The Girl in Glass

Tell us how you are using our gaming tools and how your sessions are going.

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tomlib
Giant
Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:48 am

May 28, 2011 - Session

Post by tomlib »

We played as usual last night so I added another recap to the Girl in Glass campaign this morning.

We had a good session with three big battles and a couple of skill challenges as the group is just about finished with the fourteenth module. We are heading into the final phases of the campaign. The PCs are now 23rd level. We do have some weeks off coming in June but I see the campaign coming to a conclusion sometime in the fall.

MapTool basically works perfectly at this point so nothing to say in that regard.

I am beginning to think about the next campaign for the group. No 4th Edition for me. I don't want to get into edition wars but I'm just not happy with the fun factor in 4th. It's a little too mechanical I guess although as a GM it is very easy to prepare a game. I'm going to go with a much more open system next time. I'm looking at some of the Pathfinder APs as a possibility but not using Pathfinder rules.

MapTool rocks!

Tom

tomlib
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Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:48 am

Jun 3, 2011 - Session

Post by tomlib »

The Campaign rolls on with another Session.

Everyone seems to have a good handle on their characters at this point and we really rip through combats. The macros aren't ideal for everything and looking back there are things I would have done differently, but basically they work and that is all that really matters.

The group is now on the 15th Adventure of the campaign, Unbeliever, as they wind their way slowly towards a conclusion. They were detoured from their attempt to return to Tanelorn into a vast underground realm where a strange man shows them the sites at the behest of the Unbeliever, Shinamar the Loathsome. What this has to do with the Girl in Glass is a mystery but the group has little choice other than to follow along.

We had a big session with four large combats and quite a bit of role-playing. We do have at least one week off coming up and perhaps more over the summer but things are moving towards a conclusion rapidly.

MapTool rocks,

Tom

tomlib
Giant
Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:48 am

Jun 18, 2011 - Session

Post by tomlib »

We had an aborted session last week and then a full session this week so I combined the two into a single session in the recap of the campaign.

We are taking next week off and then should be back at in July. The group is now closing in on the conclusion of the fifteenth adventure of the total of eighteen.

We had a big session this week with long and complex combats. Because of the tweeks I've made to 4th Edition rules the group got a little more powerful than the creatures of equivelant level, so I've been working the monster attacks to be more coordinated and the battles this week were extremely challenging. My main tinkers involved the PCs doing more damage and having a higher AC than the book rules would like. The monsters have lower ACs and Hit Points and as the levels progressed, the group is now 24, I let things slide a little too far in the player's benefit. Combats were getting too easy but it was an easy fix.

I'm definitely done with 4th Edition when we finish this campaign. I'm looking into running Rise of the Runelords with a Talislanta Framework I've done, but we'll see. The group might want something different like space opera.

My first quibble with MapTool in a while involves PCs moving through hidden areas and revealing them. I'm working with v84. If a PC moves their token and it touches outside a blocking area, in the movement but does not stop there, then the vision blocking cuts out for that wall. It is a nuisance but not insurmountable.

Tom

tomlib
Giant
Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:48 am

Jul 2, 2011 - Session

Post by tomlib »

We played another session of the campaign last night and I've posted the recap but there is bad news. Stupid Microsoft changed the way SkyDrive works and hotlinking photos is no longer an option. So, the MapTool images no longer show up. Boo. I'll find a solution fairly quickly but it's an issue for the moment.

**** ImageShack to the Rescue **** photos now visible. Boooooooo Microsoft.

The session was mostly combat as the group wanders the ancient King of Cities Das'von and encounters terrible undead monstrosities at every turn. They found the ancient throne room but the Broken Throne was gone. The group uncovered enough clues to figure out that the Sea Giant Cawl took it back to his own kingdom where he plans to place his son on throne as the new emperor. They also found ancient runes from the Usurper that indicated the location of some of the terrible creatures imprisoned long ago which made lead them to Demogorgon where they can strengthen the bonds.

MapTool works perfectly as always.

Tom

tomlib
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Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:48 am

July 16, 2011 - Session

Post by tomlib »

We had an accidental week off and an abbreviated session this week. The group finished the fifteenth adventure and found themselves back in Tanelorn. We just did a couple of combats and a bit of role-playing to set the groundwork for the next adventure.

The campaign continues apace.

Tom

tomlib
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Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:48 am

Latest Sessions

Post by tomlib »

Sorry for the long absence. We had one game but it was a shorty and then a long gap. We played again last night with a big session of the campaign. I wrote up the recap from the short session and the long session and posted them today.

The group reached 26th level at the end of the long session as they try to learn more about the ancient prisons built after the Old Empire. If they can learn the secrets to the prisons they might be able to prevent the release of Demogorgon and perhaps many of the other ancient creatures now beginning to break their bonds.

We should finish Adventure 16 either next week or the week after and that will leave two adventures to go. If each takes four sessions that means we've got about nine or ten sessions left in the campaign. It's been a long haul and I'm done with 4th Edition. We've been doing a little of my Talislanta framework on the side using Rise of the Runelords and it is proving most entertaining. Of course, that's a great adventure and that might be the reason for the fun as much as the rule system.

MapTool rocks!

Tom

tomlib
Giant
Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:48 am

Aug 20 and 27 Sessions

Post by tomlib »

After the Session last week I had to catch an early flight and didn't do my usual Sunday morning recap work. Naturally, once I got out of my routine I totally forgot. So, that session was completed as well as this week's Session of the Campaign.

The group finished up with Adventure 16 in the second session and we now move onto the 17th Adventure. That means we've got about two months of the campaign left depending on how regularly we play. It should be about eight sessions although as the final draws nigh we might do some long nights.

The group is now hot on the trail of the Girl in Glass as they have promised certain powers to try and free her from her prison. The only problem is finding the girl. Then there is the pesky immenent release of Demogorgon who seems to be gaining tremendous support in the realm. The death of Arioch has further increased his potential power.

Meanwhile they learned that Arioch's consort, the fire elemental Eleniak the Golden Flame, is now in command of the fire realms and hopes to reunite her fellow elementals and lead them on a campaign of conquest to retake the material world. Apparently the Girl in Glass can potentially thwart this plan and Eleniak tried to hire the group to kill the girl.

MapTool worked perfectly as always.

Tom

tomlib
Giant
Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:48 am

Sep 3, 2011 - Session

Post by tomlib »

We played another Session of the Campaign last night. We did three combats as the group discovered that ancient Demon Keys are used to seal the Prisons of the Usurper.

They now have access to one of the keys and perhaps can use it to track down the one used to seal in Demogorgon. They still must decide if they want to free the beast or not. It's connection to the Girl in Glass remains obscure for the moment but it is certain that the forces seeking the girl and the forces seeking Demogorgon seem to be converging.

MapTool had a weird little laggy moment where people couldn't drag their tokens around but it went away. Probably net connectivity issues more than anything.

We've got twenty-seven encounters left in the campaign. We generally do about four a session although we've done as many as six and as few as two. I see us being done in about seven session.

Tom

tomlib
Giant
Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:48 am

Sep 10, 2011 - Session

Post by tomlib »

We were missing two players for this week's Session of the Campaign but we forged ahead anyway.

I somehow forgot to vision block the dungeon the group spent most of their time in and it was a fairly intricate procedure so I did it quickly and roughly. Therefore the screen shots show a little of the surrounding corridor but not too badly.

Because of our missing players the combats took a little longer than usual and we only finished two large battles and a skill challenge.

My Short Rest and Long Rest macros do quite a bit of looping and we found that one of the things that was causing us trouble was that I would run the macros and see they worked on my screen and then the players would start moving their tokens. I think that MapTool was still transferring information to their computers and this caused the macros to fail. So, now we wait a bit after I run large looping macros and this seems to have solved the problems.

I also have a situation with temporary enhancements that really would require a re-write of things. Basically one PC grants another PC some temporary AC or HP or bonus to hit and damage but the receiving PC also puts on some of their own bonuses. I have a macro that clears all temporary bonuses but the staggered application causes issues. I want to clear some bonuses but not all. I suppose I could create a screen with the Clear Temps button to specify which temporary abilities are cleared. But, that requires more clicking on the part of the players. Something to think about anyway.

Tom

P.S. In my Talislanta/Pathfinder Framework I'm creating a Hallow Deck. I looked on the forum and couldn't find anyone that had completed it. So, I should finish that up soon in case anyone wants it. I won't be great coding like some of the Giants here but hopefully it will work! :-)

tomlib
Giant
Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:48 am

Sep 24, 2011 - Session

Post by tomlib »

I had an unexpected visitor last week so we cancelled the game at the last moment but we started up again with a session this week.

The camaign continues apace. We should finish up with Adventure 17 in our next session. We are taking next week off as it is a big gaming convention in St. Louis.

The group is now on the cusp of level 28. They know how to use the Demon Key they obtained to find the one that will permantly lock Demogorgon into his prison. They only have to get back to the surface, find the right Demon Key, find the prison, and then use it to seal the creature in. Then there is the little matter of the Girl in Glass, the First General Adusko Trul, and a few loose ends to tie up.

MapTool rocks!

Tom

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