D&D Grp 2 Session 4 Planning #1

D&D, D&D Grp2, RPG, session planning

Let the following warning/disclaimer be said. Then be it on your head if you ignore 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.

We have broke the fortnightly session routine already. But that’s on me. Instead of D&D I’d arranged an open gaming session that coincides with the celebration of achieving a 54th year on this Earth. So we will be having our next session the following weekend. A three week gap.

The start of the session will see the party waking up to a note from Adel sending them off on a hunt for another relic.

I knew I had some parchment images from a patreon I had backed a while back. Luckily I had them on my iCloud and was able to find them.

Below you will see my initial version of the note to check I have the look and feel right. I used the Dreaming Outloud Script Pro font within MS Word on the iPad to give me that hand written feel to the note.

Initial test of note for session

Naturally I’ll share on here the final note with all the plot hooks for the session once it’s completed.

As for what the party will be doing in the session I have the germ of an idea.

Obviously I’m going to be running with the overall theme based around Warehouse 13/Friday the 13th the series/Relics & Rarities/The Librarians.

However they still need that relic/artefact of the week to go retrieve.

But that could get boring/repetitive so I plan to break up that formula with the Stargate SG-1/Time Tunnel inspired style session with the party visiting another plane via the arches in the city. I might also throw in the odd Star Trek Deep Space 9/Babylon 5 style alien visitor to the City of Arches plot line.

I have the really inspiring tables from the Lazy DM Companion Hunt for the Relic page, and the City of Arches adventure generator pages, to help generate ideas for the session. The tables Sly Flourish provides generate some really great names for items. I’ve used them for naming the magic items the players have received already.

Over the last couple of days I’ve been mulling over setting the session in a haunted house. A ghost might be too difficult for the group to take on but shadows aren’t (must rewatch the dungeon dudes to see what they have to say about them). Plus I can throw in mummies, werewolves, the odd giant bat, have oozes oozing out of the walls. You get the idea.

I might after this artefact has been retrieved start to drop hints about a big bad. There needs to be that big bad. But I have “time” to think about that.

Now the red dragon wyrmling, who I named Littleflight, may or may not have something to do with that big bad. I need to sleep on this idea.

Anyway that’s where I am currently on my planning.

Flashback to April 2016

by the numbers, flashback, gaming stats, stats

It’s getting close to the end of the month and time once again to look back to days of old and see what I was playing way back when.

My Top 9 Played Games In April 2016

So it looks like we were still working our way through the Pandemic Legacy Season 1 campaign.

I’ve not played any Fluxx game in years. They are fun. Might have to dig one out and get it to the table. Mustn’t forget the house rule that if the game hasn’t ended within 30 mins to stop playing. Else it will go on forever.

I miss Android Netrunner. It is a great game, just oozing theme. Shame it joined that long list of dead games (yes I know fans are doing new stuff for it).

Not sure when I last played a physical copy of Star Realms. All my game play is with the digital version. But that won’t stop me backing this years Kickstarter for it!

Ok here are the months gaming stats.

Stats Insights For April 2016

Here’s that complete list of everything I played in April 2016.

Complete list of games played in April 2016

See you in next months flashback.

Scythe Rise of Fenris Campaign Episode 4

Game day, Rise of Fenris, Scythe

Behind The Scenes or BTS – 4/26/22 aka Alien Day: Why this post is only now appearing. This post has been written over several days. I started it Sunday. However I’ve been a bit tired or as I like to put it “bloody knackered”. So I’ve been writing a little bit of it each day before tiredness kicked in.

Look if you want to ruin the surprises that await you as you play the Scythe Rise of Fenris expansion then ignore the following warning. Otherwise please pay heed to it.

SPOILER ALERT! The following post contains spoilers for the Rise of Fenris campaign for Scythe. If you haven’t played the expansion and wish to avoid any spoilers you may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

Yesterday it was time to get Scythe and the Rise of Fenris expansion back to the table to play the next episode in the campaign.

First thing I did was to call Ben and see if he was well enough to join us. We left it that he’d call me at around 11:30am and let me know if he wasn’t.

I grabbed my bag with “everything” in and left for the Community Centre. As I was picking up the bag I distinctly remembered thinking to myself how nice it was to be able to just pick up a single bag and go. Knowing everything was in that bag.

Sadly that wasn’t entirely true.

It wasn’t until I got to the Community Centre, got out the car, took out the bag, and started walking from the car to the Community Centre, that I realised I’d left the neoprene playmat at home!

No worries we could use the regular board. Which changed to we will use the big board set up.

Whilst setting up Ben arrived.

This episode allowed the Wind Gambit expansion to be used. So naturally we were going to play with the airships. We were also allowed to use either the Doomsday Clock or Backup Plan resolution tiles. Of course we went with the Doomsday Clock. I’d played using that before (it’s the only resolution tile I’ve played with so far, but then again it’s only the second time I’ve played with them) and really enjoyed it. I really do like how the focus changes. It’s much more focused and pressured.

I got Ben to draw the two airship tiles, and we ended up with Toll and Hero. Ben also drew the structure bonus for this episode (see below).

We also got to open the little box marked B. Inside eight little orange meeples! These were Fenris agents. Two went on the Factory tile, and each of the six tiles with a tunnel on them also got a single Fenris agent.

By the time setup was finished, which included leaving the factory cards not drawn for the game to one side for Jeff to finish his Vesna faction setup once he arrived. We still had a little time left before the others were due to arrive.

With my setup bonuses and purchasing the perk for 2 more popularity my starting popularity for this episode was 6.

Our goals for episode 4 were to subdue the Fenris agents, and win the game (in 20 turns).

If there is one flaw I have in this campaign it’s going for the shiny new things like influence tokens, or as in this episode Fenris agents over trying to get objectives completed.

I did manage to get five of them, and there was that alluring promise of unimaginable riches at the end of the episode. Riches that translated to setup bonuses. Which felt a little disappointing when it was revealed at the end of the episode. Although I know that at the start of the next episode I will appreciate their benefit.

One of my tactics this game was a land grab trying to be in control of as many tiles as possible. I was able to utilise my airship as a way to lockdown the factory tile under my control. If you remember we had Toll as one of the airship tiles. Which meant to move through or into a space with an airship you had to pay a toll.

I only managed to get three objectives completed this episode before the Doomsday Clock ran out. So far out of the four episodes played the only objective I haven’t completed is the recruit one. So I need to complete that one next episode to complete a line across the Triumph Track. That’s $25 in the final episodes end scoring.

Jeff romped home with the victory and more than enough cash to buy two of the newly unlocked mech mods.

Shane also was able to purchase one. Whilst Ben and myself could look in the shop window but not buy anything. Maybe next episode.

I’m looking forward to our next game in 3 weeks time and the surprises it brings.

How many?

Fenland Gamers, game night

Yesterday started off in a more somber, reflective mood as I said good bye to a friend of the family. Jean was more than that. Growing up she was a second mum really. Certainly her youngest daughter and my oldest friend Ginette was like a sister. With my brother we were always getting into trouble together. Mainly (and Ginette remembers it this way too) caused by my brother. It’s a miracle we never ended up with any broken bones. I certainly learnt a lot more about Jean and what an amazing and interesting life she had before we were born. Plus I finally found out how old Ginette’s older sister Kay was. I knew she was older. Heck she used to babysit us. But not that much older. It’s older than I thought.

OMG!

Wow!

Last nights Friday evening gaming blew away our previous record attendance of 12 with the amazing number of 16 people turning up to play games.

It’s just simply astonishing.

It’s amazing to see so many people turn up to play board games.

There is one drawback of this new found success. I hardly get to game with Jonathan.

Whilst Jonathan was doing a teaching game of Railways of the World (Mexico map I believe). I was introducing three newish members to the world of Roll and Writes. and Flip and Writes.

Our first game was new to me and a learning game of Cartographers. Which falls into the flip and write genre.

I really liked playing this game (and yes Gavin these are games, unlike that jigsaw puzzle Barenpark).

The ambush card is genius. Each season (rounds really) you shuffle one ambush card into the explore deck. So if you don’t draw an ambush card in a season it’s possible to have multiple ambush cards in the explore deck and naturally at that point draw multiple ambush cards in a season.

When you draw an ambush card you pass your sheet to the player next to you (direction indicated on the card). This is where you get to throw a spanner in the works for the other player. But they also get to do the same to you. If the drawn ambush creature is not surrounded then each empty space is a negative point at the end of the round. So obviously you are going to try and draw the ambush creature shape in the most inconvenient place on their map.

Relic cards forcing you to draw the next shape drawn over a relic space on your map can be annoying.

I do like the changing end of season scoring, and that it’s a combo of two of the four cards, not all of them. The fact these are drawn randomly at the start adds a nice bit of variability and replay ability.

Ok I like this so much I will be getting the expansions for it. Which are map packs, more ambush cards, skills card and whatever the Heroes expansion adds.

Cartographers Final Scores

My second and final game of the evening was teaching the amazing combotastic roll and write Three Sisters.

Compared to Cartographers and many others Three Sisters can be considered on the heavier side of things. Especially when things start comboing off. But it’s still such a fun game.

Three Sisters Final Scores

The preference from the new to this genre was they preferred Cartographers. But they really enjoyed them both. But plans were loosely put in place to play/try the even heavier Rome and Roll.

I think everyone had a fun evening game. I left with a game of Lords of Waterdeep on the go, and Liars Dice/Perudo starting up.

A knackered hunt for new life

game night

Wednesday night saw a small band of intrepid researchers gather to look for new life forms!

It’d been a very long day, because I had been up since 3:45am (yes that is normally the case on a game night). Work has been extremely busy recently. So I was more than a little tired. Unusual for me I had had a little nap before going out. I never do that.

Plus I’d rearranged my days off this week. A fact I’d forgotten when I arranged this game night. So no next day off as I usually have to catch up on sleep after a long day of work and gaming in the evening. I’d be getting up at bloody early again the next morning. A little tmi on this. I normally have gone to sleep by 6:30pm – 7pm when working the next morning. My whole day routine has shifted to adjust for that early start. I was going to be so fucked Thursday!

I have to say I really like Cryptid.

It’s quick to setup both for a first play, and for subsequent plays. I’m not sure how using the “app” (well website they call an app) could make it any easier or faster. But the one advantage the “app“ does have is that there are many more setups that can be played. However having the companion “app” as an additional thing you can use if you want is a big plus for me. We all know how I feel about games that can only be played using an app. This is the correct way to go about it.

I found it handy just to have another player (Jeff) to double check the placement of the structures before starting play. It’s not necessary but cuts out any setup mistakes.

I like how there are two play modes for the game. The more advanced mode introduces not clues, ie “it’s not on mountains or forest” and a fourth coloured structures.

I was tired and just not switched on because our first game with the advanced mode saw me use the incorrect token for my initial clues. Something I had to apologise for and correct very early on.

The not clues do add to the complication of trying to work out what clue the others had. But it’s a nice complication despite my initial tiredness induced confusion.

I love the trying to guess what the other clues are while trying to not give away your own clue. And that starts from the initial setup when placing your first two cubes (a cube indicates the Cryptid isn’t in that hex). It’s great when you think you know what another’s clue is, only for them to place a cube or a cylinder that ruins your theory about their clue. You get a whole new level of doubt. Especially about if the player has given the correct answer. But you can’t openly ask them as you don’t want to give any information away! And then it’s back to the drawing board trying to work out what the clue could be.

A less tired me would have concentrated/focused more on what the others were doing with their cubes. My cognitive processing was most definitely impaired. I’m playing this game on a weekend next time. Most likely will still get my butt kicked but I’ll have no excuse then!

Cryptid along with Search for Planet X both take interesting but different routes to do the same thing, find an item. Whether that’s the space where a Cryptid is or where Planet X is. I like both approaches. I know Jonathan prefers Search out of the two (although he does like Cryptid), whilst my preference is Cryptid. What swings it for me is the lack of dependence on an app. Game mechanics wise I really do like both approaches the same. I know Search can be played without an app by hunting down online the free print and play pack from the designers. Which does give it about the same number of scenarios as Cryptid has. But the draw back is it needs printing out, and it takes out a player from the game. As one person basically has to act as a game master running the game handing out clues. I’m not sure how much fun that’d be for that person.

I’d love to see an expansion for this that is just a deck of new setup and clue cards. The game doesn’t need anything more than that. It’d be a cheap expansion too.

List of winners!

For the record I wasn’t as tired at work as I was expecting to be yesterday. Still knackered tho’.

Grp2: When last we left our heroes… #3

D&D, D&D Grp2, post mortem, RPG

Tantalos finally noticed Babs looked a bit worse for wear after the recent run ins with the inhabitants of the sewer aided in healing her a little. After reminding the party how to find their way out back to the Lower Reaches, they parted way with each other.

On their way back through the sewers towards the Lower Reaches Babs discovered a hidden tunnel, that upon following lead them into a kobold ambush.

After hacking away a few of the attacking kobolds the party decided to double back on themselves back to the sewers.

There they set off a shrieker whose spine tingling, ear hurting shriek attracted a smaller band of kobolds. Which attacked as soon as they saw the party.

The skirmish ended with the untimely death of the kobolds. After which the party made their way out of the sewers into the lower reaches.

Vaz then guided them to Adel’s Emporium of Magical Relics.

We left the party resting in the accommodation that Adel had arranged for them (at a cost).

Post Mortem

Before we start the post mortem of the session I do need to do that little bit of house keeping to warn any of my players.

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following part of the post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this part of the post and join me in a future one.

It was another fun session. I am enjoying being a DM with this group. Friendships are starting to happen.

I started the session trying a suggestion from Quick Tricks For Lazy DMs page of The Lazy DM Companion of giving each player inspiration. It’s something I want to use more. I hadn’t used it at all with the other group. Which makes last sessions use the first time I’d used it in anger. I think it worked well. All of the players used it.

My Way of the Lazy DM Session Notes

Player: “I rolled a 19.”

Me: “What are you rolling for?”

Player: “I’m going to steal the healing potion from…”

With the agreement of the player it was going to affect I had them both roll to see if the theft was successful. Luckily for the enthusiastic player the other one rolled low.

But I wasn’t very chuffed with the initial player rolling and assuming the high roll allowed them to do what they wanted to do. Especially when it broke the line in the sand I discussed with them in the session zero. I appreciate the enthusiasm of the player. But they need to remember the DM tells them if a roll is needed or not.

I do need to keep better tracking of the items given out to players. I’d forgotten I’d already given out the fey amulet in the previous session. Which Liz pointed out when I gave a second to Babs! Oops.

A6 sized gridded index cards were used for drawing out the map of the sewers as the players navigated their way out. This worked better I thought than the small white boards I used in the previous session.

I used a combat map (from the big book of Battle Maps) with a very rough sketch of the current location for when we were in combat. Which happened twice in this session. I like the simplicity of this. Which can be enhanced with scatter terrain (if appropriate). I think it went well and for the time being will be my preferred way to run combat.

Now to start planning the next session.

D&D Grp 2 Session 3 Planning #4

D&D, D&D Grp2, RPG, session planning

It’s the morning (6:30am as I’m writing this) of the planned session and I nearly forgot to say the following.

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.

With that bit of housekeeping out the way I can safely now share my last minute brainwaves for the session that I’ve had.

The main bit of inspiration I had was around the treasure that hasn’t been found yet.

If you check my notes in the post mortem for the previous session there is the equivalent of 400 gold pieces somewhere in the sewers. Plus two magical items.

One of the magical items has been lost and they will stumble across it easily enough early in the session.

But what about the rest?

The loot mentioned above has to be somewhere. It’s from the victims of the giant spider (deceased) and the giant crocodile (sleeping).

I wanted a creature that hordes loot, even shiny stuff.

Kobolds.

Yep I’m going with a classic D&D creature that low level parties tend to come up against.

This group of kobolds have found a wyrmling and have been venturing into the sewers to collect the gold from the victims to grow the wyrmlings hoard.

This also presents an interesting situation for the party. “…kobolds are bitterly hateful toward gnomes.” Volo’s Guide to Monsters, page 65.

50% of the party cause intense feelings of hatred in kobolds!

I think my caption for the above photo (taken from the last session) sums up the problem they will face with the kobolds.

Which makes negotiations with the kobolds that tad more trickier, nah impossible I’d say.

If things did go awry or tits up as I like to say with the kobolds. Then Volo’s offers the following advice for combat (same page as the above quote).

“Although they usually don’t seek out gnomes to do them violence, if hostile kobolds encounter a mixed group of gnomes and other humanoids, the kobolds instinctively attack the gnomes. Kobolds in battle with gnomes are much less likely to run away because their hatred overrules their sense of self-preservation.”

I think one of the secret doors on the sewer map will lead to the liar the kobolds have been tunnelling for the wyrmling.

I’m going for a red wyrmling as that gives me that pokemon charmander vibe.

Now to dive quickly into Fizban’s for some last minute game breaking ideas!

Will the party ever leave the sewers and meet Adel?

Inside my DM Folder for D&D

D&D, DM/GM Tips, RPG

I decided to do a short video of me looking through my DM folder for this second campaign. Someone might find it interesting. Maybe, and it’s a long shot, useful.

I have the following on the video, and YouTube page description. It has to be said.

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.

Oh and one more thing it’s what’s in the folder at this moment in time. My DM folder is a living thing! It’s contents will change. It will grow with me as the campaign develops.

Inside my DM Folder for D&D video

A 4 Player Vampire Wednesday!

game night, Rivals, Vampire the Masquerade Rivals, vampire the masquerade: rivals, Vampire Wednesday

Last night saw Diego and myself play our first four player game of Vampire the Masquerade Rivals.

Before then we had only played head to head (in other words two player) and three player games.

But this game was a first for Shane and Marcin also. It was the first time they were playing the game. Noobs in other words. Or to remain on theme, fresh blood!

Whilst waiting for Marcin to arrive we went over the rules for playing the game with Shane. Or the most relevant ones to get started. Some you can avoid until they crop up, like schemes. Otherwise it’s rules overload. And it probably felt like that anyway.

The three of us then “played” a couple of rounds with Diego and myself explaining what we were doing as we played. It was during this learning play Marcin arrived.

We had already given Shane Brujah to play for the evening. It’s probably the easiest of the four core set clans to play. We had also planned for Diego’s copy of Brujah to be played by Marcin, with the added house rule suspending the unique vampire rule for the evening. However Marcin felt the call of Toreador.

We drew for our rivals which saw Shane and myself drawing each other’s token. Which basically left Diego and Marcin each other’s rivals.

Our Vampire Clans and Rivalries

I needed to be drawing rituals and finding Sonja Valentine. But my deck seemed to be working against me on that front. I only started drawing rituals late in the game. Too late to be any use to me. My leader was in torpor mending. So I had no blood to use that would hurt my rival. My three vampires I did have out were dangerously low on blood. I had three prestige left. They were dead cards at the point they showed up.

For a couple of rounds it wasn’t in anyones interest to attack my three weak vampires. If Diego or Marcin did they left it open for Shane to grab the win. If Shane did he left it open for Marcin to grab the points win (at that point in time Marcin was in the lead with five agenda points). To make the situation worse we had three S.A.D. Agents in the Street.

Before Diego grabbed the points victory by leap frogging Marcin with six agenda points, and knocking out Shane. It was getting to the point of I could have won on my turn. Shane was on a single prestige. He only needed one of his vampires to die (it’s how Diego triggered the end of the game). S.A.D. would have weakened his remaining vampires more than enough to make sure which ever one I attacked they would have gone down.

I liked that last bit of the game. Anyone of us could have potentially grabbed a win. Sadly Diego did!

My only agenda point for the evening was from putting Shane’s leader into torpor.

Although Shane is shown as zero points below. Which is correct. He was knocked out by Diego, so any agenda points he had don’t count. However if in a tournament I believe we would still record Shane’s three agenda points as they are used in rankings or something like that.

Final scores

Still a fun evening playing a great card game with some great people.