Troll Lord Games

OMG.... What have I (vicariously) wrought?
Glad you guys enjoyed the module, and please enjoy your wicked undead state.

Mike

Aergraith wrote:Well, if you finished a 24-page module in two sessions without taking the shortcut of killing both of your players, you must be running a smooth game. Hats off to you.

We weren't in a rush to finish it exactly. I think what made it go fast is two things, first we did not use any mapping or virtual table-top software; Don has a very narrative style of CKing that flowed from one scene to the next with little emphasis on specifics of location and tactical minutiae. Secondly, we had a small group, of 3 players in the first session and only 2 (Kurt and I) in the second. This sped up the game, as there was little crosstalk and we had a general agreement on most of our actions.

Yeah, I can't recall how long the first session was, but the second ran roughly about 5 hours in length.

slimykuotoan wrote:Yeah, I can't recall how long the first session was, but the second ran roughly about 5 hours in length.

The first session was at least 5 hours long, I remember not finishing until past 2 AM my time. So 10+ hours altogether, with only a couple of short breaks.

DMMike wrote:OMG.... What have I (vicariously) wrought?
Glad you guys enjoyed the module, and please enjoy your wicked undead state.

Mike

So, DMMike, what is the magic formula you famous module writers use to determine the party size and challenge level that is written on the module covers?

Party size and challenge level info on the modules? Stephen Chenault just makes it up.

Aergraith wrote:

DMMike wrote:OMG.... What have I (vicariously) wrought?
Glad you guys enjoyed the module, and please enjoy your wicked undead state.

Mike

So, DMMike, what is the magic formula you famous module writers use to determine the party size and challenge level that is written on the module covers?

Aergraith, a combination of things. First, I decide on what I think it should be. Then, I run a few playtests with the adventure at those levels/# of characters and modify appropriately depending on how the playtesters do in the game.

To an extent its arbitrary no matter what you do. I've had adventures set for 3-5 characters of levels 12-14 end in TPKs and 1-2 PCs at the same level walk through the module like a breeze. Its an estimation, as a lot is dependent on the party mix and the overall skill of the players (as opposed to player characters).

Clear as mud?
Mike

DMMike wrote:

Aergraith wrote:

DMMike wrote:OMG.... What have I (vicariously) wrought?
Glad you guys enjoyed the module, and please enjoy your wicked undead state.

Mike

So, DMMike, what is the magic formula you famous module writers use to determine the party size and challenge level that is written on the module covers?

Aergraith, a combination of things. First, I decide on what I think it should be. Then, I run a few playtests with the adventure at those levels/# of characters and modify appropriately depending on how the playtesters do in the game.

To an extent its arbitrary no matter what you do. I've had adventures set for 3-5 characters of levels 12-14 end in TPKs and 1-2 PCs at the same level walk through the module like a breeze. Its an estimation, as a lot is dependent on the party mix and the overall skill of the players (as opposed to player characters).

Clear as mud?
Mike

Pretty much what I figured, I don't think you can really do any better than that.