Weird Camelot Campaign - Sessions 1-3

After about a year's hiatus from RPGs I've started a new campaign with D&D 5th edition. The setting is a weird, sci-fi-tinged take on Arthur's Camelot. This is my latest attempt at a sandbox campaign, something that has always eluded me in the past. The last time I tried it was with DCC, which I found a little too loose and unbalanced for it to really work in long-term play. 5th edition seems to hit the sweet spot between B/X's simplicity and 4E's tactical crunch.

I generally find session reports pretty boring so I won't go through a blow-by-blow account of everything that's been happening. I'll just point out some things I've been learning about the craft of DMing:

- My players like fiddling with mechanical widgets if they're there, but they don't really miss them if they aren't. Nobody cares that they don't have the "shift 1 square, 3 temp hp" type powers from 4E. Even when the fights devolve down into "I roll attack, you roll attack" they are still engaging, though eventually this might change.
- Random wilderness encounters take up a lot of time and are a bigger deal than I had anticipated. The second session consisted entirely of a single random encounter with some Space Vikings, after which the party had to go back to town and recuperate. However they did manage to score a sweet flying boat out of the deal.
- Trying to predict everything mathematically like you can do in 4E does not really work in a sandbox environment. I had planned to build the adventures around 5E's target of 6-8 encounters between long rests. To do this I had houseruled that the PCs could only take a long rest when they're at Camelot or another large town. All my assumptions about this were thrown out the window when they got the flying boat which would allow them to bypass most wilderness encounters. Rather than trying to bring them back in line with my assumptions, I think I can just roll with it.
- The deadliness of low-level 5E seems overstated. I fretted about accidentally TPKing them in a dumb way, but if anything I need to go harder on them.
- Talking to the players about expectations is really useful. In the 3rd session they were raiding a castle and I told them straight up that if they didn't play strategically, they would have a much harder time of it. After they failed their stealth rolls early on, they wisely retreated rather than wading into battle.
- I still wish there was a more formalised system for stealth rolls (and to a lesser extent, athletics rolls during chases). How many rolls they have to make is pretty much entirely up to me as a DM, so it feels a lot more arbitrary than combat. When I ran 4th edition I always used to heap shit on the skill challenge rules for being artificial and pointless. Ironically it's now that I'm running 5E that I want to use them for situations like the above.

DCC Fimbulwinter - Session 5

Once again the session revolved around Magnus McAnthony, the asshole wizard with the d30 choking cloud spell.

Eventually one of the level 0 characters tired of this and stabbed him in the back, ending his reign of dungeon genocide. Then he was stabbed in turn by the other PCs.

Meanwhile the players encountered two really cool villains I'd developed and killed them both before they got to do anything cool.

PC deaths: 5
Treasure obtained: ~1500sp (that's silver standard mind you)

The high lethality has been fun but it's getting old. Only one character still survives from the 2nd session. Most of the deaths today could have been prevented if they hadn't fought each other and if they'd remembered to bring a cleric.

DCC Fimbulwinter Session 4

 

"This choking cloud only lasts for another 2 minutes, so let's just run through the dungeon so we can clear as many rooms as possible before it expires!"

This was after the cloud had already killed three party members.

Three more PCs died before the session was over - the last of them by falling down a hole while fleeing from the dungeon.

No treasure acquired.

DCC Fimbulwinter, Session 3

They finally got to level 1 and picked character classes.
- One PC is an absolute monster with 18hp and +5+d3 attack bonus. But to get his full attack bonus he must wield a pitchfork.
- A wizard PC rolled 98 for mercurial magic - can cast Choking Cloud with a d30 instead of d20.
- Party was hired to carry out a blood feud assassination. Reminded not to kill too many people or the feud would only be perpetuated further.
- Attack on the longhouse ended with the aforementioned wizard casting Choking Cloud, rolling a 30 on the d30 and slaughtering everyone in the building, men women children and slaves (but sparing the goat). No save - or rather, the save DC is equal to the spell check, so nobody short of a deity could have passed it.
- Then they burned down the longhouse to 'hide the evidence'. Now they have to leave town in a hurry, but they did get paid.

The group seems to love DCC. One player who started on 4th edition said he preferred this because he felt like he had "earned" the right to be 1st level (and have 18hp and a game-breaking perfect storm of attack bonuses.)

DCC Fimbulwinter Session 2

 

- Reskinned 'Portal Under the Stars' as a buried longship

- A more balanced slaughterfest than last week: seven died and nine survived to reach level 1

- four PCs killed by the shitty sub-zero-level skull monsters; the giant snake miniboss was killed before he got a chance to act. Teamwork and planning made all the difference.

- The final fight is kind of a joke if the PCs do all the stuff that mitigates the threat: the clay soldiers all melted, the generals all turned to dust, so it was just the PCs against one lone warlord. A crit reduced his movement speed to 0 and they kicked him into the pool.

- When tallying up treasure I always think "I gave them way too much" and after it's divided between the party I always think "I gave them too little"

Also, though this may be of limited interest to those outside the game: a high score board for all characters living and dead: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FCPeez2BHTqPh9wtb2DIY-dzRtPB3wAzRvrPWF9uNo0/edit

DCC Fimbulwinter - Session 1 report

I usually find play reports boring as hell so I will try to keep this snappy and interesting:

- 15 funnel PCs captured by anthropophagic elf sorceress
- Me one hour into the session: "Shit, I pulled my punches too much on this dungeon, I'm not even going to kill any of them"
- Sorceress critically fails two spell checks in a row, then rolls an enormous check and hypnotizes 5 PCs in one round
- PCs murdering each other. Not because of the hypnosis thing, purely of their own volition.
- Last PC flees for the exit. Grabbed by giant frog, shrugs off his backpack containing all the (meagre) treasure in order to escape.

I'm using an SP=XP system, with 0-level characters starting at -100xp. The sole survivor's only loot was a single silver spoon, so he is still 98xp away from acquiring a class.

Fantasy Doom Patrol, Session 2

The second session of Fantasy Doom Patrol has come to pass. The players were:

Sir Reginald and his brother Bobo, Ogre Ranger and companion (played by Zor)

Freidan Devilsnare, Reverse-Vampire Cleric (Dylan) - Reverse Vampires love garlic, are burned by moonlight, heal people by giving them blood transfusions, etc.

St. HK-47, Robotic Pope (Ian) - agent of the Vatican and devout follower of 'Super Jesus'

Torin the Small, Halfling Body-Part Thief (Shaun)

Eventually joined by JibberJabby, nude Hobgoblin Wizard beset by unpredictable spell effects (Tom)

When the last session ended, the PCs had just fought off a horde of vomiting goblins atop a giant chickenfort. They now decide to rest up and interrogate the goblin that they have captured. He explains that the goblins are equally worried by the sudden decomposition of the flesh of the dead god Hyperion. After some cajoling, he also admits that their leader, the now-deceased Haggo, has recently led a mysterious expedition deep into the body of the god. Sir Reginald concludes the interrogation by convincing the goblin to serve him as a dogsbody. This leads to the following conversation:

Zor: "I'll write him on my character sheet. What's his name?"
Me: "I dunno, he's just a random mook. What do you think his name should be?"
(pause)
Dylan: "Hitler."
Me: "Well, that's anachronistic, but I like the idea that goblins would name themselves after famous dictators. So how about his name is Genghis Khan?"
All: "KHAAAAAN!"

Around this time the Four Great Heroes come back into town: Sir Gregory Thorn, Alaric the Archwizard, Gwenna the Priestess and Pelwerthyn the Elf. Appearing briefly in the previous session, they are an extremely bland and generic adventuring party who are destined to be feted and beloved by the populace despite their uselessness, while the bizarre Fantasy Doom Patrol always languish in obscurity.

look at these fuckers. don't you want to punch them already?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, relations between the two parties do not go well. The Four Great Heroes claim to have slain a flaming chicken monster (in fact, the PCs had set it on fire and it was almost dead already). Freidan loudly complains that they were the ones who did all the work, while St. HK-47 rankles at Sir Thorn's assertion that he is not a real knight since he has no seat at the Round Table. All the time they are arguing, Torin goes about picking the Heroes' pockets, but bites off more than he can chew when Pelwerthyn catches him red-handed.

From here, the situation deteriorates rapidly. The formerly thankful villagers turn into a lynch mob as Torin escapes across the rooftops a la Assassin's Creed. Sir Reginald sends Khan the goblin to pack his bags for a quick getaway. However, Torin has previously warded their room with a scarecrow that is set to scream if anyone besides the PCs tries to get in (this is an item you can buy in chargen, because 4th edition is weird like that.) The scarecrow begins screaming at Khan. Sir Reginald rushes in, followed by the villagers, who see Khan and decide that the PCs must have been in league with the goblins all along! Sir Reginald, his brother Bobo, Khan and the scarecrow all escape by smashing through a wall into the alley below.

Me: "You take 4 falling damage from leaping out a first story window. The angry mob is right behind you."
Zor: "But they're all minions right? So that means they will all die automatically from the fall."
Me: "That's cheating! You can't adhere that strictly to the rules! (pause) Well, ok. The people at the front of the mob don't want to jump out, but the ones behind them are still pushing, so like five people fall out and break their necks."

It hardly needs to be stated that these deaths will soon be remembered as "those slain by the monstrous ogre".

The PCs all escape from the town by various routes. The only one who stands between them and freedom is Sir Gregory Thorn. Bobo tries to throw the screaming scarecrow at Thorn to distract him. A critical hit! "Well... usually you shouldn't be able to damage someone with a scarecrow, but since it's a crit... yeah, ok, the sharp point stabs into his shoulder and he's just stuck there with the scarecrow screaming at him. Forever."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The next day the PCs ascend the mountain and enter the god's body through his mouth. Along the way they are met by an elder from the ogre village at the top of the mountain, which is where Reginald hails from. Apparently the ogres' deity, Ra, has been greatly agitated recently and not responding to prayers. Together they descend into the stinking, rotting tunnels of the godflesh.

In a maze of ventricles somewhere near the small intestine, they are attacked by a trio of giant tapeworms, pursuing a naked hobgoblin who turns out to be our latecoming 5th PC, JibberJabby. JibberJabby struggles to control his magic, and although the mechanical effects remain mostly the same the exact nature of his spells vary wildly each time they are cast. This was just a vague idea before Tom arrived at the table, but when his character was introduced the players spontaneously wrote up a d20 table for "What weird thing is JibberJabby's magic doing now?"

1.shit
2.wet celery
3.toast
4.potato
5.coins
6.fire
7.wood
8.earth
9.paper
10.moon
11.water
12.sun
13.peyote
14.curry powder
15.wind
16.bleach
17.daggers
18.swarm of bees
19.alcohol
20.chicken!
This table is rolled upon every time JibberJabby casts a spell.

Over the course of the battle, JibberJabby conjures a blast of shit, a flight of origami cranes, and a swarm of tiny winged moons (which almost deal damage to Freidan as well, who as a Reverse Vampire is allergic to moonlight). But the hilarity comes to an end when poor Bobo is dragged down a tunnel by a tapeworm and smited to death by a holy parasite. Bobo is not a PC but a companion (technically a bear by the RAW) so there is no provision for his return.

Saddened and beaten bloody, the party decides to retreat from the dungeon in order to rest and bury their fallen comrade. They retrace their steps to the entrance and rest until the next day. Then they climb the mountain to bury Bobo in the ogre village where he was born.

The ogre village is built around a mysterious pit leading down into the centre of the god body. Bobo's funeral is interrupted by a blazing light that shines forth from the pit. Looking down the hole, the PCs see a bizarre sight: a giant glowing golden baby ascending the shaft towards them.

But that is a story for another session...

Fantasy Doom Patrol, Session 1

Had the first session of my 'Fantasy Doom Patrol' 4E campaign today. The players were:

Sir Reginald and his brother Bobo, Ogre Ranger and companion (played by Zor)

Freidan Devilsnare, Reverse-Vampire Cleric (Dylan) - Reverse Vampires love garlic, are burned by moonlight, heal people by giving them blood transfusions, etc.

St. HK-47, Robotic Pope (Ian) - agent of the Vatican and devout follower of 'Super Jesus'

Torin the Small, Halfling Body-Part Thief (Shaun)

And the gameworld looks like this:

click for full size

The PCs are all members of a 'medieval black ops unit' under the command of Merlin himself, who uses them to solve the sort of problems that standard heroes just aren't cut out for. The session begins with a priest from the Most Holy Order of the Gourmandines throwing up in his room. The halfwit ogre Bobo performs an impromptu Heimlich maneuver on the fat priest, causing him to vomit so copiously that he loses all his fat in an instant. St. HK-47 declares that it serves him right for being a heretic.

Soon the PCs are summoned by Merlin and informed that all the Gourmandines are suffering the same affliction. They are sent to the town of Gramercy to investigate. On the way, they read a briefing that explains the origins of the order. Apparently the sun-god Hyperion was long ago punished by the Overgods for his hubris and smashed into a mountain (see map). Now his worshippers mine and eat his flesh to gain holy powers.

At the town of Gramercy, the PCs learn that the flesh of the god has recently begun to rot for the first time, which explains the widespread vomiting which has laid low the entire Gourmandine clergy. When they visit the High Priest they are attacked by a pair of Vomit Elementals and a demon emerging from the High Priest's mouth. "You know how vomit burns when it comes up? It feels like that, but on the outside of your body."

this looks about right

 Fortunately these enemies are quickly dispatched and Freidan performs a dangerous surgery on the High Priest to save him from a disease of cancerously multiplying organs. The only way to save the priest is a massive blood transfusion. As he's had over half his blood replaced, he is now a Reverse Vampire as well.

The priest claims that the goblins are responsible for this mess. They are notorious for sneaking into the mines and bootlegging the godflesh. He advises the PCs to follow up a certain miner named Gyar who is suspected to be in league with the goblins. They decide to rest first.

But their rest is rudely interrupted! At midnight, a wooden fort on enormous chicken legs attacks the town. Goblins are throwing grappling hooks and leaping to the guard tower. Torin runs down to the gate, where he sees a man whom he identifies as Gyar, attempting to sneak away quietly. Meanwhile, the Robo-Pope performs a 'terminator walk' up the side of the guard tower to protect the guard against the screaming goblins.

not really as well-made as this. more like just a clumsy wooden platform with some Warhammer-style goblins hanging off the side

An enormous battle begins. The walking fort is full of goblins, most of them incapacitated by vomiting. The ogre Sir Reginald leaps valiantly across the gap but falls short, instead grabbing hold of the legs of a goblin who is himself hanging off the edge of the platform. Then the Robo-Pope leaps and grabs hold of Sir Reginald's legs and they all dangle there together.

Torin makes short work of the traitor Gyar and proceeds to set a fire on one of the wooden legs. A goblin hound climbs down over its master to bite at Sir Reginald's fingers. Torin climbs up behind the enemy line to assassinate their one remaining priest, but is knocked unconscious by a goblin fanatic on a raging mushroom trip. Many enemies are shoved off ledges, often landing on other enemies below. At last the remaining goblins, trapped on the ground, turn to flee.

Meanwhile, the fort becomes agitated as its legs start to burn. In a frenzy, it tries to pull away but is held back by the grapnels attaching it to the guard tower. Sir Reginald grabs one of the vomiting goblins for questioning and leaps back into the tower, where the guardsman has been cowering. No sooner has he achieved this, however, than the tower is torn free and dragged along behind the burning fort as it flees into the distance. Clutching both the goblin and the guardsman to his enormous chest, Reginald makes an athletic tumble out of the window and they all land safely. The goblin barfs on the guardsman's face.

Freidan and HK-47 are left on top, desperately searching for a control mechanism. Freidan only finds a mysterious Jack Russell, which he catches as it tries to escape. HK-47 discovers a room containing a giant hysterical rooster head. Freidan hands the dog to HK, then picks up a barrel of water and swings down underneath the fort, trying to pour water on the fire. Unfortunately he fails and tumbles to the ground. The Robo-Pope picks up another barrel and makes his own attempt, but critically fails - he falls into the barrel and rolls away down the hill.

The Jack Russell escapes his grip and bounds away, far faster and higher than a dog has any right to do. Meanwhile the chickenfort runs screaming into the hinterlands as it erupts into flames.

---

All in all I thought this was a very successful session. It's been a while since I last played face-to-face and I'd forgotten how the energy can really pick up in a way that doesn't quite happen in webcam games. Playing old-school D&D has probably made me a better DM of 4th edition, more willing to improvise and allow for actions outside the rules. Last time I ran 4E was when I was just getting interested in the OSR, and I spent a fair bit of time fretting about how slow and cumbersome the combats were in 4E compared to OSR. Now I'm more inclined to embrace it - yeah, each fight usually takes upwards of an hour, but if it's a big setpiece encounter with lots of tactical widgets and interesting terrain, then that's over an hour of great fun.

Rumours of Its Deadliness Were Greatly Exaggerated... (Part 2)

We played our second session of Tomb of Horrors yesterday. There were a few more deaths than the last session, but overall I still felt a bit disappointed with the module.

At the end of the last session, the players had gotten up to the corridor with the three pit traps behind doors. I came close to killing one of the PCs (again, Ian's halfling Tyreese who took point for virtually every part of the dungeon they explored) but she survived due to player ingenuity. Though Tyreese (formerly male, but transformed by a mysterious archway) did fall into one of the spike pits, Jason's character Cecilia acted quickly to cast feather fall to save her. Tyreese then arrested her fall with an iron spike in the wall, and then leapt off the spike using her boots of striding and springing to escape the pit. This was a great example of the kind of creative thinking I want to see in my AD&D games, but it also highlighted the fact that by the time they reach this high level, the PC spellcasters have a spell to counter just about any problem you can throw at them.

Rumours of Its Deadliness Were Greatly Exaggerated...

Yesterday me and my IRL gaming group decided to play Tomb of Horrors. It was the first time they had ever played AD&D, and the first time I had run it for that matter, but we had some experience of killer dungeons from playing Fourthcore. Somewhat disappointingly, though, the Tomb hasn't so far lived up to its fearsome reputation. After 4 hours of play, I've only managed to kill off one measly hireling. (Compare this to Fourthcore's Crucible of the Gods, where we had two TPKs in the first four rooms.) The following is a play report on the various traps of the dungeon and how they failed to prove deadly.

(Spoilers for Tomb of Horrors after the jump, obviously. If any of my players happen to be reading this, don't go any further until after we've finished the module.)