Troll Lord Games

It says it's for characters level 1-2. The intro also states this. Most of the monsters seem to be on par with this level of play, but...

All of the pregens are 4th level.

Also, I'm surprised there are no quick start rules.

And lastly, does the area that this takes place in actually exist in a setting? Would be nice to have a map of the general area.

Ozzreth - you may be among the first outside of TLG to actually lay eyes on the product. There hasn't been much chatter out of them lately; I'll try poking Steve on FB and direct him to your question.

Awesome, thank you!

I won't have a problem rolling up some quick 1st level pre-gens but it might be worthwhile for the Trolls to throw some up on here or elsewhere for the rest of the people running it who may not be as familiar with the game.

Hell, I wrote it and haven't even seen it.

Steve wanted to add some pre-gens since it was a FreeRPG Day adventure and we figured we'd get a lot of new folks grabbing it. No idea why they are 4th level. If I had to guess, I'd just say he Steve'd it.

The adventure isn't set in any known world. I made it generic as possible to make it accessible as possible. Any particular area you were curious about, map-wise?

Gotcha!

Well, for some constructive criticism, it's a pretty bad free rpg day layout. Some kids at my FLGS even decided not to run it because they weren't sure what to do with it, despite thinking it looked cool.

I think the majority of FRPGD modules have a page or two of quick start rules and people always assume that the pregens in the back are for the adventure, which is typically the case. Maybe there should be a link in the book on where to find the quick start rules and pregens online? I think the last one that came out a year or two ago was more along these lines, not sure what happened here

Anyways, can't comment on the story yet as I haven't read through it, but I'm sure that part is solid. Just thought I should point this out. Makes the book seem of less quality than the others that are being showcased, which we don't want for this awesome game

First off, how are people getting this? Isn't FreeRPG Day next Saturday? Maybe we can sneak some QSR in there prior to Saturday.

I wrote it to have multiple "things". Some in-town stuff, some overland stuff, some dungeon stuff. Fighting, role-playing, challenges. I knew when I wrote it, it could come across as a bit disjointed, but sometimes an adventure that is ostensibly used to show people the ropes can fall flat if it is very specific in scope. I tried avoiding that.

I hope everyone enjoys it.

AGNKim wrote:First off, how are people getting this? Isn't FreeRPG Day next Saturday? Maybe we can sneak some QSR in there prior to Saturday.

I wrote it to have multiple "things". Some in-town stuff, some overland stuff, some dungeon stuff. Fighting, role-playing, challenges. I knew when I wrote it, it could come across as a bit disjointed, but sometimes an adventure that is ostensibly used to show people the ropes can fall flat if it is very specific in scope. I tried avoiding that.

I hope everyone enjoys it.

Again, I'm not commenting at all on your writing, or the story or background or anything else, I haven't gotten through it yet. Just the layout as far as a free rpg day module goes, nothing more. Just IMO the pregens in the back should've been for the actual module, and if they aren't it should be noted, and there should be quick start rules or a link to find them on the web site. That's all

As far as getting it, stores typically hand them out to DM's a few days early so they can read the adventures, learn the rules and prepare.

Hallo,

Yeah, this year's event was far too rushed, too many projects walling up against us at the same time. I started to pull out entirely but decided not to in the end. The pregens are my bad, as usual, not enough hands on deck.

Steve

Fair enough

Hope I didn't come off as a jerk. I've never had anything bad to say about C&C products before. Either way I'll be running this thing and look forward to it!

freerpgday.com lists TLG as, Sample, 1 per box. Is that still the case?

Ok so after looking a bit more at this book I'm wondering, is it actually intended for 4th or 1st level characters? Because a lot of these fights seem like they would be about right for 4th level, and some seem right for 1st. I wanna make sure I got it all straight before trying to run this for strangers in a few days

Just do a character cone of tragedy like in DCC.

(I'm no help, I know)

Damn well hopefully somebody can get on here and help me out

a more serious answer: I haven't seen the adventure, but certainly if it's for 4th level characters, there may be an easy encounter or two, because as a QS it's meant to introduce new players to the game, perhaps to RPGs in general, so slaughter isn't good. I don't know your gaming background, but if you started with 3rd ed, you may be accustomed to each encounter being winnable... this is not the old school way, and many adventures will have an encounter where the best idea is to flee. But I really have no idea not having read it.
if the hard encounters are too hard, try reducing the number of opponents or giving the baddie fewer hP and a lower AC.

I hope that helps.

Well the thing is the 4th level characters in the back were a mess up as stated by Steve earlier. Which means it really was supposed to be for 1st level characters as it states in the beginning. Some of the encounters just seemed a bit off to me, but I've read the whole thing now and I think it's ok.

And for what it's worth I'm a 2e guy, but do enjoy me some 3e. And anybody who plays 3e assuming/expecting everything to be winnable is playing like a schmuck

Ozreth wrote:Well the thing is the 4th level characters in the back were a mess up as stated by Steve earlier. Which means it really was supposed to be for 1st level characters as it states in the beginning. Some of the encounters just seemed a bit off to me, but I've read the whole thing now and I think it's ok.

And for what it's worth I'm a 2e guy, but do enjoy me some 3e. And anybody who plays 3e assuming/expecting everything to be winnable is playing like a schmuck

Is it the encounter with Whiskey Jack in the city that seems out-of-whack? He is pretty high level for 1st level characters, but I wanted him to be so that when (if) Pye and Tower had to come, it had a "cavalry" feel to it. Tower running in just laying waste to some ruffians while the party is on it's last leg would be kinda cool.

I agree, it works!

Also, hate to rub it in, but I just noticed the bottom right of every page says "MODULE TITLE"...instead of the module title

Ozreth wrote:I agree, it works!

Also, hate to rub it in, but I just noticed the bottom right of every page says "MODULE TITLE"...instead of the module title

Duh, that is the real name of the module. My next work will be entitled, "FANTASY FICTION NOVEL". It's a fantasy-fiction novel I'm working on.

I'd read that.

I got a message on my voice mail when I got home from Work late tonight. My FLGS called to say that Free RPG Day was tomorrow and if I'd be interested in running a C&C demo like I do every year for it.

I sighed... looked at the time, called the store back to get some details, and dragged my sorry ass to the store tonight where they gave me a copy of the C&C freebie. I'll be running it tomorrow and while the characters are high level, maxing out hit points and added an extra critter or two per encounter should balance things well enough. Plus it means I won't necessarily kill off any characters early on and won't have to worry about healing too much.

The 'disjointed' nature of the adventure actually is perfect for the demo. With it, I can do one of two things... tweak it slightly to run it a couple times throughout the day but use different things for it or simply cut anything less than relevant if need be. It's also concise enough to be run with little additional prep. A good thing since I only had a the time to give it a once through in order to grab mini's and stuff I'll need for tomorrow.

It's pretty cool. I hope TLG releases it as a PDF soon enough.

What the freebie does do is advertise some of the products (the 5th printing PHB and the CKG for instance) but I did find advertising the 5th printing Kickstarter to be a bit irrelevant given that it ended earlier today.

M

You really think adding a few monsters to the encounters and maxing all monster HP will even it out if I use these 4th level characters?

I just started writing out some 1st level characters but I'd rather use these concise character cards in the module.

Ozreth wrote:You really think adding a few monsters to the encounters and maxing all monster HP will even it out if I use these 4th level characters?

I just started writing out some 1st level characters but I'd rather use these concise character cards in the module.

Absolutely... Just consider some of the encounters. A solitary Ogre can do a lot of damage is the players are careless but two could wipe out the party. For that encounter, inflating the hitpoints may go a long way. Undead are always neat but whether it is at 1st or 2nd level or 4th level, the cleric can present an easy way to eliminate the encounter but if the cleric messes up, an extra skeleton or two and an extra zombie or will stack up numbers... Remember, the point you have more creatures than party members, you have multiple attacks on some of the characters compared to the party of four.

The ghouls? 2 ghouls are bad news because of the paralysis. An extra ghouls significantly increases risk plus there is *another* creature there too.

As for the party resting to gain back spells and such... between the one encounter which will take the party to the ghouls and just changing the wolves to a night encounter means less rest and less spells being regained. A wizard who blows his load early may not be in a great position later one.

Overall, it might be a bit less deadly than other adventures but it will still hurt and careless players who don't work together will wind up getting some of their number killed. For a demo, allowing the characters a slightly better chance to live is not a bad idea. Besides, it really is only slightly better. Of the four characters, only two are in a position to do some toe-to-toe combat. The rogue and wizard are certainly not at those levels; they will make great targets.

Worse case: You can also throw in a trap or two (trip... spikes... arrow... etc) somewhere in the dungeons to further incapacitate the characters.

Suggestion though, maybe jot down the damage of the weapons the characters have on their sheets since the freebie doesn't include a weapons list. That way it will minimize some book consultation and allow you to get into the game a bit more quickly.

Let me know how it goes!

M

Good advice, thank you

As for the weapon damage, do you mean for the monsters/npc's? Because the PC weapons and damage are listed on the sheets.

How did it go? By the time I dragged myself to my FLGS there was no sign of FreeRPGness.

I went by TLG HQ last week and asked Steve for a copy, but he had already sent them all out. So today I go to the two FLGS here in Little Rock and neither were participating in FreeRPG Day. So,I haven't even seen the adventure in print form.

It went great! I spent last night working out some of the layout and printing kinks and felt solid about running it, and I'll tell ya, past those blemishes it was good stuff! Funny as hell NPC's, fun locations, a good amount of intrigue and open ended enough to fudge the way I wanted...and my group didn't even get half way through it!

I unfortunately spent most of the day playing other games and eating food so I only ended up running one session of C&C and had to cut it short after just about two hours and head home. On the bright side, just with the opening town scene, the road, and the cave with the barghest the players loved it.

It was 4 people who I had never met before. The 3 guys had only played a few sessions of D&D Encounters before this and the girl hadn't ever played an RPG before. The guys walked away saying they loved the flow of the adventure and how light the rules were. The girl commented that it wasn't nearly as overwhelming as she thought an RPG would be and said shed be back for more. For brand new gamers they settled into the system perfectly and their characters were HILARIOUS and tried so many fun and interesting things.

Good module Kim!

Ozreth wrote:It went great! I spent last night working out some of the layout and printing kinks and felt solid about running it, and I'll tell ya, past those blemishes it was good stuff! Funny as hell NPC's, fun locations, a good amount of intrigue and open ended enough to fudge the way I wanted...and my group didn't even get half way through it!

I unfortunately spent most of the day playing other games and eating food so I only ended up running one session of C&C and had to cut it short after just about two hours and head home. On the bright side, just with the opening town scene, the road, and the cave with the barghest the players loved it.

It was 4 people who I had never met before. The 3 guys had only played a few sessions of D&D Encounters before this and the girl hadn't ever played an RPG before. The guys walked away saying they loved the flow of the adventure and how light the rules were. The girl commented that it wasn't nearly as overwhelming as she thought an RPG would be and said shed be back for more. For brand new gamers they settled into the system perfectly and their characters were HILARIOUS and tried so many fun and interesting things.

Good module Kim!

That's awesome, great to hear. Thanks for the kind words, Oz. Glad you guys had fun.

Ozreth wrote:Good advice, thank you

As for the weapon damage, do you mean for the monsters/npc's? Because the PC weapons and damage are listed on the sheets.

Yeah, I was half asleep when I posted that and didn't see that info with the pre-gens till this morning.

M

Aergraith wrote:How did it go? By the time I dragged myself to my FLGS there was no sign of FreeRPGness.

The game was a success! Hopefully the trolls will post it up for free soon enough as a PDF.

M

I ran a DCC RPG demo at my local game store, or I probably would have done something C&C. I did manage to grab a copy of the Free RPG Day module but haven't had a chance to read it yet.