[dungeoncrawl] Re: the Two Towers
- From: Johnathan Detrick <jdetrick@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: dungeoncrawl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 11:31:20 -0500
I'm also curious if Keith is coming. I know Tim has appointments, but I
also know that Keith sometimes goes with us, and then goes again with Tim. What
about it Keith?
Damon Kline wrote:
> The only detriment at this point is that Ethan is currently sick. Lori may
> have to take off to go home and take Ethan to the doctor. If she does,
> she'll have to work Saturday morning and then Cyndi offered to stay home and
> watch Ethan so Matt could go to the movie with Ryan. However, I really
> wanted to see the movie with Cyndi, so I might wait until she can go.
> Either that, or I'll go Saturday and then go again with her at some other
> time. I guess it depends on how things work out, but it's just something
> I'm thinking about. I'll talk with Cyndi tonight and decide, so that if I
> am going to go to the movie, I can buy my ticket tomorrow.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Johnathan Detrick [mailto:jdetrick@xxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 10:56 AM
> To: dungeoncrawl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [dungeoncrawl] Re: the Two Towers
>
> I'm going up on Thursday. Thanks so much for checking this Matt! Above
> and
> beyond...
>
> Matt McKeehan wrote:
>
> > OK I called and talked to Hoyt's. I asked the lady when was the earliest
> we
> > could purchase tickets to the Saturday morning showing of the movie. She
> > said we could now. I then ask if this applied to people using the free
> > ticket that comes with the LOTR box set, she said yes. It looks like it
> is
> > a go. I think we will head up tomorrow to get the tickets...
> >
> > Matt Mckeehan
> > Citrix LAN Supervisor
> > Admin Office of The PA Courts
> > PA Supreme Court
> > (717)795-2063
> > (717)514-9446 mobile
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Damon Kline [mailto:damon.kline@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> > Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 10:25 AM
> > To: 'dungeoncrawl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'
> > Subject: [dungeoncrawl] Re: Tuesday morning review
> >
> > Thank you John for the review. I'm going to get in the habit of posting
> the
> > latest review on the web site and keeping an archive of past reviews there
> > as well.
> >
> > As for the campaign, I have to admit that I have been struggling lately
> with
> > the fights. I don't know why, but I can't seem to come up with a good
> > balance of villains that will give the party a challenge, without
> > overwhelming them. One thing that helped me in the past was that I had a
> > boxed set to base things off of. While I didn't adhere completely to
> their
> > specifications, it gave me a good base from witch to plan my encounters.
> >
> > With that in mind, I have been doing my own thing for a long while now
> with
> > the campaign and it has really been lacking in the combat department.
> With
> > these guys, role-playing is never a problem. It comes so naturally to
> this
> > group, it's like breathing. But for me, when I am planning out the combat
> > that I want to use for the evening, I just can't seem to get the balance
> > right.
> >
> > On top of that, I have not been having the villains use strategy. I don't
> > know why, but I'm having a mental block on this stuff lately. I'm not
> > burned out on the campaign at all, I'm very excited about it. I'm not
> > overwhelmed with other things, I have plenty of time to get things
> prepared
> > for each week and I feel good about where I want to take the group.
> >
> > But when I get to the combat situations, no amount of planning seems to be
> > able to give me enough "umph" to make it have tension. Now, last night I
> > had planned to throw a few more things at the group, but I changed my mind
> > because your were down by two characters. So, my thought is now I think
> > going to be to throw a lot at the group and if they are being overwhelmed,
> > then it is their responsibility to run if they have to. I'm not going to
> > intentionally try to overwhelm the group at all, although I think I would
> be
> > pretty hard pressed to do that with these guys anyway. But as I work on
> my
> > balancing act to feel out how well the party can handle things, I just ask
> > that you bear with me.
> >
> > The other advantage that I had before with the Sigil, is that I had been
> > DMing them straight through from first level on up and I was well aware of
> > what everyone could do, what items they had, etc. Since we've taken
> several
> > extended breaks, we've added three new characters and the levels are up
> > there, it is very hard for me to keep track of what everyone can do and
> what
> > they can take.
> >
> > However, I know I've said this before, but the next time we play, I hope,
> > should prove to get things rolling for these guys and hopefully bring the
> > campaign back up to the level that it had previously been. I firmly
> believe
> > that the combats will have that tension to them again and the group will
> be
> > focused, at least towards a common goal, if not internally between the
> > characters.
> >
> > Please feel free to comment and discuss, as I should be at my desk working
> > on some things for a while.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Johnathan Detrick [mailto:jdetrick@xxxxxxxxxxx]
> > Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 9:48 AM
> > To: Riders II
> > Subject: [dungeoncrawl] Tuesday morning review
> >
> > Last night, the Sigil reunited on the battlefield where the scouts
> > had recently fought evil's minions. They were unable to accomplish
> > much, as the beholder attacked from above, a trio of minions attacked
> > from the passageway outside, and a mind flayer appeared to attack them
> > as well. The group beat their foes, but Tori and Elizabeth were knocked
> > out and the party could not revive them. The made their way to the
> > beholder's former lair, where they were attacked by a sentient table.
> > Defeating it, they discussed the need for a leader, and Sir Ivan was
> > elected to that position. They then set watches and rested. During the
> > watch of Kage and Whilce, Whilce heard six creatures approaching them
> > (and saw their shadows), and that's where we ended.
> >
> > Last night was fun. Bobby was missed, and the mystery of why his
> > character's won't awaken is nowhere near as interesting as what the
> > group will do with them. How do you handle lugging their insensate
> > bodies through the Underdark? It's an interesting moral dilemma.
> > Last night was full of distractions, and that took away from the
> > role-playing to an extent. While the players were a little unfocused to
> > begin with, the distractions just exacerbated the situation. By the end
> > of the evening, we all came together and had quite a bit of fun. The
> > role-playing began to gel (although it wasn't horrible in the beginning
> > of the evening, and there were some good bits even then), and we ended
> > on a great note.
> > I think that another reason we may have been somewhat distracted
> > last night was because the fight, again, had no real tension. In the
> > end, I think it's because the party was too powerful for the villains
> > that they faced. I hate to say this, as I feel that the group will be
> > pelted by 20 ilithid the next time we play, but I think Damon has been
> > too easy on the Sigil for some time. To illustrate my point, cast your
> > minds back to the last time the Sigil were stuck in the Underdark,
> > before we ended the first part of the campaign. Does everyone remember
> > how difficult those fights were? Does everyone remember the time spent
> > detailing strategy and figuring out how to best foes that were too
> > powerful for the group? I remember setting traps for trolls, and
> > actually using group plans. We did that, because if we didn't, the
> > Sigil would have had their butts handed to them. While the group is
> > more powerful than they were then, they are still not strong enough that
> > the Underdark could not provide a strong challenge for them. Besides
> > the mind flayers, the beholders, drow and duergar (while not as
> > powerful) know the terrain. They should be able to have strategies and
> > traps and such set up to tip the odds in their favor. Just a thought.
> > In the end, last night was a blast, and I can't wait to see what
> > happens with Ivan as leader.
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