RE: The Actual Play

Dude, that's awesome. Sincerely.  Keep posting, yo.

Oh, and I love that map of the cenote, and will copy it to my home macheen when I get home (IF the DNS works there, which it didn't this morning).  I especially like the little symbol which either means "No Bootleg Batman Toys" or "Do Not Drink Bacardi Before You Go In Here, Ese".  That and it says "Leyend" instead of "Legend" and that makes me hungry for some tacos.

Why?

...

...because I love tacos.

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!...

...

...I wanna play that game.

Oh, did I say that was a game?  No, he's really buying that shit and trying to bring it in the house.

!i!

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!I especially like the little symbol which either means "No Bootleg Batman Toys" or "Do Not Drink Bacardi Before You Go In Here, Ese".

Have you seen some of those Mexican bootleg Batman toys?  Egads!  Small wonder they felt it necessary to issue the warning.

!i!

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaHave you seen some of those Mexican bootleg Batman toys?  Egads!  Small wonder they felt it necessary to issue the warning.

!i!

Dude, I lived in Mexico.  So...Yes.  And yes.

I love the notion of an adventurer being chased into a dungeon.  It just lends itself so well to a denouement scene:  after defeating the (much nastier) critters inside the dungeon, Mendor can drag himself out of the cenote to find those five goblins lying in wait for him ... and utterly destroy them like the inconsequential gnats they are compared to his now much-greater buffitude.

I know it's been a while, but any further updates on this, Ian? I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far, the long buried 8-year-old in me is a little envious that he didn't have such a cool gaming Dad.

So... where'd the story go?  It's been a few months, and I'm really excited to hear what happened to Mendor, as well as the clever decisions you and your son will make.

It blows my mind that he's only seven, even with the limited play you've posted.  I've been gaming for thirteen years, and I don't think my 11 yearold self could have thought so wisely. (Or even my 24 yearold self. )

I was thinking of returning to this thread just last week, because we've revived the advanture after losing track of the game for a few months.  Also, my daughter has joined the game after rolling up a halfling sorceress.  I mentioned a bit of the renewed adventure in a thread on Open last week.

Returning to Mendor's struggles in the cenote, he had to stay away from the open sinkholes for fear of the javelin hurling goblins who held the day above.  Retreating through a passageway that the water had carved in the limestone, and following it downstream (eventually back to the coastline, he figured), five kobolds struggling and bickering over a large sack.

My son's gnome ranger got to take advantage of two character features.  First, the gnome's +1 attack bonus against kobolds, and second, his +2 damage bonus against favored enemies (reptilian humanoids). He managed to kill four of them unscathed, with two natural criticals (hooray for the improved critical on the scimitar!), but the fifth got away.

At this point, my daughter entered the room and decided she wanted to play with the character she had rolled up previously, Hazel.  Taking advantage of the situation, I declared that inside the sack was the halfling sorceress. The two of them worked on getting out of one of the sinkholes by means of a rather ingenious use of Animate Rope, a plan that should have worked, but I had other plans that took prececedence. Before they could start climbing out, the surviving kobold from the first encounter brought back reinforcements for better than 4-to-1 odds. A firefight of magic missiles vs. light crossbows ensued (my daughter was very pleased by the sure-fire efficacy of the magic missile), while the gnome charged his opponents, killing three of them face-to-face and one attempting to flee. Over all, two kobolds got away, probably likely to raise the hue and cry among the entire kobold community.

So, that's where I left them last, each picking up a light crossbow and bolts, and rifling the corpses for loose change.  But kobolds are cunning, if not smart or brave. This lot fell prey to their instinctual hatred of the gnome at first sight, and figured they had easy odds against him.  They're through with face-downs that leave them slaughtered. It's time for some traps and ambushes, which ought to prove interesting to the two kids.  Also, as has been suggested, giant insects are good for pumping up early XP totals with a fair modicum of safety.  And besides, the kids are bound to find them super creepy.

!i!

(P.S. For those keeping track, my son is now 8, and my daughter 6.)

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaI was thinking of returning to this thread just last week, because we've revived the advanture after losing track of the game for a few months. Also, my daughter has joined the game after rolling up a halfling sorceress. I mentioned a bit of the renewed adventure in a thread on Open last week.

I loved your HQ AP, and this simply rocks. Please, keep'em coming I find them great.

One of the weird things about a child's perspective is that, while the HeroQuest campaign we ran a few years ago remains vivid in my memory, my son hardly remembers it at all.  I think he'll remember this, though.

!i!

I still remember my first D&D campaign (that I wasn't running myself, anyway) vividly.  There's something about a DM that has a good idea of where they're going, and an ability to work on the fly.

Keep the updates coming.  Also, I'm excited that there's an interest in D&D so young.  I have a 2 yearold, and so do a few of my gaming friends (3 kids total)... in a few years, we should have a good game going that'll allow us older geeks to get our fix, while letting us hang out with our families.

My daughter's only 3, but she's as into Doctor Who and Star Wars as she is into Barbie and Disney princesses.  She has favorite episodes of the D&D cartoon, and she can spot Spider-Man at 100 paces.  So we're on track to have some hardcore nerd fun for a few years yet.

I'm hoping to get in some gaming with her before she hits 12.  She has her own set of dice (bubblegum pink!) and everything.

Then, boys will happen, and goodness knows what else...

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!I'm hoping to get in some gaming with her before she hits 12.  She has her own set of dice (bubblegum pink!) and everything.

My daughter's dice are the pink side of mauve.

!i!

Hey, Ian.  Two weeks.  Any updates?  I loved this thread...

Bump!

Sadly, no.  Between a heavy workload, a chess tournament, and parent-teacher conferences, the campaign has been on hold.  I'm thinking along the lines of a super-toned-down version of the Queen of the Demonweb Pits, involving a mess of GFSs (thank you) and a mis-placed drider sorceress.

!i!