The leaders of the Hunting Pack have decided that Nagalisitu needs warriors to strengthen its people and teach them in the art of war. They know that a penal legion could easily be recruited if someone could extract them from their current location. Rescuing besieged soldiers requires a bit of skulduggery, but if there’s one thing the Hunting Pack is good at, it’s underhanded schemes!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:24:16 — 66.3MB)
Subscribe: RSS
Episode 9: Modern Boarfare
Pictured above: a Good Idea.
It’s a good campaign but I hope it doesn’t reach 20 episodes.
After a point it’s harder to keep track.
Thank you C. God of Storytelling.
While I’m not a ORE fan, I just love so much in this campaign
Counter-Cobbling, double action guillotines, the stabiees (sp) having Kratos in them, the Marquis de Balgron, and even the constant flummox of the characters as they bounce back and forth.
The Scarl has a lot of presence, I understand him and Matthias the best out of anyone. He’s career military, and he’s played to the hilt. Very well done!
Castor’s engineering is pretty fun too. I like it when people can actually craft things in a game.
But most of all is Aaron being a versatile pleabargaining muffin-throwing mage of no small power. Aaron being able to be something of a wrecking ball in a game is amazing. And he’s doing it as demurely and humbly as normal, in character. I can tell he’s loving it and that just makes it even more fun.
While Nagalisitu has its vexing moments, its altogether more lighthearted than anything else I’ve seen in a while. And that makes it a great change of pace from crushing despair and existential crisies. (which I do enjoy also).
David playing a barbarian, leans into one of his two traits, decisiveness, and while Four Hands is interesting, I feel I don’t quite know him fully yet. I did like his convo in the previous game, where he talks about where he is comfortable. That helped me understand him more.
Klingshire I think overall I like the least, but that doesn’t mean dislike. He’s very random and gets irritated easily. I like that he’s got dogs as a tool of war, but he just seems put upon a lot. I do like that he was willing to betray his family. I look forward to seeing where that goes.
Great game all
I think some of the parts that feel strange might stem from the players having a different view of what a mercenary company entails. They can vary drastically, but it sort of feels like everyone is on the same page on how the rank and file are: somewhat loyal but very stereotypical “grunts”/”redshirts”. The thing is, leaders in a mercenary company no matter what their troops will need to be somewhat canny, because they need to balance a ton of stuff like the danger of a job, the pay, and their reputation. They’re going to be used to employers trying to screw them, and trying to get the best deals for themselves, and knowing the lay of the political/physical land, etc.
Most of the time the group runs this way, and as long as things are going their way this sort of pattern holds true where the group works together (somewhat) and attempts clever/amusing (somewhat) stratagems. When complications arise sometimes it feels like Scarl/Klingzor randomly flip to a .. mongol raiding warband feel for how they envision the company, and it feels like the other players step waaaay back when it happens so there is an abrupt tone shift.
It is jarring when that tone shift happens offset from the setting: Darryl the Squinty-Eyed chasing you down isn’t the “we’re on the edge of all getting brutally murdered” time, that was last session in Nagalisitu with the absolutely silent immortal monstrosities that turn their silent screams into hellfire.
Also I noticed that the group appears to be doing something I find myself doing, which is forgetting that the Fascinate skill exists and is terribly named. It is actually the sort of general ‘persuade’ skill (“your listener is more inclined to like you or be
interested in what you’re saying or agree with your argument”).
That all said, the rougher edges are smoothing out as the players get more familiar with the system (and are getting more onto the same page ala heroes of new arcadia) and the campaign has had a ton of great moments and I look forward to every episode.
Caleb, did you ask the party to not split up, or was it just luck that the PCs didn’t spread out and go hunt down whatever they wanted to throw into the portal? Also they were pretty on-mission with getting back in a timely fashion, did you have “random group of X finds the portal and so what you come back to is different from expected” events on deck if they delayed too long?
@ZypherIM
It doesn’t make a ton of sense to split up. Assuming you can get people to the portal all by yourself and without a company is a big if. Furthermore, if you arrive even a day later, the current revolution is 24 years gone. If you arrive on the same time, how do you stop the factions from dominating each other? The Druzluk aren’t going to vibe with the diplomatic scientists if they arrive on the some day. It makes sense to give one group a head start.
In the final draft, I did have other people finding the portal as a possible outcome. I’m not sure how much of that will make it into the final edit though.
I’m glad Shaun is keeping his catchphraise of “I’m not a good person” going.
I am also sad that the players didn’t find a way to leave the Stabiees behind to start a chivalric order.
Finally I love the idea of the PCs finding a basically Utopian society and destroying it.
Patsy’s best work yet!
My favourite part of all this is that for FourHands its been like what, a couple of months tops since he was sent from his primitive tribe to the alien world beyond?
Guy is straight up dealing with it.