D&D Jul-13-2003

[ralphmelton]

Pretty good session of D&D. I felt largely pleased.

The fight with the flying half-fiend tyrannosaurus rex was pretty exciting. I didn't make good use of its half-fiend special abilities, but since those special abilities include things like summoning CR 13 vrocks, perhaps it's just as well. (Adding templates that confer abilities based on hit dice to high-hit-die brutes can have unbalancing effects.)
The fight did include some very cool bits:
- The dinosaur had swallowed the half-dragon Turok, so Turok breathed fire down his throat. I didn't allow a Reflex save.
- In order to get a flanking opportunity while the dinosaur was in flight, Kyle leaped onto its back. Luckily, he managed to get caught before he hit the ground.

They caught the ogre mage's attempt to frame them, but didn't confront him about it. Not an unreasonable decision on their part, but they might have had a good chance of hammering further concessions from him.

The ritual of closing the pool went so-so, IMHO. I had wanted to make it a dramatic moment, more than just casting a few spells. So I wrote up a ritual for Lori to perform, and I had attacks coming out of the pool while she said the words. But I think those two drama-enhancers cancelled each other out, in a way--I didn't feel that I had successfully given Lori the big spotlight moment that I had wanted. Must think about this more.

The PCs finally got to Beliaberith and had a long somewhat-inscrutable conversation with Anarion. I should have firmed up my principle for Anarion: he (and most elves, with the exception of folks who have been out in the world like Ferella) are strong on ancient history, but weak on current events.

In general, these last two good sessions have made me feel that I really am improving as a GM. That's a good feeling.

Comments

[ralphmelton.livejournal.com]

And I got to surprise Monica with something that totally fit her character, the world, and the Player's Handbook. I'm looking forward to seeing how Larissa handles it in her journal as much as Monica is.

[cellio]

That was very nifty. And while I as a player am aware of the PH saying that "some believe" this, it would come as a complete shock to Larissa, who hasn't hung out much with worldly sorcerors. And, of course, there's a big difference between superstition and elven confirmation. :-)

One line of questioning she'll be pursuing with Anarion concerns how much of this is true of all sorcerors vs. something specific about Larissa (or specific to Larissa and some others but not all). We should probably have that conversation offline (phone or email is your call), as (1) it probably won't be relevant to the rest of the group right away and (2) Larissa would be somewhat private about it. (She'd share with some party members but not others, at least until a need arose.)

I'm looking forward to exploring this more. I'm also looking forward to the next game. :-)

[ralphmelton.livejournal.com]

One tactic I had thought about but forgotten to use: I had intended to have the dinosaur try to bull-rush someone off of the parapet. (Which would be less risky than being eaten, actually.) Oh well.

[cellio]

That would have been exciting. Were you prepared to rule on mid-air castings of spells other than Feather Fall? :-)