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Our lockdown D&D campaign must be about 90 sessions long by now. We've been playing every day with only a handful of skipped sessions over the past three months.
In that time, the players have ransacked the Caves of Chaos, explored Quasqueton, hunted demon-worshippers, saved the Keep on the Borderlands from a titanic and long-buried giant, played off merchant-prince factions against each other in the city of Kalbarad, explored the sewers of said city to break up an illegal orc-fighting ring, stolen a ship, sailed to the Fire Isles and the Far Isles, destroyed the threat of sea devils to shipping, rid the roads of Rothia of non-human bandits, fought off Red Hand assassins, killed the wizard Imrin Sark and - today - toppled his black tower. The wizard destroyed their ship with blue fire, however, thwarting their plan to get rich from trading Rothian wine.
But soon a ship will sail from Rothia to a far, far land and a fabled city called ... Jakalla. One player has found a Tsolyani grammar, and others are intrigued by the prospect of powerful magical items said to be found in the underworld of this city - like the Eye of Advancing Through Portals, which they found on a foe's body. We'll see what they choose to do next ...
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| The late Imrin Sark |
Anyway, one side-effect of the campaign's breakneck speed is that I'm now always dredging up half-painted miniatures to finish them off and get fresh foes on the table. I got two red orcs finished in time for yesterday's session and this wizard done in time for today's.
This sounds like an extremely fun campaign! I can't imagine playing every day. How do you do it and how many players are there?
ReplyDeleteAnd how will you reconcile the weird aliens of EPT with your D&D world? Will Jakalla be situated beneath a starless sky? Are they sailing through a Gate?
Yes, it's been lots of fun - and It's proven surprisingly easy. The weekday sessions are short (80 or 90 minutes), and I have 40 minutes or so after work to prep. That usually involves drafting a quick rumour table for wherever they are, statting up some potential foes and sketching or pinching a map. The PCs' own desires tend to drive a lot of the action - as through finding someone to make armour out of dragon hide or disguising themselves as a noble and her followers who might potentially be the rightful owners of a ship.
ReplyDeleteWe've got seven regular players - my two kids here, three more players in another household and two others dialling in individually. A couple of other players have come and gone; one of those makes occasional cameos.
As for the reconciliation of EPT with the generic D&D world, I'm taking a 'never apologise, never explain' approach! I've mentioned a sea route that passes through the Crimson Gates. And beyond that, the skies will be starless but double-mooned. I doubt any real rationalisation will be required.
The big challenge is going to be the miniatures. I've procured some 'close-enough' Hlyss proxies on the way, and I have some viable Shen-alikes, but I suspect I'll have to make and convert most of the rest myself. I think the effort will be worth it, though, as the sheer weirdness of the beasties should elicit plenty of shrieks and bafflement when they shamble on screen ...
From the sound of it, you're taking your players on a trip through gaming modules and settings of the '70s. Wonderful. But what will you do when the restrictions on contact are over? Perhaps it's a moot point. It could be many months.
DeleteAs for EPT miniatures, are you familiar with M.A.R. Barker's EPT miniatures painting guide? See pp. 8-11 of this file:
http://pied.nu/dragon/files/Drmg006.pdf
Check out The Tekumel Project blog here: https://thetekumelproject.blogspot.com/
DeleteHoward is the authorized seller of the curren trange of Tekumel figures, including Shen.
You can also find info about Tekumel figures at http://tekumelcollecting.com/
DeleteThanks! Oddly enough, I came across the transcription of that article here: http://www.deartonyblair.co.uk/2013/05/empire-of-petal-throne-1977-painting.html. Nice to see it in context, though!
ReplyDeleteWhen (if!) lockdown ends, I think we'll continue with the online gaming, though it will probably fall to once a week. We can probably find an evening that suits everyone - and I'm fairly sure there will be a lot more space in schedules, especially as contact sports will probably be the last thing to start up again.
Zoom-based gaming is actually much more convenient; you can have short, sharp sessions, there's much less time-wasting involved and there's no need to make the house presentable!
I love them. The orcs, the wizard - all of them!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Skully! The party proved far less fond!
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