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Torchbearer 2e - actual play of this AWESOME system! (+)
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8874718" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>We played again today.</p><p></p><p>The session started with a prologue from Golin's player, which eliminated the Dwarven Outcast's exhaustion.</p><p></p><p>We had four players present - Korvin the Skald had turned up, after boozing at the tavern through the events of the last session, in time for the second shift. And Telemere the Elven Ranger also turned up, joining Golin and Korvin up top. This prompted a question (and a ret-con) - if Telemere was travelling around these parts, who had Golin seen when (in the previous session) he "travelled" on the throne of seeing to the Tower of Stars and (thought he) saw Telemere. Was there another Elf who might have been sitting there, and been mistaken for Telemere? Yes - Kalamere, Telemere's brother and Enemy.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Fea-bella the Elven Dreamwalker went back in to try and loot the aptrgangr alcoves. Except then she decided that she would try something different - going to the seeing throne and trying to bend it to her will so it would show the location of her stolen, cursed Elfstone (inhabited by the dream spirit of Mim the Petty Dwarf). I said that this would require a successful Enchanting Nature test against Ob 4. Her Nature is 2, and she spent a point of persona to lift it to 4 (by channelling her Nature), and then got a dismal roll (I think zero successes, maybe 1) and so couldn't justify throwing more rewards at it to try and get over the line.</p><p></p><p>I told the others that they heard an Elven shriek echoing through the caverns up to where they were standing above the entrance. Golin's player was "who cares" until I pointed out that no player's character can enter camp or town phase while another is still in the adventure phase - and Fea-bella, having fallen unconscious from the strain and being dragged off by aptrgangrs, was definitely still in the adventure phase.</p><p></p><p>The player had already changed Golin's Belief to be "I won't be held back by Elven prats" (or something very much to that effect), and so now was his chance to go Mouldbreaker, ranting to Megloss (Fea-bella's enemy, who had retained Golin and Korvin to explore the caves beneath his house) about the trouble Fea-bella causes him. Megloss replied that that was why, back in the Elven Dreamhouse, they had called her "Nuisance". Megloss also offered to purchase Golin's 3 captured Aptr-Gangrs (for resale) for 2D each - which I immediately realised was too generous, when Golin's player accepted the offer without any haggling or negotiation. When I asked if he would have taken 1D each, he answered that he absolutely would have!</p><p></p><p>Golin, Korvin and Telemere thus went back into the caves. A couple of Dungeoneer tests - one to set up a proper rope-line down into the caves from the surface entrance, and another to move through the dark without getting ambushed by aptrgangrs - succeeded. I told the players that their PCs heard an echoing noise, as of doors being shut (my thought at that stage was that Fea-bella had been dragged through the doors, but this was revised as I will explain below). The PCs found the doors with a successful test (I think on Scout, made for Telemere). Telemere's player then made a test, based on his Instinct, to see if they were being watched in the dark - and failed, so the aptrgangrs came for them, and they fled. The players succeeded at the Flee conflict, but with a compromise - so instead of arriving at their intended destination, the natural-light-filled room with the seeing throne, they ended up in a different room, stumbling over Fea-bella's body which had been dumped there. This roused Fea-bella from her unconsciousness, and she was able to light her lantern.</p><p></p><p>Fea-bella's player had revised her Instinct, from a camp/town/journey mapping instinct back to her "read everything I see" instinct. So when I mentioned the writing on the wall behind the 12' long sarcophagus with an icy lid, she started reading it. Of course these were cursed runes but the player succeeded on the Will test, and so realised that if Fea-bella kept reading she would free Duran, the trapped demon of the Outer Cark.</p><p></p><p>The PCs then worked out the demon was trapped in the icy sarcophagus in front of them, and was a larger-than-life-sized version of the strange idol at the entrance to the dungeon. As per his instinct, Golin identified the weak spot in the sarcophagus - its icy lid! And Telemere spotted the treasure chest at the feet of the demon. So the players came up with the plan of roping the demon down at the upper end, while breaking the bottom to extract the treasure. I checked the Hunter obstacles and learned that trapping a monster with snares or nets is Ob 6. Needless to say that check was not a success, and so when the Dwarf shattered the lid, out came the demon . . .</p><p></p><p>The players' (and their PCs') first response was to try and trick the demon into thinking they'd deliberately released it and so were owed a reward (ie the treasure in the chest). They won, but with a compromise - which, after a bit of back-and-forth that included me as GM taking some remarks made by them at face value, ended up being that they would sacrifice Megloss on the altar to the Outer Dark. The demon duly went off to procure Megloss from his house (which, as already mentioned, sits directly atop the dungeon).</p><p> </p><p>Duran brought Megloss back pretty quickly, but not so quickly the players couldn't divvy up the loot from the demon's treasure chest, which first required Korvin to pick its lock; though in the course of this the Dreamwalker failed what was her first attempt to cast a spell (no successes from 4 Arcanist dice for an Ob 1 Mystic Porter), and d opted for a twist - a Wizard of Earthsea-style shadow coming out of her heart and scurrying off into the darkness (it seemed very fitting given she had just been party to an agreement to sacrifice a fellow Elf to the Outer Dark).</p><p></p><p>When Duran returned with Megloss, the players asked whether he had also brought Megloss's Half-Moon Glaive. I answered that he hadn't - and so they next tricked him again, into accepting the proposition that only a sacrifice of Megloss with his own ceremonial weapon would be fitting. The PCs won again, but with a minor compromise - the Dwarf PC, who had been bonding with Megloss earlier in the session and whose player thought all this was rather mad, became Angry.</p><p></p><p>The PCs decided that third time around they would need to fight, and so retreated to the seeing throne room, which with its window of natural light would obviate their need for artificial light sources. When the demon turned up again, glaive in hand, they decided to drive it off. Because its Instinct is to avoid being imprisoned again, I had given it a high hit point total for Capture conflicts but a low one for Drive Off - and so the players won this conflict with no compromise (we had 4 PCs, plus Megloss, which was yielding big pools on the player side of things - and my Attack got versused and absorbed by a Manoeuvre, and then my Feint ended up against an Attack rather than the anticipated Defend or Feint).</p><p></p><p>We ended the session there. The PCs are hungry and thirsty, with no water or provisions, and Fea-bella and Golin are both Angry. I'm not sure if they will get out of the dungeon without more conditions.</p><p></p><p>In the end-of-session awards, Korvin got MVP (for picking the lock on Duran's treasure chest) and Golin Teamworker (for his Dungeoneering and sharing of provisions). Fea-bella achieved her Goal (which involved collecting wealth) and worked towards her Belief (by trying to use the seeing throne to find her Elfstone) and used her Instinct: 2 Fate, 1 Persona.</p><p></p><p>Golin got a Persona for Mouldbreaker, and a Fate for Instinct and also for pursuing his Goal of making a killing at the market (by selling his aptrgangrs to Megloss).</p><p></p><p>Telemere got a Persona for achieving his Goal (of re-joining the party as an integral member), and a Fate for his Instinct, for acting on his Belief (that things should be seen through to the end - on this occasion, the tricking of the demon) and for gallows humour (when he asked the furious demon, who had found the PCs obviously arrayed for battle in the hall of seeing, whether he was going to hand over the glaive).</p><p></p><p>Korvin got Fate for his Instinct (to never tell the truth), for his Belief that he must follow the clues to hunt down the wicked, and for his Goal of gaining food and shoes (as Golin had shared food with him).</p><p></p><p>And final reflections:</p><p></p><p>I consistently used twists and not conditions, which is perhaps making the system easier on the players than it should be. But the session was pretty fun. Next time I will try and step up the conditions a bit.</p><p></p><p>That said, with Megloss having been taken by the demon and so now with the PCs down in the dungeon, it seems unlikely that the aptrgangrs Golin sold him will remain cowed. So for my upcoming twist(s) I've got the demon (which is still entitled to its sacrifice of Megloss with the Half-Moon Glaive), the shadow spirit that came out of Fea-bella's heart (which I need to write up with a possession ability, so it can create gebbeths like in A Wizard of Earthsea), and the aptr-gangrs. Thinking about the second and third of these, I'm not liking the chances of Krystal, Megloss's ordinary Might 2 NPC housekeeper.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 8874718, member: 42582"] We played again today. The session started with a prologue from Golin's player, which eliminated the Dwarven Outcast's exhaustion. We had four players present - Korvin the Skald had turned up, after boozing at the tavern through the events of the last session, in time for the second shift. And Telemere the Elven Ranger also turned up, joining Golin and Korvin up top. This prompted a question (and a ret-con) - if Telemere was travelling around these parts, who had Golin seen when (in the previous session) he "travelled" on the throne of seeing to the Tower of Stars and (thought he) saw Telemere. Was there another Elf who might have been sitting there, and been mistaken for Telemere? Yes - Kalamere, Telemere's brother and Enemy. Meanwhile, Fea-bella the Elven Dreamwalker went back in to try and loot the aptrgangr alcoves. Except then she decided that she would try something different - going to the seeing throne and trying to bend it to her will so it would show the location of her stolen, cursed Elfstone (inhabited by the dream spirit of Mim the Petty Dwarf). I said that this would require a successful Enchanting Nature test against Ob 4. Her Nature is 2, and she spent a point of persona to lift it to 4 (by channelling her Nature), and then got a dismal roll (I think zero successes, maybe 1) and so couldn't justify throwing more rewards at it to try and get over the line. I told the others that they heard an Elven shriek echoing through the caverns up to where they were standing above the entrance. Golin's player was "who cares" until I pointed out that no player's character can enter camp or town phase while another is still in the adventure phase - and Fea-bella, having fallen unconscious from the strain and being dragged off by aptrgangrs, was definitely still in the adventure phase. The player had already changed Golin's Belief to be "I won't be held back by Elven prats" (or something very much to that effect), and so now was his chance to go Mouldbreaker, ranting to Megloss (Fea-bella's enemy, who had retained Golin and Korvin to explore the caves beneath his house) about the trouble Fea-bella causes him. Megloss replied that that was why, back in the Elven Dreamhouse, they had called her "Nuisance". Megloss also offered to purchase Golin's 3 captured Aptr-Gangrs (for resale) for 2D each - which I immediately realised was too generous, when Golin's player accepted the offer without any haggling or negotiation. When I asked if he would have taken 1D each, he answered that he absolutely would have! Golin, Korvin and Telemere thus went back into the caves. A couple of Dungeoneer tests - one to set up a proper rope-line down into the caves from the surface entrance, and another to move through the dark without getting ambushed by aptrgangrs - succeeded. I told the players that their PCs heard an echoing noise, as of doors being shut (my thought at that stage was that Fea-bella had been dragged through the doors, but this was revised as I will explain below). The PCs found the doors with a successful test (I think on Scout, made for Telemere). Telemere's player then made a test, based on his Instinct, to see if they were being watched in the dark - and failed, so the aptrgangrs came for them, and they fled. The players succeeded at the Flee conflict, but with a compromise - so instead of arriving at their intended destination, the natural-light-filled room with the seeing throne, they ended up in a different room, stumbling over Fea-bella's body which had been dumped there. This roused Fea-bella from her unconsciousness, and she was able to light her lantern. Fea-bella's player had revised her Instinct, from a camp/town/journey mapping instinct back to her "read everything I see" instinct. So when I mentioned the writing on the wall behind the 12' long sarcophagus with an icy lid, she started reading it. Of course these were cursed runes but the player succeeded on the Will test, and so realised that if Fea-bella kept reading she would free Duran, the trapped demon of the Outer Cark. The PCs then worked out the demon was trapped in the icy sarcophagus in front of them, and was a larger-than-life-sized version of the strange idol at the entrance to the dungeon. As per his instinct, Golin identified the weak spot in the sarcophagus - its icy lid! And Telemere spotted the treasure chest at the feet of the demon. So the players came up with the plan of roping the demon down at the upper end, while breaking the bottom to extract the treasure. I checked the Hunter obstacles and learned that trapping a monster with snares or nets is Ob 6. Needless to say that check was not a success, and so when the Dwarf shattered the lid, out came the demon . . . The players' (and their PCs') first response was to try and trick the demon into thinking they'd deliberately released it and so were owed a reward (ie the treasure in the chest). They won, but with a compromise - which, after a bit of back-and-forth that included me as GM taking some remarks made by them at face value, ended up being that they would sacrifice Megloss on the altar to the Outer Dark. The demon duly went off to procure Megloss from his house (which, as already mentioned, sits directly atop the dungeon). Duran brought Megloss back pretty quickly, but not so quickly the players couldn't divvy up the loot from the demon's treasure chest, which first required Korvin to pick its lock; though in the course of this the Dreamwalker failed what was her first attempt to cast a spell (no successes from 4 Arcanist dice for an Ob 1 Mystic Porter), and d opted for a twist - a Wizard of Earthsea-style shadow coming out of her heart and scurrying off into the darkness (it seemed very fitting given she had just been party to an agreement to sacrifice a fellow Elf to the Outer Dark). When Duran returned with Megloss, the players asked whether he had also brought Megloss's Half-Moon Glaive. I answered that he hadn't - and so they next tricked him again, into accepting the proposition that only a sacrifice of Megloss with his own ceremonial weapon would be fitting. The PCs won again, but with a minor compromise - the Dwarf PC, who had been bonding with Megloss earlier in the session and whose player thought all this was rather mad, became Angry. The PCs decided that third time around they would need to fight, and so retreated to the seeing throne room, which with its window of natural light would obviate their need for artificial light sources. When the demon turned up again, glaive in hand, they decided to drive it off. Because its Instinct is to avoid being imprisoned again, I had given it a high hit point total for Capture conflicts but a low one for Drive Off - and so the players won this conflict with no compromise (we had 4 PCs, plus Megloss, which was yielding big pools on the player side of things - and my Attack got versused and absorbed by a Manoeuvre, and then my Feint ended up against an Attack rather than the anticipated Defend or Feint). We ended the session there. The PCs are hungry and thirsty, with no water or provisions, and Fea-bella and Golin are both Angry. I'm not sure if they will get out of the dungeon without more conditions. In the end-of-session awards, Korvin got MVP (for picking the lock on Duran's treasure chest) and Golin Teamworker (for his Dungeoneering and sharing of provisions). Fea-bella achieved her Goal (which involved collecting wealth) and worked towards her Belief (by trying to use the seeing throne to find her Elfstone) and used her Instinct: 2 Fate, 1 Persona. Golin got a Persona for Mouldbreaker, and a Fate for Instinct and also for pursuing his Goal of making a killing at the market (by selling his aptrgangrs to Megloss). Telemere got a Persona for achieving his Goal (of re-joining the party as an integral member), and a Fate for his Instinct, for acting on his Belief (that things should be seen through to the end - on this occasion, the tricking of the demon) and for gallows humour (when he asked the furious demon, who had found the PCs obviously arrayed for battle in the hall of seeing, whether he was going to hand over the glaive). Korvin got Fate for his Instinct (to never tell the truth), for his Belief that he must follow the clues to hunt down the wicked, and for his Goal of gaining food and shoes (as Golin had shared food with him). And final reflections: I consistently used twists and not conditions, which is perhaps making the system easier on the players than it should be. But the session was pretty fun. Next time I will try and step up the conditions a bit. That said, with Megloss having been taken by the demon and so now with the PCs down in the dungeon, it seems unlikely that the aptrgangrs Golin sold him will remain cowed. So for my upcoming twist(s) I've got the demon (which is still entitled to its sacrifice of Megloss with the Half-Moon Glaive), the shadow spirit that came out of Fea-bella's heart (which I need to write up with a possession ability, so it can create gebbeths like in A Wizard of Earthsea), and the aptr-gangrs. Thinking about the second and third of these, I'm not liking the chances of Krystal, Megloss's ordinary Might 2 NPC housekeeper. [/QUOTE]
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