tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-422181426312081107.post3946766134130800351..comments2024-03-23T05:46:31.832-07:00Comments on Power Score: Dice, Camera, Action: Episode 55 - Storm King's ThunderSeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07263753821685936593noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-422181426312081107.post-45640427087650240592017-07-22T07:38:06.344-07:002017-07-22T07:38:06.344-07:00And then that very wizard is going to be really pe...And then that very wizard is going to be really peeved and hunt down where his staff went! <br /> I think time travel confuses most people. My players still have trouble deciding whether events happened in the current timeline or the previous one after they altered it in order to save the last couatl.<br />Yes, thankfully Vecna's ex is well documented in Open Grave. Less stuff I have to make up when it comes to the parts of Iomandra I don't have any notes for. I've been running Iomandra for 2 years now. We're currently at 69 sessions in, on a slow xp track (which is why they are only level 6, just shy of 7), and still in Act One (or the heroic tier adventures for the 4e savvy). Mostly I've been using all of the DMXP articles and everything Chris posted on the forums back when they were up to run the thing, with a little theft from Pathfinder and plenty of my own imaginings. I've recorded nearly every session, and one of my players is transcribing those recordings while editing out all of the out of game talk. Once he's done with that, I plan on taking them and making a blog posting "novelized" versions of each "episode" along with some DM notes.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01538877437464128090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-422181426312081107.post-54968390809080556912017-07-22T01:12:20.818-07:002017-07-22T01:12:20.818-07:00Nykademos: You are running Iomandra?! That is real...Nykademos: You are running Iomandra?! That is really awesome. I think Osterneth, who is Vecna's bride or agent or something, is in the 4e open grave book. That rule about taking the wizard's staff is weird! You take it from the future wizard, and it vanishes from the "current day" wizard? I get it, you don't want copies of artifacts running around. I get really lost when thinking about time travel.<br /><br />glados131: I assumed that because we didn't see Escher die, he's still out there. I think Chris really likes running Escher and probably wouldn't want him to have a death like that, but hey who knows. I fixed the title. Thanks!Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07263753821685936593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-422181426312081107.post-47540020585257032772017-07-12T10:57:29.383-07:002017-07-12T10:57:29.383-07:00Oh, also I think you got the wrong episode name (t...Oh, also I think you got the wrong episode name (that was the name of a clip a fan posted to the subreddit). The episode is titled "Flesh and Blood".glados131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-422181426312081107.post-38322275817396755362017-07-12T09:32:21.058-07:002017-07-12T09:32:21.058-07:00Wow, this was a fantastic episode. Practically eve...Wow, this was a fantastic episode. Practically every still living character from Barovia converged for a massive showdown.<br /><br />The golem bride only spoke last time because Diath's ghost was possessing her. Also, I'm not so sure Escher survived that roof-- Chris said they saw a puff of ash under it. (Speaking of which, you neglected to mention Paultin's absolute funniest moment of the episode: "Oh no. My bride."glados131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-422181426312081107.post-82735803410847661292017-07-12T09:24:04.385-07:002017-07-12T09:24:04.385-07:00Chris actually explains a lot about time travel in...Chris actually explains a lot about time travel in DMXP #21 "It's All About Time." As I am running his Iomandra campaign, I've come to follow his ideas on it and think he will keep to them in any setting.<br /><br />Here's part of what that article says on it:<br /><br />"Lessons Learned<br />Time travel is a great storytelling tool, but like a chainsaw it comes with a warning label. Used unwisely, it can mutilate your campaign, as it demands a great deal of forethought and caution. I once subjected the Monday night group to the effects of an arcane contraption that teleported them into the future—the specifics of which are discussed in my blog. It was shocking and fun, but it took weeks of preparation since I needed to figure out all the ways in which Future Iomandra was different from Current Iomandra. (In general, the farther into the future you travel, the more gaps need to be filled.) Also, there are many complex factors to consider, such as determining which characters are still alive in the future, and what tragic fates befell the ones that aren’t.<br />My dalliance with time travel in the Iomandra campaign has taught me a few things:<br /><br />If you use time travel, be ready for the unexpected. <br /><br />The past is easier to navigate than the future. <br /><br />Keep the “rules” for time travel as simple as possible.<br /> <br />Don’t introduce time travel if you’re worried about players altering your campaign’s history or acquiring items or information normally beyond their reach. Just as I view time travel as a fun way to mess with my players, they see time travel as a fun way to mess with my campaign. As for the “rules” of time travel, you need to determine how to handle temporal paradoxes and the extent to which the heroes can affect change. When I decided to give the Monday players the hourglass talisman, I did so with the full understanding that the heroes could go back in time, meet themselves, and change the course of history. But imagine if a character travels back in time and kills his parents before he’s born. What happens next? Does the character suddenly disappear, having effectively erased himself, or is he a separate entity from his unborn self and therefore unaffected? Probably best not to overthink it, but there needs to be an underlying logic that the players can follow; otherwise, you’re playing a game without rules, and that will cause your campaign to crack and fall apart.<br />My own rules for time travel are simple:<br /><br />A character traveling through time is removed from play in the present timeline. <br /><br />A character traveling to the past or future is not affected by the changing states of creatures around him, including older and younger versions of himself. He can be wounded and killed as normal, but nothing adverse happens to him if his younger or older self is injured or dies. <br /><br />Time travel effects have durations. No matter how far into the past or present a character travels, he only gets to stay there for a finite amount of time before the time travel effect ends and he returns to the time and place whence he came. In this way, time travel is like an elastic band; eventually, the time traveler gets pulled back to the exact time and place he left, minus any gear he left behind or resources he expended. This is true even if the character dies in the past or present. <br /><br />If a character acquires an item in the past or future, he still has the item when he returns to his normal time. So, if the character travels to the future, kills an evil wizard and takes the wizard’s staff back to the present, the character now has the staff and the wizard (who is technically still alive) does not. <br /><br />These rules don’t address every corner case that comes up during play, and thoughtful players might discover (and exploit) a few loopholes. If they do, you’ll have to improvise. If improvisation isn’t one of your strengths, it’s probably best to forego time travel for the time being rather than let it disrupt or destroy your otherwise spectacular campaign."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01538877437464128090noreply@blogger.com