OOC THREAD

[tomcat]

I found the image here, though there is no artist credits that I can see. Maybe the blogger IS the artist? He doesn't say so, but who knows.

https://vocal.media/gamers/the-death-wish

As to your desire for input - here is my :

First, I am and have been loving our game(s) since they began - and I am talking all the way back to 2003 and the Triumph of the Witch-king stories. Our player group has been consistent and we have all meshed into a tight group, IMO.

Your story-telling is top notch, Paul, and you keep me tied to the world, my character, and the overarching story with each post. I do not think there is much repeated, but I understand that challenge. How do you not keep using the same threats when there is only one primary threat, and retool each chapter into a unique story. I think that was where I was beginning to break down at Lake-town, so long ago, when you took over.

I would love to see us move out of the Vale for a few arcs. I don't know how to work that into the Darkening campaign, but it would be cool to have to go to Dale again, or Erebor, or perhaps Sunstead. It might be neat to have to trek south to Rohan or even Gondor. Not sure how to wedge a side-trek like that into Darkening of Mirkwood and make it a useful part of our story, but it's possible.

As for the current chapter - honestly, I was hoping for a little bit more of a dungeon crawl. You hinted that and it sounded fun, but it was just a quick in and out. We found the old city, entered the hole, found a gem, killed the baddie and done. This is not meant to criticize what we played out, I did enjoy the battle, only that I wish it had been a little bit more involved. To have seen ancient ruins (though I am not too sure what the Éothéod would have built that still stood), to have delved into deeper subterranean corridors with smaller threats leading up to the big bad guy, to have had more skill challenges, would have been awesome. I am always a fan of the undead, and old ruins always cry out to me these denizens. Just stuff like that.

Lastly, the only other thing I will add is I am a visual player. I like pics and maps. Not that narrative does not convey a picture, but I like to see combat displayed on maps - even if hand drawn. I used Microsoft paint for a lot of my visuals, back in the day.

Anyway - that is my input. I hope it was not upsetting, as it was not meant to be in any way. Keep doing what you are doing and I will continue to 'sit' at this table until our story is done.   

[GandalfOfBorg]

I don't have anything more to add to tomcat's reply.  I'm having a good time, even with my ever-present life changes going on (vacations, moving back and forth between home and office, kid graduations, etc.).  Besides east, the Misty Mountains or possibly further west over passes to Rivendell or further south as well.

The battle was something I was a little confused with -- was this to be a foe beyond us and we got lucky with some great rolls or were we meant to destroy it?  Seemed to waffle on that point.  More exploration of the ruins, yes, would have been good too.  As for what would have remained of the Eotheod ancestral homes, not likely much iirc as they north was overrun with dragons, especially the smaller cold and fire drakes.  Framsburg was a unique hold of theirs but still I would have thought more dragon-wreak would have corrupted the place, not unlike Erebor with their extended presence causing dragon-sickness on the treasure.  I will say the form of the Nameless Thing was nice, like a underground Old Man Willow.

[Eclecticon]

Thanks, guys.  I had originally planned for the area under the hill to be more of a goblin warren, but what with one thing and another I ran out of time to map it out and decided to go with something more short and sweet.  The Nameless Thing was always meant to be very challenging - possibly more than you could handle, though as it turned out a few lucky rolls did it in anyway.  Because of this, I tried to be very clear that the victory condition wasn't defeating it, it was getting away with a gem. 

Matt, I like that you had a vivid picture of the Thing, because I went out of my way to avoid describing it as a whole.  In true Lovecraftian fashion, I described bits and pieces and tried to let you guys put it together as you would.  Also, I had to concentrate not to fall back on Lovecraftian language to describe it - I've never had to struggle so hard not to use the word 'rugose' before.

Doug, I've taken note of your visual focus, and will try to bring more pictures in wherever I can.  I can't promise that I'll have lots of maps, but I can try.  It depends on your tolerance for my inept scratchings - you managed to pick the one member of my immediate family with no recognisable artistic ability to run the game.  I would also like to do some adventures out of the Anduin vale, and will seek to do this in a few years when the current story arc goes from being very tight to wide open. 

Tom, anything to add?  My skin's pretty thick, so don't hold back.

[tomcat]

Sounds good, Paul. No matter what, run it your way. I am fine with our game. I was just letting you know how my brain likes to work.

I spent a part of my day yesterday reading through old chapters - in particular, CHAPTER 5: The Beast of Mirkwood. Guys, we wrote some REALLY great stuff! That whole chapter was incredible with narrative and dialogue. Morirúsë added the old First Age details that could be drawn in to match up to the First Age antagonist. I NEED to get these threads consolidated into my PDF books.

So, no matter how you run the game, Paul - we'll keep bringing what we can, too! 

[Telcontar]

Paul,
 I dont really have much more to add, first time I know!

I am enjoying the game and i think the longevity is a testament that we are all interested in our stories.

I think they only comments I have are the same mechanical ones I have shared before. The action economy in combat and the cost of special combat actions to me often makes it less interesting to do anything other than a basic attack. It seems to me that the beat way to win a combat is to get out of it quickly. So I am usually less inclined to do anything about it. 

I would also like to try the travel rules from 2e. I think they would add to the story and create individual travel moments for the characters.

I think also something we need to think about as players is character shelf life. One of the interesting parts of the game is how toil and struggle grinds down the characters in terms of Hope and Shadow. As the characters age it will be interesting to see how we maintain narrative continuity and group dynamic.

I guess as a final thought I would like to see more scenes where we get to explore the characters lives and desires more. I know the Undertakings and Fellowship phase allow the players to 'take the wheel' but I think I would also like to see a longer form version of character development through scenes and adventures.

[GandalfOfBorg]

What year is this again?  I have the kernel of an idea for a new character and want to make sure the concept fits the timeline.

[Eclecticon]

It's 2958 at the moment - coming into the second half of the year.

[GandalfOfBorg]

Great, thank you.

I have ideas for 2 characters -- one an elf of Rivendell and another a Ranger of the North.
Gwathlim 'Swift Shadow' - Hunter/Scout of Elrond's seeking news east of the mountains
Megheneb 'Sharp-eyed' - Warrior who has accompanied Aragorn out of Rivendell east of the mountains on one of his many errands, he has travelled out at the behest of Gandalf and Aragorn while they area elsewhere west and south.

Which do you think you could fit more easily into your story?

[Eclecticon]

Either one would work, honestly.  If you went with Megheneb, there would be some interesting moments when he and Esgalwen took the measure of each other.  Gwathlim would provide some opportunities for continuity fun, as he likely has some relation to both Laeral and Morirúsë.  Also, either would serve as a link to adventures over the Misty Mountains, which might be a nice change of scene after many, many sessions in the Vales and Mirkwood.

[GandalfOfBorg]

Hmmm no help there...
Alright I think I will go with the elf.

[Eclecticon]

Players making decisions for themselves - I like it!

[tomcat]

Hey Matt,

If you have a picture of your Elf that you would like on your new character sheet, send it to me or post it here and I can add it.

Doug

[Eclecticon]

Hey everybody.  I'm recovering from COVID at the moment and it's not a heap of fun.  I'll start the next adventure off when there is less snot and more Paul in my head. 

[GandalfOfBorg]

Hey Matt,

If you have a picture of your Elf that you would like on your new character sheet, send it to me or post it here and I can add it.

Doug

What's your email again?  whatever I have now isn't working.

[tomcat]

I PM'ed you.

Not for any other reason than I do not know if spambots go through these pages, and I do not want to get hit by a bunch of stuff.