D&D Jul-01-2003

[ralphmelton]

I really felt good about Tuesday's D&D session.

We started out with the anticipated fight to rescue the ogre mage's body from the fiendish tyrannosaurus. The party had some good plans and favorable dice, so they managed to kill the dinosaur without much trouble--it only made one successful attack in the whole fight.

I was particularly happy with the results of the preplanning Lori and I did. She had chosen some good spells that ended up being very helpful for slowing and killing the T.Rex, and she understood her abilities well enough that she didn't have to be bugged with rules hassles.

After they rescued the ogre mage, he followed through on his promise of reward by taking them back to his tower. I felt that I did a much better job than usual of roleplaying the ogre mage's arrogant, imperious ways.

One bit that I really liked: the ogre mage offered them meat to seal the bond of guest and host (I was thinking vaguely of Arabic traditions of bread and salt). However, the ogre mage offered some unusual meat: he chopped off his own little finger and offered pieces to the PCs. (He regenerates, so it's not such a big deal to him.) This offered some sharply defined roleplay as each of the PCs responded in a different way: Prolix used a bit of illusion to conceal it in a sleeve, Liandra nibbled a tiny bit of it and gave the rest to her wolf, Turok ate it without a flinch, Kyle hid behind Turok to avoid eating it, and Larissa ate it conspicuously but used a bit of magic to adjust the flavor.

I had a plan for the game night, but the PCs were being careful. So I felt that I had to give them a chance of noticing that something was up... and the dice favored them. But that's okay; despite my plans being thwarted, I'm satisfied with the result.

I need to prepare more for upcoming sessions, particularly since it's becoming increasingly difficult to find published adventures to suit. (I have ideas for another 10 adventures or so, which is at least as many as the rest of the campaign will use, so I'm reluctant to buy adventures unless they relate to one of my existing ideas. And finding adventures that suit is hard.)

Comments

[cellio]

Liandra rocked in that fight! Those lightning-flinging summoned air elementals are keepers. :-)

Larissa ate it conspicuously but used a bit of magic to adjust the flavor.

She should have silently cast Detect Poison on it first, because (polite version) she has no idea if ogre mage is safe to eat and (impolite version) why should we trust this guy?, but her player forgot that she has the spell. :-)

This was a fun game. I'm looking forward to writing it up in Larissa's diary.

[ralphmelton.livejournal.com]

Part of the tradition of offering your own flesh is an attempt to prove that it's not poisoned. (Though that's occasionally circumvented, but it's tricky.)

I've noticed that the Monster Manual says that ogre mages cannot regrow lost body parts. I'm glad I didn't let that stand in my way.

[cellio]

I've noticed that the Monster Manual says that ogre mages cannot regrow lost body parts.

And what does it know? This is your world; if some of your ogre magi regrow lost limbs, that's entirely up to you. The Monster Manual doesn't say they can cast Silence, either. :-)

If you need help plotting against them, let me know

[sethcohen.livejournal.com]

I may be able to offer plot advice. If you need me, you know where to find me.