The Unseen Servant forums

I'd be up for playing another B/X campaign!

Time for some honest soul searching...

I've been spending huge amounts of time trying to pull something together that's workable for me and I'm not sure I can actually manage something.


The thing I'm most stuck on is a map. I have an idea of what I want, but I don't have the skill to make the map I'd like... I've picked out real world cartography that would work (Nepal or Bhutan), but translating that into a gameable map is becoming frustrating.


I've got a really nice trekking map of the Annapurna Circuit region which would be really workable for me, but presenting that map to the players really doesn't work for me.


I'm also struggling with encounter charts, though there I at least have a list of monsters I want to use, but translating that into terrain encounter tables is still a bunch of work.


I'm not quite sure how to proceed, meanwhile I've been stalling you folks for several weeks...


Sadly the hex maps in Yoon Suin are horribly uninspiring to me and the stylized maps are inspiring but don't feel really usable.


I'm about ready to throw in the towel and stick with Wilderlands of High Fantasy... At this point I'm not sure I want to even consider Tekumel which was another strong contender for my own interest (I don't remember if it got much interest in the interest gathering thread).


I'm realizing that an inspiring ready to go map is super important to me. I think if I had that, I could quickly come to terms with some encounter charts.


Frank

Hey Frank, totally get where you're coming from. I struggled with maps for years, spending inordinate amounts of time on them. Ultimately it comes down to, for me, the experience, the interaction with the players. To see all the whacky and amazing things they come up with, the inspiring, and sometimes even simplistic character personalities. First and foremost, be honesty with yourself, like you said.

You don't have to build it all out. It doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, most GM's find their players have a tenacity and nack for derailing and sidetracking any plans you may have come up with anyway.

If you still want to proceed, start simple and build from there. Work on the map as we move forward and then present it when you're ready. I'd be happy with a map drawn in crayon, as long as the story is entertaining and engaging.

My 3 cents
Marcus

I thought that map of Bhutan with six mile hexes superimposed on it was awesome.

See more map discussion over on the setting thread...

Ok, after a minor panic, I think I know how to proceed. Fundamentally it's ok if player maps are crude...

And I can place things on my GM map in a repeatable way so if I decide to change how I manage the map it will be manageable.

Next step is to pull together some encounter charts and look over what I have for the oligarchy, start naming things, and put together some initial hooks to offer you folks.

My hope is that I can get that all done in the next week (unfortunately I'm out of town for the weekend, not that I ever get much time to myself on the weekend anyway...).

Frank

ffilz wrote:Ok, after a minor panic, I think I know how to proceed.

Great! Looking forward to it.

I spend way too much time mapping, too!

Ok, let's get rolling, check out the starting thread:

[000] Getting started, some rumors

Do we all know each other? I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to start.

sulldawga wrote:Do we all know each other? I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to start.

Not necessarily everyone knows each other, but how about:

It makes sense that all the locals know each other (Kajal, Vicenc, Gigyansh).

Hanarl has a letter of introduction to the Subramanian family (Gigyansh's family) and will have met Gigyansh at the cadet house.

Wening is Hanarl's slave.

Samsura has met Kajal at the shrine at the birthplace of the great warrior Topke Goparma.

Prishneena traveled with Hanarl and Wening.

ffilz wrote:Prishneena traveled with Hanarl and Wening.

Cool. That works for me.

Frank, how often were you expecting players to post here?

sulldawga wrote:Frank, how often were you expecting players to post here?

I hope to be able to keep up with daily posting. These days, I don't get much chance to respond on the weekends. I know this has started awfully slowly, I was giving folks a bit of time to role play out meeting and I've dropped a few hooks, I may need to drop more to get something rolling.

I'm about to head off to pick the kids up from school, but I'll look over the 000 thread and make sure I've responded to anything that needs a response when I get back.

My goal here is a sandbox though, with player directed action, but if I need to pump something in to keep things going, I'm happy to do so.

Perhaps the DM could contrive to have other PCs show up at the tavern where Gigyansh and Vincenc plot and plan?

At the very least, we can see which players are still active in this game and which have abandoned it.

sulldawga wrote:Perhaps the DM could contrive to have other PCs show up at the tavern where Gigyansh and Vincenc plot and plan?

At the very least, we can see which players are still active in this game and which have abandoned it.

Ok, I've put Gigyansh, Kajal, Vincenc, and Samsura all in the same tavern.

Wenig and Prishneena are starting to consider looking for work suppressing bandits and already have connection to Gigyansh's family so all we need is the two of them to go back to the Subramanian cadet house and probably talk to Gigyansh's uncle (who Gigyansh will also presumably talk to).

ffilz wrote:Wenig and Prishneena are starting to consider looking for work suppressing bandits and already have connection to Gigyansh's family so all we need is the two of them to go back to the Subramanian cadet house and probably talk to Gigyansh's uncle (who Gigyansh will also presumably talk to).

They left the hotel before Gigyansh had shown up. Is there another connection between them and the Subramanian House?

At this point, they are definitely looking for a wealthy house to bank roll their venture. If they've gotten wind the Subramanian is a likely prospect, they'll head over there.

Pulpatoon wrote:

ffilz wrote:Wenig and Prishneena are starting to consider looking for work suppressing bandits and already have connection to Gigyansh's family so all we need is the two of them to go back to the Subramanian cadet house and probably talk to Gigyansh's uncle (who Gigyansh will also presumably talk to).

They left the hotel before Gigyansh had shown up. Is there another connection between them and the Subramanian House?

At this point, they are definitely looking for a wealthy house to bank roll their venture. If they've gotten wind the Subramanian is a likely prospect, they'll head over there.

With the letter of introduction the Subramanian house would definitely be their best choice. They should be staying at the Subramanian house not an inn or anything.

Ah! Thanks for the clarification.

Is this game dead?