SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.
This morning I attempted to do layers on the battle crab model.
The colours went from Flat Red to Pure Red to Lava Orange. Which I then used a Red tone wash with to blend the layers together. Or attempt to.
I did dry brush some of the Lava Orange after I applied the wash. And applied some Blood Splatter paint to the tips of the metal spikes and the blade on the tiny claw.
Naturally I can only see the mistakes. Like the odd hard to reach bit that I failed to get to. Luckily that stuff has to be examined up close. On the table this looks pretty good.
The initial Flat Red layer could have been thinner, allowing a wider Pure Red layer. With the wash it now looks a more slightly gradient red. Not the intended look I was initially envisioning. In some spots the wash is awful.
There are other mistakes but I won’t bore you with them.
Now what stats to use? The Storm King’s Thunder campaign book has stats for a Hulking Crab.
While the Monster Manual has a Giant Crab.
What I think I need is something in the middle. This is meant to be for level 1 characters. So I’m feeling an AC of 16 (Natural Armour) with an HP between 20 – 30. I think it should have multi attack, but more the Giant Crab stats for Claw, and not the Hulking Crab Claw stats.
I think that should do it.
Really stoked to see the players face if they get to see it.
SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.
This is more a prep update than a planning update.
Thought I’d take some photos of the painted cave tiles. Sadly the bright sunlight doesn’t do the tiles much justice.
I also took delivery of the final part of the stuff my friend was printing for me this evening. Not shown in the photo below are the 5 4×4 tiles. But as soon as I got home I was priming everything ready for base coats tomorrow.
I can’t wait to start using this stuff in our first session.
Plus with the lid of the Dungeon Tiles Reincarnated I can do split level!
My next 3D project is the 3D tiles for ships that I came across. But I’m going to talk about options for boats in another post.
What a great way to start off a D&D session. Naturally and this won’t surprise you is how the living legend Matt Colville starts off his D&D games. It signals to the players we are starting, stop that chitter chatter.
Mr Colville then gets one of the players to recap what happened in the previous session. He uses it a diagnostic tool, what did the players think happened etc.
The video he talks about this is the DM Screen one. I’m not going to embed that here again. Just look at yesterday’s post where I embedded it for another reason.
Guess what? Yep I’m going to borrow this for my own games. Which we are still negotiating dates for our session one! One DM and five players. So that’s six calendars to sync. Ok two of us have no life and can make any date (well 99% of any suggested date) whilst the others have outside commitments/relationships that need to be looked after. What is it with these people and having a life?
As of this morning we may (touch wood, cross fingers, and any other unfounded superstition that may help) not only have found a date for session one but also session two also!
Honestly though I think negotiating Brexit is easier than finding a date we can all agree on.
But I do like that opening line. I think I will nick it for the title of the write ups of our sessions on here. The write ups will be my post mortem of the session. I suppose similar in format to the videos Colville does for his D&D Live plays The Chain. So I’ll have a brief plot summary of what happened in the session, followed by my thoughts on how the session went. What worked, what didn’t, that sort of stuff.
Would there be any interest in me sharing my notes for the campaign/session? It’d be in pdf format, and change a lot. I could use Google drive to keep it and share it with the world. If you are interested in this let me know in the comments below.
This post is aimed at my players for our campaign when it starts.
In this post I want to propose that these are our house rules for the game. By that I mean rules that are not in the Players Guide, Dungeon Masters Guide, Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, and The Ghosts of Saltmarsh.
The first item I proposed I came across whilst flicking through the pages of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. I’m not sure we will ever use this, but if we do I think it could add some dramatic tension.
(Extract above taken without permission from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything)
Ok the next proposed rule or thing I plan to do is for me the DM to roll stealth checks! WTF?! I bet my players are saying as they read that. With coffee or some other beverage being spat across the room and hitting the sleeping cat or a kid. We know dogs are stupid like kids and cats to sleep in the firing range of spat out drinks.
Anyway instead of me trying to justify/defend this, why don’t I hand things over to the amazing and inspiring Matt Colville (well I’ve not mentioned him in a few posts, so,it’s long over due) to explain things.
The DM Screen episode (and the inspiration for the video above) also covers it.
Ok this next one is also a biggy.
We hadn’t talked about advancement in our session zero. But I think at the time, before I had read this in the appendix of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (XGE) I was leaning towards the story advancement method of gaining XP over XP tracking. Now I’m very much in favour of this. For the record this is from Xanathar’s but they got it from the Adventurers League, which is like D&D organised play for want of a simple way to explain it.
I’d already nicked the Adventurers League rule for our session zero for creating characters Players Guide plus one other source book. Which I said was the Swordcoast Adventurers Guide. The reason for this is that it’s to keep costs down for the DM and the players. They don’t want people having to spend lots of money just to play the game. It puts people of playing. And that’s why for our first campaign I did the same.
The rules side is another thing. Whether I use the trap rules for generating them from the DMG or XGE is neither here or there. It’s invisible to the players. For the record I like the method in XGE. Just as the rules used for ships etc coming from GoS. The players don’t need to know the specifics.
We will be using skill challenges in the campaign. Which technically are not in the 5e rules. But as I pointed out kinda in a post yesterday (WHICH MY PLAYERS SHOULD NOT READ – IT HAS SPOILERS) by way of a link, it’s possible to run skill challenges in 5e.
So players either leave comments below or discuss in our messenger group. Everyone else I hope you are finding posts like this of interest.
SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.
Technically this post is not just an update on planning, but also some research notes for the campaign in general.
It was whilst doing this research that I stumbled across a D&D Beyond Encounter of the week that is exactly what I am planning on doing in part of the first adventure. This is going to save me a lot of work in researching nautical terms and what they mean when it comes to doing stuff on the boat to prepare for the storm. The post has a nice table (illegally copied below) you can print out and hand to players. But more importantly it’s a skill challenge. Which is something I wanted to have in this opening adventure.
One of the things I’m struggling to get my head round is the whole breathing underwater thing.Which is the driving factor behind the research that inspired this post.
On the D&D Beyond forums I found this snippet that’s related to my quest for information. I like this suggestion, anything that can add variety so I’m not using the same old tropes over and over again.
There is also a very nice quote by C.S. Lewis on another discussion thread, once again on D&D Beyond. This makes great advice for when it comes to planning underwater adventures.
But still no answer to my question about breathing underwater. I can’t remember which source book it is (probably GoS) that has tables for damage to equipment due to water pressure etc. Which implies that equipment of some can be used.
Then as I was writing this post I thought “there must be a magic spell that allows players to breathe underwater?” And there is. Why I didn’t think of this to start with?
It gets worse. I found this post on a forum giving some suggestions for magical items that can also be used.
Now I’ve found this out, it all seems so obvious. I really should read the resources I have. Or at least not skip sections.
But now I no longer live in bewilderment and confusion. I feel like I have enough info now at hand to drop an underwater encounter into an adventure anytime I like. I have ideas for magical equipment that the party can maybe purchase or find.
On a post (forgot to keep the link) about underwater adventures there was a recommendation to read Mel Odom’s Threat from the Sea.
Luckily the trilogy is available as audio books on Audible. I happen to have 3 unused credits, so I have something new to listen to on my way to UKGE this coming week.
Thursday saw Ghosts of Saltmarsh hit the shelves of your FLGS in the UK (thanks to a small delay of a couple of days with the distributor) and elsewhere round the globe.
I have seen the odd comment online that copies of the book have been damaged somewhere down the line. Not sure if this damage is from the printing process, packing or transportation. But whatever the cause of the damage, my copy was damage free. So I was happy to avoid that issue.
As an incentive to buy your copy of the book from your FLGS and not from an online retailer WotC have produced an exclusive alternate cover art version of the book, that is only available from an FLGS.
Before I look any further at this fine tome, let me state for the record this is not a review. It’s a first impressions look at the book. A written unboxing almost. I’ve also not played the adventures in the book.
Disclaimer over let’s get on with it.
Ghosts of Saltmarsh is the latest campaign source book from WotC. A tome that consists of 256 pages, made up of background info, updated classic adventures and appendices and expanded mechanics.
The actual D&D realm that they place Saltmarsh and it’s related adventures is Greyhawk. Although with the aid of something I mention below you can use them with any setting.
Here is how the chapters breakdown.
Introduction
Saltmarsh – background information on the town itself.
The Sinister Secret Of Saltmarsh – 1st Level characters U1 (1981)
Danger at Dunwater – 3rd Level characters U2 (1982)
The Styes – 11th Level characters Dungeon 121 (2005)
Appendix A: Of Ships and the Sea
Appendix B: Magic Items
Appendix C: Monsters and NPCs
The great thing about these updated adventures is that there is a small breakout box with that at best can be described a paragraph about the original adventure. There are also larger breakout boxes that give ideas for how to integrate the adventure into Eberron, Forgotten Realms and Mystara.
I also like that in the introduction they credit the giants whose shoulders they stood on to create this book.
If you use this as a campaign it will take your characters from level 1 through to 12.
I love the Saltmarsh chapter, it covers the town, major NPCs, politics/factions, the local area. Gives you adventure hooks, and linking the adventures included with those from the Tales from the Yawning Portal campaign book. You get new background information to use with player characters or NPCs.
The Appendix A is “everything” you need to use boats/ships with your campaign. From stat blocks, deck plans etc for a handful of common ships. To some upgrades that can be purchased for the ships. There are expanded rules for ships in combat, travel at sea. Lots of tables for various types of aquatic hazards, encounters, generating random ships, creating mysterious islands. Plus some example underwater locations to use in campaigns.
I think the titles of the remaining appendices describe what they are adequately.
For me this book looks fantastic, and has already sparked off ideas for my campaign that hasn’t started yet. Plus once the party gets to suitable levels of experience some side adventures that I can plug straight into the campaign.
I’ll close this post off with an image of a third party product by Gale Force 9 (who by the way are rather poor at putting information on their website, I couldn’t find anything about this on there for starters!) that comes out in June I believe. If I’m lucky I’ll be able to pick a copy up at UKGE.
There is also a world map coming out at the same time I believe.
SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.
Ok let’s start with the painting of the cliffs.
On 3 of the cliff tiles I added some flock. Which was way way too light. I thought I was going to have to clean it off and forget it.
However I was hit by a brainwave, yeah unusual for me I know. So I broke out the green wash and dabbed it on the flock.
I’m now much happier with the results.
Decided to start on the cave tiles with two of the larger ones I currently have. In the photos below the wash is drying so looks glossy. But they won’t end up like that.
I’ve done a supplies restock, and have more of the colours I’m using for the cave tiles on the way.
I now have the Ghosts of Saltmarsh source book (a post will appear over the next couple of days on that). So I can now feed information from there in to my planning.
Such as I now have a location for Saltmarsh on the Sword Coast. I’d originally in my head had it in the area below. But about a week ago when things started to click I moved it much further south. South of Baldar’s Gate and nearer to the border.
However in Ghosts of Saltmarsh they suggest that Saltmarsh is between Neverwinter and Waterdeep. It gets further narrowed down when they say that Thornhold is south of Saltmarsh. So based on the information given, I’m placing Saltmarsh at the northern end of the Mere of Dead Men.
I’ve also identified the islands that the opening encounters will take place on. I was going to treat the second island as a wilderness encounter. But thanks to the new book I have stats for seals! So if they land on the opposite side of the island to the small fishing huts, they will come across seals on the beach.
The fishing huts are a summer resting spot for fishermen while they catch fish, cure them, before returning back to their community with their catches. Which will be fresh fish they caught on the journey back, and the cured stuff. These fishermen will give the party a ride to Kythyss. The fishermen know about the pirate base. There is an accommodation between the pirates and the fishermen. The fishermen say nothing about the pirates, provide them with fish. In return the pirates keep the fishermen safe.
Once the party have reached Alaron for the festival I want the party to get a boat. Most likely a keel boat. There will be one or two ways for them to get one. I like the idea of them owing a powerful figure. And you can be sure that at a later point they will be calling in that debt.
The town map for Kythyss will actually be the Saltmarsh town map. Makes sense because my players won’t be exploring Saltmarsh for a long time. Saves me prep time, and one less thing to create.
There are one or two adventures in Ghosts Of Saltmarsh that I can use for the campaign. So if I fancy a break from planning I can use on of them.
I’d also at some point like to run some underwater adventures as part of the campaign. But at the moment I don’t have a credible excuse for allowing the party to breathe underwater.
Anyway I hope you found this thought sharing interesting.
I’m not sure when the Stranger Things D&D Starter Set is due to hit the shelves of your FLGS in the UK. Imminently comes to mind. I’m pretty sure I saw May as a target date. But then again I may be getting that confused with the release date of the Ghosts of Saltmarsh source book.
If you are impatient (like me) and don’t mind paying the extra postage you can pick up a copy from Amazon.com. But before you do, have a look at the photos below, skim the words and then decide if that is something you should do if so inclined.
This isn’t a review. Let’s get that clear from the start. It’s more like an unboxing and thoughts/impressions about what I’m seeing. I got this yesterday! So there is not a chance in hell that I’ve played the adventure.
So in this rather spiffy box, that depicts one of the Stranger Things kids engaged with a demogorgan, you get the following:
6 dice (the usual one of each)
2 demogorgon minis, one has had paint applied to it)
5 Stranger Things character sheets (Level 3 characters)
Rulebook
Stranger Things Adventure
The demogorgon minis are nice. Made from a softer plastic than the normal hard plastic we are used to with minis these days. So there is a little give, or bendiness in them.
I don’t know why they didn’t just give us both models “painted”, and a wash applied to them both. What little paint there has been done on the “painted” model nearly goes unnoticed. I wouldn’t be making a big deal of what they did.
But I do like that they added these in.
The included rulebook is 43 pages compared to the 32 in the starter set. The main difference in page count being accounted for by an additional 2 appendixes. One for magic items and one for monster stats.
Where as in the starter set we only got spells for clerics and wizards, in this rulebook we bet spells for bards, clerics, paladins, rangers and wizards. Also at a brief glance I noticed that wizards don’t get the Dancing Lights cantrip in these rules. There may be other slight differences also. I do have a life (despite popular opinion).
It’s nice that the monster stats are in the rulebook and not in the adventure. It makes it a bit easier for the DM in my opinion not flicking around rule books. The adventure book can be open at the relevant place and have the monster stats to hand at the same time.
Each chapter has a photo from the series at the start. Which I like. It helps keep that theme of the show going which otherwise isn’t really needed. But it breaks up the pages and the text.
Ok let’s look at the adventure itself. WotC have gone to great lengths to make the included adventure “Hunt for the Thessalhydra” look like it was made straight from the notes of the 12/13 year old (or whatever age they are) in the show that created the adventure that they are playing. Right down to the included sketches and maps looking like they were hand drawn, and using a font that looks like handwriting.
I think they were really successful in doing that.
Back in the early nineties during the Twin Peaks crazy they released a book that was the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer. It was a paperback version of the diary found in the show. The immersion in that whole Twin Peaks universe, and trying to solve the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer went through the roof for me. There I was reading the actual diary in the show, looking for clues. It was almost a surreal experience at times when watching the show.
I’m wondering will fans of Stranger Things get a similar experience when they watch the show after having played the included adventure in this set? After all I believe this adventure is meant to be the same one played in the opening episode, and have the same character sheets.
I like the style of the adventure, it’s layout and how information is presented.
I do have one complaint about the maps. I know thematically what I’m asking for wouldn’t be needed. Because the youngster that created the adventure would know this. However considering that the audience for this set isn’t just experienced D&D players. But also fans of the show that may never have rolled a d20 before in their life, and may just be curious about this fun looking game they have seen played in their favourite tv show.
Couldn’t they have included a little legend (even if it’s in the rule book) that decodes the swiggles on the maps? How is a new player who is meant to be describing rooms and tunnels etc from the brief descriptions in the adventure and off the map itself know what the door symbol is? They might guess the stairs. But still let’s make life a bit easier for them.
Play wise I’d guess this adventure could take 2 or 3 sessions (assuming 2 or 3 hours a session) to complete. Depending on the group and the progress they make. I wouldn’t use this for a taster session one shot. Unless you want to leave the players hanging.
But it does look a fun adventure.
Another nit pick, and this really is. Having seen that WotC have made the move to including 2 d20’s in the Essential Kit, and I think that may also hold true for future products. It would have been a nice touch to have included a second here also.
Overall I love the presentation and theme. WotC have done a really great job. My criticism are very minor. I think any fan of the show will love this. But it must be remembered you are playing D&D from the show. If you want to actually play in a Stranger Things like world, and be the kids in the show fighting demons you will need another system like Tales from the Loop, or Kids on Bikes RPG – Strange Adventures in Small Towns. Or homebrew it using a generic system like Genesys or WOIN. The homebrew option requires a lot more effort. I’d be surprised if some-one hasn’t done a lot of the work in those systems already.
For people out there of a certain age (like myself) they will have fond memories of playing D&D in the 80’s and 90’s where their first adventures were the ones that came in the Basic and the Expert sets.
It’s possible to buy PDF’s of those adventures from DriveThruRPG. However to play with the current 5e rules, there would need to be a little bit of work done to allow you to play them.
That’s where Goodman Games comes in. They did some backroom deals, secret handshakes, a nod and a wink with WotC that has allowed them to not only reprint the original adventures from those two starter sets but update them as well.
Both books have a handful of pages that contain interviews and short essays with those involved in creating the original adventures.
These two editions are not small books, and are quite thick volumes, and heavy to boot also. My 92 year old Nan you takes all my deliveries struggled carrying them. I’m borderline happy with the paper stock used for the books. I think considering that these are not just reprints with updates to 5e, but also act as a loving tribute. I think a better quality paper could have been used.
I like the interviews at the start of each book. They are interesting, however not as incite full as I’d like.
Having both the original adventure (A couple of different versions/printings) and the updated to 5e version is nice. And a really nice touch is that for the 5e version there is additional content provided.
For me there is one draw back with these if you are actually planning to run the 5e version of these adventures. And I suppose also the classic version. There are player handouts included in the books. So to use these you need to photocopy them from the book, and do damage to the spine. I would have liked to see any player handouts, even the maps made available as a pdf on the publishers site. They have some pre-generated character sheets you can use. But not the thing that DM’s would find the most useful, and least damaging.
So what does this say to me about how the publisher sees these books being used. Are they expecting people to play these adventures or just look at them and leave them on the shelf as eye candy? The lack of the pdf almost makes me think the later.
But as walks down memory lane go for the long time adventurers then this is a great product (especially if in the mists of time your copy of the adventures got lost). With Goodman Games having done the heavy lifting for you it’s also a good excuse to relive those classic adventures both for old and new players using the 5e rules (unless you want to old school that is). For the new player it’s an opportunity to experience old school classic adventures and why you would need a 10 foot pole.
