No Bare Bones Here!!!
by
, March 1st, 2017 at 17:30 (9779 Views)
“Lord I am amazed at how things have mended. Cornbread is on the table now when white bread was intended.”
This little prayer that was my Great Grandfather's came to mind as this is now the THIRD subject that made it in que for this blog. It has been an eventful week, gaming wise.
Yesterday I was glad it was my Friday. I swear all that got me through the work day was the thought of playing. The party is about to start their assault on the Red Brand Hideout in “Lost Mines.” I got home and started my list of preparations. As I was working, one of my players, Jim came on Discord. He had good news. He had spent the day with one of my other former players, Vince and had talked him into joining us tonight. In fact, before I knew it, Jim had Vinny on the phone and together we got him set up on Discord. After that Jim started him on rolling up a character (a Rogue.)
I had to shake my head and smile. Jim had been … reluctant … and very suspicious of Fantasy Grounds and of the value of playing 5e. Now here he was … expanding the cult … ahem I mean … players. Not only that but he has played around with character creation so much ... that now he has … a system … that he claims to maximize the process. To top things off, Jim is going on Vincent's description to do a portrait for the character using a computer program on the lines of Poser.
You, Fantasy Grounds, have made a convert.
Given the size now of the party (4 players, 6 characters), and given the occurrences in the game, I added a few things. The first were two sets of guards at the entrances to the complex. Jim plays a mean barbarian and is a brick house dream or nightmare, depending on which side of the screen you are. “Vig” and for that matter rest of the party needed a little fear of the gods.
Where's the fun if you don't challenge them?
If you follow the front door path in the ruined manor house, after the trapped hallway (3), you come to the family tomb (4). There the planned encounter is three skeletons. I knew that wouldn't do even with pushing max hit points for monsters in the options tab. What works well against such brutes as barbarians? Magic!!! So I made “Mhorgoth's Skeleton of Flaming Death.”
Attachment 18094
So when the party entered the crypt, I gave the stock description … plus that the walls and surrounding surfaces seemed to be marred by fire damage. The three skeletons all bore the mark of Morgoth (an identity Amadeus is using in an effort to become a god) and a ball of unjilating fire nestled in their chests. It was very effective to describe the mass of fire with the sound of a heartbeat. “Thump – thump, thump-thump, thump-thump! I had to laugh when it was our new addition, Vinny, that said everybody should back out of the room as soon as possible. I laughed even harder when they failed to do so. Kevin snickered and made a “Ghostbusters” reference with. “I'm not afraid of no skeletons!” As a reaction to the first strike, the enhanced skeletons turned a blaze. Those in 5 feet of them took 1 point of fire damage every turn they were in proximity. All in the room had to make a Con save (15) against the brilliant light and heat to be able to see. Failure caused all attacks at a disadvantage. Because of this the Cleric failed to turn undead. Finally when the first flaming skeleton was brought to zero hit points, the flame heart did a 3d6 fire blast along with a d4 bone shrapnel damage in a 10 foot radius. There was silence when 17 points of damage was dealt. Even the barbarian … ahem … made a tactical retreat. The Sorcerer was brought to within 3 points of death. I have to admit I have to give bonus points to Jim, as when we broke off for the night, he had Vig attempting to take ownership of the pit trap in the outside hallway, in an effort to draw the two remaining skeletons down in a form of containment.
All and all I was pleased. Vince did well. It was easy to get him playing and he grasped it well. You never would of guessed that he didn't have a few sessions under his belt rather than being a total newbie. He commented how much he enjoyed playing and that he was amazed at how well the system worked.
Fantasy Grounds … take a bow.