Further Notes on Session 174, Felltower 124

Some more notes on Sunday's game session.

- I'm really frustrated with my current battlemap. No matter what I do, all PC tokens can see everything within 360 degrees not blocked by line of sight, even if their light source can't reach it. And even if I turn off Fog of War Exploration, which keeps stuff they explored showing but dimly lit. It's literally showing everything they could see if they had unlimited sight, not what they can actually see with their light sources. I figured there was a mild chance they'd attack the golden swordsmen on the spot. Not a big chance, because with Crogar and Ulf down they didn't have great odds. Plus Mild Bruce takes Sense of Duty pretty seriously and expansively. But I thought it might happen. I've tried resetting Fog of War, turning on and off lighting settings, and more. Nothing works. It's maddening. They can't see into the hallway they entered from anymore, but can see all the way to the far walls. I've got to figure it out but it sucks that I have to spend the time on that.

I'm open to ideas.

- I'll share that trap that almost snagged Gerry, because the mechanism is pretty obvious to the players. Plus when I announced the second roll, Gerry's player laughed.

The walls had a bunch of Elder Tongue writing on them. Any comprehension level is sufficient to read them. The reader must make an Occultism roll; the margin of success is then applied as a penalty to a second roll - Will. Failure on the Will roll means you're stuck reading the runes for hours equal to the margin of failure. After that time, roll against Will at the same penalty. Success breaks the effect.

It's kind of an Evil GM move, penalizing a success. But the concept doesn't work on a failed roll. You end up trapping idiots with just enough literacy in the language. This is aimed at high-Will high-IQ educated types. And thus the more they know, the more likely they are to fall for the trap and get stuck in it. You could always say a critical success shows you there is NO meaning and never will be. A critical failure, conversly, convinces you that you there is deep meaning, and your Will roll is at -10. Play around with it as you will.

- As the PCs left the mindwarper area in the tow of the golden swordsmen, I thought a few things might happen.

I thought there was a high chance of them trying to nudge the golden swordsmen in a different direction to see what happens.

I thought there was a medium chance of them trying to provoke a fight with the golden swordsmen or push them into another fight with . . . something . . . and then taking advantage of the chaos to attack.

I thought there was a similar chance of them just trying to run for it.

I figured there was a small chance they'd attack the golden swordsmen on the spot. Not a big chance, because with Crogar and Ulf down they didn't have great odds. Plus Mild Bruce takes Sense of Duty pretty seriously and expansively. But I thought it might happen. It might have been the best option, but again, casualties and disadvantages tell.

I didn't really think they'd go back. They did.

I'm not sure if they felt like they had to or were compelled to. At no time did I say so. I was also a little curious that they didn't take advantage of their opportunity to get seperation from the golden swordsmen to think about what they wanted to do next. Admittedly they are lost in the dungeon, so that might have been a big factor . . . and maybe they gamed this all out by email and text or Discord and I missed it (I ask not to be included in such . . . it drags on my time and tends to end up being questions to me about what-ifs.) But we'll see. Now they're back with the Masters and on a new mission. We'll see how that goes and what happens from there. It might be that they prefer the fixed nature of working for an eventual promised reward. But with PCs, you can never tell. I'll have to get ready for anything and everything, which with a VTT is a hell of a lot of work.

- I admire the people who put weird monsters with weird effects into VTTs. I can't even. I put in their HP and then try to backhand in a damage mode that matches theirs and then see if I can attach a skill. I haven't a clue how to do maledictions and such . . . just no idea at all.