Asked to Luanch a DW game!

[Sir Brad]

A friend of mine has asked me to Launch his DW game, Back in the Day he was my DW GM and I kind of inherited most of his (falling apart) 1st ed DW Library, along with my own and an other I've bean able to put together one and a bit full sets (Less Book 5), anyway he had the Intro PDF from when the game came out as 2nd ed but hasn't done anything but say "perhaps I should start playing again" anyway last nigh around bed time he showed up at my place (luckily I wasn't working and couldn't get to sleep anyway) and talked me in to launching his 2nd ed DW game for him (as he'd heard I was already running two and preparing for a third of my own) wile he waits on his order of the Complete set (to date) he has paid for from a mail order place down south.

Anyway If I go froward with this it will be him (he wants to play for a bit to get a handle on the game again before he starts GMing again) and two others that are solid, also I've bean offered a place at the table when he takes over (his main selling point as I'm looking to be a Player again). I should have time since Work is letting up, but my other games may take priority since I've already made a commitment to them as much as I'd like to be just a player for a change.

 

[Niki]

Looks like you are a very busy (and requested) GM!
That's good, it's always good to rp!
Well, I want to introduce myself. I'm from Italy and I'm new to DW. I was used to play RuneQuest and AD&D, but I am very intrigued by the 2nd edition of DW. When this game was published the first time I couldn't speak english good enough to understand it. But now I can, and I would like to play.
I'm going to order the books in a shop here in Rome. I think to buy the mainbook, the Bestiary and Sleeping Gods. Do you think it's a good choice?
Well, I read all the stuff online, as well as the introductory stuff. I would just make friendship with other DW players and GMs to exchange opinions, ideas and so on.
Ah, I was forgetting to say that' I'm used to be a GM.

Well...nice to meet you, Sir Brad!

 

[Sir Brad]

Well the Core Book and Bestiary are both Must Haves but you can get away with just the main book. Sleeping Gods is an excellent place to start a Campaign with the first three adventures (the 3rd adventure "Hunters Moon" recommends the players be 3rd rank but smart 2nd rank characters can get buy), the rest of the book also has good adventures that can be slotted in to the campaign when the characters reach the recommend ranks.

"King Under the Forrest" the first adventure in Sleeping gods is available for free download in the DW Samplers section of the Mongoose and Magnum Opus Press web sights so you can get away with holding off buying anything but the Core Book for the first few sessions if your tight for Cash. If you want to run a few of the Sleeping Gods Adventures before you start writing your own you can leave off getting the Bestiary, but it is a book I highly recommend getting as soon as practical.


if you want a tip on constructing a campaign using pre written adventures as your base when every one gets together to make their characters do the Intro from "Darkness before the Dawn" (the adventure in the Core Book) put them through "Under the Rocks" as an encounter (good way to show them how Evasion and Combat works) on the way to the first adventure, so even if time is tight they will get a taste of the game if they don't get to play through "Darkness before the Dawn" in their first session. provided the group isn't too big once they work their way through "Under the Rocks", "Darkness before the Dawn" and "King Under the Forrest" they should have reached 2nd Rank or be close enough to it.

 

[Niki]

Thanks for your reply!!!

Usually I prefer to write my own adventures. To tell the truth, I've a whole world where to play, created in more than 20 years of gamemastering (and also thanks to my players, of course!).
BTW, I would like to get Sleeping Gods also to check Legend World (all says SO GOOD about this setting).

Where do you settled your adventures? Reading your posts it looks like if you enjoy Legend too, right?

I am strongly impressed by the simple "old school" system of DW. It looks much more better than AD&D and much more "nimble" than RQ.
I can't wait to get the books...

My plan is: to study it, to translate some important parts of it for my players and to start with some simple adventures. Then, in time, I would like to write some adventures settled in my world with DW rules. I am sure it would ROCKS!

Ok, thanks again! I'll look for your advices and support again, if you don't mind!

 

[Sir Brad]

At the moment I have a game that is on a brake (for a few Months now) and another I've just started, Both are currently in the lands of Barron Aldred in the Kingdom of Albion on the Island of Ellesland (The Default setting from the Classic game and Sleeping Gods), the New campaign so far has bean Canon adventures mostly because I don't have the time to Wright anything of my own of any substance. the game on brake is a mix of Canon Adventures and ones I've written myself, unfortunately the group that's on brake blabbed most of my own adventures when one of the players from the new group mentioned they where playing, but I was able to shut them up before they ruined the rest of Sleeping Gods and my later home brew adventures.

Most of the Canon DW adventures from back in the Day where very good, and those I have the Re-Wrights of are all Top Shelf as are the New Adventures like "Darkness before the Dawn" and "A Weak Pleasure", I await my copy of "the Elven Crystals" and the release "Prince of Darkness"

 

[Niki]

Great!
Thanks for the infos about your campaings and adventures.
The shop in Rome where I usually buy RPGs don't have any copy of DW: the shopkeeper have to order it (and it would be more expensive than to buy it from Mongoose). So, I think I'll order the books directly on Mongoose. Do you have any experience with them? Hope they will not let me wait for months before I can get the books.

I am currently playing as a player. I GMastered 'till last June and now I'm taking a break (I was GMastering RuneQuest - a quite heavy job)... When I'll have read DW I'll arrange my new GM's session. ^^b

 

[Sir Brad]

You will find the Published Adventures especially the first few are very good at teaching both the GM and Players how the game works.

Example "Under the Rocks" teaches Melee Combat (players ganging up on a stronger opponent) and Evasion checks, "Darkness before the Dawn" teaches more equal Melee Combat, fighting Lesser opponents that will gang up on you, Climbing, Evasion Checks and how to fight stronger opponents, their is an opportunity to teach/learn Ranged Combat and Budgeting HP & MP and so on. And Finally "King Under the Forrest" is a well thought out multy-faceted adventure that although can be faced and completed by just Warrior types is better faced by a more well rounded group and teaches Party Balance.

Strangely enough I GM'ed tonight and ran three short Adventures "Under the Rocks", "Old Box of Bones" (a classic adventure that Dave Morris wrote for White Dwarf in 1985, back when it was more than just GW stuff) and "Darkness before the Dawn". In all Three the Character being run by the games future GM died with alarming ease.

In "Under the Rocks" he was playing an elementalist who failed his Evasion check and was grabbed by the Ogre and had his head beaten against the rocks before the players could force him to be let go only to be dropped on his head and was last seen floating down the River face down.

In "Old Box of Bones" he was playing a Knight who after being Stabbed a few times had the Dragon Breath spell cast upon him (he again failed the Evasion Check) caught Fire and ran screaming in to some stonework before falling down dead (technically the Spell killed him but I was bean dramatic).

In "Darkness before the Dawn" he wile climbing a Cliff was hit by falling Boulders, failed his Climb check and in the wet slid off the Cliff to take more damage, he in a later scene was Savaged by a Monster and died.

The other two players have had a very good run of luck, and as they are the only survivors are Making out like Bandits (as the saying goes) when it comes to XP.

They want to play again next Friday night, but I have Gen Con OZ on next weekend.

 

[Niki]

Thank you for the description of the "death" events in the adventures you played last night... I'm sorry for your friend, he looks quite unfortunate.
I know there's a lot of free stuff on the web, and probably I'll use some of it and let my players try "UNDER THE ROCKS" before to get the books from Mongoose.

DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN is directly connected to THE KING UNDER THE FOREST, right? In that case I want to keep "THE KING" for a later game, when I'll get the Corebook and the other stuff.

What can you tell me about "OLD BOX OF BONES"? I know it's an old adventure and that it can't be bought anymore, but I am just curious about 'classic' adventures (they are the best, usually).

Thanks again for your kindness!

 

[Sir Brad]

not realy, their are two Intros to King Under the Forrest, one is the original 1st Ed opening where the other is the one that ties in to Darkness Before the Dawn.

the Original opening can be used as a Stand Alone or Campaign starting point or with a little fudging to tie it in to any other campaign, where the other uses Darkness Before the Dawn as a "Sleeping Gods" campaign Intro. I personally wouldn't use King Under the Forrest for Characters above 2nd Rank unless the Characters where short on Magic Items and had low stats as the few big monsters fall to quickly to Group attacks and their are not enough Group on Group Battle Scenes.

Box of Old Bones is a "Political" Adventure where the PC's and some NPC's stumble on to a Plot and Counter Plot involving some Monks, they should never know what's really going on, basically one Monks have the Bones of a Saint, and other Monks sends some folks to steal them, but the first group of monks find out and swaps them and puts the Saints bones in to hiding, the Night the theft is going down the PC's are staying in the Monstrosity and catch the Robbers in the act, Chaos ensues, and as I said the Players should never know what the hell is going on. one of the guys on these boards was nice enough to send me a copy of the adventure.