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Old 12-30-2018, 04:39 PM   #1
Beoferret
 
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Default Best adventure for demo: Inn vs. Hydra Island vs Pirate Queen

Hey all. As I noted in the other thread I just started, I'm conducting an in-store demo of the DFRPG in a week. I definitely want to use one of the adventures published in Pyramid, and am leaning towards "Hydra Island." Still, I'd love to hear from everyone who's used one of these adventures to showcase the game to folks who are new to DF.

So, with that said, which do you all think is better as a scenario for introducing people to DF (and GURPS mechanics, overall): "You All Meet at an Inn," "Grave of the Pirate Queen," or "Hydra Island?" Which did you (and your players) find most engaging? Which do you think showcased DF the best? And which seems to be the friendliest to new players and a relatively inexperienced DFRPG GM? I've only GM'd DF a few times with my kids, since I first got the boxed set, so I'm a little nervous about introducing the game to strangers. Thanks everyone!
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Old 12-30-2018, 10:17 PM   #2
evileeyore
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Default Re: Best adventure for demo: Inn vs. Hydra Island vs Pirate Queen

Don't know much about Hydra Island or Pirate Queen... but You All Meet At an Inn has been discussed in depth in these forums:

You All Meet at an Inn

[DF] Question about "You All Meet at an Inn" [Pyramid 98]

Dalin's follow-up: One-shot adventure: The Tomb of Hroth Yaggeltor


And just a good thread in general for newish DFRPG GMs: Difficult monsters
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Old 12-31-2018, 10:22 AM   #3
DouglasCole
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Default Re: Best adventure for demo: Inn vs. Hydra Island vs Pirate Queen

I and at least one other have had good luck running the Logiheimli segment of Hall of Judgment at conventions. It's got pre-generated characters, a definite goal, and can be run in 2-4 hours (mostly 4). The presence of a Cleric of Death means that the undead threats are a bit of a cakewalk, but if you mix up the monsters a bit at the end, you can end it with a bang.
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Old 12-31-2018, 04:14 PM   #4
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Default Re: Best adventure for demo: Inn vs. Hydra Island vs Pirate Queen

Quote:
Originally Posted by evileeyore View Post
Don't know much about Hydra Island or Pirate Queen... but You All Meet At an Inn has been discussed in depth in these forums:

You All Meet at an Inn

[DF] Question about "You All Meet at an Inn" [Pyramid 98]

Dalin's follow-up: One-shot adventure: The Tomb of Hroth Yaggeltor

And just a good thread in general for newish DFRPG GMs: Difficult monsters
I had read at least the first thread about "You All Meet at an Inn," though I'm honestly less inclined to run with that one. Granted, the set up is fun and zombies can make a good way of demonstrating some of the combat mechanics to folks in a manner that works to the PC's advantage (e.g., as someone mentioned in one thread, showing off the pros and cons of all-out attack through mindless zombie antagonists; hmmm, maybe grappling too.)

Difficult monsters, I hadn't noticed before. I'll make sure to read this through tonight/tomorrow. Thanks!
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Old 12-31-2018, 04:32 PM   #5
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Default Re: Best adventure for demo: Inn vs. Hydra Island vs Pirate Queen

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Originally Posted by DouglasCole View Post
I and at least one other have had good luck running the Logiheimli segment of Hall of Judgment at conventions. It's got pre-generated characters, a definite goal, and can be run in 2-4 hours (mostly 4). The presence of a Cleric of Death means that the undead threats are a bit of a cakewalk, but if you mix up the monsters a bit at the end, you can end it with a bang.
Hi Doug. I have actually read some of the after action reports that have been posted. I have a kickstarter copy of Hall of Judgment and I like the Logiheimli section (love the skeleton horses!) I might actually consider it, though I was worried about the issue you mention: a cleric or holy warrior with turning could possibly be too powerful, relatively speaking, for a one-shot demo game. And I didn't want to tweak the turning ability, since I feel like it's necessary to stick to RAW (at least for demo purposes). But, maybe throwing in something slightly different along with the undead, like you're suggesting. In the very least, I need to give the Hall of Judgment pre-gens another look over.

I do plan on running Hall of Judgment sometime in the future. One of the reasons why I'm running this demo is so that I can find some more possible players. In the very least, I'll run my two boys through it (they've already taken so much to some DFRPG/GURPS concepts that they try to bring them into the 5th ed DnD campaign they're part of - e.g. all-out attacks, aimed strikes, armor for specific hit locations, etc.)
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Old 12-31-2018, 06:23 PM   #6
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Default Re: Best adventure for demo: Inn vs. Hydra Island vs Pirate Queen

Quote:
Originally Posted by Beoferret View Post
Hi Doug. I have actually read some of the after action reports that have been posted. I have a kickstarter copy of Hall of Judgment and I like the Logiheimli section (love the skeleton horses!) I might actually consider it, though I was worried about the issue you mention: a cleric or holy warrior with turning could possibly be too powerful, relatively speaking, for a one-shot demo game.
With a group that stays "in ranks," it's an issue.

Suggestions: Let the skeleton warhorses alone, and let the Cleric have their fun. Make the ghouls in the temple NOT undead; they're actually granted eternal life via Unaging, but are also frozen in time via plot magic. So basically, they're not undead, but can't go past the boundaries of the magical suppression of the mana, sanctity, and nature's strength inflicted by the obelisks.

for the skeletons and walking dead from the barrows, the Cleric can't maintain turning while he's doing an exorcism or religious ritual, so if they're trying to uncurse the stones in the barrows by ritual, the cleric will need his buds to keep him safe.

all that is RAW; the "not-undead" ghouls is a tweak, but somewhat legit.

Quote:
And I didn't want to tweak the turning ability, since I feel like it's necessary to stick to RAW (at least for demo purposes). But, maybe throwing in something slightly different along with the undead, like you're suggesting. In the very least, I need to give the Hall of Judgment pre-gens another look over.
The fire mage is a bit off-board, in that the backer wanted something really different than a stock DFRPG character. The rest are fun.

Quote:
I do plan on running Hall of Judgment sometime in the future. One of the reasons why I'm running this demo is so that I can find some more possible players. In the very least, I'll run my two boys through it (they've already taken so much to some DFRPG/GURPS concepts that they try to bring them into the 5th ed DnD campaign they're part of - e.g. all-out attacks, aimed strikes, armor for specific hit locations, etc.)
It might be worthwhile - to toot my own horn - to look into Dragon Heresy. That's set in the same world as Hall of Judgment, and has a LOT of the "hey, didn't that come from GURPS?" rules baked into it already, while will being recognizably Fifth Edition. If your boys like 5e, and they want to step closer to DFRPG stuff . . . my game is self-contained for level 1-5 and has even more setting information than is found in HoJ.
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Old 01-20-2019, 04:26 AM   #7
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Default Re: Best adventure for demo: Inn vs. Hydra Island vs Pirate Queen

I have run all three of those games, and for a demo, I would recommend "Grave of the Pirate Queen".

"You all meet in a Inn" is a great starting point for a campaign, but it takes some time to go into the dungeon. There is also a relatively complex battle at the beginning of the dungeon.

"Hydra Island" is also fine, but will take even longer to reach the dungeon.

With "Grave of the Pirate Queen", you can basically start at the entrance of the dungeon. Even with if your time is limited, the delvers can probably clear a good chunk of the dungeon and either collect some good treasure, or rescue a victim or two. I think it would be more satisfying for a first game.

Last edited by finn; 01-20-2019 at 04:32 AM.
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Old 01-25-2019, 07:37 PM   #8
Beoferret
 
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Default Re: Best adventure for demo: Inn vs. Hydra Island vs Pirate Queen

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Originally Posted by finn View Post
I have run all three of those games, and for a demo, I would recommend "Grave of the Pirate Queen".

"You all meet in a Inn" is a great starting point for a campaign, but it takes some time to go into the dungeon. There is also a relatively complex battle at the beginning of the dungeon.

"Hydra Island" is also fine, but will take even longer to reach the dungeon.

With "Grave of the Pirate Queen", you can basically start at the entrance of the dungeon. Even with if your time is limited, the delvers can probably clear a good chunk of the dungeon and either collect some good treasure, or rescue a victim or two. I think it would be more satisfying for a first game.
Thanks for the input! How did your players enjoy these adventures? Did they like one over the other? How did the various character professions work with "Hydra Island" and "Grave of the Pirate Queen," in your experience?
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Old 01-25-2019, 09:51 PM   #9
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Default Re: Best adventure for demo: Inn vs. Hydra Island vs Pirate Queen

Where is Hydra Island found? It in Pyramid?
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Old 01-26-2019, 08:50 AM   #10
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Default Re: Best adventure for demo: Inn vs. Hydra Island vs Pirate Queen

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Originally Posted by Kalzazz View Post
Where is Hydra Island found? It in Pyramid?
It's an adventure by David Pulver published in Pyramid 3/108, p. 17.
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