The other day, I replied to a comment by Benjamin Morley saying, basically, nice idea but now the players know that one. It may have come off as defensive or catty or something of that sort, but I didn't intend to be. I was just stating a fact.
I had a side conversation with one of my players who reads this blog and said, in short, if I +1 something, link something, or comment on something - nevermind write it on my blog - I'm assuming everyone will see it.
This is basically because my players read my blog, and the comments.
So what I do is treat all of the things on my blog as common knowledge. The things I post are widely and officially known. Rules and whatnot are proven scientific facts, and those who traffic in such skills and abilities know them like we know fire is hot.
The commentary by my readers? Tavern talk. Overhead stuff in Stericksburg or Falcon's Keep or in Swampsedge (the temporary new base, as of Sunday's game) between guards, residents, veteran adventurers, know-it-alls and know-nothings, sages, priests, etc. - it's all out there. Is it true? Maybe. Is it false? Maybe. Did a commenter nail the secret meaning behind a puzzle or a trick or trap or monster action? Perhaps. But maybe they're wildly off-base but oh-so-plausible.
Which is fine - I welcome all of the commentary. And I don't worry about its effect on my game. It is, instead, folded into the "reality" of this strange world where you can live and die raiding tunnels full of monsters for treasure.
You meet an old man in the comment section...
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly how I met my wife and got all three of my jobs!
DeleteThere are other Ravenloft type monsters like a lich that might have a or amulet that is hidden in his lair so that he may attack the PCs and have his physical form destroyed and then return to his lair to reform to attack again. He only dies when his phylactery is destroyed. And demons are perfect for this too. Maybe they escaped Hell and too their amulet which is hidden deep in the dungeon and they can attack PCs knowing they can reform using their amulet without having to return to Hell. The demons would be forced to return to Hell if the PCs destroyed their amulet. If a demonologist found the amulet then he may have an awesome servant however.
ReplyDeleteThe demons might also be able to reform in areas of strong evil like a demonic temple. Maybe this area must be cleansed of evil to stop thd demons from reforming. Or maybe an evil cleric was given some amulets of demons as servants by an evil god. That way the PCs would have to defeat the evil cleric to get the amulets to destroy them. In any case, the demons would be prowling the dungeon looking for intruders and not just waiting in room 12 for the PCs to arrive. The demons could be spies checking out what the PCs are up to and reporting to the evil cult what is going on. That way the evil cult would be prepared for the PCs.
DeleteAs far as amults go here is how I have them work in my concept. The amulet allows the demon to reform. If the demon is on the Prime Material Plane and the amulet is in Hell then when the demon is killed the demon will reform in Hell. If the demon and the amulet are on the Prime Material plane then when the demon is slain he will reform in the Prime Material plane next to the amulet. If the demon and the amulet are on the Prime Material plane and both are destroyed. The amulet will reform in Hell and then the demon will reform in Hell. If the demon and amulet are both destroyed in Hell then the demon is permanently slain.
DeleteAn Elder Thing can be a Ravenloft type monster too. A cthuloid writhing tentacaled mass could extrude daughter polyps that go an explore the dungeon for food and bring it back to the mother polyp. There may be some telepathic communication between the two so that the mother Elder Thing might be prepared for the PCs should they find her lair. The mother could also increase her production of daughter polyps onces she knows there are powerful PCs in her dungeon.
DeleteThe Elder Thing may not produce children but instead create holes in space-time to extrude tentacles, pseudopods and mouths to attack the PCs in other places in the dungeon while residing safely in its lair. Or it may extrude an a tri-lobed eye from and eye stalk to observe the PCs in various parts of the dungeon or just to be creepy.
DeleteAll of what I said above aside:
Delete- if you post a whole bunch of monster ideas, I'm probably going to put them on the "do not use, the players might remember these" list.
- my players know that.
It's the comments people make not realizing they've hit on something the players don't realize that have the most impact, not the shotgun suggestions.
Or to put it another way, my players are welcome to use the comments on posts as information. But I only very, very rarely take them as suggestions of things to add to my game.
DeleteI'm glad you said this, because there's one thing that I've been wondering about ever since I found your campaign write-up. That Statue of Sterrick has been sitting there like a big fat Chekov's Gun this whole time. There's something going on there, and it doesn't look like your players have paid it much attention. Somebody needs to hit that sumbitch with a stone to flesh spell. That's all I'm saying.
ReplyDeleteThey've actually examined it pretty closely. Magic scans, Earth Vision to see if it conceals a tunnel entrance, etc. - nothing. And while it's detailed, it's clearly not a Flesh to Stone victim. It's a typical heroic style statue put up by Baron Sterick the Red in one of his typical self-centered flourishes.
DeleteIt does have some campaign connection, and it matters, but they have done some legwork on it and it doesn't seem to be a special item per se.
It's a Gundam!
ReplyDeleteSlightly more seriously, if you actually use stone to flesh, you haven't seen enough trolls and black puddings set up to exploit that mistake. Stick the puddings in a mold before petrification, and carve down the trolls after. For extra fun, stone dust that turns back into green slime.
If comments on your blog are "tavern talk", then I want to be the Clifford Claven of Stericksburg!
ReplyDeleteLittle Known Fact: Swampsedge is not 'Swamps Edge' but 'Swamp Sedge', named for the annoying grassy-sticky-palmettoish plant that grows -everywhere- nearby.
ReplyDeleteOr so I hope.