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@drmauric This is good to hear!

 

I had to put Conan on the back burner for a little while to avoid risking burnout (I play-tested my two scenarios A LOT). When I am recharged, I plan on play-testing the campaign in order. I just need to go back and revisit our campaign rules (a community gem carryover mechanic, if I recall correctly). 

 

1 hour ago, drmauric said:

Hey guys,

I played through Dreams of Atali a couple times this week. It is a solid scenario with a number of pretty cool elements. Next up is The Streets of Khemi, which means I will have played through them all. I am stoked about the quality of these scenarios! Especially the unique way a lot of components are being used. The hidden merchant tokens, jumping from fortress walls because you're wacked out on lotus fumes, Frost Giant allies!?!, and multi map boards. Things are looking good to me!

 

How is it going for all of you? 

 

@Matt John S @Primeval @Neil Amswych @Ken

 

 

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Yeah I’m enjoying the idea of getting high and jumping off a wall. Remember kids, drugs are baaaad, m’kay?

 

Fight or Flight is done. It was all but impossible if the heroes went for the Medallion. The one thing I’m not mad about is that I didn’t include Hadrathus’ spell book and I know he had it before and has it afterwards. I may add something to the opening blurb suggesting it got damaged, and then later the implication could be that he got a new one, or repaired it?

 

Busy week but hopefully next week I’ll solo playtest another scenario. What’s this I see about Frost Giant allies? Think I might check that out.

 

is there anyone who is unhappy with their scenario and wants testing and feedback?

 

 

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Well the idea of the jumping off the wall is more that the character is suddenly overcome with lotus fumes and some kind of magic left behind by Yara, and this makes the character think they have wings like Yag Kosha did at one time, and they jump thinking they can fly with these wings, part of the whole fortress as foe thing. If it doesnt come across that way I can always change it. The outcome of this event is sure to annoy any player anyway.

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@Ken I think the community gems kind of slipped through the cracks. We never really finalized that idea. I'll go back through the other thread post a summary of outstanding issues like the gems, crowns, and leveling up in the over there so we can move toward finalizing some of these ideas. But no pressure! I have the time and motivation now so that's why you guys are hearing a lot from me. Please don't burn out on Conan. 🙂

 

@Neil Amswych

Ok, poor choice of wording. My apologies. 

FYI I did test Fight or Flight with the spellbook and I was having similar results to what you were having. So you do what you feel is best, but in my opinion the spellbook certainly doesn't knock things out of balance.

 

@Primeval

Sorry for misrepresenting your event. It doesn't come across in the way I stated. It's a great mechanic and has exactly the effect you desire. The fortress being a foe and annoying the player.

Edited by drmauric
changed my mind about something
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13 hours ago, Primeval said:

Well the idea of the jumping off the wall is more that the character is suddenly overcome with lotus fumes and some kind of magic left behind by Yara, and this makes the character think they have wings like Yag Kosha did at one time, and they jump thinking they can fly with these wings, part of the whole fortress as foe thing. If it doesnt come across that way I can always change it. The outcome of this event is sure to annoy any player anyway.

 

Don't change it at all. I think it's great.

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For consistency sake, if the spellbook CAN stay in your scenario, @Neil Amswych, as @drmauric suggests, then I say it stays. It would be better to maintain that consistency. As a player, I would probably resent the one scenario that removed my favorite item. But that's just me. You have the say on that, ultimately. 

 

I've been very busy working my multiple jobs and my gameplay time has been focused on Imaginarium as I'll be running that campaign as well. Not to mention I've been editing the next compendium volumes for English and also have to tackle the Batman rulebook. So Conan is on the backburner for me only because it has to be. 

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2 hours ago, Matt John S said:

For consistency sake, if the spellbook CAN stay in your scenario, @Neil Amswych, as @drmauric suggests, then I say it stays. It would be better to maintain that consistency. As a player, I would probably resent the one scenario that removed my favorite item. But that's just me. You have the say on that, ultimately. 

 

I've been very busy working my multiple jobs and my gameplay time has been focused on Imaginarium as I'll be running that campaign as well. Not to mention I've been editing the next compendium volumes for English and also have to tackle the Batman rulebook. So Conan is on the backburner for me only because it has to be. 

 

I playtested it so many times without the spell book because I didn’t realize it was going to be in later scenarios. Seriously, I’ve tested this at least 25 times. I’m not sure so can play it again. If someone else wants to add the spell

book and make suggestions for balancing it for the OL as well (it already now leans towards the heroes without the book) then I could try one or two more times.

 

Or, the third scenario’s narrative can have him find a new spell book beforehand. The point of scenario 2 was that they had already met the Dark Demon and nearly lost since the last scenario.

 

Your call but I really don’t have it in me to test this many more times.

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14 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:

 

I playtested it so many times without the spell book because I didn’t realize it was going to be in later scenarios. Seriously, I’ve tested this at least 25 times. I’m not sure so can play it again. If someone else wants to add the spell

book and make suggestions for balancing it for the OL as well (it already now leans towards the heroes without the book) then I could try one or two more times.

 

Or, the third scenario’s narrative can have him find a new spell book beforehand. The point of scenario 2 was that they had already met the Dark Demon and nearly lost since the last scenario.

 

Your call but I really don’t have it in me to test this many more times.

@Neil Amswych I would strongly recommend that you DO NOT make any changes. You are happy with it and it sounds like you are done with it, so that's great.

 

Winning and losing in yours is dependent on many other factors besides 3 extra gems for Hadrathus. For example, as we discussed privately, if the Merchant shows up too soon he is a pin cushion for the archers. Hadrathus' spellbook can't change that. 🙂  

 

So, my recommendation, leave it alone. It will be fine.

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1 hour ago, Neil Amswych said:

I would definitely rather leave it if possible. Can we write into the introductory text of scenario number 3 that it takes place after he finds a new book?

@Neil Amswych 

 

Scenario 3 already has the Spellbook written into it. So no alterations are necessary.

 

I think if you leave it off the equipment list and out of the special rules for your scenario folks will know what to do.

 

And rather than cluttering the narrative with spellbook instructions, like I said, it's included in the scenario 3 equipment list and special rules so folks will know what to do there as well.

🙂

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Yeah I just mean literally one sentence of something like “... and Hadrathus, who has now replaced his spell book...”

 

if @Matt John S insists that Hadrathus have the book in the second adventure, we’ll have to work out how to put it in. Personally, I like Fight or Flight to put the heroes on the back foot somewhat.

 

Your call, boss.

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I don't know that the spellbook needs to be explained really - there is a pretty good gap between scenarios where equipment could have been changed during the travelling time.  I kind of like the flow of my intro as is, so would find some other way to explain the spellbook if needed.

 

Also, I changed the event "Crushing Burden" slightly - I made the movement value "0" instead of the exertion limit "1"; this way the hero can spend gems to move through extraordinary effort. It will still be be tough to deal with, but I think this makes for more heroic potential.

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On 5/9/2018 at 8:07 PM, Neil Amswych said:

If someone else wants to add the spell book and make suggestions for balancing it for the OL as well (it already now leans towards the heroes without the book) then I could try one or two more times...

 

@Neil Amswych I know I am a little late to this conversation, but I am fine with excluding the spellbook in your scenario. Adding the spellbook to The Streets of Khemi shifted the balance of power from the Overlord to the Heroes. I compensated by adding a second demon, but I think it is still skewed toward the Heroes (within acceptable levels). I can't imagine what would happen with a scenario that already favored the Heroes. 🙂 

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  • 3 weeks later...

@Ken

 

I ran through The Streets of Khemi tonight. (I used 2 crowns, because I read your post in the other forum after I played it.)

 

I gave the crowns to Conan and Hadrathus.

 

All in all, I think it played well. Overlord won by killing all the Heroes. A lot depends on how soon that Sorcerer Scepter is found. Makes things easier for the Heroes. But it was too late.

 

I also used Atali. Which totally messes with Conan's strategy. In a good way.

 

Ultimately the Heroes couldn't get any traction and were overwhelmed by reenforcements.

 

To me all of the special rules seemed to click. Mind Possession event was brutal, not so much that a Hero caused a ton of damage, but that it used up his gems

 

I think it's a good, challenging ending for both sides.

 

Hopefully I can run it once more, this weekend.

Edited by drmauric
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Here is a prototype PDF of the rules and scenarios in one master document. Keep in mind that, although the scenarios have been play-tested as standalone scenarios, they have not been play-tested with the overarching campaign rules yet.

 

Download the prototype campaign: 

 

Whispers-from-Stygia-Cover.thumb.jpg.4ece08f9cbf217ccc14658101d274a7a.jpg  WhispersFromStygiaPrologue.thumb.jpg.dca00e40cf13a47d1d6e3f8559cd626d.jpg

Edited by Ken
Deleted PDF for version control.
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@Ken

I played The Streets of Khemi with 1 Crown (gave it to Hadrathus) and no Atali.

 

Again the sceanrio flowed great. The special rules all clicked and it had enough drama to make for a great conclusion to the campaign.

 

Overlord won. Initially I thought the OL was done for. Hadrathus found the Sorcerer Scepter on turn 2. But his player never was able to capitalize on his fortune and made a critical mistake and was killed by the Dark Demon shortly after. And while the Heroes were eventually able to kill both demons it was too late, the sorcerer's united and it was over.

 

I feel that the Sorcerer's Stack in particular works very well. Mind control is brutal but survivable for the Heroes.

 

Again, well done.

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So I introduced the campaign to my monthly gaming group, but we only made it through the first two scenarios.  I played the OL in both scenarios.

 

Campaign play:

They were unimpressed with the bonus gem idea and didn't bother. They were very unhappy about equipment changes between scenarios. After I explained that it was a loose campaign, but ultimately they were unique scenarios written by different people they were OK with it - except for not being able to carry the spellbook to scenario 2. That really bothered them. 

 

Scenario 1 – The Time for Flight is Nigh

This scenario was thematic, fast-paced, and fun. The Evil Hound was disruptive in the first few rounds, but the heroes quickly outpaced it due to its movement cap. The slowest hero is normally Hadrathus, but with teleportation he became the fastest. The constant flow of assassins allowed me to keep the pressure on. They died almost as quickly as they spawned, but they were able to get a few hits in and were a dangerous enough threat that they couldn't be ignored. The Honor Guards did their duty as speed bumps. The Tower Guards were next to useless, and I was glad when the last unit died so I could remove its tile from the river. (Maybe it is just me, but I never understood the concept of giving squishy, easily killed units Block.) 

 

The scenario had a climactic finish with the heroes barely winning. Ikhmet ended up giving Hadrathus the explosive orb, who used it in his own zone to kill the final Honor Guard and Shaung Mian (as well as wounding himself). Barely alive, he used his last gem in the last round to teleport away and escape. 

 

Issues: 

1. "Small stairs" - Looking at the map, it seems to me there are 3 sizes of stairs on levels 1,2,&3: small, medium, and large. My group disagreed, saying there were only 2 size stairs (large and small) and therefore wanted to apply the 2 model limit to all but the biggest. Perhaps the stairs could be specifically marked to avoid confusion/disagreement?

 

2. Map issue 1 - This is not related to the scenario, but we had trouble matching staircases between levels. Sometimes we would place out units on the "up" rather than the "down" (or vice versa). When we realized our mistake, we had to backtrack our actions to get them on the right spot. Nothing to change on the scenario, just a map observation.

 

3. Map issue 2 - This is not related to the scenario, but the bonus map (levels 0 and 4) is not aligned the same way digitally as it is in printed form. This complicated the original setup. Again, nothing to change on the scenario, just a map observation.

 

 

Scenario 2 – Fight or Flight

Since there is no timer or immediate pressure on the heroes, they began by resting. As overlord, I activated units so I could get the dark demon on the board, but there was nothing to actually do but try to recruit the pirates. The heroes then proceeded to head as a group to the temple, kill all the guards, and retrieve the medallion. By the time the dark demon appeared, most of the heroes were already on their way to the boats. I decided to attack the straggler (Ikhmet) with a double activation from the dark demon - especially because he was the one carrying the medallion. I managed to deplete his entire reserve of gems, but not get any damage through.

 

At this point, the other heroes began systematically killing all the minions on the board - and the dark demon was too far away to impact anything. Realizing the game was lost for the overlord, instead of finishing the scenario we agreed to undo the dark demon's attack on Ikhmet and instead move to the center of the board for better positioning. I was able to lock down Yogah and Hadrathus this way, but then Ikhmet and Shentu proceeded to systematically kill all of the overlord's minions. The Dark Demon could not damage Hadrathus (he rolls an average of 6 hits, but  Hadrathus blocks 2 with Mitra's Halo and has enough gems to defend against the rest)  so I attacked Yogah. I managed to hurt Yogah, but Hadrathus healed him the next turn.  With so many minion tiles in the river, and no ability to call reinforcements, it was difficult to put pressure on the heroes. Eventually I was able to dredge the river enough to activate the dark demon twice every other round, but Yogah was in full passive mode with total defense with Hadrathus healing. I could have moved the demon to attack Ikhmet or Shentu, but that would have freed up Yogah and Hadrathus. 

 

When all the minions were gone and only the dark demon remained, the heroes found the merchant. Shentu ended his turn to flip the merchant token, and then Ikhment picked it up and left the board. Looking back, I am not sure if the merchant rule is for the hero (singular) to end their turn or all the heroes (plural) to end their turn before flipping the token. If the later, the overlord should have had one more turn, but I am not sure it would have made a difference. We discussed the game afterwards and could not figure out what I should have done differently to win. I could have moved the dark demon to the exit point, but with teleportation that would not have helped anyway.

 

Did we play this wrong, or is there an OL strategy I missed?

 

Question: 

Can we change the text for the medallion to reduce the demon's guard "by 1" rather than "to 2"? This could lead to confusion in later scenarios determining the order of applying bonuses.

"The Medallion of Zhangpau : The Medallion is in the space marked with the number 1. It can be removed from its holder with a complex manipulation with a difficult of 4. If the Dark Demon is in the same area as the Medallion, its Guard is reduced by 1."

 

 

Edited by Ken
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Thanks @Ken that was exactly what I needed fresh eyes for. I will look at the Stairs issue and see what I can do to make it easier to understand.  

 

Due to the nature of the scenario I felt it necessary to define the stairs because there are no official specifications for them. (I mean, technically Yogah and the Dark Demon shouldn't be allowed in the Stairs spaces if you go with the Occupied Space rules as written.)

 

Bummer about the Bonus gems. But I can understand their viewpoint. Maybe that needs to go back to the drawing board... I think the challenge is how to make it appealing, but balanced, so one side doesn't run away with the campaign...

 

Could you elaborate on what exactly they didn't like about the Spellbook?

 

Definitely thanks to you and your group! 🙂

Edited by drmauric
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7 minutes ago, drmauric said:

Bummer about the Bonus gems. But I can understand their viewpoint. Maybe that needs to go back to the drawing board... I think the challenge is how to make it appealing, but balanced, so one side doesn't run away with the campaign...🙂

 

I don't think we should make any changes to the gems based on one group's feedback, but if more people feel that way then we should consider revising. 

 

10 minutes ago, drmauric said:

Could you elaborate on what exactly they didn't like about the Spellbook?

 

They did not like having to remove the spellbook from their inventory for scenario 2 - both thematically and because no one likes their cool toys being taken away. 🙂 I revised my post above to clarify this.

 

(Of course, the spellbook would be OP for the heroes in scenario 2 without significantly ramping up the OL. I have a few ideas/suggestions for doing this, but I want to make sure I didn't miss anything first.)

 

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@Ken Another question: Did your group use Teleportation to move through the floors from level to level? When I re-read my scenario I realized that I didn't specify that there shouldn't be any movement like that, due to the magic seal.  My intention was that the only way to move between floors was via the Stairs.

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