Quote:
Originally Posted by evileeyore
I've said before, I think ISAR is a terrible introductory adventure for GURPS newbies... but, I've refined my thoughts some and it's an excellent introductory adventure into OSR gaming.
The person that hires the Party is lying to them? Check.
'Unfair' first combat? Check.
Secret room that's hard to find and only exists to hand out loot and clues as to the 'dungeon's backstory'? Check.
Half the dungeon gated off behind a single easily failed skill roll? Check.
Heinous monsters in random rooms for no discernible reason? Check.
Wandering Damage Chart? Check.
Tunnels that lead off away from the adventure and serve only to confuse easily distracted PCs (and which will be retconned in the next adventure anyway)? Check.
End Boss that's weaker than a 'random monster'? Check(ish).
A "if you go here you're probably dead" portal? Check.
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Oh and I noticed these things too and... was less than impressed.
They never thought to ask Lee for more info about Merle, because they asked about Merle's death before going in the dungeon, and believed her about "it's been too recently" and then checked with her after finding the passage to the sewers, which she genuinely didn't know about.
Not that she had much to tell besides "Merle's a wizard" and possibly that she had a kinda bad feeling / vision about his death.
I also agree that one needs to introduce the trope before breaking it. The bait-and-switch with the spiders and rats is fine because it's obvious irony, but the rest... Mh, not so happy.
I made sure they didn't get lost in the sewers (which got rid of all those wandering monsters, and good thing too) by letting the Song of Echoes lead them into the right direction almost instantly. In the tunnel to Merle they met some rock mites, because again, any of the other fights would've been terrible.
I'm glad they didn't explore the cells.