Running my next session at a local Con

[warlock1971]

Hey Guys - this weekend (Saturday) I am running the first module of the Spider Gods Bride, the Necromancer's Knife, at our annual Dragonfire Con here in Cape Town. It is hosted by one of our Universities and I am hoping it is a success. I am using the edited book (Darren did a wonderful job), so not the original.

Any of you run the mod and experience any unexpected issues? I'd like to be as prepared as possible as I will only be taking the bare minimum along with me.

I have read through the module a number of times and have everything printed out in readiness and will be catering to 4 or 5 PCs.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Prime_Evil]

The main thing is to carefully watch the number of combat actions that the PCs get in comparison to their opponents. Some of the incidental combat encounters in the adventure are surprisingly lethal in comparison with the same battles in the d20 version.

For example, an encounter with 1d4+1 ghouls at the Shrine of the Keepers may turn into a TPK it a demoralizing howl causes a couple of the adventurers to flee before combat begins. All it takes then is for one of the remaining PCs to succumb to the paralytic bite of a ghoul and the survivors are in serious trouble because the ghouls are getting almost twice as many combat actions each round as they are....

 

[The Wolf]

Yeah, you might want to adjust things - it seems that Legend maps across in odd ways from time to time and the best thing to do is prepare to change numbers on the fly.

 

[Prime_Evil]

Conversion between game systems is always an art rather than a science. Each rule system encourages a specific style of play - the d20 system encourages a cinematic style of play with characters who are larger than life while Legend / RQ 6 encourage a style of play grounded in gritty realism. Although it is possible for adventurers to perform heroic deeds in Legend, their exploits never lose touch entirely with a sense of naturalism. The scale tends to be more personal - something that ironically suits the atmosphere of the Swords and Sorcery genre better than the broad sweep of many d20 games.

 

[warlock1971]

The session ran great, even though I killed 3 out of the 4 PCs ... What can I say here ...

:lol: :twisted:

 

[strega]

Now if I'm following this thread correctly you ran a game at a local game convention and killed three of four players?

Is this really a good advert for Legend and D100 based games for new players?
What did the three players do for the rest of the game session?

Con scenarios usually need to be structured so that they introduce game systems in play rather than have you, as GM, do an infodump at the start. Teach by showing rather than telling.

The Con scenario should show off the different aspects of the game system, what is great about it and why the players who may never have played the game system before should want to play again.

I usually run a con scenario by checking if players know the system. If they do I get started if they don't I cover basics. "The skills are a percentage chance of succeeding when the task is more than a simple application of the skill i.e. you are hurried or otherwise stressed. You roll the percentile dice and score under your skill number, generally as high as you can under you skill score. However rolling very low is a critical and very high is a fumble".

I usually start the actual game with a set piece social interaction so they see how the die rolls work. I often do a small/simple combat in the first hour of a three or four hour session to show how combat works and then have some show piece sections where the skills system displays it's possibilities. At the end (about the last thirty to forty minutes) I have the final combat with the big bad and do a wrap up. I never kill anyone before the final fight even if they do stupid stuff but do suggest that in a 'proper' game that would have got the character killed but as I didn't want to spoil their fun I let it slide.

 

[warlock1971]

The players were all members of my local group and they had a terrible run of luck so it happened.

 

[Prime_Evil]

Don't worry - everyone has game sessions like that sometimes! Incidentally, if you want to reduce the lethality of the combat system a bit for Swords and Sorcery play, consider handing out a few extra Hero Points.

 

[warlock1971]

Don't worry - everyone has game sessions like that sometimes! Incidentally, if you want to reduce the lethality of the combat system a bit for Swords and Sorcery play, consider handing out a few extra Hero Points.

I should've, but instead I handed out extra skill points ... ah well, we had a lot of fun anyway.

 

[Prime_Evil]

And that's the important thing