A Tale of Two Sessions
Over the last few years, the holidays have become a time of games and puzzles in my house. We always have a puzzle going on the coffee table while people watch TV or play video games, and we always play an RPG. It is almost an immutable law at this point.
This year we kicked things off with two separate games, a first for the household. What was fascinating for me as the facilitator of this all is how the sessions shined in different ways despite using the same game system.
A First Delve
This year, we had the treat of introducing two new people to our favorite game in the house, Torchbearer. Neither had either played a table top role playing game. In fact, one had none of the common language of my family around fantasy, Tolkien. I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but was determined to try and do character creation and at least most of an adventure.
Anyone who has spent any time with me knows I have strong opinions on the layout of game texts...
That's not right. What I really have are strongly held opinions on the physical design of game materials and how they help or hinder play. It is an endless quest to balance form and function to facilitate a unique experience.
And as my kids know, I grumble about the functional structure of the Torchbearer books every time we play. With this introductory session, I didn't grumble a bit. That is because the Dungeoneer's Handbook is almost perfect in serving the purpose of character creation.
If you own it, try reading it aloud starting with the very introduction as to what adventurers are. It sets the tone out the gate. It makes it easy for people without the cultural shorthand of gaming to understand what we are about to do.
Honestly, it is wild how effective it is. It is also impressive to me how little it relies upon the crutch of insider jargon. For gaming novices, that is beyond necessary.
And so, we quickly made characters together. We had an 11 year old playing an elven Ranger, a 13 year old playing a human Warrior, a 16 year old playing changeling Ghost Speaker, and a 49 year old playing a dwarven Outcast. Together they set out to explore the Tower of Stars out of the Cartographer's Compendium.
We ran into the need to eat, so didn't finish the adventure, but everyone had fun. That said, an interesting observation came to light as I talked about the game with my 16 year old. The adventure is a slow burn, perfect for a party of new players learning to play the game, but frustrating for my two old hands.
The whole experience reminded me of three truths...
- A beginner box for Torchbearer similar to what was attempted decades ago with the Dungeons & Dragons black box would be a wonderful product to design.
- No one buys those things unless it is for that hoary old goat of a game.
- I really, really, really want to design a boxed set for Torchbearer.
A Return to Ravenloft
My kids have a burning desire to kill a really powerful vampire. They are Moon Knight coming for Dracula. It never gets old for them. I am not sure what that says about how we raised them. I got three kids who love the macabre, but with the attitude of, "I am going to mess up that spooky asshole and take his stuff."
And so we returned to the mists once more. I decided to start us off using The Ghost Tower of the Illmyr Fens. It was the right move. It is a solid adventure, works well for this dynamic duo, and fit nicely with Ravenloft.
Dramatis Personae
Two actors took the stage on this rainy night. They worked the last caravan into Barovia village and got stuck there. They wore out their welcome, had no money, and needed to find work in this creepy, sleepy town. They aren't thieves or murderers, just a pair of folks with specific skills and an anti-authoritarian streak.
- Sligo is an ethereally beautiful ghost speaker who will "keep myself and Guthdor alive regardless the consequences for others."
- Guthdor is a rough and tumble warrior who is, "the man who will keep all from harm."
Not terrible people by any stretch of the imagination. They want to do right by others, though Sligo is a bit less concerned with anyone but Guthdor. They are broke, but they want to do good too.
Session One
It all began in the inn, as these things often do. A mysterious, cadaverous factotum from the nearby castle interrupted them as they tried to negotiate with the innkeeper. His master was in need of their services in exchange for some up front payment.
Ten years ago there was a troublesome necromancer in a tower on his lord's lands. He permitted some adventurers to deal with it, and in the process this tower disappeared in some unknown way. Now it was back, and he wanted to know why, as well as to take possession of any tomes or manuscripts they could carry off.
"Would they be so kind as to do this for the local lord?"
No money and no options, of course they would. Sligo saw a profit and Guthdor focused on getting himself a magical sword. What could go wrong?
The path to the tower was easy. Ten years wasn't long enough for the road to disappear. It was long enough for plants to grow on the hill in which it was located, but it was lacking in life.
It was also surrounded by rainbow colored flames and smoke. Like a technicolor painting. A technicolor painting that didn't move.
Oh, and an endless shriek. Not a shriek that starts and ends. A single note that never runs out of breath echoing from above...
That's not creepy at all...
They are cautious and smart, this pair. They poke at the smoke and flames and notice the heat. They use sword and shield to move it out of the way as they enter the tower.
If they thought the outside looked bad, the mess of rubble inside was worse. The walls were covered with arcane symbols neither knew what to make of other than not to touch them. Do they go up the stairs towards that shriek or down the trapdoor in the floor.
They open the trapdoor and see the body bisected by glyphs at the bottom of a ladder. Not good, but probably one of the adventurers from the look of it. Also, thank the gods for instincts like, "Always assess my surroundings before moving forwards."
Some dice are rolled and the trap discovered. They can't disarm it, but they sure as hell can avoid it, and make their way down below. They find a lab, an interesting journal, and a fancy shield that Guthdor swaps with his scrap of wood.
They also find a door. A door with a sigil. A sigil they fail to decipher and in their failure wake up some hiding Aptrgangr.
Nasty zombies. Nasty fight. They almost pull off total victory. Almost.
Sligo gets his face clawed a bit, and now he is hungry... Hungry for flesh, not hungry and thirsty. Curses are not a fun time.
Even so, they get cocky. They try the door. The sigil fires a sheet of flame at them. They jump and pull off some impressive dodging. The dice gods favor teenagers apparently.
They look in the room and see a statue to a goat headed god, an altar, and some bones. In the immortal words of Guthdor, "fuck that shit," and they close the door and head upstairs.
The library! Perfect! Get out the sacks, avoid the frozen smoke billowing down the stairs from above, grab some books. Leave the sack for when we leave and finish the job.
"Well this doesn't look good"
A moment frozen in time and engulfed in flames. A woman in a bed. A man with a flaming sword stabbing her in the gut. Their eyes move to you and the frozen scream continues.
"What do we do? How do we break this curse? Let's try something"
Dice are rolled, the turn ticks over, the frozen figures begin to talk. "Kill me! Kill her! Oh the pain!"
Guthdor and Sligo make their move for the sword. They pull it out and both the figures die. Time starts again. Flames and smoke and oh shit...
She gets up! Time to run!
It should have been over fast. The necromancer became something more. Something undead and awful. Something powerful...
And they are little people, but again, the dice gods favor teenagers.
They almost get away, miraculously. Almost.
Caught but they get to talk. She drags them down to the altar, but they got all their stuff. New and old. Lucky duo.
They trick her into letting them live, mostly. She collars them and sends them after her apprentice. It has been ten years. He is out there. Somewhere. Find him, bring him to me, and I won't kill you with my cursed collar.
Time to go. Got to get to town. Got a hex to remove and an apprentice to find. I wonder what the castle's agent will think of all this...
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