tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post640911246186354433..comments2024-03-25T00:18:14.319-07:00Comments on Against The Wicked City: Condensation in Action 7: Skull and ShacklesJoseph Manolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-41372894736795760082022-03-11T13:05:42.915-08:002022-03-11T13:05:42.915-08:00I'd totally forgotten about that post, but I&#...I'd totally forgotten about that post, but I'll go ransack it for ideas. Thanks again for all the extremely usable content!Annon #8107https://www.blogger.com/profile/16869484989966434932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-37030791990277632742022-03-11T12:18:49.158-08:002022-03-11T12:18:49.158-08:00That sounds like a very good idea - weak states ar...That sounds like a very good idea - weak states are just easier to game with, either as allies or enemies. I actually wrote a bit about fighting ramshackle empires (in this case Russia in 17th century Sibera) here - <br /><br />https://udan-adan.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-sable-gold-of-taiga-adventures-in.html<br /><br />A similar line of thinking led me to substantially scale down all the polities in my current City of Spires as compared to its ATWC original!Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-40314790564670247452022-03-11T11:02:56.143-08:002022-03-11T11:02:56.143-08:00One of the key elements I've been trying to ex...One of the key elements I've been trying to explore is that the power structures of colonialism are still more 1600-1700 then late 1700s. The Hurricane rebellion is "too early"- it doesn't have a firm enough grip on it's identity, food supplies are BARELY self sufficient, and they have little support abroad. In turn, colonial power structures aren't quite as powerful or domineering (though their fleets are still terrifying), creating a nicely unstable equilibrium. Annon #8107https://www.blogger.com/profile/16869484989966434932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-31018216951083355752022-03-11T02:22:38.694-08:002022-03-11T02:22:38.694-08:00Thanks for the update, Annon - I'm very glad t...Thanks for the update, Annon - I'm very glad to hear that you've got so much use out of it, and the other posts! Shifting the implied historical context from 1700 (Golden Age of Piracy) to 1790s (Haitian Revolution) is a really interesting idea, and the more factions players are allowed to negotiate with, the better. I wish your players luck in welding together a suitable anti-imperial coalition!Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-31082245302548955002022-03-08T10:58:26.260-08:002022-03-08T10:58:26.260-08:00As an update, I've been running this Condensat...As an update, I've been running this Condensation as part of my piratical wave crawl- with a few tweaks to make it lower magic and to make more factions willing to talk.<br />I also reframed the Hurricane Islands into a set of colonies recently rebelled against their colonial homeland, like a prototype American revolution.<br /><br />We just hit session twenty: The players have totally ignored Barnabas (soon they'll find out he killed the Master while they were gone), but burned down the docks where Thrune's fleet were with a magic weapon they found in the far reaches of the setting, far from the Hurricane Islands.<br /><br />They also tried to trace Vargus Brack's last journey to track down his treasure, lost the trail, and eventually used a limited wish (from a modified part of Chult/Tombs of Annihilation) to locate it. This session, session 20, they finally hauled up 8k in gold bits and a handful of magic items I yoinked from your "interesting magical effects" table. (A bag of wind is VERY strong in a low-magic pirate campaign). <br /><br />They ALSO have been seeding a revolution of the Grindylows against the Queen and her Whale, via convincing some key players in the Grindylow tribe that isolation is a doomed policy for resisting colonialism, and through then giving said key players some spooky weapons they picked up. <br /><br />There's been a lot of other shenanigans related to the other areas and locations they've explored, but that's their story with the Hurricane Republic so far!Annon #8107https://www.blogger.com/profile/16869484989966434932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-25954800508507672722021-06-10T12:04:02.740-07:002021-06-10T12:04:02.740-07:00Thanks for the conensention! I'm plopping this...Thanks for the conensention! I'm plopping this down into a wave crawl and I'm running Annon #8107https://www.blogger.com/profile/16869484989966434932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-61651246660167109342019-06-20T15:17:16.312-07:002019-06-20T15:17:16.312-07:00As someone that requested it: thank you for making...As someone that requested it: thank you for making it!Nobodi12https://www.blogger.com/profile/03855509321888775545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-33314198523468216092019-06-12T11:17:43.240-07:002019-06-12T11:17:43.240-07:00Vampires is not at all like in the movies or books...Vampires is not at all like in the movies or books. Sure, I understand. You are young you have the whole world open to you. You can be anything that you choose if you apply yourself and try hard to work toward that goal. But being a Vampire is not what it seems like. It’s a life full of good, and amazing things. We are as human as you are.. It’s not what you are that counts, But how you choose to be. Do you want a life full of interesting things? Do you want to have power and influence over others? To be charming and desirable? To have wealth, health, and longevity? contact the Vampires Lord on his Email: Richvampirekindom@gmail.comJerome Samsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00886505335771600600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-25418452255991917162019-06-03T06:53:28.082-07:002019-06-03T06:53:28.082-07:00Oups....
:(Oups....<br />:(Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342506811149413336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-49174303134614995902019-06-03T06:49:58.932-07:002019-06-03T06:49:58.932-07:00Indeed ! And her dulahan champion ! I'm also v...Indeed ! And her dulahan champion ! I'm also very fond of the fire giants as holly crusaders of a demon-god... The Big Bad and his Naga consigliere ! There's potential !<br /><br />Islayre <br />(Sorry i didn't sign the previous message)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342506811149413336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-56090332019253866512019-06-02T11:43:08.515-07:002019-06-02T11:43:08.515-07:00Giantslayer did have its moments, didn't it? T...Giantslayer did have its moments, didn't it? The frost giant viking death knight queen was my favourite bit. I'll have to think about what to rewrite next...Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-63517224039639914102019-06-02T01:31:27.001-07:002019-06-02T01:31:27.001-07:00Good job ! If you have spare time i'll be very...Good job ! If you have spare time i'll be very interressed in a condensed version of the Giantslayer AP. It's one of less loved AP but i think there's a lot of potential in it for a "giants wars" themed sandbox. Anyway, thanks for the goodwork, as usual.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342506811149413336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-87567281485775226162019-05-24T15:01:04.350-07:002019-05-24T15:01:04.350-07:00Fuck yeah man. I love that you are still working a...Fuck yeah man. I love that you are still working away at these PF tomes, which can be such hard going at times.HDAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13506175636615989219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-34429457230467361392019-05-24T08:53:45.432-07:002019-05-24T08:53:45.432-07:00Great series. I picked up my first Adventure Path ...Great series. I picked up my first Adventure Path collection, the Runelords one, at a goodwill for $2. I intended to plumb it for ideas for solo roleplaying, but MAN is there a lot of stuff in there.<br /><br />I think the best I was able to do was steal ideas for monster abilities from some of the more unique bad guys. It's just a whole different weight game that Labyrinth Lord. Since I mostly play solo, it seems like a frankly prohibitive amount of bookkeeping to do to have fun, but maybe it's easier in a group.Adventure Materialshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09252082251661661992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-58195047193939663092019-05-24T02:27:46.776-07:002019-05-24T02:27:46.776-07:00Kyana - well, you can reassure your DM that smashi...Kyana - well, you can reassure your DM that smashing an entire Pathfinder AP into a wide-open sandbox only takes about six hours or so. I should know. I've done it seven times, now!<br /><br />Maybe have a chat with your DM about turning whatever remains of the AP into something a bit more open?<br /><br />The 'complex and sympathetic write-up of throwaway villains' thing is a recurring Pathfinder-ism. It happens especially with female villains: Nualia in 'Runelords', Isabella in 'Shackles', Meyanda in 'Iron Gods', etc. It's utterly wasteful, which is why I always rewrite them in my condensations. As I keep saying, no-one is going to care about their backstory if they attack on sight and fight to the death.Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-26127738617390087392019-05-23T14:06:30.849-07:002019-05-23T14:06:30.849-07:00Another moment that AP completely squanders is tha...Another moment that AP completely squanders is that as soon as we became the officers on the ship, the other crew (with a one, maybe two exceptions) became just mindless, faceless checkmark, while previously, when we had to earn their support, the ship was much more interesting place to be. <br />First book was really cool. DM delayed leveling up to level two and I loved the sense of the frailty and danger it brought. Kyanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12992025061183651850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-11217726527912643032019-05-23T14:02:44.991-07:002019-05-23T14:02:44.991-07:00maxcan7, it is not only that, I think the majority...maxcan7, it is not only that, I think the majority APs is badly written, in sense of details, usability and pacing. For example, in 'Wrath and Righteous' there is an encounter with four succubi, late in game. From DM's remark I understood that they had about long of description, as if this is an introduction of some important recurring villains, with little details and quirks. We didn't even end up speaking to them, as their role was just for combat. <br /><br />Joseph Manola, this is how we play: we agree that this is AP about pirates and we play it as such; the people are awesome, despite the railroad. It is just each and every AP fills me with such bitterness due to 1) wasted potential of their good setups 2) even if we play a story, neither players, nor even DM actually play their story, and are just placeholders with no agency of their own. It is bitter because it is so easily fixable and breaking the railroad will probably take no more time than the regular preparations but the benefits would be in DM's confidence, and more interesting story where players/characters can achieve something on their own.<br /><br />In this campaign there was a really good hook about making enemies from weapons dealing corporation but because the story was not supposed to go that way, any PC who'd take upon this kind of story would be ejected from the predestined story. Which is baffling, because battling a greedy corporation as pirates would be probably much more interesting than the story gives us by the book 2. Kyanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12992025061183651850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-19215869980114122172019-05-23T10:09:41.441-07:002019-05-23T10:09:41.441-07:00Another excellent rewrite. I would couple this wit...Another excellent rewrite. I would couple this with a random encounter table, with a chance of meeting other captains at sea. <br />I enjoyed most of the Wormwood Mutiny: it makes sense that press ganged PCs can't take the ship by force without allies, and have to suffer a bit until opportunity arises. However as soon as they have escaped and got hold of a ship, it really makes no sense to have a sequence of must happen (and in a certain order) events. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-78978841658908477902019-05-23T06:46:32.495-07:002019-05-23T06:46:32.495-07:00I can only really imagine most APs working with pl...I can only really imagine most APs working with players who accepted in advance that the story was going to run on 'computer game logic', giving them some tactical freedom within each scene but no real control over the ultimate shape of the story, which always runs along a predetermined arc. Otherwise they'd just fall apart. If I tried to run this AP as written for my players, they'd sail off to the other side of the world to do something else with their lives by the middle of part 2 at the latest.<br /><br />And I totally agree about the word bloat, stat bloat, rule bloat, etc. That's what led me to start writing these condensations in the first place!Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-39328462657347132032019-05-23T05:50:21.504-07:002019-05-23T05:50:21.504-07:00To me, what you described is the flaw in the entir...To me, what you described is the flaw in the entire D&D3.+ model of game. Monte Cook himself has discussed how they designed 3rd edition to be crunchier to ease the burden of "rulings" off of the GM, but found that it was impossible to have rules for all possible actions and edge cases (unless you want to crack open the source code of reality, that is), so what you wind up with is a huge unruly mess (un-"rule"-y mess ;)) that inevitably doesn't account for some specific edge case every session anyway (that you'll spend 30 minutes searching through books in order to confirm).maxcan7https://www.blogger.com/profile/12504030224075149157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-17675916402839072872019-05-23T03:18:26.753-07:002019-05-23T03:18:26.753-07:00I am currently playing through this AP and railroa...I am currently playing through this AP and railroading is just depressing there. What disappoints me is the mantra that APs are worth their railroads because they ease burden on busy DM and require little preparation, while in reality books sometimes require good couple of hours for a single session to read through all overly long text and take into consideration all PF stats. Railroad becomes a trap because DMs become afraid to deviate even when party desires this or logic encourages this, because they afraid to break following books which are even less accommodating for improvisation.Kyanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12992025061183651850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-26973662826864328292019-05-22T23:46:59.099-07:002019-05-22T23:46:59.099-07:00Thank you!Thank you!SkySeekerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11884305152170172750noreply@blogger.com