OOC Discussion

[Keehnelf]

Oh, speaking of which, what I was thinking is: Q.Q can join the group as soon as Town Phase starts and begin interactions with the others during that time, but not do any personal business or make tests and the like (because his character needs to start in the Adventure Phase), but I WILL provide an adventure hook to go along with the new character just so he doesn't come empty-handed and to give additional options.

[Q.Q Elf]

I play these things for the drama. DnD games are frustrating because of the safety, and the implied DM versus all the players. "go team, everything is awesome!"

I like being on the edge. Sometimes that's the Lawful Stupid Paladin. This time, it's Chaotic Cleric of Lies. We'll surely win, but we'll take the most broken azz road to get there, I hope

[Simon]

Sorry for the somewhat dragging pace of the camp phase so far. We're working it out. Also, based on our luck so far, any damage your cleric manages to do will be incidental to our self-inflicted wounds.

[sulldawga]

The good news is that there's only two, maybe three obstacles between us and Town Phase now.

The statue trap that smashed Agrom's first shield, anything lurking in the kobold shaman's cave (assuming we explore it), and the orcs in the valley.

[Starbeard]

Yeah, a cleric will be most welcome, even if he does spend most of his time causing trouble—I don't think we can stir up the pot much more than we already have!

[sulldawga]

I made a little matrix to see what we were good at, from a Conflict perspective, and what we're not good at.

• Capture - Raiz has nothing but Harlan is good at Fighter/Hunter and Agrom is even better.
• Convince - We got nothing.
• Convince Crowd - Raiz has Orator but otherwise we're useless.
• Drive Off - We're strong here with two good Will scores and one good Fighter score
• Kill - Agrom's good, Harlan is decent, and Raiz can at least contribute with Will
• Pursue/Flee - Agrom has good Health, but the others have 'meh' Health. Low Rider/Scout scores, too.
• Trick/Riddle - Raiz has Lore Master but otherwise, we're useless.

I don't think we want to risk anyone's life here so maybe Kill is out. Either we try to run them off, or we make a break for it.

I'm inclined to maximize our abilities and use Drive Off.

[Starbeard]

Yeah, drive off sounds good. Best to stick with what we're good at.

[Keehnelf]

So I've run this scenario/location with my face-to-face group over the past few weeks and they just made it back to town last night.

They sold off all the treasure, including magical treasure, apart from the sword and one other item they discovered that you guys did not, ending with 15D worth of cash between the two of them.

One observation I had from running the Town Phase that I never noticed before was that the two players had COMPLETELY different experiences based on their play philosophies.

One player went all-out for targeting condition recovery and purchasing, spending as much cash as made it statistically likely that he would succeed, and he ended the Town phase in great shape (actually, he ended up with Fresh at the end, though his pack was a bit light). The other hedged the whole way through the Town phase, never offering up more than one cash die above the Obstacle for whatever test he was making. He ended the Town phase with a pack full of stuff but with two persistent conditions he never managed to fix.

The latter player complained bitterly about how much the game punishes failure (this is their first time playing), but I found it interesting that his approach actually compounded his problems and felt a little like he was pursuing failure.

Just an observation about an aspect of the game that I hadn't considered before, in terms of how the philosophy of "go all in" even extends to the Town Phase.

[sulldawga]

Orcs won't kill you, giant alligators won't kill you, crazy kobold shamans won't kill you.

But The Grind will kill you.

[sulldawga]

Harlan Wax

He turns to the Wanderer, rubbing it ruefully on the head and says

Wanderer, old chap, you see us safely through this little jaunt and I'll be sure to drop you off a little something on the way back home.

Is it possible to have more than one goal at a time? If so, I'll make it a goal to grab something for the Wanderer during our adventure. Harlan isn't particularly religious, but he's always looking out for new allies, imaginary or not.

Just a reminder, Simon.

[Keehnelf]

Harlan Wax

He turns to the Wanderer, rubbing it ruefully on the head and says

Wanderer, old chap, you see us safely through this little jaunt and I'll be sure to drop you off a little something on the way back home.

Is it possible to have more than one goal at a time? If so, I'll make it a goal to grab something for the Wanderer during our adventure. Harlan isn't particularly religious, but he's always looking out for new allies, imaginary or not.

Just a reminder, Simon.

Haha, I love it

[Simon]

Yeah, Harlan has definitely forgotten all about that. If someone wants to remind him in play, you could probably guilt trip him into it though.

[Simon]

Also, as regards the economy of the town phase, I really like that it mechanically reinforces the social status of the PC's. Everything costs something and you've got nothing. You lay out life and limb on a half chance at a little scrap of treasure and it's still barely enough to get a fortnight at the inn, 1.5 square meals a day, and maybe 20 minutes with some bonesaw who'll set your broken wrist well enough to prevent permanent nerve damage. Sure, you can hedge and scrimp and save and count your coins; but at the end of the day you're still a tired, limping, phlegmatic, twitchy, homeless, helpless, treasure grubbing, balding, no-good, desperate adventurer, and you'll need one hell of a break to aspire to anything better.

The game isn't punishing. The lifestyle is. And that's something that most of the other games I've played do their best to make you forget.

[sulldawga]

Also, as regards the economy of the town phase, I really like that it mechanically reinforces the social status of the PC's. Everything costs something and you've got nothing.

Well, this may be true in the beginning but there has to be some sort of treasure at the end of most adventures, or no one would ever be an adventurer.

High Risk, No Reward sounds great, said no one ever.

[Simon]

OH OH OH! Before we get into town I'd like to take a turn to preserve some rations! Is it too late? I imagine Harlan approaching the gates and just before crossing over smelling something a little off in his pack. The fresh food stuffs in his pack are starting to turn and he figures he'll try to pickle some stuff real quick before they enter the town.

[Keehnelf]

Sure thing: cooking roll Ob 2, but be prepared for twists should you fail(since you're doing it in the adventure phase)

[Simon]

Also, as regards the economy of the town phase, I really like that it mechanically reinforces the social status of the PC's. Everything costs something and you've got nothing.

Well, this may be true in the beginning but there has to be some sort of treasure at the end of most adventures, or no one would ever be an adventurer.

High Risk, No Reward sounds great, said no one ever.

Of course. I really just meant that you've got nothing other than what you dredge up from the bowels of the earth, which I suppose is also true of most other DnD-style adventure games. But what sets this one apart is how "little," materially, you get for your trouble. No one's looking to buy a Masterwork Crossbow. You're looking to get some fresh vegetables and a cut of meat that's not green, or a bed that doesn't feel like it's going to crawl out from under you. The stakes are just different, and so treasure has a totally different meaning. It's less "valuable" in some sense, but this makes it somehow more indispensable. Or maybe I'm just being obtuse.

[Keehnelf]

I totally get you. Gold is Pack1 for 1D of coins, so if you literally emptied all your containers and carried only gold coins the best you could hope for is 13D of cash to carry home (6 in backpack, 6 in a large sack and a in belt pouch). That's not a huge amount, considering it would only take a twist for you to lose a huge chunk of that or your life with no supplies left.

It's another way of pushing you toward grabbing the truly priceless stuff because you'll never nickel and dime your way to comfort.

[Q.Q Elf]

Oh... my... goodness.

You actually made it to town!

[sulldawga]

Oh... my... goodness.

You actually made it to town!

Hope you're done oiling your chain mail and polishing your mace. Time to play with the big boys!