Serpent's Skull session 2 and 3
Last week we gamed longer then normal and had only two of the four players there so we got through a lot. We also got a good amount of things done on the boards so I'm declaring it two sessions for purpose of session counting.
The adventure has the character on an island. Food, water, shelter are all important elements of the adventure. I did not want them to become a big deal for the whole time so I weakened some of the useful NPCs in the first session to make it more difficult at the start and then allow them to get better so the basics get easier. That way now when the PCs are not needing to gather food and build shelters it makes sense in game because the NPCs are now filling these roles. I imagine I place a bigger importance on it then the players and I'm not sure how much of it they notice, but I like to establish certain things at the beginning and then move away from them because doing them weekly would get old fast.
I haven't been using many random encounters. I have a few planned out but I only use them if we need something extra brought in. We haven't needed many so there has been few. The PCs explored most of the island. They found all the places of significant to the NPCs allowing the NPCs to become helpful and participate more. One of those discovered was a buried treasure. Instead of using what the module had for the treasure or defining it myself I used the random charts of Ultimate Equipment. I liked that aspect of 1e that had all those treasure and hoard tables so I had the book open in front of me and let the players roll dice. It created a treasure find of items that I or the module would not have selected. The items were more valuable then what should have been there but at the same time more limited in their use. They found two items that are for Wizards and there are no wizards among the PCs or NPCs.
The night was filled with a lot of small encounters and discoveries. They met the Dryad of the island who looked at the Bard like a piece of meat. He disappeared twice for a few days at a time. If they aren't careful she's just going to steal him like back in 1e.
Tonight we should have the gang all back together as they deal with some big enemies and have a chance to discover some of the secrets of the island. At this point they've been there for about three months and who knows how much longer they will have to endure the island.
The adventure has the character on an island. Food, water, shelter are all important elements of the adventure. I did not want them to become a big deal for the whole time so I weakened some of the useful NPCs in the first session to make it more difficult at the start and then allow them to get better so the basics get easier. That way now when the PCs are not needing to gather food and build shelters it makes sense in game because the NPCs are now filling these roles. I imagine I place a bigger importance on it then the players and I'm not sure how much of it they notice, but I like to establish certain things at the beginning and then move away from them because doing them weekly would get old fast.
I haven't been using many random encounters. I have a few planned out but I only use them if we need something extra brought in. We haven't needed many so there has been few. The PCs explored most of the island. They found all the places of significant to the NPCs allowing the NPCs to become helpful and participate more. One of those discovered was a buried treasure. Instead of using what the module had for the treasure or defining it myself I used the random charts of Ultimate Equipment. I liked that aspect of 1e that had all those treasure and hoard tables so I had the book open in front of me and let the players roll dice. It created a treasure find of items that I or the module would not have selected. The items were more valuable then what should have been there but at the same time more limited in their use. They found two items that are for Wizards and there are no wizards among the PCs or NPCs.
The night was filled with a lot of small encounters and discoveries. They met the Dryad of the island who looked at the Bard like a piece of meat. He disappeared twice for a few days at a time. If they aren't careful she's just going to steal him like back in 1e.
Tonight we should have the gang all back together as they deal with some big enemies and have a chance to discover some of the secrets of the island. At this point they've been there for about three months and who knows how much longer they will have to endure the island.