State of the Game

Oct 22, 2016

Big Picture

At a recent MH meeting several guildies expressed possible interest in some tabletop role-playing. I put together a possible campaign. I'm happy to have many guildies on board, so we're moving forward. The first session will be Fri, Nov 4, 9-11:30 EST (I aim for 120 minutes and guarantee no longer than 150).

We're Just Starting

If you're reading this and you haven't gotten involved, it's not too late. We're at a comfortable number of players (~7), but many things affect group size. For example, someone may discover that their tastes don't match my campaign and DM style, and that's OK. Someone else may wait and see if this surge of interest launches into a long-term game, and only then decide to join--that's also OK. At this point, I'm not turning anyone away. Also, spectators will be welcome.

Recall that this is a newbie-friendly group. I'm always happy to teach someone the basics of tabletop gaming and the D&D system.

Failure to Launch?

Speaking of "wait and see," most tabletop RPG veterans have experienced one or more failed campaigns. Personally, on multiple occasions, I've poured hours into learning a system and creating a character, only to play once or not all. Such experiences lead to a kind of wariness around new campaigns.

For what it's worth, I've run face-to-face and online campaign lasting real-life years. I've received very positive feedback from my players, and I'm always trying to improve as a DM--both how I run the game and how I keep the players together as a group. I've got the time and stamina to make this awesome, with my players' help. I've certainly got plenty of story to tell, as I think my initial work demonstrates. Starting out, we've got a nice mix of veterans and newbies (or folks coming back to tabletop D&D), within the larger community of MH. I'm confident this campaign and this group will grow into something long-term and special.

Start-up Costs

Speaking of wariness, I don't fault someone for hesitating to buy a D&D 5e Player's Handbook ($25 on Amazon) and Tabletop Simulator ($20 on Steam; some players have extra copies to give away). There's wisdom in playing one or more sessions to get a taste of my campaign and DM style, and the group. The D&D 5e Basic Rules are a free download and more than adequate to start. I'll stream the tactical battlefield, so there's no urgent need to buy Tabletop Simulator.

Incidentally, Tabletop Simulator supports a variety of non-RPG tabletop games, such as poker and board games. We/guildies should keep those possible uses in mind.

Initial Calendar

MH currently isn't focused on a specific game (as we were with Albion Online). There's a growing interest in general gaming on Friday evening, perhaps every couple weeks. With that in mind, see below for the initial calendar for Hulks & Husks. H&H will be 9-11:30 pm EST. MH General Gaming will likely be the same approximate times. If MH General Gaming isn't planned, we may decide as a group to use the slot for H&H.

   Fri, Nov 4: H&H
   Fri, Nov 11: MH General Gaming
   Fri, Nov 18: H&H
   Fri, Nov 25: MH General Gaming?
   Fri, Dec 2: H&H
   Fri, Dec 9: MH General Gaming?
   Fri, Dec 16: H&H
   Fri, Dec 23: Christmas weekend
   Fri, Dec 30: MH General Gaming?

If I had to choose between shorter, more-frequent sessions and longer, less-frequent sessions, I prefer longer. It takes a minimum amount of time to start a session and wrap it up, and I like having more time and narrative space to get the party into an interesting situation and back out. This also fits with my experience with online groups: that it's helpful to end every session in a way that eases PC drop-in/drop-out. For example, it's better for the party to end a session back at the entrance to a dungeon than still three floors down in the middle of a battle.

Current Party

Below is a link to my notes on the current state of the party. We've got good variety and balance so far. Note that there's nothing wrong with two or players choosing the same class, especially since 5e allows for considerable variation even in the same class. At this point, any additional characters might want to consider frontline/tank classes (e.g., barbarian, fighter, ranger).

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12UhOca5PoSs8Sz8WCcOU_HUNU3p9wZ_CiSsyu3erb5Q/edit?usp=sharing

On the DM's Desk

FYI, here's some of what I'm working on.

   Checking characters and backstories
   Continue planning the campaign
   Prologue for all characters (a little more info on what everyone experienced before the story starts)
   Episode 1 (the first session)
   Map #1: A partial map of the continent, including the border of the Shangon Empire, the forested neutral zone, and the border of the Freelands Republic
   Map #2: A general map of the neutral zone
   Tabletop Simulator: Minis: expanding my collection of miniatures to give players some appealing options
   More on religion (especially since we've got a cleric and a paladin)
   More on Tessera, including the world's special traits around plants, writing, and the goblinoid races (teaser: they're not all evil)

Final Thoughts

I'm very excited to run this campaign and delighted to see a group come together. This is DM Cinero, and I'll see you on the battlefield.

November 19, 2016

Big Picture

We're off to a great start. We've got a core group of enthusiastic players. We have a variety of levels of player experience, and players are helping each other learn.

Upcoming Episodes

Fri, Nov 25: Hulks & Husks: Episode 4 Fri, Dec 2: No episode (Sunarie & Karoo traveling) Fri, Dec 9: No episode (Sunarie & Karoo traveling) Fri, Dec 16: Hulks & Husks: Episode 5 Fri, Dec 23: Maybe no episode (Christmas weekend) Fri, Dec 30: Hulks & Husks: Episode 6?

Using Extended Downtime

I'm aiming to finish the Riverfast dungeon in Episode 4, so that PCs have extended downtime before Episode 5. My goal is for the PCs to be back at Fort Coldheart and the village of Corq.

During a week with no episode, I'll still be available asynchronously, by appointment, and likely on Friday night. I'm happy to run downtime side-story scenes. This would also be a great time to flesh out PC backstories, such as going back in time to run a solo prologue scene, or collaborating to build out relevant a religious order (or other faction) for your PC.

Pacing

For the first two episodes, I was expecting a relatively-slow pace. Among the complications were learning the basics of Tabletop Simulator, learning D&D 5e, initial formation of the party of PCs and group of players, some world-building/exposition/info-dumping, and brushing off my DM skills.

I'm eager to ramp up the pace. This isn't a criticism of anyone else. I aim for a satisfying pace for story, combat, and character advancement. We don't need to go a lot faster (it's a game), but there is room for improvement.

I'm experimenting with strategies such as DM Assistants. I'll also try to better balance IC RP opportunities with OOC summaries that move the story forward. Let's keep exploring other strategies, such as players pre-rolling attacks so they're ready to resolve them on their turn.

Tabletop Simulator

I'm thoroughly delighted by TTS. It has tremendous potential. I put a lot of time into creating a custom gaming table for us, and I'm satisfied with the results.

Dungeoneering in TTS is one place where I can significantly improve pacing, especially by building out dungeons in advance. I've been tinkering a lot with TTS to understand its affordances and constraints. I needed a scene with moderately-complex combat to understand some issues. I'm looking forward to applying what I've learned in Episode 4.

Hulks & Husks Wiki

Initially, I used the MH Enjin forum for some world-building and lore. I have considerable experience in these matters, so I know that a wiki is a far superior solution. Among its advantages: having a search feature.

Happily, some of the guild tech wizards promptly hooked us up with a new wiki. The link is on main navigation bar on the Enjin site. Aslene and I are going to tackle transferring all the content from the forums to the wiki. We welcome other collaborators. In particular, I welcome help from anyone to flesh out details of the world related to your character.

Please join me in thanking Kodiak and bwaite for the wiki.

Google Hunt: Rules Summary

I've been looking for a clear summary of the rules, to help other players and me get our head around 5th edition. For example, there's this:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Byr-i7lu1I5ISzU4SHNuTHhHNXc/view

If you find a better summary, please share it.

Final Thoughts

I'm deeply delighted to have a group going. I look forward to the awesome episodes in the near future, as we get more comfortable with each other, the game, and the world.

May 3, 2017

For our next session, we'll start with a "workshop" time for some OOC discussion and activities. In anticipation of that...

Rules Reminders and Updates

…Please review the following pages. They're brief. I'm not implying that anyone is breaking any rules. Rather, this relates to the workshop discussion.

• Overall Goals (no changes)
• General Rules (simplified)
• House Rules (updated and simplified)
• OOC Tips (new)

You'll see that I've removed Aspects, Tenacity, and Grit. Thank you for participating in this design experiment. I'll explain more during the workshop.

If you're a caster, notice that Strain and Strain Effects are back (very simplified).

Your Goals and Relationships

…Consider your character's answers to the following questions. You can write these in advance or during the workshop time.

What is your current goal or goals? Your answer should be distinct from the Titan Breakers' mission, but could include something like being a good soldier for the Empire.

For each member of the Titan Breakers, what is your opinion of them? Do you have any relationship with them, other than being in the same Spearguard squad?

For your convenience, I've added a list of the PCs.

July 10, 2017

I'm ready to lead our preparation for Season 3 of Hulks & Husks. The story shifts from Tessera out into the multiverse!

Overview, Updated

In a multiverse of countless worlds, ambition and greed have no limits. On the Prime Material Plane, the world of Tessera was locked in war for more than twenty years. But deep in no man's land, a band of heroes discovered a wider conspiracy. The Bloodstone War was aggravated and prolonged by the League of the Rusted Crown. The League is a world-hopping conspiracy of slavers, mercenaries, and arms dealers. The League sends its agents to Prime worlds to infiltrate nations and sell the secrets of noxious magic. They arrange elaborate conspiracies to obtain slaves and profit from conflict. Heroes from Tessera must now venture into the planes. They must find allies and muster resources to combat the League and heal their world.

Wiki Updates

I've updated the Hulks & Husks wiki. Everything specific to the world of Tessera is now labeled as such. Over time, I'll build out content specific to Planescape, including the city of Sigil and the factions.

I've created "Getting Started" as a point of entry: http://hhwiki.mhguild.com/index.php/Getting_Started

I've explained how I'm using the Planescape setting: http://hhwiki.mhguild.com/index.php/Playing_Planescape

A More United, Intentional Party

As you consider who and how you will play in Season 3, please keep in mind a central goal for my campaign. I want a party to be a team that trusts each other, works together, and shares their knowledge. This isn't a judgment on any player or others' campaigns. There are many fun, interesting ways to play D&D. I simply prefer DMing a game in which the players and PCs are united and conscientiously work as team.

With that in mind, the party will need a clear leader. I've talked with Karoo, and he's cheerfully willing to pass or share the responsibility with someone else.

Each PC must be a member of the Unbroken Tide, or be comfortable joining it early in the campaign. The Tide is the secret society that opposes slaver organizations like the League of the Rusted Crown. Each PC must be genuinely committed to this cause. A PC from Tessera must also be genuinely committed to trying to heal the corruption to Tessera's Weave--the corruption that's causing Strain.

To be clear: a PC can have additional motives. For example, a PC might have personal reasons for joining the Tide, like rescuing their enslaved family.

Each PC must have personal connections with at least two other PCs, beyond just comrades in arms. Such a connection could be:

• Family (e.g., cousins)
• A shared history (e.g., growing up in the same settlement)
• A shared religion
• Worked together in a previous job
• etc.

Level 7

All PCs will start Season 3 at Level 7.

The Council of Bitterseed

Season 3 will start with an important meeting at the freehold of Bitterseed. The Titan Breakers, their allies, and some unexpected visitors will decide next steps. A group of Tesserans will be taking the fight to the League. They'll start by traveling to the city of Sigil: a bustling hub of planar travel. This will be an opportunity for any current PC to continue in the campaign by joining the Sigil group, or to bow out by staying on Tessera. Any new PC can join the Sigil group as a Tesseran, or join the group as a planar of the Unbroken Tide (from Sigil or another non-Tesseran place).

All Tesserans probably realize that Strain is a new phenomenon. This will likely lead to significant social and political turbulance. This is one of several plausible reasons why a Titan Breaker might choose to stay on Tessera.

The Killing Pits

In Episode 2.7, the Titan Breakers hastened into Vesperchoke's lair to stop Violetta's escape. Afterwards, the heroes were able to explore the adjacent tunnel that lead to the surface.

They found a killing pit: a sinkhole hundreds of feet in diameter and fifty feet deep. It was encircled with reinforced positions bristling with trebuchets. There were also ballistas for launching gliders, and cranes and wagons for moving large loads. The construction methods and style were a peculiar mix of orc tribe and Imperial Army--likely due to the involvement of Helmund's Strikers.

In the killing pit lay four broken graven hulks:

• The Armored Hog… a burly boar with sharp tusks the size of trees
• The Reckless Badger… a heavily-armored behemoth with vicious claws
• The Duchess of Spikes… a tall, lithe woman with spiked armor, a spiked shield, and a spiked ball-and-chain flail.
• The Malevolent Vole… a brass-and-stone cogwork burrower

Each hulk had clearly been defeated by magic and violence. Then its bloodstone hearts were harvested and carted into the lair, to power Violetta's planar portal.

Lingering Questions from Season 2

• Where had Violetta transported the Breakers' fellow Tesserans, including Cora's family?
• How did bloodstones cause Strain, and could the corruption of magic be reversed?
• How would the orcs of Edonia respond to the death of Vesperchoke and being freed from Violetta's machinations?
• Was Tessera now truly free from interference by the League of the Rusted Crown?
• Where was the artifact book Tundinzarn, and how was it connected to these events? Since the Breakers killed the orc shaman Sharra in the battle, they needed a new plan to free Orianna from the page-trap.
• How should the Titan Breakers respond to knowing the Shangon Empire's complicity in the conspiracy? Did they even still belong in the Shangon Army?

Some Issues for the Council

• What to do with the grimy treasure of Vesperchoke Thorntail
• Whether to use Tarantula, Violetta's spider-shaped ship, or to try transferring the planeshift helm to another vessel
• How to deal with the orcs of Edonia
• How to free Orianna
• Donovar's identity (Vesperchoke said he's lying about this)