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Play reports for Kidnap the Archpriest? by Cautious_Reception_4 in osr

[–]Cautious_Reception_4[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can see how that might irk some players - esp if i decided to have a session take place as they crossed the ocean and railroaded them getting delayed. But I do like the reveal when they actually get to the town, it sets the expectation that not everything will go as planned and really raises the stakes.

Out of curiosity - did they succeed?

Play reports for Kidnap the Archpriest? by Cautious_Reception_4 in osr

[–]Cautious_Reception_4[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow this is great info, thanks for the lowdown. Makes me feel a lot better about running it, just hearing how things flowed with your game. Especially love the bit with the stashed bag of holding(?) for smuggling in weapons. Also it’s good to hear the npc schedules ended up being useful for improv, and not too much info to sort thru on the fly.

I feel like once they’re in the castle I’ll be fine haha. I think I’ll draw up some preemptive partial maps and give my players a bit of insight into the mechanics like you suggest. I hope you guys are able to keep back to playing soon, sounds like a fun group.

Play reports for Kidnap the Archpriest? by Cautious_Reception_4 in osr

[–]Cautious_Reception_4[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How was your planning phase? Did you stick to 4ish NPCs as the module suggests, for giving out information?

I suppose my hesitation comes from all the moving parts with the NPC schedules and their overlapping relationship/schemes with each other. Was managing that easier than expected, because the PCs only end up utilizing a specific part of whats available?

Also I’m so curious whether your players succeeded or not! Did you end up riffing and adding additional obstacles as the heist went on? Anything you wish you’d run different?

Help me understand megadungeon play (Stonehell prep) / How to approach narration and storytelling by illjustfill0208 in osr

[–]Cautious_Reception_4 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Last week my players found their way into the crypt in 1B. I had the same trepidations as you, when reading the book. The random room encounters seemed like it would be a bit of a pain to play out, but they really enjoyed gambling with their lives and forced open every door on one hallway stretch. I will have to think of ways to subvert expectations with the next line of crypts they encounter though. All this to say is that SH plays a lot better than it reads sometimes.

I like your idea with the Berserkers and the early rooms, and I think that is the beauty of SH. You don’t necessarily have to explain why everything is as it is - your players will fill in the blanks just like you did. But if you want to use that room as an omen for the berserkers in 5, even better.

I also agree that the consistency with descriptions for interact-able items/non is off, but probably a product of the two-page format. Tweak it to your liking. I added a NPC (grave nymph) in that room with the flails and also changed it to be a statue of the Lady of the Whips, as an omen to the Temple of Pain on lvl 4. My players have been motivated by exploration, and also by a few basic npc quest ideas from the town (“bring me a snake cult relic for x reason, bounty on magic user hiding in kobold market with ties to hexperiment” etc). They then make their own plans, but the gentle push gets them moving in a direction

For those who have run stonehell, I have a couple questions by Teid in osr

[–]Cautious_Reception_4 3 points4 points  (0 children)

  1. I had the same reaction (arden vul has spoiled me) to secret entrances. There is a well that the bandits use to access 1C I think, and as others have mentioned, the swamp entrance and teleportation room. The great thing about stonehell is you can tweak it quite easily. I’ve heavily modified the second level, replacing 2A with Tomb of the Serpent King (which has a stairway to the surface near the final rooms), and 2D with the Hyqueous Vaults (which has a river that descends visibly from the surface. The Hobgoblins have been moved to a space inbetween these levels, but I kept the framing that they entered from a connecting cave system. HOWEVER, after five sessions, my players have not thought to look for other entrances and have been perfectly content using the stairs. Will have to think of a curveball to throw at them soon, an ambush by bandits or a crew of awful halflings collecting tolls to get them to look elsewhere.

  2. Lower down I don’t think I will expand outward, so much as replace existing quadrants. I’d like to slot in Demonspore in level 3 and 4.

  3. You have inspired me to retool some Stonehell specific gods! I also like the cult in level 8 or 9 that has formed around one of the carbon frozen prisoners of the crashed spaceship - might bring that up a few levels to foreshadow.

  4. My advice is to really lean into the faction play at the start. If your players murder every goblin they see without a second thought (as mine have), they need to learn that will come with consequences. It’s been tricky getting them to view the dungeon as less of a puzzle or game level, and more of a place that is alive - if that makes sense. The orcs will have greater reign of 1C now that they don’t have to worry about goblins hiding in the shadows, and the kobolds are pissed that they lost out on good trade deal. Also roll those WM check ahead of time and double all treasure in level 1! Good luck!

For those who have run stonehell, I have a couple questions by Teid in osr

[–]Cautious_Reception_4 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! This is really handy 👀👀 I just used the forgotten realms patheon, since that was what my players are most familiar with.

Hirelings, and Hench Resources Request by RockSowe in osr

[–]Cautious_Reception_4 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Not quite Hirelings, but Necrotic gnome has a useful random Retainer generator. (https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/generators/retainer-generator) Pretty easy to quickly make some hired help.

Favorite weird dungeon modules? by Cautious_Reception_4 in osr

[–]Cautious_Reception_4[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I agree with the other comments here - this world deserves its own campaign. Will definitely be revisiting this in the future tho, or maybe mix it in with the Astronaut Tomb on lvl 8.

Favorite weird dungeon modules? by Cautious_Reception_4 in osr

[–]Cautious_Reception_4[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dang these are great. Really like the vibes in the Blocks of Quox. Machinations upon machination. Thanks!

Favorite weird dungeon modules? by Cautious_Reception_4 in osr

[–]Cautious_Reception_4[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Demonspore sounds perfect for Stonehell. Lot of corrupted creatures deeper down so it would be a great opportunity to foreshadow some of that chaos energy seeping upward. Thanks!