Also, they did finally catch up with and killerfy that duergar chieftain that had given them so much trouble. In my mind the PCs and the chieftain are all in Valhalla, drinking mead together and having a good laugh over this whole mess.
Not only am I late hopping on the meme bandwagon, but I'm referencing an obscure old SNL sketch.
Just a couple more days left to get the snazzy print edition of my Encounter Critical module, Asteroid 1618. Click on over to the Cumberland Games & Diversions Lulu.com storefront and slide down to the bottom of the page to order your copy. While you're there do yourself a favor and order one of S. John Ross's great works. Again, no one but Lulu is making any money off of the print version of my book. S. John and I want the price as low as possible. Of course the free PDF version is even cheaper (still available at WoAdWriMo central and the EC yahoo group), but that version doesn't come with staples!
Here's a first look at the PC's starship in the new campaign:
Green Thirteen (the Space Winnebago below the Y-Wing) is an old prototype of a Y-Wing variant that never made it into production. Based upon the slightly more successful 5-person courier variant of the Y-Wing, the BTL-D2 Y-Wing was an attempt to turn a non-frontline modification of the Y-Wing back into a fighting vessel. It didn't quite work out. But beggars can't be choosers, and the Alliance needs every ship it can muster.
Sorry to hear the TPK wasn't one of the fun ones ... Some of my favorite all-time moments in gaming have been TPK evenings, but I definitely know of the less-groovy, that-just-went-all-ouchie-and-we-died variety. :(
ReplyDeleteI think the buzzkill factor was influenced by a few things.
ReplyDeleteWe'd just killed three 'snake brutes' and, in doing so, accomplished our goal in the dungeon. As players, I think that we assumed those were the big-bads in the dungeon and we weren't prepared for something far nastier. I'll note that this wasn't a rational assumption by any stretch.
Also, we weren't really invested in the dungeon. We had some time left after finishing what we'd set out to do, so we just decided to explore a bit.
Meanwhile, I had assumed that the Hallway O' Pits and the double doors would have tipped you off that the next encounter was beefier.
ReplyDeleteIt should have, of course.
ReplyDeleteThe only buzzkill TPKs I've had have been of the accidental variety... EVERYBODY fails their saving throws against something that was supposed to be a minor annoyance. Or the dice suck so bad that a 3rd-level fighter with a glaive kills everyone.
ReplyDeleteOf course, these are relics from the games I ran in high school, which were less about character and story and more about dice-rollin' and killin'.
The only buzzkill TPKs I've had have been of the accidental variety...
ReplyDeleteTrust me, this one wasn't intentional! The bag guys just won, that's all.
I mis-worded that a bit... I'm referring to the clear-blue-sky TPKs that sometimes come along.
ReplyDeleteI've also been on the receiving end, watching the GM's eyes fill with despair as he watches a minor encouter spiral out of control thanks to a couple of failed saves and villain crits and can't quite bail the party out without blatantly fudging the whole thing.