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When we last left the party they had killed a necromancer, killed him again when he turned into a lich, and turned down his offer of help after Mwandishi found a skull that could let corpses talk. After that they broke into the slave's quarters and defeated an ambush laid for them there. Once the slaves were freed and armed with the weapons of the dead diamond dogs the party split in half. One half created a distraction and the other half freed the remained slaves and slaughtered everything not on four legs. Candy Cane also summoned the evil version of herself from and alternate universe, but the party was able to kill her.
The party is currently with the slaves on the cavern floor. Most of the slaves are too exhausted or wounded to fight any more, and the ones that aren't are carrying the ones that are to wounded to move.
PLAY RESUMES
The party is currently with the slaves on the cavern floor. Most of the slaves are too exhausted or wounded to fight any more, and the ones that aren't are carrying the ones that are to wounded to move.
PLAY RESUMES
>>46192
There are 11 earth ponies and nine donkeys. There are 2 earth ponies that are still well enough to fight, but they are carrying slaves that are heavily wounded. The others are either so tired that they can hardly hold their weapons, so wounded that a few good hits would kill them, or both.
There are 11 earth ponies and nine donkeys. There are 2 earth ponies that are still well enough to fight, but they are carrying slaves that are heavily wounded. The others are either so tired that they can hardly hold their weapons, so wounded that a few good hits would kill them, or both.
>>46205
The wing that got wounded earlier refuses to open as you jump off the platform. After what feels like a lifetime of freefalling you manage to open your wing and glide down to the ground. It may be wise to find some way to work the muscles in your wing before trying something like that again.
The wing that got wounded earlier refuses to open as you jump off the platform. After what feels like a lifetime of freefalling you manage to open your wing and glide down to the ground. It may be wise to find some way to work the muscles in your wing before trying something like that again.
>>46206
Didn't see this post.
The slaves form up into a somewhat ordered mob, keeping the most heavily wounded in the center, and follow you.
>>46208
You jump into the air and fall flat on your face. Your mouth is now full of dirt and gems.
>>46209
Strawberry gives you a wry smile.
"I hope you're not asking me to play with your wing. Just stretch it out on your own."
Didn't see this post.
The slaves form up into a somewhat ordered mob, keeping the most heavily wounded in the center, and follow you.
>>46208
You jump into the air and fall flat on your face. Your mouth is now full of dirt and gems.
>>46209
Strawberry gives you a wry smile.
"I hope you're not asking me to play with your wing. Just stretch it out on your own."
>>46211
You manage to get a bit of the dirt out, but most of it is still there. At least you have a very shiny smile now.
>>46213
She frowns.
"Stop that. My eyes are on my face, not behind my tail."
She slows her pace until she is at the very back of the group and no longer in front of you.
>>46212
You collect the rest of the part and Shortcake. She goes to be with her sister at the back of the group.
You manage to get a bit of the dirt out, but most of it is still there. At least you have a very shiny smile now.
>>46213
She frowns.
"Stop that. My eyes are on my face, not behind my tail."
She slows her pace until she is at the very back of the group and no longer in front of you.
>>46212
You collect the rest of the part and Shortcake. She goes to be with her sister at the back of the group.
>>46220
You stretch out your wing while talking. The muscles scream in protest at first, but soon you are able to work the stiffness out of them. You no longer need to roll to do simple flying, but more complex areal maneuvers may require rolls.
Sstrawberry sighs.
"Just forget it. We're all under pressure here."
"Forget what?"
"Nothing, Shortcake."
"Aww come on sis, tell me."
Strawberry leans over and whispers in her sister's ear. Shortcake's eyes go wide.'
"She what? Ever since the three of you got here!? She was looking WHERE!?"
Shortcake starts laughing so hard that she stops walking. Strawberry grumbles and massages the side of her head with a hoof.
>>46221
You killed them and hid their bodies in little side tunnels.
You stretch out your wing while talking. The muscles scream in protest at first, but soon you are able to work the stiffness out of them. You no longer need to roll to do simple flying, but more complex areal maneuvers may require rolls.
Sstrawberry sighs.
"Just forget it. We're all under pressure here."
"Forget what?"
"Nothing, Shortcake."
"Aww come on sis, tell me."
Strawberry leans over and whispers in her sister's ear. Shortcake's eyes go wide.'
"She what? Ever since the three of you got here!? She was looking WHERE!?"
Shortcake starts laughing so hard that she stops walking. Strawberry grumbles and massages the side of her head with a hoof.
>>46221
You killed them and hid their bodies in little side tunnels.
The party and rescued slaves move quickly through the deserted tunnel. After stopping a few times so that Strawberry could check on the more heavily wounded slaves the party reaches the tunnel intersection. All the dead diamond dogs that were here have been cleared away, as well as any weapons and armor they had. To the left is the tunnel leading to the main cavern. Straight ahead is a poorly lit tunnel leading to the maze of smaller tunnels. Despite the length of tunnel separating the party from the main cavern a commotion can be heard coming down the left tunnel.
>>46229
>>46230
You walk softly down the tunnel and avoid the pools of light casts by the torches on the walls. After a few minutes you reach the end and can see into the main cavern. There is a large group of dogs, you estimate at least three dozen but there could be more, in a large group in the center of the cavern. Their attention is all focused inwards and the sounds of fierce fighting can be heard from within the ring. Every so often a few of the dogs will leave for other parts of the cavern or leave the cavern entirely, but they are always replaced by others coming out of the various tunnels leading into the cavern.
>>46230
You walk softly down the tunnel and avoid the pools of light casts by the torches on the walls. After a few minutes you reach the end and can see into the main cavern. There is a large group of dogs, you estimate at least three dozen but there could be more, in a large group in the center of the cavern. Their attention is all focused inwards and the sounds of fierce fighting can be heard from within the ring. Every so often a few of the dogs will leave for other parts of the cavern or leave the cavern entirely, but they are always replaced by others coming out of the various tunnels leading into the cavern.
>>46233
Okay, I go back to Melody and the rest of the party.
"There are dozens of dogs back in the main cavern. But I remember that the tunnels to the right lead us back to caverns we saw when we first entered this place. Maybe we can take that route back to the surface…
"Of course, we'll be abandoning all the treasure in the alpha's lair. But there's no way we can get everyone back through the main tunnel."
Okay, I go back to Melody and the rest of the party.
"There are dozens of dogs back in the main cavern. But I remember that the tunnels to the right lead us back to caverns we saw when we first entered this place. Maybe we can take that route back to the surface…
"Of course, we'll be abandoning all the treasure in the alpha's lair. But there's no way we can get everyone back through the main tunnel."
>>46244
Even after spending hours in the tunnels before they are still very confusing. After many twists and turn, and even almost ending up in the mane cavern once, you lead the party back to the pile of diseased corpses. Strawberry holds the group of slaves back while the ponies gasp and the donkeys make signs of respect for the dead. The smell is still unbearable and flies buzz around the bodies.
Even after spending hours in the tunnels before they are still very confusing. After many twists and turn, and even almost ending up in the mane cavern once, you lead the party back to the pile of diseased corpses. Strawberry holds the group of slaves back while the ponies gasp and the donkeys make signs of respect for the dead. The smell is still unbearable and flies buzz around the bodies.
>>46253
>>46254
The party leaves the grim scene behind and Strawberry pays each of them and every slave a visit, her horn glowing as she cleanness them of any possible infection. Mawndishi finds his way much more easily this time and leads everyone to another intersection after not even half an hour of walking. To the right is the exit and freedom, to the left is a wooden door and an unexplored room.
>>46254
The party leaves the grim scene behind and Strawberry pays each of them and every slave a visit, her horn glowing as she cleanness them of any possible infection. Mawndishi finds his way much more easily this time and leads everyone to another intersection after not even half an hour of walking. To the right is the exit and freedom, to the left is a wooden door and an unexplored room.
>>46282
You correct your mistake and find a darker shadow to hide in.
>>46285
The door swings open silently. From the doorway you can see several crudely made beds as well as alcoves dug into the walls that look big enough to hold a single diamond dog each. The conversation is louder now that the door is out of the way. You can't see any diamond dogs or other doors from this angle.
You correct your mistake and find a darker shadow to hide in.
>>46285
The door swings open silently. From the doorway you can see several crudely made beds as well as alcoves dug into the walls that look big enough to hold a single diamond dog each. The conversation is louder now that the door is out of the way. You can't see any diamond dogs or other doors from this angle.
>>46298
"…of course I'm not going to try. Have you seen the size of the dogs I'd be fighting against? I'd be killed ins-URK!"
His eyes go wide as your knife pierces his spinal column. The other dogs jump back as he slumps over, looks of horror turning to looks of rage as they see you behind him with a bloody knife. The leap to their feet, each one grabbing nearby weapons.
Roll for initiative.
Rolled 6 = 6
"…of course I'm not going to try. Have you seen the size of the dogs I'd be fighting against? I'd be killed ins-URK!"
His eyes go wide as your knife pierces his spinal column. The other dogs jump back as he slumps over, looks of horror turning to looks of rage as they see you behind him with a bloody knife. The leap to their feet, each one grabbing nearby weapons.
Roll for initiative.
Rolled 6 = 6
>>46302
The Diamond Dogs are visibly startled as you disappear without even seeming to move. One of them shouts.
"Wake up you mutts! One of those ponies is here!"
you get +1 to your next action
>>46303
As you run into the room you see a Dig Dog crawl out of a hole in the wall. Thinking quickly you pick up a crudely made mace that was lying on the ground. It snaps in half as you smash his paw with t. He howls in pain and grabs his paw then starts hopping around like a fool.
The Diamond Dogs are visibly startled as you disappear without even seeming to move. One of them shouts.
"Wake up you mutts! One of those ponies is here!"
you get +1 to your next action
>>46303
As you run into the room you see a Dig Dog crawl out of a hole in the wall. Thinking quickly you pick up a crudely made mace that was lying on the ground. It snaps in half as you smash his paw with t. He howls in pain and grabs his paw then starts hopping around like a fool.
>>46311
You sneak around behind the startled group of Diamond Dogs and are about to stab one in the back when your skill at hiding backfires. You were hidden so well that a Dig Dog didn't even see you as he came to investigate the noise and stepped on you. You didn't feel anything break, but he knows you're there now.
>>46312
You push the top-heavy Dig Dog over and jump up onto his chest before pulling out your mandolin. The ghostly instrument makes quick work of the crippled dog as he is unable to defend himself against it.
You sneak around behind the startled group of Diamond Dogs and are about to stab one in the back when your skill at hiding backfires. You were hidden so well that a Dig Dog didn't even see you as he came to investigate the noise and stepped on you. You didn't feel anything break, but he knows you're there now.
>>46312
You push the top-heavy Dig Dog over and jump up onto his chest before pulling out your mandolin. The ghostly instrument makes quick work of the crippled dog as he is unable to defend himself against it.
>>46321
While he's still trying to defend himself from Melody Maker you jump onto his back from the shadows and plant your knife deep in his neck. A jet of blood shoots out as you pull your knife free and he goes limp and collapses.
>>46323
He runs from you and throws cloths, blankets, pillows, bits of armor, and anything else he can get his paws on over his shoulder to deter you. It works, but he bumps into some things pretty hard while running.
The other Diamond Dogs burrow into the walls and ground.
While he's still trying to defend himself from Melody Maker you jump onto his back from the shadows and plant your knife deep in his neck. A jet of blood shoots out as you pull your knife free and he goes limp and collapses.
>>46323
He runs from you and throws cloths, blankets, pillows, bits of armor, and anything else he can get his paws on over his shoulder to deter you. It works, but he bumps into some things pretty hard while running.
The other Diamond Dogs burrow into the walls and ground.
>>46334
A Diamond Dog pops up where you were standing moments ago. He has just enough time to look at his empty paws before you stick your knife through his skull. He body slides back into the tunnel as you pull your knife out.
>>46339
The Diamond Dog starts burrowing into the ground as you catch up to him. You don't have room t swing your mandolin in the small amount of tunnel he has already managed to dig so you just stab at him as if it were a spear. He doesn't seem to react to your attack, but you must have been causing him a lot of pain because he miscalculates and brings part of the tunnel down on top of himself. You just barely escape the tunnel as it collapses, but look damn cool doing so.
Another pair of Diamond Dogs get ready to attack from underground.
Rolled 8 = 8
A Diamond Dog pops up where you were standing moments ago. He has just enough time to look at his empty paws before you stick your knife through his skull. He body slides back into the tunnel as you pull your knife out.
>>46339
The Diamond Dog starts burrowing into the ground as you catch up to him. You don't have room t swing your mandolin in the small amount of tunnel he has already managed to dig so you just stab at him as if it were a spear. He doesn't seem to react to your attack, but you must have been causing him a lot of pain because he miscalculates and brings part of the tunnel down on top of himself. You just barely escape the tunnel as it collapses, but look damn cool doing so.
Another pair of Diamond Dogs get ready to attack from underground.
Rolled 8 = 8
>>46341
You don't move fast enough and a Diamond Dog appears underneath you, but…
>>46342
You push him out of the way and stick your mandolin down into the hole. The Diamond Dog starts screaming as you move the mandolin around in a stirring motion. He stops after a few seconds, but his screams were enough to wake up a Dig Dog that had managed to stay asleep so far.
There are still some more Diamond Dogs under ground and they are still angry.
Rolled 1 = 1
You don't move fast enough and a Diamond Dog appears underneath you, but…
>>46342
You push him out of the way and stick your mandolin down into the hole. The Diamond Dog starts screaming as you move the mandolin around in a stirring motion. He stops after a few seconds, but his screams were enough to wake up a Dig Dog that had managed to stay asleep so far.
There are still some more Diamond Dogs under ground and they are still angry.
Rolled 1 = 1
>>46344
You stab the dog in the shoulder before it has a chance to grab you. It yelps then disappears back into its tunnel.
>>46346
Your time fighting the various kinds of Diamond Dogs has taught you their weak spots and you put this knowledge to use as the massive beast lumbers towards you. You jab it in the testicles, then the head, then the testicles, then its feet, the testicles, its paws, testicles again, and one last shot to the testicles. After doing all this in the space of a few seconds it collapses before its face even had time to change its expression.
There are those damn Diamond Dogs again.
Rolled 6 = 6
You stab the dog in the shoulder before it has a chance to grab you. It yelps then disappears back into its tunnel.
>>46346
Your time fighting the various kinds of Diamond Dogs has taught you their weak spots and you put this knowledge to use as the massive beast lumbers towards you. You jab it in the testicles, then the head, then the testicles, then its feet, the testicles, its paws, testicles again, and one last shot to the testicles. After doing all this in the space of a few seconds it collapses before its face even had time to change its expression.
There are those damn Diamond Dogs again.
Rolled 6 = 6
>>46366
The Diamond Dog, bloody and enraged, bursts from the ground beneath you and wraps both arms around your midsection before pulling you down into the tunnel with him. Mwandishi was faster than the dog though, and as you struggle to turn around to the cramped conditions you can see a knife sticking out of his head. The dog is dead, but you are still trapped underground. Roll higher than a six to dig your way free.
The Diamond Dog, bloody and enraged, bursts from the ground beneath you and wraps both arms around your midsection before pulling you down into the tunnel with him. Mwandishi was faster than the dog though, and as you struggle to turn around to the cramped conditions you can see a knife sticking out of his head. The dog is dead, but you are still trapped underground. Roll higher than a six to dig your way free.
>>46396
It's a sleeping area for Diamond Dogs that has been hewn out of the rock. It has everything you might expect to find in a sleeping area: beds, blankets, clothing, some weapons and armor, and various personal items. There is a metal door and a wood door aside from the one you entered through.
>>46397
No traps here.
It's a sleeping area for Diamond Dogs that has been hewn out of the rock. It has everything you might expect to find in a sleeping area: beds, blankets, clothing, some weapons and armor, and various personal items. There is a metal door and a wood door aside from the one you entered through.
>>46397
No traps here.
>>46408
It's an armory. There are wooden stands with armor made for Diamond Dogs. There is also a wide variety of weapons, but the chances of them being better than anything you found in the Alphas room are negligible.
>>46409
You open the door and don't even get any splinters. Past the door is a very dark area, and past the dark area is the main cavern. The giant ring of dogs is still there as well as the sounds of fighting.
It's an armory. There are wooden stands with armor made for Diamond Dogs. There is also a wide variety of weapons, but the chances of them being better than anything you found in the Alphas room are negligible.
>>46409
You open the door and don't even get any splinters. Past the door is a very dark area, and past the dark area is the main cavern. The giant ring of dogs is still there as well as the sounds of fighting.
>>46422
>>46425
The two of you leave the sleeping area and return to the fork, then keep walking until you get back above ground. The moon is hanging full in the sky and the stars are shining brightly down on the resting slaves. Strawberry sees the two of you emerge and runs over.
"Are you two alright? What happened?"
>>46425
The two of you leave the sleeping area and return to the fork, then keep walking until you get back above ground. The moon is hanging full in the sky and the stars are shining brightly down on the resting slaves. Strawberry sees the two of you emerge and runs over.
"Are you two alright? What happened?"
>>46449
"I'm going to take everyone we rescued back to temple of the royal sisters so the other priests and priestesses can heal them. After that I'm going to go home and take a long, hot shower, then go to bed. I suppose you and your friend are only going to be staying long enough for whatever reward the mayor has in mind?"
"I'm going to take everyone we rescued back to temple of the royal sisters so the other priests and priestesses can heal them. After that I'm going to go home and take a long, hot shower, then go to bed. I suppose you and your friend are only going to be staying long enough for whatever reward the mayor has in mind?"
The first light of day is just starting to shine over the horizon as the group arrives in town. A guard standing on a recently built watchtower spot the group and by the time you all arrive the families of the mission ponies have run out to greet them. The air is full of the sound of ponies laughing or crying as they embrace each other and both Mwandishi and Melody Maker get their fair share of hugs as well. After speaking with Strawberry the mayor pulls the two of you aside.
"Strawberry says the two of you did real well and even found a bunch of ponies down there that were from out of town. Lucky for you two that only one of them came back to town or your reward would be a whole lot smaller."
He points at the bloody bag that Mwandishi is carrying.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Strawberry says the two of you did real well and even found a bunch of ponies down there that were from out of town. Lucky for you two that only one of them came back to town or your reward would be a whole lot smaller."
He points at the bloody bag that Mwandishi is carrying.
"Is that what I think it is?"
>>46470
He opens the bag and scrunches at the smell, then closes it and sets it on his back.
"Yeah, that's him alright. Well you two saved all the ponies, and the other captives, kept any of them from dying, and killed the Alpha. In addition to the large sum of bits for rescuing them, and the items and heirlooms the families will likely want to give you, I'm prepared to make you both citizens of this town if you want."
He opens the bag and scrunches at the smell, then closes it and sets it on his back.
"Yeah, that's him alright. Well you two saved all the ponies, and the other captives, kept any of them from dying, and killed the Alpha. In addition to the large sum of bits for rescuing them, and the items and heirlooms the families will likely want to give you, I'm prepared to make you both citizens of this town if you want."
>>46485
"We're a poor town. The reward I'm already giving you cuts deep into our emergency fund. The ponies here will be glad to help the two of you build a house big enough for both of you, or two houses if that's what you want, and I can't imagine anyone charging either of you for the materials. Well, Pinchpenny might, but you rescued her son so she's going to give you both a steep discount. For as long as I'm the mayor neither of you will be taxed for even a single bit. All I ask is that neither of you cause trouble."
>>46488
"It's not much, but it's all we have."
"We're a poor town. The reward I'm already giving you cuts deep into our emergency fund. The ponies here will be glad to help the two of you build a house big enough for both of you, or two houses if that's what you want, and I can't imagine anyone charging either of you for the materials. Well, Pinchpenny might, but you rescued her son so she's going to give you both a steep discount. For as long as I'm the mayor neither of you will be taxed for even a single bit. All I ask is that neither of you cause trouble."
>>46488
"It's not much, but it's all we have."
>>46498
>>46500
"This town won't be on the edge of nowhere for long now that the diamond dogs are going to be cleared out. Once word gets out about the massive amount of gems in the nearby mountains this town is going to boom, but if that's really how you feel then you'll have to settle on a free bed at the inn and a free meal whenever you pass through."
>>46500
"This town won't be on the edge of nowhere for long now that the diamond dogs are going to be cleared out. Once word gets out about the massive amount of gems in the nearby mountains this town is going to boom, but if that's really how you feel then you'll have to settle on a free bed at the inn and a free meal whenever you pass through."
>>46518
>>46519
Strawberry sees the two of you coming, but leaves when she sees the look in Melody's eyes. Shortcake puts a hoof on Melody's chest to stop her.
"Sorry honey, but I'm afraid she just doesn't swing that way."
She moves her hoof further up.
"I do believe you deserve a reward though~."
She looks over at Mwandishi.
"Does he deserve a reward too?"
>>46519
Strawberry sees the two of you coming, but leaves when she sees the look in Melody's eyes. Shortcake puts a hoof on Melody's chest to stop her.
"Sorry honey, but I'm afraid she just doesn't swing that way."
She moves her hoof further up.
"I do believe you deserve a reward though~."
She looks over at Mwandishi.
"Does he deserve a reward too?"
>>46525
Indeed!
Though I highly doubt Melody's gonna give up pursuing Strawberry. Girl just don't know when to stop.
>>46526
Fun!
Tons of fun.
I honestly can't think of any criticism, to be honest.
For it being what it was, you managed to balance RP and combat excellently.
And you always had a nice amount of variation and flair to the combat messages. Don't quite think I ever saw you take the easy way out and say something boring and generic.
Indeed!
Though I highly doubt Melody's gonna give up pursuing Strawberry. Girl just don't know when to stop.
>>46526
Fun!
Tons of fun.
I honestly can't think of any criticism, to be honest.
For it being what it was, you managed to balance RP and combat excellently.
And you always had a nice amount of variation and flair to the combat messages. Don't quite think I ever saw you take the easy way out and say something boring and generic.
Well, I need to get to sleep, too, but I'll just go ahead and give out my notes.
I really enjoyed it. This was my first time doing an online (PnP) RPG thing (I've done a lot IRL, though), and it went swimmingly, I think. Everyone involved was willing to do a lot of roleplaying, and that was cool.
I think there's a sort of diminishing returns issue that comes with adding more people. There's an ideal number of participants in this sort of thing — enough people that there's a lot of room to interact, but not so many that everything gets bogged down — and once you pass that number things start to get cumbersome. Probably 3-4 PCs at a time is ideal, but I think that's pretty true in real life, too.
As far as the quest itself goes, I guess it could have been more "open." It felt (and there's no way of knowing, I guess, without knowing what you planned) like our only real way to solve problems was via murder, and while you told us it was going to be combat-oriented, and I enjoyed that, I think things could have been more diverse.
It was still a lot of fun, though, and your description of what was going on was key. I never got bored with that.
The system y'all use is kind of interesting. Pretty free form, and that's nice — I like things being somewhat abstracted, though I think it could use some way to simulate skill better. As it is it's just basically a 50% chance you succeed or you don't at any particular task that's not your designated specialty, which isn't terrible, but it's also a little annoying sometimes. Would adding something more detailed make it too cumbersome? Maybe, I don't know. Might be worth a try or two, though.
Would love to bring the characters back sometime. Would also love to do this again regardless of ssetting.
I really enjoyed it. This was my first time doing an online (PnP) RPG thing (I've done a lot IRL, though), and it went swimmingly, I think. Everyone involved was willing to do a lot of roleplaying, and that was cool.
I think there's a sort of diminishing returns issue that comes with adding more people. There's an ideal number of participants in this sort of thing — enough people that there's a lot of room to interact, but not so many that everything gets bogged down — and once you pass that number things start to get cumbersome. Probably 3-4 PCs at a time is ideal, but I think that's pretty true in real life, too.
As far as the quest itself goes, I guess it could have been more "open." It felt (and there's no way of knowing, I guess, without knowing what you planned) like our only real way to solve problems was via murder, and while you told us it was going to be combat-oriented, and I enjoyed that, I think things could have been more diverse.
It was still a lot of fun, though, and your description of what was going on was key. I never got bored with that.
The system y'all use is kind of interesting. Pretty free form, and that's nice — I like things being somewhat abstracted, though I think it could use some way to simulate skill better. As it is it's just basically a 50% chance you succeed or you don't at any particular task that's not your designated specialty, which isn't terrible, but it's also a little annoying sometimes. Would adding something more detailed make it too cumbersome? Maybe, I don't know. Might be worth a try or two, though.
Would love to bring the characters back sometime. Would also love to do this again regardless of ssetting.
>>46529
>As far as the quest itself goes, I guess it could have been more "open." It felt (and there's no way of knowing, I guess, without knowing what you planned) like our only real way to solve problems was via murder, and while you told us it was going to be combat-oriented, and I enjoyed that, I think things could have been more diverse.
When I first put my ideas on to paper I was just trying to make this the Pony D&D version of "go into that cave and kill all the goblins." In my future quests I'm going to add more ways to interact with the enemies than just blind slaughter. Can you give me any specifics scenarios from this quest and tell me what you would have done instead? That would be really helpful to me.
>The system y'all use is kind of interesting. Pretty free form, and that's nice — I like things being somewhat abstracted, though I think it could use some way to simulate skill better. As it is it's just basically a 50% chance you succeed or you don't at any particular task that's not your designated specialty, which isn't terrible, but it's also a little annoying sometimes. Would adding something more detailed make it too cumbersome? Maybe, I don't know. Might be worth a try or two, though.
I'll pass this on to DM.
>As far as the quest itself goes, I guess it could have been more "open." It felt (and there's no way of knowing, I guess, without knowing what you planned) like our only real way to solve problems was via murder, and while you told us it was going to be combat-oriented, and I enjoyed that, I think things could have been more diverse.
When I first put my ideas on to paper I was just trying to make this the Pony D&D version of "go into that cave and kill all the goblins." In my future quests I'm going to add more ways to interact with the enemies than just blind slaughter. Can you give me any specifics scenarios from this quest and tell me what you would have done instead? That would be really helpful to me.
>The system y'all use is kind of interesting. Pretty free form, and that's nice — I like things being somewhat abstracted, though I think it could use some way to simulate skill better. As it is it's just basically a 50% chance you succeed or you don't at any particular task that's not your designated specialty, which isn't terrible, but it's also a little annoying sometimes. Would adding something more detailed make it too cumbersome? Maybe, I don't know. Might be worth a try or two, though.
I'll pass this on to DM.
>>46534
>Can you give me any specifics scenarios from this quest and tell me what you would have done instead?
Can't speak for Mwa, but IMO aside from ridiculous dice-abuse style diplomacy or distractions, there really wasn't much else different you could've done here besides blind murder. Like you said, it was basically a Pony D&D version of dungeon diving.
>Can you give me any specifics scenarios from this quest and tell me what you would have done instead?
Can't speak for Mwa, but IMO aside from ridiculous dice-abuse style diplomacy or distractions, there really wasn't much else different you could've done here besides blind murder. Like you said, it was basically a Pony D&D version of dungeon diving.
>>46534
>the Pony D&D version of "go into that cave and kill all the goblins."
Yeah, definitely had that feel. Nothing wrong with that at all, I think.
>Can you give me any specifics scenarios from this quest and tell me what you would have done instead?
I'll give you something tomorrow. Sorry. I'm too tired to think up much right now.
>the Pony D&D version of "go into that cave and kill all the goblins."
Yeah, definitely had that feel. Nothing wrong with that at all, I think.
>Can you give me any specifics scenarios from this quest and tell me what you would have done instead?
I'll give you something tomorrow. Sorry. I'm too tired to think up much right now.
>>46539
So I've thought about it a little more, and I guess there's two things I'd have done a little differently:
1) I'd try to incorporate alternate ways to solve conflicts violently — triggering traps (like cave-ins, for example), turning the dogs against one another somehow, etc. This is tough, since you want to provide enough information to let the players think outside the box, but you don't just want to give it all away.
I think I said this before, when you said that you had expected us to try to get the guide who brought us to the lair to come with us, but I'll go ahead and say it again — a lot of that just comes down to the players thinking up this sort of thing and you running with it. I think a lot of it is just communicating to the players subtly that you are willing to let them think up alternate solutions.
But, as a concrete example, what would you have done if we had, instead of just running from the Alpha's lair, dragged his body further out into the cave, so that one of the dogs would find it? Thinking about it now, knowing what you said happened after we were finally leaving, that would have been an interesting way to get the dogs to fight one another for position.
Again, a lot of that is on us for not even really thinking about that, but I think some of it just comes down to setting up a pattern of accepting new paths and solutions.
I know that's really general, but it's hard to come up with something concrete here. The quest was very tightly constructed, so everything made sense, and it's a little difficult to think of new paths through it.
2) On a more "macro" level, I probably would have run with the question I raised early, early in the quest: Why would the dogs attack all of a sudden? The answer given, as I recall, was that the dogs started losing workers because of a plague. That works, and I really give you credit for actually providing an answer to a question that most GMs would have glossed over with "Dunno, they're evil."
This could have been the source of something deeper, however, and perhaps it could have provided a way to maybe solve the quest (more) nonviolently.
Maybe, instead of a plague, there was an issue with a monster deep in the mines, and by killing it we could convince the dogs to release the prisoners. Or maybe they needed more workers because a civil war had killed off many of the dogs, and we could somehow exploit that.
These are things that really would only matter, I think, if you had gone in a less "traditional" direction. As you said, you wanted to do what was basically a "dungeon crawl," and that succeeded marvelously.
Don't think of what I said as advice to address "problems" so much as input on how to make future games different.
>>46552
Cool. If you've ever played FUDGE, the way the game breaks down skills is really basic — superb/great/good/fair/bad/awful or something like that. Maybe something like that could work. Whatever it is, I'd keep it basic and abstract.
So I've thought about it a little more, and I guess there's two things I'd have done a little differently:
1) I'd try to incorporate alternate ways to solve conflicts violently — triggering traps (like cave-ins, for example), turning the dogs against one another somehow, etc. This is tough, since you want to provide enough information to let the players think outside the box, but you don't just want to give it all away.
I think I said this before, when you said that you had expected us to try to get the guide who brought us to the lair to come with us, but I'll go ahead and say it again — a lot of that just comes down to the players thinking up this sort of thing and you running with it. I think a lot of it is just communicating to the players subtly that you are willing to let them think up alternate solutions.
But, as a concrete example, what would you have done if we had, instead of just running from the Alpha's lair, dragged his body further out into the cave, so that one of the dogs would find it? Thinking about it now, knowing what you said happened after we were finally leaving, that would have been an interesting way to get the dogs to fight one another for position.
Again, a lot of that is on us for not even really thinking about that, but I think some of it just comes down to setting up a pattern of accepting new paths and solutions.
I know that's really general, but it's hard to come up with something concrete here. The quest was very tightly constructed, so everything made sense, and it's a little difficult to think of new paths through it.
2) On a more "macro" level, I probably would have run with the question I raised early, early in the quest: Why would the dogs attack all of a sudden? The answer given, as I recall, was that the dogs started losing workers because of a plague. That works, and I really give you credit for actually providing an answer to a question that most GMs would have glossed over with "Dunno, they're evil."
This could have been the source of something deeper, however, and perhaps it could have provided a way to maybe solve the quest (more) nonviolently.
Maybe, instead of a plague, there was an issue with a monster deep in the mines, and by killing it we could convince the dogs to release the prisoners. Or maybe they needed more workers because a civil war had killed off many of the dogs, and we could somehow exploit that.
These are things that really would only matter, I think, if you had gone in a less "traditional" direction. As you said, you wanted to do what was basically a "dungeon crawl," and that succeeded marvelously.
Don't think of what I said as advice to address "problems" so much as input on how to make future games different.
>>46552
Cool. If you've ever played FUDGE, the way the game breaks down skills is really basic — superb/great/good/fair/bad/awful or something like that. Maybe something like that could work. Whatever it is, I'd keep it basic and abstract.