Roleplaying session II, 18 months later
Apr. 18th, 2017 11:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackPrevious session http://cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com/951049.html
I have fictionalised the write-up somewhat, because different things are fun to read than to play, and in case any of you come when I run this scenario again.
Prep
GM: ... and that's why levelling up in 5e is simpler than most previous editions.
GM: In theory.
GM: So, anyway, the captain,
GM: The ship's captain, not army Captain Amelficus, veteran of the elf wars, one semi-successful diplomatic mission, and the adventure of the lightly-crispy fried toad-seals.
GM: Summons you to a meeting of the captain, a few trusted passengers, the first mate, and the heretofore unmentioned second mate, played by Liv.
Second mate: I'm friends with the ships cat.
Second mate: I'm a lot like Bel Thorn, but I use "they" pronouns not "it" pronouns.
GM: She thanks you for help before.
GM: And lobs some simple hooks to draw you into the conversation
GM: And says, in a SHOCKING TWIST, the journals you found hint at the location of POWERFUL MAGICAL ARTIFACTS. On this VERY ISLAND.
Ship's Captain: And, um, I don't want to impose on you further, but since (a) you've already proven your trustworthiness (b) TREASURE (c) you're the PCs, how would you feel about, tracking it down and bringing it back?
GM: I warn you, there may be a a variety of level-appropriate encounters, probably just enough to bring you to level 3.
GM: And take the first mate, because she knows about it. And I don't trust her.
First mate: Blah blah blah I am untrustworthy blah.
GM: Or leave her behind, because I don't trust her. I haven't decided.
GM: First mate: I will leave the room now. Absolutely definitely.
GM: First mate: And not ambiguously leave the room in a fashion which leaves most players uncertain about who is actually present for the next scene.
Ship's Captain: And if you wouldn't mind, maybe just once sleep in the store room where the journals, treasure, etc are stored, just in case first mate tries to abscond with them.
GM: In the actual session, I did quite well remembering which NPC was which, but I'm using titled in this write up for your convenience.
GM: And if you could all just debate this question amongst yourselves for a bit to get invested in the adventure, that would be good too.
Party: OK, sounds good. We bed down.
GM: Whew. OK, thank goodness. When I told you to prepare your character sheets assuming you'd recovered max health, I really hoped we wouldn't get any combats with your hitpoints still where they were um last year.
Morning
GM: In the morning, what do you?
Party: ...
GM: OK, but actually you don't, because in a SHOCKING TWIST, the door is barred from the outside
Swashbuckling princess: Can I pick the lock?
GM: Doh. I'm really sorry, after very specifically giving you a homebrew use-hairpins-as-lockpics ability, I forgot that the first obstacle you encounter would be a locked door where they're useless.
GM: It doesn't really have a lock, it's barred with a bunch of heavy wood on the other side.
GM: I hope that's ok?
Players: How about we break it down?
Players: Or look through a crack?
Ms J: Can I play?
GM: Would you like to play a talking cat?
Ms J: YES!
Cat: Am I there? Shall I go for help? To the captain?
Party: Yes!
GM: Right, yes, that's an obviously good idea.
GM: Which I completely failed to plan for because I didn't plan a talking cat.
GM: But fits into the plot fine because I design plots made out of flexible parts that don't rely on any particular thing happening in any particular order.
GM: Yay J gets to play a kitty.
Party: Ok, without much faff, lets start with plan "widen a crack in the door and peer through"
GM: Who?
Party: The cleric? He has high perception and the best armour
GM: Good call.
GM: You don't see anything but the other side of the corridor
GM: You hear quiet breathing in a fashion consistent with, but not necessarily, someone waiting just to the side of the door with a heavy iron bar.
Party: OK, we force the door
GM: OK, do you have..
Mate: I have a very good strength score.
Cleric: I have a crowbar.
GM: Really?
GM: Good call.
GM: OK, I was hoping this bit wasn't going to hold us up much.
Mate: I roll the dice.
GM: You succeed.
GM: Outside are a sea-elf leaning nochalantly against the wall, and a half-orc swinging an iron bar threateningly.
Cat: Orcs are bad guys, right? I don't like him.
GM: Um. I guess that's what Tolkien makes you think.
GM: And DnD.
GM: And every other film ever.
GM: There are at least one or two *other* half-orcs in the crew, who are valued comrades.
GM: And I don't like the idea that one race is just bad.
GM: In fact, maybe I shouldn't use orcs at all.
GM: But as it turns out, this particular Orc is mean to cats, and generally a nasty thug.
GM: Sorry, Orcs.
Sea-elf: Blah blah blah monologue blah.
High-elf wizard: I roleplay the racial tensions between high elves and, well, everyone else. Especially sea elves. And orcs. And dwarves. And humans. Did I mention sea elves?
Cleric: OK, lets rush her.
GM: Good call. Surprise round for you.
GM: Now roll initiative.
Orc: Hey, nearest party member? Crowbar to the face! Nice half your hitpoints you had there, shame something happened to them.
Sea elf: Hi, I have strategy!
Sea elf: Hey, glass canon! Nice almost-all-of-your-hitpoints you have there. No, wait, my mistake, they're smeared all over the end of my rapier instead.
Front line fighters: Crit!
Wizard: This is why I prepare melee cantrips. Crit!
GM: OK, someone check the crit rules for 5e.
GM: But two mutineers slump to the floor lightly smoking.
Ship's captain: Thank you, you've saved the ship.
Ship's captain: Again.
Ship's captain: I hate to impose on you further, but would you awfully mind tracking down first mate who absconded with some minions in the night and dragging them back for justice and/or finding some ancient artifacts of large but unspecified power before she does?
Ship's captain: And her little parrot too, who's been lamentably poorly represented in this scenario so far.
Ship's captain: I didn't *say* murder them all, but that's a common outcome in DnD even if you're not explicitly looking for it.
Cleric: Heal.
Tracking
Party: We make various knowledge rolls.
Cat: I can track!
GM: Ah! Good, now I can stop feeling bad about not ensuring there was a party tracker.
GM: OK, you track the mutineers onto the island. The tracks stop several yards short of a shallow but wide stream.
Party: We debate this for a while.
Party: And call for some relevant knowledge rolls.
GM: Good question, I didn't think of that. Yes, there *are* flying creatures which could scoop up several humanoids, but probably not get all six without leaving any trace.
Party: OK, we're fairly sure they crossed the stream in some unspecified non-footprint-leaving way, even if we don't know why.
Party: Lets go on, and it'll either become clear or won't matter.
GM: Good call.
Party: We cross the stream.
GM: Dex save.
Party: Lets use up some of our bad rolls now.
Party: After all, skill rolls don't have critical saves.
GM: OK, you mostly jump quickly to dry land as carnivorous reeds start to wind around your ankles under the water.
GM: Except the dwarf.
Party: Rope!
GM: OK, everyone is pulled free.
Party: OK, lets jump across.
Party: Roped together, just to be on the safe side.
Party: Especially the dwarf.
GM: Good call.
GM: And now you're in the woods, so if you were feeling hard-done by by 10" poles not being included in the default adventuring gear, there are as many as you want literally growing on trees.
Cleric: I would also like to find a forked stick.
GM: OK.
Cleric: I need it for a material component.
GM: I should clarify, inexpensive material components, we usually assume you just have.
Cleric: Oh, I know. But gathering them when there's a good opportunity is WHY we have them.
GM: Exactly.
GM: And, if it ever matters that you have a particularly GOOD forked stick, I will definitely agree that that spell has whatever advantage it possibly could.
I have fictionalised the write-up somewhat, because different things are fun to read than to play, and in case any of you come when I run this scenario again.
Prep
GM: ... and that's why levelling up in 5e is simpler than most previous editions.
GM: In theory.
GM: So, anyway, the captain,
GM: The ship's captain, not army Captain Amelficus, veteran of the elf wars, one semi-successful diplomatic mission, and the adventure of the lightly-crispy fried toad-seals.
GM: Summons you to a meeting of the captain, a few trusted passengers, the first mate, and the heretofore unmentioned second mate, played by Liv.
Second mate: I'm friends with the ships cat.
Second mate: I'm a lot like Bel Thorn, but I use "they" pronouns not "it" pronouns.
GM: She thanks you for help before.
GM: And lobs some simple hooks to draw you into the conversation
GM: And says, in a SHOCKING TWIST, the journals you found hint at the location of POWERFUL MAGICAL ARTIFACTS. On this VERY ISLAND.
Ship's Captain: And, um, I don't want to impose on you further, but since (a) you've already proven your trustworthiness (b) TREASURE (c) you're the PCs, how would you feel about, tracking it down and bringing it back?
GM: I warn you, there may be a a variety of level-appropriate encounters, probably just enough to bring you to level 3.
GM: And take the first mate, because she knows about it. And I don't trust her.
First mate: Blah blah blah I am untrustworthy blah.
GM: Or leave her behind, because I don't trust her. I haven't decided.
GM: First mate: I will leave the room now. Absolutely definitely.
GM: First mate: And not ambiguously leave the room in a fashion which leaves most players uncertain about who is actually present for the next scene.
Ship's Captain: And if you wouldn't mind, maybe just once sleep in the store room where the journals, treasure, etc are stored, just in case first mate tries to abscond with them.
GM: In the actual session, I did quite well remembering which NPC was which, but I'm using titled in this write up for your convenience.
GM: And if you could all just debate this question amongst yourselves for a bit to get invested in the adventure, that would be good too.
Party: OK, sounds good. We bed down.
GM: Whew. OK, thank goodness. When I told you to prepare your character sheets assuming you'd recovered max health, I really hoped we wouldn't get any combats with your hitpoints still where they were um last year.
Morning
GM: In the morning, what do you?
Party: ...
GM: OK, but actually you don't, because in a SHOCKING TWIST, the door is barred from the outside
Swashbuckling princess: Can I pick the lock?
GM: Doh. I'm really sorry, after very specifically giving you a homebrew use-hairpins-as-lockpics ability, I forgot that the first obstacle you encounter would be a locked door where they're useless.
GM: It doesn't really have a lock, it's barred with a bunch of heavy wood on the other side.
GM: I hope that's ok?
Players: How about we break it down?
Players: Or look through a crack?
Ms J: Can I play?
GM: Would you like to play a talking cat?
Ms J: YES!
Cat: Am I there? Shall I go for help? To the captain?
Party: Yes!
GM: Right, yes, that's an obviously good idea.
GM: Which I completely failed to plan for because I didn't plan a talking cat.
GM: But fits into the plot fine because I design plots made out of flexible parts that don't rely on any particular thing happening in any particular order.
GM: Yay J gets to play a kitty.
Party: Ok, without much faff, lets start with plan "widen a crack in the door and peer through"
GM: Who?
Party: The cleric? He has high perception and the best armour
GM: Good call.
GM: You don't see anything but the other side of the corridor
GM: You hear quiet breathing in a fashion consistent with, but not necessarily, someone waiting just to the side of the door with a heavy iron bar.
Party: OK, we force the door
GM: OK, do you have..
Mate: I have a very good strength score.
Cleric: I have a crowbar.
GM: Really?
GM: Good call.
GM: OK, I was hoping this bit wasn't going to hold us up much.
Mate: I roll the dice.
GM: You succeed.
GM: Outside are a sea-elf leaning nochalantly against the wall, and a half-orc swinging an iron bar threateningly.
Cat: Orcs are bad guys, right? I don't like him.
GM: Um. I guess that's what Tolkien makes you think.
GM: And DnD.
GM: And every other film ever.
GM: There are at least one or two *other* half-orcs in the crew, who are valued comrades.
GM: And I don't like the idea that one race is just bad.
GM: In fact, maybe I shouldn't use orcs at all.
GM: But as it turns out, this particular Orc is mean to cats, and generally a nasty thug.
GM: Sorry, Orcs.
Sea-elf: Blah blah blah monologue blah.
High-elf wizard: I roleplay the racial tensions between high elves and, well, everyone else. Especially sea elves. And orcs. And dwarves. And humans. Did I mention sea elves?
Cleric: OK, lets rush her.
GM: Good call. Surprise round for you.
GM: Now roll initiative.
Orc: Hey, nearest party member? Crowbar to the face! Nice half your hitpoints you had there, shame something happened to them.
Sea elf: Hi, I have strategy!
Sea elf: Hey, glass canon! Nice almost-all-of-your-hitpoints you have there. No, wait, my mistake, they're smeared all over the end of my rapier instead.
Front line fighters: Crit!
Wizard: This is why I prepare melee cantrips. Crit!
GM: OK, someone check the crit rules for 5e.
GM: But two mutineers slump to the floor lightly smoking.
Ship's captain: Thank you, you've saved the ship.
Ship's captain: Again.
Ship's captain: I hate to impose on you further, but would you awfully mind tracking down first mate who absconded with some minions in the night and dragging them back for justice and/or finding some ancient artifacts of large but unspecified power before she does?
Ship's captain: And her little parrot too, who's been lamentably poorly represented in this scenario so far.
Ship's captain: I didn't *say* murder them all, but that's a common outcome in DnD even if you're not explicitly looking for it.
Cleric: Heal.
Tracking
Party: We make various knowledge rolls.
Cat: I can track!
GM: Ah! Good, now I can stop feeling bad about not ensuring there was a party tracker.
GM: OK, you track the mutineers onto the island. The tracks stop several yards short of a shallow but wide stream.
Party: We debate this for a while.
Party: And call for some relevant knowledge rolls.
GM: Good question, I didn't think of that. Yes, there *are* flying creatures which could scoop up several humanoids, but probably not get all six without leaving any trace.
Party: OK, we're fairly sure they crossed the stream in some unspecified non-footprint-leaving way, even if we don't know why.
Party: Lets go on, and it'll either become clear or won't matter.
GM: Good call.
Party: We cross the stream.
GM: Dex save.
Party: Lets use up some of our bad rolls now.
Party: After all, skill rolls don't have critical saves.
GM: OK, you mostly jump quickly to dry land as carnivorous reeds start to wind around your ankles under the water.
GM: Except the dwarf.
Party: Rope!
GM: OK, everyone is pulled free.
Party: OK, lets jump across.
Party: Roped together, just to be on the safe side.
Party: Especially the dwarf.
GM: Good call.
GM: And now you're in the woods, so if you were feeling hard-done by by 10" poles not being included in the default adventuring gear, there are as many as you want literally growing on trees.
Cleric: I would also like to find a forked stick.
GM: OK.
Cleric: I need it for a material component.
GM: I should clarify, inexpensive material components, we usually assume you just have.
Cleric: Oh, I know. But gathering them when there's a good opportunity is WHY we have them.
GM: Exactly.
GM: And, if it ever matters that you have a particularly GOOD forked stick, I will definitely agree that that spell has whatever advantage it possibly could.
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Date: 2017-04-19 01:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-04-19 12:10 pm (UTC)