tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post7592741176015387046..comments2024-03-23T08:21:07.075-07:00Comments on Points of Light: Epiro: Episode 114David Guyllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299128722345607123noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-62954788922504604142013-10-02T08:48:42.247-07:002013-10-02T08:48:42.247-07:00I'm impressed that Moradin's Forge was imp...I'm impressed that Moradin's Forge was improvised material; that stuff was awesome! Very very impressive! I also remember you mentioning that the puzzle early in Sundered World, where they were trapped in a room with two talking trees, was improvised as well. That always struck me as really cool as well.<br /><br />I wrote up a good portion of what I wanted to happen in the Ravenloft campaign -- as I've said before, I've worked on it for the last two years or so -- but I ended up making a lot of adjustments and changes as the first session went on. Little things, mostly, but impactful enough that it was a noticeable difference from my notes. But that's what you have to do, really. You have to adapt to the players and you can only say: "Yes", "Yes, but..." or "No, but..." Never deny, only extrapolate.<br /><br />I guess I'm still a bit rusty -- haven't ran a game in over a year -- but I realized a perfect cliffhanger vignette that I could have left the game on to keep them interested into next session. I'm thinking I'll present it in a different format during our off-week, to keep the interest alive! We have a Facebook group specifically for this game so I might post it there, or perhaps on my blog.<br /><br />Thanks for bouncing ideas and stuff, it's cool to talk to someone knowledgeable about this topic!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14193671282073958347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-37591567884602202362013-10-01T16:02:57.849-07:002013-10-01T16:02:57.849-07:00I cannot remember why I thought of doing a Greek-t...I cannot remember why I thought of doing a Greek-themed/inspired game, but I think it was basically that I had not run it before despite D&D borrowing from it (randomly, to a point). At any rate I am glad you enjoyed it, and I'll try to throw together all my notes. Who knows, maybe we'll try and publish that, too?<br /><br />Speaking of publishing things we are still grinding away at A Sundered World. He was unable to game last week, which is when we normally talk business on shared projects like that.<br /><br />I tend to end up erring on the side of improv (but I do keep a Google doc of "cool things" to whip out when needed). It has helped a lot when the characters go off rails or do something random; if you look back at the episode of A Sundered World where they went to Moradin's Forge, that entire thing was off the top off my head.<br /><br />The added benefit of getting good at improv is that it makes it easier to leave them on cliffhangers; at some point you just kind of reflexively change things and guide events.David Guyllhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16299128722345607123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-53120363138530527852013-10-01T08:06:29.016-07:002013-10-01T08:06:29.016-07:00I actually really enjoyed following the adventurer...I actually really enjoyed following the adventurers through a Greek-inspired (if not themed) world. It's a pretty stellar idea that I wouldn't have thought of before and kudos to you for making it come to life! I think I'd rather get my hands on a full book of Sundered World as opposed to Epiro -- constructing worlds and adventures with a Greek theme is a brilliant idea but is manageable now that it's in my head -- but your worlds always seem to be really vivid so I'd be interested in seeing any other notes you had on it!<br /><br />I think there's a good balance to strike between pre-planning and complete improv. Usually I make things up as I go, working from the simplest of bases, but sometimes (especially when dungeon delving, I find) it really helps to have things sorted ahead of time. Regardless, it's all about pacing: you want to have each session end of something exciting, as opposed to a simple "this is a good place to stop for now". That's certainly one of my pitfalls as a GM -- really, pacing as a whole is my weakness.<br /><br />We started the Ravenloft campaign, by the way. Here's a link to the first session, if you're so inclined to check it out:<br /><br />http://loadingcheckpoint.blogspot.com/2013/09/ravenloft-act-one-session-one.html<br /><br />I definitely fell prey to the "let's stop here" issue at the end of the session. There were also other issues with the session but it was a good start. I'd be eager to hear any comments you might have on it!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14193671282073958347noreply@blogger.com