Rpg world saved
Jul. 9th, 2020 02:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethI finished reading Curse of the Crimson Throne.
That adventure was great fun.
The section in Scarwall seems like it would drag and feel like a long time away from the actual plot, so I'd want to tie it together like the end of the section recommends, just keep running the adventurers back and forth, even if it meant giving out a lot of scrolls of teleport. And maybe make it more obvious that what was being uncovered there actually mattered back in Korvosa? It wasn't deep background, it was driving things. So it's all in the telling, when and where the GM (theoretically me) mentions the connections. The book gives plenty to work with and it's all building up to something, it just doesn't feel like it for... a whole sixth of the story at least.
And the very end seems to really rely on one character, which seems less than fun. Everything ends up depending on the character with the sword. But then I thought about how many extra things a cleric or wizard can do by that level, versus a fighter who can sword real good? So maybe it's like that for balance? Give them a moment of awesome?
My imaginary characters I started the read through with had some moments of awesome there, but I realised I'd got through the entire adventure path without thinking of much for the cleric to do. I thought of things for Pharasmin priests to do, but the cleric and the wizard were both that. So I ended up with no particular moment for the cleric. There was plenty to do in Scarwall though so really I mean I never rolled dice for the fights where she would have made the most difference.
Still: distinct roles for everyone makes it much easier to story them.
There's a point in the adventure where the characters get a one time chance to draw from a Harrow Deck Of Many Things, and it made me think again how I feel about the Deck of Many Things. While it can generate a lot of story, new challenges, new possibilities, it also has the potential to absolutely wreck stuff. And it was really late in the game. Do your characters really want to risk their ability to save Korvosa and the world on a completely random draw? They've all got so much power compared to where they started. But, they've also all got a good idea of where their limitations are and what they're never going to be able to do without extreme interventions like this. So I guess they've got some reason?
But also it seems like offering a player a shiny that's practically designed to derail and randomise stories, but then just giving them rails after that point.
After the end of the Adventure Path there is a lot more to do though. It offers you a couple pages of story seed and suggested rule books for taking things further, but by then you've been playing A While and it's really up to you. So whatever complications the deck introduce, there's time for them. Adventure only takes up up to level 17, whole levels still to go before you run out of challenges on Golarion.
The more Adventure Path I read the more the fragmented nature of Golarion makes sense. Getting anywhere requires either legendary heroes or a small army. Or both. And trying to deal with the problems of one city can level you up significantly, but connects up to thousands of years of problems. Just bumping along trying not to die is a whole adventure anywhere on that world. Different countries boundaries seem to be set by where exactly things get too challenging for all but a handful of people in the country. And sometimes there's a whole location that just got too evil and turned into castle full of unsead. Which, you know, would be a problem for any neighbours.
I'm still liking learning about their world and set ups and reading along with the Adventure Paths
but I also get frustrated by how stabby the stories implied by them are.
I think if you just Banish the outsiders instead of destroying them you'd end up very short of money? Like their treasure is an important part of what your characters need to level up? So the adventure is assuming Kill Things Steal Their Stuff.
But at other times if you attempt to Kill Things the things will turn out to be waaaaaay too high a challenge for your group right now, and the GM has to explicitly spare you by making them run away, which seems improbable.
Also it's never the characters' problem where the orphans end up. And that's just wrong. Find a problem, fix a problem. Initial problem the book presents you with is orphanages that are leaking children and arent enough help. Nothing in the rest of the adventure fixes that. Too busy with the end of the world. Setting up day to day stuff is a distraction that leaks treasure, not a strength.
Except I guess if the Ultimate Campaign rules are carefully applied it would become many strengths.
Hmm, game from core book and game eith all the books plugged in have different emphases.
Game as *played* would be very different than reading it through. People can make friends, game stats just have to explain how the fight would go.
Think I'd like to play these stories
BUT
also think I'd be bad at remembering the rules and doing the fiddly maths, which is somewhat essential to these games.
oh well.
It was very good to read, took ages and made many stories in my head, A+ reading experience there.
That adventure was great fun.
The section in Scarwall seems like it would drag and feel like a long time away from the actual plot, so I'd want to tie it together like the end of the section recommends, just keep running the adventurers back and forth, even if it meant giving out a lot of scrolls of teleport. And maybe make it more obvious that what was being uncovered there actually mattered back in Korvosa? It wasn't deep background, it was driving things. So it's all in the telling, when and where the GM (theoretically me) mentions the connections. The book gives plenty to work with and it's all building up to something, it just doesn't feel like it for... a whole sixth of the story at least.
And the very end seems to really rely on one character, which seems less than fun. Everything ends up depending on the character with the sword. But then I thought about how many extra things a cleric or wizard can do by that level, versus a fighter who can sword real good? So maybe it's like that for balance? Give them a moment of awesome?
My imaginary characters I started the read through with had some moments of awesome there, but I realised I'd got through the entire adventure path without thinking of much for the cleric to do. I thought of things for Pharasmin priests to do, but the cleric and the wizard were both that. So I ended up with no particular moment for the cleric. There was plenty to do in Scarwall though so really I mean I never rolled dice for the fights where she would have made the most difference.
Still: distinct roles for everyone makes it much easier to story them.
There's a point in the adventure where the characters get a one time chance to draw from a Harrow Deck Of Many Things, and it made me think again how I feel about the Deck of Many Things. While it can generate a lot of story, new challenges, new possibilities, it also has the potential to absolutely wreck stuff. And it was really late in the game. Do your characters really want to risk their ability to save Korvosa and the world on a completely random draw? They've all got so much power compared to where they started. But, they've also all got a good idea of where their limitations are and what they're never going to be able to do without extreme interventions like this. So I guess they've got some reason?
But also it seems like offering a player a shiny that's practically designed to derail and randomise stories, but then just giving them rails after that point.
After the end of the Adventure Path there is a lot more to do though. It offers you a couple pages of story seed and suggested rule books for taking things further, but by then you've been playing A While and it's really up to you. So whatever complications the deck introduce, there's time for them. Adventure only takes up up to level 17, whole levels still to go before you run out of challenges on Golarion.
The more Adventure Path I read the more the fragmented nature of Golarion makes sense. Getting anywhere requires either legendary heroes or a small army. Or both. And trying to deal with the problems of one city can level you up significantly, but connects up to thousands of years of problems. Just bumping along trying not to die is a whole adventure anywhere on that world. Different countries boundaries seem to be set by where exactly things get too challenging for all but a handful of people in the country. And sometimes there's a whole location that just got too evil and turned into castle full of unsead. Which, you know, would be a problem for any neighbours.
I'm still liking learning about their world and set ups and reading along with the Adventure Paths
but I also get frustrated by how stabby the stories implied by them are.
I think if you just Banish the outsiders instead of destroying them you'd end up very short of money? Like their treasure is an important part of what your characters need to level up? So the adventure is assuming Kill Things Steal Their Stuff.
But at other times if you attempt to Kill Things the things will turn out to be waaaaaay too high a challenge for your group right now, and the GM has to explicitly spare you by making them run away, which seems improbable.
Also it's never the characters' problem where the orphans end up. And that's just wrong. Find a problem, fix a problem. Initial problem the book presents you with is orphanages that are leaking children and arent enough help. Nothing in the rest of the adventure fixes that. Too busy with the end of the world. Setting up day to day stuff is a distraction that leaks treasure, not a strength.
Except I guess if the Ultimate Campaign rules are carefully applied it would become many strengths.
Hmm, game from core book and game eith all the books plugged in have different emphases.
Game as *played* would be very different than reading it through. People can make friends, game stats just have to explain how the fight would go.
Think I'd like to play these stories
BUT
also think I'd be bad at remembering the rules and doing the fiddly maths, which is somewhat essential to these games.
oh well.
It was very good to read, took ages and made many stories in my head, A+ reading experience there.