Welcome to the fifth set of game notes of our The Rime of Frost Maiden campaign from a player’s perspective. We’ll discuss the pre-game, the session itself, the post-game and what I’m taking into the next session in each of these posts. The aim is to provide a diary of the experience from a player’s perspective.
Disclaimer
These posts are written from the perspective of a player who has purposefully not looked up spoilers. I am enjoying the game. These thoughts are my own and I can’t speak for my fellow players.
These reports are written close to the session but may not be released immediately after.
The sections
The pre-game
This week was stressful, primarily because I was doing the same thing I always end up doing when I am heading off on a longer campervan tour. Leaving too many things until the last minute. I promise myself every time that next time I’ll take the day off before I set off but I never do.
There was a lot going on and this did mean I was guilty of the cardinal sin of online tabletop role-playing? Doing other things while playing, namely still researching some elements of the trip.
Not great, but these things happen.
Key points
The session had the following key points: –
- We investigated an old dwarf graveyard
- Starving Gnolls are raiding graves
- We failed to find the Gnoll encampment
- There was a grave related to Cole’s sword
- Cole’s sword activated suggesting it is magical
- We arrived at Caer-Konig
- We decided to help the town out with their thief problem
- We travelled to an old fortress occupied by Duerger
- We killed some Dueger and their undead abomination
- There are more Duerger at Easthaven
- They are gathering Sunblight for nefarious ends
- A cut scene revealed some gnome assassins are Rowley
- There is an ancient structure under Icewindale, allegedly
The various chapter two rumours seem to be building up. This seems to be a shift from helping the towns to actually setting off to find specific adventure locations. A bit like when you graduate tiers in 4E or 13th Age.
The session
So, I’ve noticed something we’ve fallen into. When I say we, I actually mean the players. Guilty as charged.
We turn up in a town, go into the tavern and wait for someone to come up to us and give us something to do. That’s assuming someone hasn’t done that even before we get into the town by accosting us at the gate or in the immediate surroundings.
Sometimes this is a dog. I jest, but if I was the DM I’d find this slightly annoying. It’s a bit lazy, init?
Why aren’t we, to quote Fate, being our more competent, proactive and dramatic selves on entering each town? Hell, I’m pretty sure there is an embryonic reputation forming that we could even leverage. We even know the rumours of what the town is suffering from it sort of doesn’t have to come to us, we should be striding purposefully towards it.
Anyway, that nugget to ponder aside.
The assault on the Duerger fortress was interesting, there was also a bunch of diverse enemies inside – specifically a large undead something or other which, now I am writing this I realise I’ve forgotten exactly what it was. I’m writing this over a week later while on a trip around Scotland, there are special circumstances.
It was a good fight though, especially since I finally got to smite the hell out of something with a smite critical.
I think combat encounters are crucial to D&D. I know there are now people who think differently, but they’re smoking something since 80% of your class abilities are for that So, kicking the ass of interesting monsters in interesting places in interesting ways is an essential part of the experience.
The post-game
My main thought post-game was two things, both related to one moment. One of the players asked a question about the nature of my character’s curse (she is the daughter of a hag and was meant to turn into one at 13 winters).
Given the game you’re full attention. As I admitted at the start I was doing a few things at once while playing this session. Never a good thing. It’s a bit of a disservice to everyone else. People understand it, but it’s still a bit selfish. This meant when his character asked the question I had to get him to ask me again as my initial attempt to have my character attempt to answer was foiled by still looking at hikes around Glen Nevis. Not good form. Even then I didn’t give a great response, which brings me to my second point.
Online signals are hard. This moment also made me realise things I’ve been thinking about for a while. So much of the dramatic beauty of a gaming session is about the subtle interplay of signals and they are so dulled or even fully stunted in online sessions. It’s doubly as bad when it’s not people you’ve played with for years. You miss opportunities to support, you’re never sure if opportunities you might take are self-indulgent. It’s damned weird.
What can I say, I’ve played with the same group of people for the last twenty years so all those subtle signals started to be second nature.
Stars and Wishes
At the end of each session, we can list stars (things to keep doing) and wishes (things we want to see).
We did discuss some but that week of travelling and hiking has thrown a curveball again. We definitely stated we liked the more interesting combat around the varied enemies and the location. If we didn’t say we liked the introduction of the bits of personal story we should have.
Pretty sure we almost certainly said the latter.
Plans for the next session
I’m not sure where we are going. I assume Easthaven.
I think if I have anything in mind it’s maybe, now we are off the lonely fun chair, is to start being more competent, proactive and dramatic. Okay, the system gets in the way in some aspects (that linear D20 and skill rolls, if you’re not a Rogue or Bard, are just wank) but you can adopt it as a philosophy nevertheless.
Now is probably also the right time for this as initially I wasn’t sure how competent, proactive and dramatic we could be since this module waffles on about its horror and survival overtones so I didn’t want to assume too much.