Let's Read: BECMI

[dmw71]

...realistically, it will probably end up being 3-4 times per week.

I am still planning on continuing this, but at a slower-than-advertised pace.

I'm about to begin a world-building project that is going to require time otherwise spent on this.

[dmw71]

"As your fighter talks with the cleric, you
get to know each other a little better. She
offers to come along, to help in the adventure.
Although this means that the
treasure should be split between you, it
also means that together you can defeat
more dangerous monsters, and find
more treasure. And two adventurers
have a better chance of success than either
does alone. You decide that it would
be a good idea, and together you set off
down the next corridor."

The introduction of working together. Or, the concept of an adventuring party.

"Four beast-like humans in tattered
clothes are standing in a group about ten
feet away, down the side corridor. But
they make no noise at all — quiet as the
dead. They look like they are waiting for
some poor victim to come along.

Before you can speak, the cleric
touches your arm, and points back the
way you came. The two of you back up a
few feet so the creatures won't hear you.
"They're ghouls!" she whispers. "If
one hits you, it could paralyze you!"

Undead.

Also, I like how this new adventurer has no clue what a fairly popular monster is, or what they're capable of. For a brand-new player, I have to imagine this would be a really exciting encounter! For a more experienced player, however, this may tie back to player versus character knowledge, or metagaming.

"Ghouls are undead monsters, very nasty
things; neither dead nor alive, but something
horribly in between. We clerics
have some power over these creatures of
darkness."

"She boldly
steps out, holds up the symbol, and says
harshly "BEGONE, vile things!"

When she steps out, the ghouls
quickly turn to attack. But now, as she
thrusts the symbol out, the ghouls
pause; and suddenly, in a rush, they
scramble away down the side corridor,
into the darkness."

The concept of a cleric's ability to turn undead.

But now, does the new player think this is always successful? Against any undead creature?

""Don't bother to chase them," she
mutters. "As I said, they can be quite
dangerous, and we should continue on
our way. I was lucky to Turn them, and it
might not work again.""

Oh.

As you continue down the corridor together,
she explains. "We call this Turning
Undead', you see. Only clerics can
do it, and sometimes it doesn't work.
Ghouls are only one of many kinds of
undead monsters; there are also skeletons,
zombies, and much worse. If you
had been alone, you could easily have
been ambushed, and probably slain.

"Let's hurry, because the Turning only
lasts for a few minutes. There are too
many of them for us to handle."

Alrighty, then.

The turning undead ability is more fully explained. And its limits are exposed.


Still, a really helpful experience for a brand-new player/character: Ghouls = bad.

[dmw71]

"You see a door ahead, to the right. This
is unusual in caves --"

A single sentence in a wall of words, but I like this line.

"Together you examine the door. It is
made of wood, with heavy iron bands
across it; the hinges seem to be on the
other side. A large keyhole is below the
curved metal handle.

"I don't see anything dangerous," says
the cleric,"

Exercising caution before just simply opening a strange, out-of-place door discovered in a cave system. Good choice.

""...but then, I don't know much
about the traps you sometimes find on
doors. It's worth a try." She tries to open
it, but the door seems to be locked."

So, doors can be trapped? Good to know.

Also, a locked door can't easily be opened.

""Could you try to force it open?" she
asks."

If a door can't be unlocked, a brute force attack might be possible.

"You back up a bit and, with a short
run, slam into the door. But try as you
might, you can't break it open.
"What a pity!" murmurs Aleena.
"There is probably some nice treasure in
there, but we can't get to it. We need a
thief!""

A thief.

And they can unlock doors. Helpful to know.

"Seeing the puzzled look on our face,
she explains. "You may think that thieves
are bad, but many of them aren't.
Thieves are adventurers too; some of
them are quite nice folks, really. You do
have to keep an eye on your coin purse,
but a thief can be very helpful finding
traps, opening locks, climbing walls, and
doing other things."

A thief is more than the name of their profession implies.

""I'm sure we could do better if we had
a thief along, and a magic-user could
help, too. I usually go adventuring with
those types, plus a couple of big fighters
like you to handle the rough stuff. Unfortunately,
nobody else wanted to come
along this time."

A formal introduction to the concept of an adventuring party. One of mixed, but complementary talents.

"You try the door again, but it won't
open. So, with a sigh of regret, the two
of you continue down the corridor."

FAILURE!

I love (love!) that they're introducing the idea that not everything can always be overcome. Yes, the ghouls were not "defeated," but they were managed to be temporarily avoided. In this example, the locked door exists but it simply cannot be overcome by the current group of characters so another way must be chosen.

"The corridor curves to the left, and
you see a light ahead. You stop and listen,
and hear voices. One sounds like a
man, but the other sounds like a goblin.

"Get UP, you wimpy weakling!"
growls the man. "Who else did you see,
besides this fighter and a cleric!"

"Please, master! Don't hurt!" whimpers
the goblin. "Nobody else, nobody. I
hurt the fighter real bad. I come to tell
you right away!""

I like this, too.

Nothing is definitively known at this point, but all appearances suggest that a human male is working with a goblin. Or rather, is the goblin's master.

"The goblin's lies don't seem to fool the
human. "Get UP, I say, or I'll turn you
into a toad. You probably ran away without
even trying. Nobody else, you're
sure?"

"Nobody else, master, I swear!"

"Hrmph. They could still mean trouble.
Perhaps we can trick them, and kill
them without a fight . . ."

Aleena taps your arm once again, and
you back up to discuss the situation."

More to like here as the scenario continues to unfold.

The human boss ponders trickery as a means of avoiding combat.

Also, I very much appreciate how the pair -- the cleric and the character you're controlling -- take time to stop and discuss an observed situation before just jumping right in.

""I recognize that man's voice!" she
says. "It's Bargle, one of those bad
magic-users. He has probably cast a spell
on the goblin to force it to serve him."

More Bargle!

He's a magic user... and can cast spells... and one of those spells can force creatures to obey.

This information, to a brand new adventurer (and player) could be terrifying!

"Listening carefully, you hear the
magic-user and the goblin planning how
to trick you and Aleena. The two of you
also make plans. The magic-user is the
most dangerous, and Aleena will try to
fight his spells with hers. Your job is to
fight the goblin."

Formulating a plan for the encounter. Splitting responsibilities.

"As your return, you hear a spell being
cast up ahead."

The process of casting a spell results in making noise?

"The
robed magic-user is moving his hands
and saying works you don't understand
— and suddenly he disappears!"

Spell casting involves the spoken word.

Also, invisibility.

"The goblin crackles with glee, and
says "Ah, master, it worked! Nobody can
see you now, and what a surprise those
nasty people will have. And I'm next!
Make me invisible too, master!""

Apparently a magic user can make others invisible as well?

"Aleena looks
wildly around for the invisible magicuser,
waving her mace to and fro in the
air. It seems to hit something, and you
hear a deep grunt."

Injuring something that is invisible does not end the invisibility.

"Aleena can't find Bargle, and is starting
to look worried. Suddenly, the sound
of a spell comes from a far corner of the
room! The cleric turns and runs in that
direction, waving her mace and shouting,
the black-robed magic-user appears
in the same corner as the spell noise,
with a glowing arrow floating in the air
beside him."

But casting a different spell does end invisibility. Or, maybe only one spell can be in effect at a time? Wait, no. The goblin is still under the magic user's control.

"He points at Aleena; the arrow
shoots out, and hits her! She wails
and falls with a sigh, collapsing in the
middle of the room. The glowing arrow
disappears."

So, magic users can control creatures; make themselves invisible; manifest glowing arrows in the air that function as if shot out of a bow.

WTF?!

Apparently, magic users are not to be trifled with. And, yes, it now clearly makes sense why you'd want one on your side!

"If your hit points reach zero, the enemies
win this battle. You will not see
home again."

The battle continues... with death being a real option.

"When the goblin falls, the magic-user
starts looking worried. Watching you
carefully, he starts saying magic words
and waving his hands. He's casting a
spell at you."

Oh, %&$#!

"You run at him, hoping for a chance
to swing before he can complete the
spell. But it's too late — a magical force
touches your mind."

"Roll the die once again. You must
make a Saving Throw against the spell.
If you roll a 16 or less, the magic takes
effect; read the next section, Ending #1
for this adventure. If you roll a 17 or
higher, your fighter avoids the spell;
skip to Ending #2 on page 8."

Uh, oh...

Uh, oh.JPG (19.22 KiB) Viewed 97 times

[dmw71]

"Think a moment. Why do we play
games? To have fun. Each player "wins"
by having fun — so if you had a good
time, you win! You can have fun even if
your character gets killed — and if that
happens, don't worry. You can always
make up another one!"

[dmw71]

Next up: Alignment: How characters and monsters behave (page 9)