• Jeff
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Topic: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

Vomited filth aside, the undead in DFD seem too powerful for 1st level PCs and not the sort you can knock down in power. What's a minimum level for four 0e PCs?

I haven't bought Grinding Gear but I understand it's low level. Is that the better option? I don't have to stick with Jim's stuff, but DFD struck me as an ideal foil to the 4e sessions I've been running recently and you can't beat the tone.

Sorry for the naive questions but I'm pretty rusty.

Thanks,

Jeff

"If the character touching the gem survives alignment shock, the gem will fly up and embed itself in the forehead of the victim."
- Jaquays, Dark Tower, (p.7).
  • JimLotFP
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Re: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

Jeff wrote:

Vomited filth aside, the undead in DFD seem too powerful for 1st level PCs and not the sort you can knock down in power. What's a minimum level for four 0e PCs?

I haven't bought Grinding Gear but I understand it's low level. Is that the better option? I don't have to stick with Jim's stuff, but DFD struck me as an ideal foil to the 4e sessions I've been running recently and you can't beat the tone.

Sorry for the naive questions but I'm pretty rusty.

Thanks,

Jeff

The undead in DFD aren't intended to be fought in the first place, really. My players stumbling around the Greater Tombs just made the deal with the devil, so to speak.

Grinding Gear is more forgiving. The deadliest part is probably the very beginning (depicted on the cover), but players will feel lucky to get their characters out alive as there are several places where things can go wrong.

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  • Registered: 2009-10-09
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Re: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

IMO, the best way to start a Raggian D&D campaign is with The Three Brides (along with People of Pembrooktonshire). Then place both the Grinding Gear and Death Frost Doom in the mountains outside town.

  • Jeff
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Re: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

Well, here we go. In a few hours I'm running DFD as a one-shot OD&D session for my 4e players. I haven't DMed skill-less D&D in an eternity. One player can't make it so it's looking like three first-level PCs and a hireling or two. LOL.

Please direct some horror vibes towards Toronto.

"If the character touching the gem survives alignment shock, the gem will fly up and embed itself in the forehead of the victim."
- Jaquays, Dark Tower, (p.7).
  • Jeff
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Re: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

We'll pick it up again with a rewind rather than with new characters.

They entered the cabin around back, chose the door on the left, found the purple lotus powder and craving a laugh they all simultaneously tried it. The cleric was the first to come out of the drug haze, and as luck would have it he believed everybody was a demon. A minute later he was crossing the plateau, bloodied mace in hand, towards the two unsuspecting hirelings and the mule. Fade to black, roll credits.

It was good and creepy and everybody's looking forward to the rewind.

Jim, a wee bit of feedback: the surface map could use a legend that names those lettered locations, and that switched North between the surface and cabin map tripped me up for a bit.

Last edited by Jeff (2010-02-22 19:51:09)

"If the character touching the gem survives alignment shock, the gem will fly up and embed itself in the forehead of the victim."
- Jaquays, Dark Tower, (p.7).
  • JimLotFP
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Re: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

Jeff wrote:

Jim, a wee bit of feedback: the surface map could use a legend that names those lettered locations, and that switched North between the surface and cabin map tripped me up for a bit.

The compass issue is being dealt with at least; I'll take a look at the naming issue.

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  • Jeff
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Re: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

The naming issue's mostly just relevant when the map's pulled out of the page flow of the module. I put all maps in a separate view in OneNote, others might clip them out if they're sticking with paper.

"If the character touching the gem survives alignment shock, the gem will fly up and embed itself in the forehead of the victim."
- Jaquays, Dark Tower, (p.7).
  • From: Perth, Western Australia
  • Registered: 2010-08-14
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Re: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

I know a long time has passed Jeff, but it would be nice to know how the re-wind worked out?

It's not the years, it's the mileage.

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  • Jeff
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Re: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

I'm sorry to say it never happened. The TPK did sort of leave a bad taste in the players' mouths. The group's playing rarely and some have zero interest in old school, so when (if) we play OD&D again it'll be because the stars have aligned just so. And it won't be DFD, unfortunately, since a player's now joined the group who's read it. I bought Spire of Ice and Crystal since it seems do-able in a single session. I'd prefer to run Evermore Mountain, which charmed me when I read it (and how often does that happen?!?), but it's way too long.

In hindsight, my mistake was not fudging the roll on that random effects table. My spider sense was tingling but I was just too rusty to trust my instincts.

"If the character touching the gem survives alignment shock, the gem will fly up and embed itself in the forehead of the victim."
- Jaquays, Dark Tower, (p.7).
  • From: Perth, Western Australia
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Re: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

Interesting point Jeff. I suspect my group would baulk at a TPK too.

In my early days, the GM wouldn't let you fill out a character sheet until your PC made it to level 2 - such was the fragility of your budding hero (and the cost of photocopying). Of course today's RPGs deliver you a capable character from the get-go so you fast-forward those early days.

Ironically I'm less inclined to fudge the rolls these days. Weird RPG is definitely a campaign game but I don't think it's intended to be comprised of just Weird Tales advenutres - after all Jim makes the sound point that if your fantasy world only has a little bit of Weird in it, the Weird Tales really stand out - if every adventure is a Weird Tale, you might as well have magic-users selling fireball wands on every street corner.

Of those two adventures you mention, I've tracked down Evermore but I'm not sure what Spire of Ice and Crystal is or where to find it?

It's not the years, it's the mileage.

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  • Jeff
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Re: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

DM fudging's counter to the spirit of the game, but if my experience isn't a lesson in exceptions I dunno what is.

A couple of thoughtful Spire reviews from two OSR luminaries:

http://www.philotomy.com/SIC-review.html

http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/05/ … ystal.html

"If the character touching the gem survives alignment shock, the gem will fly up and embed itself in the forehead of the victim."
- Jaquays, Dark Tower, (p.7).
  • From: Perth, Western Australia
  • Registered: 2010-08-14
  • Posts: 42

Re: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

Brilliant. Thanks for the tip Jeff.

It's not the years, it's the mileage.

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  • From: DuPont, WA
  • Registered: 2012-05-22
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Re: DFD or Grinding Gear for 1st level PCs?

Jeff wrote:

DM fudging's counter to the spirit of the game...

Do you ever fudge, Jeff?

My name is Ed Healy, and I am the Gamerati

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