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Old 05-28-2018, 09:36 PM   #1
Qoltar
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Default 'Smell A Rat', Advice or help please? Anyone who has run it?

Greetings,

On June 16th I will be running a Dungeon Fantasy game session at the store for "Free RPG Day".

Okay I haven't GM-ed any game sessions for 3 or 4 years and I'm feeling really rusty.
In the past I have run long GURPS campaigns that lasted more than 2 or 3 years.

I am planning to use the "I Smell A Rat" adventure that is included in the DF boxed set. The plan is to try and time the game session to be 3 to 4 hours long - which is the length of both 'Pathfinder' and "D&D" game sessions that others run at our store tables.

The Main questions:

1) Who has run the Adventure before?

2) What is the best way to pace it to fit 3 or 4 hours?

3) What habits or crutches I had as a GURPS GM that I don't need when I run Dungeon Fantasy?

Any other tips or tricks for running "I Smell A Rat?"

- Ed C.
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Last edited by Qoltar; 05-28-2018 at 10:32 PM. Reason: Clarifying how long its been since I GM-ed
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Old 05-28-2018, 10:21 PM   #2
lachimba
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Sydney
Default Re: 'Smell A Rat', Advice or help please? Anyone who has run it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Qoltar View Post
Greetings,

On June 16th I will be running a Dungeon Fantasy game session at the store for "Free RPG Day".

Okay I haven't GM-ed any game sessions and I'm feeling really rusty.
In the past I have run long GURPS campaigns that lasted more than 2 or 3 years.

I am planning to use the "I Smell A Rat" adventure that is included in the DF boxed set. The plan is to try and time the game session to be 3 to 4 hours long - which is the length of both 'Pathfinder' and "D&D" game sessions that others run at our store tables.

The Main questions:

1) Who has run the Adventure before?

2) What is the best way to pace it to fit 3 or 4 hours?

3) What habits or crutches I had as a GURPS GM that I don't need when I run Dungeon Fantasy?

Any other tips or tricks for running "I Smell A Rat?"

- Ed C.
1)

Haven't

2) Im thinking of running it over two sessions at a con

Start in media res

In the basement as the fight breaks out.

Then if the PCs want to talk and interact thats great but you don't lose 30 mins in negotiations.

Be prepared to cut fights, have monsters run away or disintegrate.

Also finish immediately after the big final fight.

Are you going to use tactical combat?

That will slow things down immensely.


Also magic.... explaining that to non GURPS players is a chore.

3) I dont know
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Old 05-29-2018, 04:19 AM   #3
GnomesofZurich
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Canada
Default Re: 'Smell A Rat', Advice or help please? Anyone who has run it?

I think fitting it into a 3 or 4 hour session could be challenging. I ran it for a group of inexperienced roleplayers with limited to no previous experience with GURPS, and it ended up stretching out over nine 3 to 5 hour sessions. (We are now three sessions into the successor adventure "Against the Rat-men", and have just got into the Main hallway.) It could have wrapped up much more quickly, but I think it would be difficult to finish in the time you have available.

To speed it up, use “And Stay Down!” (Exploits, p. 86), and, as lachimba says, tactical combat (which we were using) can drag things out.
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Old 05-29-2018, 05:54 AM   #4
Dalin
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Saint Paul, MN
Default Re: 'Smell A Rat', Advice or help please? Anyone who has run it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Qoltar View Post
1) Who has run the Adventure before?

2) What is the best way to pace it to fit 3 or 4 hours?

3) What habits or crutches I had as a GURPS GM that I don't need when I run Dungeon Fantasy?
I've run it with new players. It took us a few sessions, but we were not pushing very hard. In addition to the other excellent suggestions so far, I would do the following:
  1. Cut the smuggler's room (area 4). It's not essential to the plot.
  2. Have some boards crossing the sewer tunnel from area 2 to 3a. This makes the concealed door obvious, but reduces the chance that the delvers will get sidetracked in the sewers. If they do move down the sewer tunnels, be ready to steer them back on track.
  3. Be ready to cut other encounters depending on the group's pace. Good candidates might be the zombies in area 7, one or more of the cells (9-11), the testing area (14), and/or any wandering encounters on the way down the blasted passage (15).

Finally, I don't know how things customarily work at your store event, but I recommend using sample characters that you either create yourself or pull from Delvers to Go or this forum. This allows you to plan ahead for the abilities that the delvers are likely to have.
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Old 05-29-2018, 09:02 AM   #5
finn
 
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Default Re: 'Smell A Rat', Advice or help please? Anyone who has run it?

Discussions in

http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=152846

and the threads linked in its second post might help you.

To fit it in 3-4 hours, you will have to cut down a lot of the elements in the adventure.
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