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| New year, new journals... |
Another Meetup play report, where I meet strangers and try to kill them... figuratively. Superbowl Sunday was coming up, so I posted up a game titled, "Gaming for Those Not Watching the Game." I had no dog in the hunt, and figured plenty of other folks also approached the game with a rousing, "meh." A neighborhood taphouse was bereft of screens and set aside a table for me. The game of the night was Shadowdark.
- Wes (Elf wizard)
- Davion (Dwarf Knight of St. Ydris)
- Leif (Elf ranger)
- Seana (Human fighter)
I got everyone situated and bumped up to 2nd level. Rolled for hats, as is tradition.
We started in Neuforde with rumors of not-quite-humans raiding local farms and caravans. The priest in town volunteered a local youth ('Sven') to act as a guide. Knowing the raids came from the southwest, Sven led the party to the overgrown trade road and they picked their way through the alder.
As is tradition, they were set upon by a party of Chaos mutants consisting of a leader on Damned Horseback and four mooks. The mooks were visibly altered, particularly the one naked dude...
Battle was joined, with the two elves focusing on the leader, and the other two party members going after the mooks. The leader's spells got disrupted enough to have little effect. The dwarf laid about himself with his razor chain. The dwarf and elves badmouthed one another. Sven hid in the bushes.
Two of the baddies were slain, including naked acid-skin guy, and the remaining two mooks and leader fled with one hp each. The dwarf salvaged a dose of acid from the dead mutant and gave it to the ranger as a peace offering. Symbols on the dead mooks implicated a Chaos goddess known for twisting nature.
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| an old friend |
The party tracked the fleeing baddies to the ruined tower. Two guards were spotted on top, as well as the Damned Horse tied some distance off. The dwarf hamstrung and shanked the horse using his razor chain.
One guard was defeated, Sven missed with his bow, bouncing an arrow off the parapet. The leader poked his head out the tower door and was summarily shot. The remaining guard slammed the door closed. The party rushed it and attempted to breach it. After a few tries, it was noticed that the door was 'pull', not 'push.'
Everyone bumrushed the last guard, capturing him and questioning. He told of the glories of the "Maker." Sure, whatever, dude. He revealed that there were a few guards, a few 'smart guys', and 'Toby' down below. Leaving him secured, they descended to the first level, inspecting the interesting glass lens in the stone pillar. The dwarf swiped it.
The first couple of chambers were empty but for stores and supplies. The dwarf had a tantrum and broke a few crates. The elves rolled their eyes, "Dwarves..."
A shadow filled the passageway, asking who they were. Toby. The ogre.
The elves explained they were there to join the rest of the Maker people. Toby shrugged and led them on. He didn't like the bad smells from down where they were working. But he was really bored and wanted to wrestle.
OK, but if we beat you, you have to help us, deal? Yup. No cheating. Toby took on the dwarf and human, and lost 3-2 (I have got to get better ogres). But true to his word, he agreed to stay put and watch for the party.
Next chamber, and a dwarf challenged them. The party's dwarf approached him, but was attacked. He noticed the dwarf's blank eyes. While he tried to break the spell, a spear or arrow flew in, taking the dwarf down to barely alive. That broke the spell.
The dwarf (Snorri) shared that he had been captured with the intent to 'change' through alchemical means. The ranger cobbled together a poultice, and healed him.
Payback time - Snorri led the party into the deeper passages where the baddies were polluting the water. A fighter left as a guard was momentarily confused by the dwarf's appearance, and the party took advantage of the opening to tackle him. Snorri shanked him.
They dowsed their lights and crept down the tunnel to the final chamber, where the remaining "smart guys" were dumping various odiferous reagents into an underground pool and mumbling about how to lure the ogre down for his "treatment."
Taking advantage of surprise, the dwarf took on the veiled baddie, with the rest of the party taking on the other two. Sven's arrows went wide, hitting the cavern roof and a defaced statue.
The veiled baddie (a mage) managed to get off a color spray, blinding the party's wizard. She was summarily dispatched, as was one of the other villains. The last one fled.
But that's ok, because Toby caught him and was found sitting on him.
Some more interrogation, and the bad guy was determined to be too much of a fanatic to manage. Toby smothered him.
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| source |
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DM Notes:
Another fun one-shot, with a couple of guys from the neighborhood, and the third who took a train and bus to reach the table.
It was an ok session for me. My energy wasn't quite dialed in to run with the focus I like, especially for strangers.
For having played SD for a bit, there are some mechanics particular to the game, like initiative, that I need to get memorized better. I may have forgotten to roll-to-cast on the bad guys, too. Oops.
But more importantly, I didn't use the malleable situation of the fleeing baddies in the first encounter to shift the overall tactical situation, cause a running battle, set up ambushes, or create a ticking clock-type situation with the desecration of the pool with the mutagenic reagents. One of these days, Toby needs to take a bath... I still feel novice a lot of ways in my gamerunning. Or maybe I'm just lazy.
I do manage to keep open to player asks on actions and information calls. Either by judgement call or by the wisdom of the dice.
Alternatively, I need to use some different material. I have folders of crap, both my own and from better creators. I need to revisit some of that for the sheaf of potential for a one-shot. I don't pick the adventure beforehand for one-shots, waiting to see how the party distributes to run something that 'fits.' I don't care about party balance, but saying that, throwing a group at a scenario that is more or less appropriate for their makeup helps the flow. Unless there are no clerics, in which case there will definitely be undead... hehe.
And Sven was an awful shot.
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