OOC
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GreyWolfVT
- Wants a special title like Scott
- Posts: 33050
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- Location: Vermont
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Re: OOC
Ok... then retract my going to check on him. 
Last edited by GreyWolfVT on Wed Nov 23, 2016 11:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
“All men did have darkness. Some wore it in the form of horns. Some bore it invisibly as rot in their souls.”
― Paul S. Kemp, Shadowbred
"If good people won’t do the hard things, evil people will always win, because evil people will do anything."
― Paul S. Kemp, Twilight Falling
DM - GreyWolf's Mystara Adventures - AD&D 2e
― Paul S. Kemp, Shadowbred
"If good people won’t do the hard things, evil people will always win, because evil people will do anything."
― Paul S. Kemp, Twilight Falling
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Grognardsw
- Rider of Rohan
- Posts: 12250
- Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2013 12:30 pm
- Location: ImagiNation
Re: OOC
OgreMage is withdrawing from the game. You may inquire with him via PM as to why. Siavel will be an NPC.
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Grognardsw
- Rider of Rohan
- Posts: 12250
- Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2013 12:30 pm
- Location: ImagiNation
Re: OOC
Enjoy the break!
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GreyWolfVT
- Wants a special title like Scott
- Posts: 33050
- Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:02 pm
- Location: Vermont
- Contact:
Re: OOC
“All men did have darkness. Some wore it in the form of horns. Some bore it invisibly as rot in their souls.”
― Paul S. Kemp, Shadowbred
"If good people won’t do the hard things, evil people will always win, because evil people will do anything."
― Paul S. Kemp, Twilight Falling
DM - GreyWolf's Mystara Adventures - AD&D 2e
― Paul S. Kemp, Shadowbred
"If good people won’t do the hard things, evil people will always win, because evil people will do anything."
― Paul S. Kemp, Twilight Falling
-
GreyWolfVT
- Wants a special title like Scott
- Posts: 33050
- Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:02 pm
- Location: Vermont
- Contact:
Re: OOC
might have to.
“All men did have darkness. Some wore it in the form of horns. Some bore it invisibly as rot in their souls.”
― Paul S. Kemp, Shadowbred
"If good people won’t do the hard things, evil people will always win, because evil people will do anything."
― Paul S. Kemp, Twilight Falling
DM - GreyWolf's Mystara Adventures - AD&D 2e
― Paul S. Kemp, Shadowbred
"If good people won’t do the hard things, evil people will always win, because evil people will do anything."
― Paul S. Kemp, Twilight Falling
-
Grognardsw
- Rider of Rohan
- Posts: 12250
- Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2013 12:30 pm
- Location: ImagiNation
Re: OOC
Sorry unanticipated travel has me offline. Hope to be back by weekend. Thanks.
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Grognardsw
- Rider of Rohan
- Posts: 12250
- Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2013 12:30 pm
- Location: ImagiNation
Re: OOC
Inferno is cutting back on the boards and is leaving. Azoth will be NPCed for the time being.
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Grognardsw
- Rider of Rohan
- Posts: 12250
- Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2013 12:30 pm
- Location: ImagiNation
-
GreyWolfVT
- Wants a special title like Scott
- Posts: 33050
- Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:02 pm
- Location: Vermont
- Contact:
Re: OOC
Happy Holidays 
- yuleooze.jpg (350.15 KiB) Viewed 609 times
“All men did have darkness. Some wore it in the form of horns. Some bore it invisibly as rot in their souls.”
― Paul S. Kemp, Shadowbred
"If good people won’t do the hard things, evil people will always win, because evil people will do anything."
― Paul S. Kemp, Twilight Falling
DM - GreyWolf's Mystara Adventures - AD&D 2e
― Paul S. Kemp, Shadowbred
"If good people won’t do the hard things, evil people will always win, because evil people will do anything."
― Paul S. Kemp, Twilight Falling
-
Grognardsw
- Rider of Rohan
- Posts: 12250
- Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2013 12:30 pm
- Location: ImagiNation
Re: OOC
I have been struggling against this, but the New Year has brought changes which unfortunately require me to suspend my PbP gaming. It has been a pleasure gaming with you all these past years,
both as DM and player. Thanks again for playing and best of luck in gaming and life.
Post Game Thoughts
I resisted discussing this along the way so as to leave things in the PCs hands. But here are various thoughts.
Yes this was a tough module requiring characters to be at the top of their game, like many early TSR modules. It is not as deadly as some others.
My reference to a hint early on was in the prologue chapter, Strangers in a Strange Land. Tabai, then a NPC, lead the party in retreat from the cannibals. At one point, he pointed to two entrances: a stairwell with door into earth, or to the top of ziggurat by the stairs.
I think I alluded to this early clue when the party was discussing exits out.
The module has the party enter by falling in from ground collapsing. I represented this by the stairwell door into earth. But it seemed odd to me not to let PCs decide to climb up the ziggurat to the top, which seems an obvious option so I put it out there. However, in the progression of the module, the top is the end. So you guys went through the module backwards. There were some tough encounters early on, for which magic items and powerful spells may have helped. I'm not sure if they were being saved, thinking the tougher encounters come later?
In the module's order of things, the poison air was an early challenge. Addressed by delay/neutralize poison and heals to get past the bad air, moving at a quick pace. The point of clear air was the two-headed snake chamber (due to the hole in the wall leading up to outside). Going reverse as the party did, past that snake room was where the party came into the poison air. The deceased Leomar's periapt of proof against poison could have helped one person but was over-looked. Getting all the dead PC's magic items would have been a boon.
Speaking of the two-headed snake, that was a hard encounter but I was expecting use of the big magic and items, such as Siavel's lightening bolt, Tabai's totem necklace, Bruno's sword dancing ability, Azoth's Rod of Noden summon Nightgaunt ability, Grindhelm's Screaming Death axe Fear power. Those weren't done and some people died. I didn't bother to replace those people, as the level of activity in this and my gaming portfolio overall was such that six players was fine.
As to artifacts to help the natives resist the evil cannibal empire overtaking them... The statue's rod, which at one point possessed Azoth, was an artifact to be further explored, but with a high cost so understandably it wasn't. The magic dagger picked up by Siavel in the jaguar-man chamber is an intelligent, powerful item although ultimately evil in the end. The theme of things seem to be "power corrupts."
There were some items in a few secret compartments that the party detected but did not pursue for whatever reason. Most likely a lack of close reading of the text, which happens to us all. It was tempting to remind folks, but in the heat of the moment the adventurers must have forgot
- On top of the ziggurat, in the front part of the altar (the pit side) was a known compartment.
- In the spinning base of the Cthulhu statue, again known but forgotten.
There were some unexplored rooms.
There were fighter and class abilities (e.g. dual hand attacks, charges, druid shape changing) that weren't used or used infrequently, which would have been helpful.
On the multiple consecutive rest periods, I can see how those would be necessary. However it does greatly increase the wandering monster chances, some of which were minor (giant frogs) to major (the potpourri of exotic undead.) It's best to hole up in a fortified spot (as was done to good effect vs. the frogs, but not so in the two-open-ways-in room where the undead came in. In the tournament version, the party entering at the bottom faces the poison air and it's a race to get higher up to safer air. The inverse would have probably worked better than leaving.
When you rested in the corridor back from the Coatl, you were still in the bad air zone (stated as 1 HP per turn.) Technically the party would have all died in your sleep. It's the one time I overlooked that, in favor of a more interesting ending.
Thanks for playing.
both as DM and player. Thanks again for playing and best of luck in gaming and life.
Post Game Thoughts
I resisted discussing this along the way so as to leave things in the PCs hands. But here are various thoughts.
Yes this was a tough module requiring characters to be at the top of their game, like many early TSR modules. It is not as deadly as some others.
My reference to a hint early on was in the prologue chapter, Strangers in a Strange Land. Tabai, then a NPC, lead the party in retreat from the cannibals. At one point, he pointed to two entrances: a stairwell with door into earth, or to the top of ziggurat by the stairs.
I think I alluded to this early clue when the party was discussing exits out.
The module has the party enter by falling in from ground collapsing. I represented this by the stairwell door into earth. But it seemed odd to me not to let PCs decide to climb up the ziggurat to the top, which seems an obvious option so I put it out there. However, in the progression of the module, the top is the end. So you guys went through the module backwards. There were some tough encounters early on, for which magic items and powerful spells may have helped. I'm not sure if they were being saved, thinking the tougher encounters come later?
In the module's order of things, the poison air was an early challenge. Addressed by delay/neutralize poison and heals to get past the bad air, moving at a quick pace. The point of clear air was the two-headed snake chamber (due to the hole in the wall leading up to outside). Going reverse as the party did, past that snake room was where the party came into the poison air. The deceased Leomar's periapt of proof against poison could have helped one person but was over-looked. Getting all the dead PC's magic items would have been a boon.
Speaking of the two-headed snake, that was a hard encounter but I was expecting use of the big magic and items, such as Siavel's lightening bolt, Tabai's totem necklace, Bruno's sword dancing ability, Azoth's Rod of Noden summon Nightgaunt ability, Grindhelm's Screaming Death axe Fear power. Those weren't done and some people died. I didn't bother to replace those people, as the level of activity in this and my gaming portfolio overall was such that six players was fine.
As to artifacts to help the natives resist the evil cannibal empire overtaking them... The statue's rod, which at one point possessed Azoth, was an artifact to be further explored, but with a high cost so understandably it wasn't. The magic dagger picked up by Siavel in the jaguar-man chamber is an intelligent, powerful item although ultimately evil in the end. The theme of things seem to be "power corrupts."
There were some items in a few secret compartments that the party detected but did not pursue for whatever reason. Most likely a lack of close reading of the text, which happens to us all. It was tempting to remind folks, but in the heat of the moment the adventurers must have forgot
- On top of the ziggurat, in the front part of the altar (the pit side) was a known compartment.
- In the spinning base of the Cthulhu statue, again known but forgotten.
There were some unexplored rooms.
There were fighter and class abilities (e.g. dual hand attacks, charges, druid shape changing) that weren't used or used infrequently, which would have been helpful.
On the multiple consecutive rest periods, I can see how those would be necessary. However it does greatly increase the wandering monster chances, some of which were minor (giant frogs) to major (the potpourri of exotic undead.) It's best to hole up in a fortified spot (as was done to good effect vs. the frogs, but not so in the two-open-ways-in room where the undead came in. In the tournament version, the party entering at the bottom faces the poison air and it's a race to get higher up to safer air. The inverse would have probably worked better than leaving.
When you rested in the corridor back from the Coatl, you were still in the bad air zone (stated as 1 HP per turn.) Technically the party would have all died in your sleep. It's the one time I overlooked that, in favor of a more interesting ending.
Thanks for playing.