathbymage.com. Artist Bios posted:Anthony Alipio is not an artist. Well, except for that one harpy for Uncaged Anthology Volume 3. Oh, and that Krampus for 12 Days of Midwinter. He supposes the sphinxes in Uncaged Anthology Volume 4 might count as well. Not to mention the hulking crystal construct in this book. So at some point, Anthony may have to accept the fact that people who do art are generally considered artists. But until then, Anthony is a writer—who occasionally does art. Editors & More posted:Editors
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Sep 20, 2020 06:10
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I really liked Unbreakable, its got some rough edges sure but as a whole it really cares about having players actions influence next steps and rewards while being open ended. Its genuinely better constructed than most official modules, although the level scaling is a bit of a mess. The Slamander Melon story is kind of weak, it feels like a B-plot stretched way too far or just way too high level. It feels way more level 5/6 to me. It also doesn't help anybody familiar with Hell Bureaucracy wouldn't immediately game it by lighting a hell of a lot of pictures of gold on fire. I can already see the people I play with wasting time taking about what ridiculous bullshit they draw then light on fire for themselves to collect on the other side. The Last Guest is a good story, but honestly its so involved its bordering on a timesink rather than a quick adventure. I can see each of those challenges bordering on an hour or more each so you're talking multiple sessions. It also doesn't help me it doesn't feel super epic for a level 20 party. If I ran it Id either condense it majorly and run it for a lower level party or expand it to a whole level 1-20 campaign.
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Sep 20, 2020 15:47
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Thank you for doing this writeup. Unbreakanle is a beautiful book and I'm glad that it was shared.
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Sep 20, 2020 16:32
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So, one time, my character totally rolled three 20s in a row when fighting a demon, and the DM decided that I had hit it so hard that its head exploded into (Wait, don’t go! There’s more to the story!) The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 74: The Deck of Baatezu and Bears 374: Heart of Evil The PCs are shipwrecked. “Most of their gear has been recovered, but some items may be missing or ruined (DM’s choice).” OK then! The nearest structure is some ruins. The words TURN BACK are scrawled in blood on some of the stones. They’re mostly empty except of molds and fungi, but there is a large chamber with a pedestal holding a 2000 gp+ heart-shaped ruby. There are old, smudged runes around it. Of course, if you move it, a pit fiend poofs in and attacks; the ruby was keeping it trapped in a pocket dimension. I can’t get over the card telling me to shipwreck the PCs in some random subtropical forest in order to use this. But if I shuffle it over from the ocean to the subtropical forest pile, it’s an easy keep. 375: Nefarius Rex! The PCs are staying at an abbey when three red abishai bust in and demand that their titular master, a “master baatezu,” be freed. The abishai can me made to agree to leave peacefully once this happens. Unfortunately, nobody has any idea who Nefarius Rex is, though the archpatriarch who founded the place 20 years ago did defeat a bunch of baatezu on the site. It turns out that Nefarius Rex is bound into the stones, and can be exorcised with magic so his essence can return to the lower planes. Not sure why you would do that, though; it’s a high-level encounter, so you can probably take down the abishai. Surely anyone's game world could use a spare imprisoned devil lord. Keep. 376: Rocks and Bones In a shallow valley with a tower about half a mile away, at the other end. The PCs are trying to recover an artifact, and have been following a very accurate map there. Near the end, they start seeing weather-worn statues around. You know, statues of people and animals. “PCs can roll under their Intelligence on a 1d20 to realize that these signs indicate the presence of a basilisk or medusa.” I… think the players themselves will be on top of that, don’t worry. So they have to get to the tower in the middle of the valley, but there’s a greater basilisk out there somewhere. If they evade it through stealth or speed, it’ll be waiting for them when they get out. So that’s a cool, open-ended tension. Oh, and “Scattered around the valley, the PCs can find a sum total of 3,400 gp, three potions of healing. a spear +1. and a deck of many things.” A DECK OF MANY THINGS? That’s serious business, yo. Have PCs wander into the valley themselves rather than be led there by a map, and it’s perfectly serviceable. If you’re playing the kind of game where a deck of many things is acceptable, then that’s an evening’s entertainment all by itself. Keep. 377: Not-So-Cute, Not-So-Cuddly The PCs are in an arctic area. The card gives specific reasons as to why, but screw you, card. They accidentally offend a tribe of If the PCs flee, that’s the end of it. If they defeat the bears, four elves appear to explain why the PCs were attacked. Twelve more are hidden in nearby snowdrifts with spears. “The PCs can redress their unintentional offense by offering ‘gifts’ to the elves (i.e., a bribe for safe passage).” Sure, have a gift - a fireball to the face! Geez, what jerks! At least have the decency to extort us before siccing some poor innocent bears on us. On the other hand, “demanding the PCs pay a toll” is super boring, and bear attacks are admittedly less boring. I’ll pass, but if you hate elves and want to spread that hate to your players, this card is here for you. Dallbun fucked around with this message at 16:55 on Sep 20, 2020 |
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Sep 20, 2020 16:34
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Barudak posted:I really liked Unbreakable, its got some rough edges sure but as a whole it really cares about having players actions influence next steps and rewards while being open ended. Its genuinely better constructed than most official modules, although the level scaling is a bit of a mess. The Last Guest's page count is significantly longer than the other adventures: 49 pages in comparison to the 20 something average of the others. I agree with you in terms of feeling not very epic; the Lost Rathi is the one that feels highest-stakes in terms of risks, but as others have said it can be toned down for a lower-level party. KirbyKhan posted:Thank you for doing this writeup. Unbreakanle is a beautiful book and I'm glad that it was shared. Happy to hear it! Although the book is now a Best Electrum Seller (around +250 copies sold) on Drive-Thru RPG, it is still rather sparse in terms of reviews and broader publicity. I plan on writing a review for it on RPGnet (not the Let's Read thread I already done) so it gets up on the front page.
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Sep 20, 2020 20:02
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 Buck Rogers XXVc: The 25th Century Character Cards: Everyone Rolled Very Well So the box set comes with a big heap of flash cards, each the size of a normal sheet of paper but printed on card stock. They’re divided into three categories. A few are planetary maps and it’d be hard to list what information is on them without just copying them, so we’ll be skipping those. The information is basically summing what's in the World Book anyway. The bulk of them are spaceship cards, with a nice illustration on one side and stats and a damage tracker on the other. But first, we’ll go over the character cards, listing the big NPCs of the XXVc world. This being the early 90s, every RPG had to have prominent NPCs, but also this was a licensed game so they kinda had to bring back the characters they’d paid for.  And there’s no better place to start than with Buck himself. Col. Anthony “Buck” Rogers was a fighter pilot back in the 20th century, who volunteered for a space mission to shoot down the rogue Soviet satellite Masterlink, flying a space-plane equipped with an experimental cryogenic system. He succeeded in his mission, but a rupture in the cockpit caused the cryo to activate, and with his plane lost, he floated in suspended animation for over 450 years. He awoke in this new world of rocketships and gennies and after a series of events I’m still not entirely clear on (I think it was in a book or something) ended up allied with the New Earth Organization. Personality-wise Buck is described as straightforward, upbeat, and reliable, with a bit of a romantic side- he’s heavily involved with Wilma Deering and sometimes gets mixed up in situations with the spoiled heiress Ardala Valmar. All this pretty much tracks with Buck across all media- he’s always been just a stand-up guy who you can count on in a fix, with an emphasis on the old idea of “Yankee ingenuity”. Kinda generic old-timey hero stuff, but I think it’s distinctive enough. Buck is a 10th level Terran rocketjock, with some really absurdly good ability scores- 18 Dex, 17 Strength, and 16 Charisma. He has one distinct bit of personal gear, an old .45 caliber pistol that he was carrying on his fateful voyage. Has the same stats as a rocket pistol, but Buck gets a +2 bonus to hit with it, and since the bullets aren’t “smart” they don’t get thrown off by ECM. The downside is he’s only got 26 bullets for it on him (6 in the gun, 20 as extra shells) and he can only replenish his ammo at a few NEO bases.  Wilma Deering is a native of the Chicagorg Arcology, and lost her parents when they “disappeared” following a diplomatic mission on behalf of an Earth liberation movement. RAM was likely to blame, so Wilma became a freedom fighter attacking RAM installations. She got caught and imprisoned a couple of times, was liberated by pirates, became a privateer in her own right, before returning to Earth to join NEO. Wilma is a friendly but sometimes tempermental fighter, very passionate about the cause. She’s romantically involved with Buck, but also has a thing about “Killer” Kane, a former NEO comrade who went over to RAM. She’s an 8th level Terran warrior, again very good stats, no special abilities. Wilma Deering is interesting is that going back to the original stories she was always pretty independent and proactive, a soldier fighting alongside Buck. The love triangle with Kane is right out of the comic strip, too (and we’ll talk more about that when we get to him.)  Rounding out the classic trio is Doctor Huer. There was a Doctor Faustus Huer who was a friend of Buck’s in the 20th century, and he was an eccentric scientific genius with a bunch of crazy inventions, notably the life-suspension system in Buck’s spacecraft. When Buck arrived in the 25th century, there was quite a bit of culture shock, and NEO decided that he needed a friendly guide to help him get used to the world he now inhabited. Based on Buck’s recollections of his old buddy, they created Huer.dos, an equally eccentric and brilliant scientist. While he was created to help Buck, he also works for NEO as a sort of virtual ambassador, since he can go just about anywhere, and as a DP he has all the weird powers in cyberspace that we discussed earlier. He’s an 8th-level Digital Personality. Needless to say the whole AI thing is new to this incarnation of Doc Huer, but otherwise it’s pretty true to the classic- he’s the archetypal eccentric old scientist, and usually placed pretty high up in the chain of command. I do also really like the touch that he was created to help Buck, but is a character in his own right. It’s metaplot and won’t affect the PC’s dealings with him too much, but it’s just a nice little note. It’d be tricky to fit in Buck and Wilma into an adventure without having them overshadow the PCs, but I can see Huer being someone they interact with a lot.  One more for the road! Black Barney is a space pirate. Not just any space pirate, though, he’s actually one of a line of Terrine variants manufactured in a lab in the Jovian Trojans- the Barneys were designed to have a mostly human appearance, but enhanced by reptilian characteristics and subtly modified to be spooky and intimidating. 150 Barneys were bred, 48 died in training, then they revolted and killed their creators. There are now only 14 left, mostly space pirates, and Barney is but one. Though he’s shown with a mask he’s supposed to be human-like but intimidating, with a deep, passionless voice and lots of muscles. Very much a Boba Fett kinda guy. He commands the Free Enterprise, a liberated Jovian warship, and is a 10th-level warrior, again with ridiculously good stats. Barney is sorta neither friend nor foe. He’s basically a ruthless pirate, but after being defeated by Buck Rogers, stayed with him a while. The text is unclear as to what took place here (there’s something about “prime directives”) or what Barney’s status is now, but this makes him available for different campaign roles, from outright villain to uncertain ally. Black Barney first appeared in the pages of the comic strip, as a ruthless sky pirate, one of the first major adversaries after the Han storyline ended. I’m pretty sure he’s not in the TV series, but I appreciate Pondsmith finding a place for him here. This is a bit long so I’ll split things here. Next post, three major villains!
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Sep 20, 2020 21:02
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I... don't remember Black Barney being in the TV series, either. I think he showed up in Countdown to Doomsday though.
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Sep 20, 2020 22:57
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Dallbun posted:374: Heart of Evil Huh, I literally used this exact same encounter once to start a campaign. Except that it wasn't a pit fiend it was The Devil and I was stealing my idea from the Twilight Zone. Also I didn't drop all the clues that the old man trapped in the ruined abbey was evil because I'm not an idiot.
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Sep 20, 2020 23:17
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Bieeanshee posted:I... don't remember Black Barney being in the TV series, either. I think he showed up in Countdown to Doomsday though. He did. You could kick his rear end and steal his ship when he boarded the RAM rocket you were flying around in from the first part of the game.
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Sep 20, 2020 23:40
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That was Talon, who I think was created specifically for the Countdown to Doomsday duology; I don't think Black Barney's in either game. Also, interesting to see that Wilma's blonde in her character art. (She's a redhead in the computer games.) Snorb fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Sep 21, 2020 |
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Sep 21, 2020 03:27
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I really wish I'd run into the Buck Rogers game when I was much younger and super into 2e D&D since it was my first RPG. I know I would've loved it back then, and I really appreciate hearing about it now.
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Sep 21, 2020 03:29
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Snorb posted:That was Talon, who I think was created specifically for the Countdown to Doomsday duology; I don't think Black Barney's in either game. Hm. I’m pretty sure his ship is the Free Enterprise at least.
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Sep 21, 2020 04:12
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I only just now noticed WTF is with Buck's neck
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Sep 21, 2020 09:11
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Sep 21, 2020 09:36
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I'm getting very F-Zero vibes from the art style, but I suppose I should be looking at it the other way around.
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Sep 21, 2020 10:30
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Maxwell Lord posted:I only just now noticed WTF is with Buck's neck Woah, hey guys, welcome to New Earth Organization.
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Sep 21, 2020 14:32
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Maxwell Lord posted:I only just now noticed WTF is with Buck's neck The Earthworm Jim RPG we never knew we had.
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Sep 21, 2020 14:58
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