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Post by houndle on Dec 24, 2022 10:15:58 GMT -5
I was in two minds where to post this; in Reviews (as it is a sort of review) or here. In the end I decided the Reviews area is possibly best left for newer products. Somehow I missed out on a lot of the "classic" T&T solo adventures when they came out, something I'm now trying to rectify. I thought it would be nice to record my thoughts as I played through some of them. I'll be starting with some of the solos from the Adventurer's Compendium - a collection of ten, varied short solos (and some bonus GM adventures too), excellent value. But before I begin, a few notes on the ground rules I'm operating. First of all, I have enormous respect for anyone who's written a solo. There's a definite art to it, and arguably even more so when the whole thing has to fit inside a small paragraph count. Enjoyment is definitely in the eye of the beholder, so I'll try to avoid vague comments about whether I liked the solo. But I'll try to apply a few objective criteria as I work through each adventure, namely - Balance. Does the balance of risk and reward seem about right? And does it seem in keeping with the recommended character level?
- Content. Does the character have "enough to do?" i.e. There should be some definite choices to make and varied events to experience.
- Credibility. Is there a story for the player to become immersed in? Does it feel like a role playing experience (within limits of course)?
- Internal consistency. Do the paragraphs fit together to create a proper narrative structure?
I'm sure there will be others.
I've got a couple of characters ready to go. Max le Vel is a warrior whose prime attributes remarkably put him somewhere near the top of the recommended range for each adventure. Minnie Mumchance is a Rogue, freshly rolled this morning and decidedly average in all respects. If Max finds the going too easy, Minnie will try her luck. First up will be Circle of Ice on which I hope to report later...
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Post by houndle on Dec 24, 2022 11:55:17 GMT -5
Circle of IceMax le Vel's first expediton to the icy wastes was... very short. I have had shorter adventures, but none where the character has made it out alive. (I think the shortest was Naked Doom in which my first character didn't make it past the first paragraph.) The adventure was actually quite good, nice atmosphere and there were clearly a lot more options to explore, together with a bit of randomness which might have extended matters. Having played through a few more times I probably chose the absolute optimum path through the solo. I noted one tiny non sequitur (reference to a "room" which took me by surprise; I think this was due to the paragraph I was in being reached from several, slightly different links.) The reward did seem slightly too generous for what I had achieved. In a full size solo I suspect there would have been something else to do in order to get from the penultimate paragraph to the end. I was definitely expecting a nasty surprise at that point. Just for laughs, I ran Minnie through the same sequence (but re rolling the random bits). As it happened the rolls were much the same and Minnie claimed her unjust reward. I then took Max through the adventure again (ignoring the instruction forbidding this) and made some different choices from the outset. This time he got into some fights (at least two of which would almost certainly have killed Minnie) and by a combination of bad choices and bad rolls Max took some damage, though nothing too serious. This was more challenging and the reward seemed about right. There are still some unexplored byways but I suspect this outing covered most of the key paragraphs. So, using my four criteria: - Balance. If you make good (lucky) choices throughout you can succeed with a mediocre character. If you make bad (unlucky) choices it will be a struggle. Because of a slightly evil rule about the effects of cold, weak characters are likely to suffer irrespective of your choices. The introduction says the adventure is suitable for 1st to 4th level characters. I'd say 4th level might find it rather too easy, and 1st level will probably be outclassed if you get into a fight. I reckon you'll need to score an average of around
40-50 damage per round in order to stand a decent chance in the fights. - Content. Plenty in here considering the overall paragraph count. You might need 2-3 playings to explore it, which doesn't sound like much but again please remember this is a "pocket" adventure.
- Credibility. Again scores highly. Introduction sets the scene well, the paragraphs have just enough description to keep the mood going and the use of proper names gives a feeling this adventure is part of something bigger.
- Internal consistency. Seems fine (though I haven't - yet - mapped the environment in detail). As mentioned above, the end felt just a little bit sudden; certainly scope for expanding the solo if someone wanted to do so.
- I should also mention the solo was easy to navigate with all the coordinating instructions very clear - and some highly effective artwork.
Overall I enjoyed this one very much.
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trolletgunnar
4th Level Troll
A Swedish player who holds the Tunnels and trolls banner high.
Posts: 377
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Post by trolletgunnar on Dec 30, 2022 3:54:57 GMT -5
I think that they should have put circle of ice in Deluxe, instead of Abyss. Good luck with your solo delwing!
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Post by houndle on Dec 30, 2022 10:24:22 GMT -5
I think that they should have put circle of ice in Deluxe, instead of Abyss. Good luck with your solo delwing! As far as that goes I would say Buffalo Island in the dT&T Beginner's Bundle is a very nice short adventure, challenging but also light hearted. In fact my only complaint is that I was part way through writing a "desert island" type scenario when I bought the bundle and found that I'd inadvertently used a lot of the same themes.
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Post by houndle on Jan 1, 2023 4:32:31 GMT -5
Mission for a Cat Goddess
As I've just bought into Monsters!Monsters! in a modest fashion I thought it would be nice to try a solo written specifically for that system. The solo does contain a couple of sets of rules - a slightly cut down version of M!M! plus a greatly simplified set which looked very random to me. (Which is not to say it would necessarily be any less random than some of the things I have seen in T&T over the years). I ended up using a blend of M!M! and dT&T, probably closer to the latter. From what I have seen so far M!M! strips back some of the "crunch" of dT&T. Some people will welcome that, others won't.
As this is quite a new solo, I'll try not to give too much away for now.
I couldn't immediately find an indication of recommended character level so I went initially with Minnie Mumchance, a character who was decidedly average even for level 1.
The first few paragraphs were mostly scene setting - decent background but what choices there were felt relatively trivial. Although the Monsterary of Zimrala isn't essential (I don't have it yet) there are some references suggesting it would add to the background.
Mathematics eventually caught up with Minnie and I started again with another character who did relatively worse. So I switched to Max leVell who as a 3rd level should have found it quite easy. Suffice to say... sheesh... I'll be rolling up some new characters before I try again.
But for now, very provisionally and bearing in mind I haven't got to the end:
Balance: Variable. My assumption is that it is intended for low level characters, but opponents range from quite tough to very challenging for such a character. Minnie would not have got anywhere without stunting, and even then I used her Talents (not specifically mentioned in M!M!) to give her a chance. The specific thing that killed her was a bit unfortunate; the scale of the challenge in that case ranged from reasonably feasible to near impossible and Minnie rolled badly.
Urlak (or whatever his name was) got done in by having bad LUCK (as opposed to bad luck) and Max made a poor choice. So, plenty of ways the solo will punish you but in each case I felt it could have gone differently.
Content: Plenty to do once you get going though some paragraphs are mainly background. A consistent tone throughout; some assumptions about the character's reactions in order to keep the story going. I know there is at least one more narrative thread I haven't even seen yet.
Credibility: Quite a lot of time spent on developing the backstory. For now, enough to make me want to find out more about the mythos although, and this is definitely a personal view, I would have preferred something a little more "exotic". It may be nitpicking, but there are historical prototypes for some of what is described and that led to me trying to second guess parts of the solo.
Internal consistency: Given the background everything seemed well judged to create "atmosphere". No structure issues so far. It does feel as if it could just as easily be a dT&T solo.
Niggles: a couple of little things I noticed along the way. No biggies. Para 75: because of previous options taken I was just slightly confused at first. I think the correct answer is: if you didn't previously do x, ignore the saving roll and just carry on reading to the end of the paragraph and make your choices there. Combat: really pedantic point but I think the guidance on deriving dice and adds from MR is correct in the solo paragaphs. The rules at the back of the book are not quite the same. It will only make a difference if the MR is exactly divisible by 10, however.
It's a good solo and I'd like see more like it. Be aware that one or two areas are just slightly "PG". Nothing explicit, more... suggestive.
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Post by houndle on Jan 2, 2023 8:31:26 GMT -5
Note to self: Things not to say during the Cat Goddess mission: "Level 1 saving roll? Ha ha, I've got 18 luck, only a fumble can stop me now!"
Back to the start. To misquote a famous person, the dice may not remember but they know.
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trolletgunnar
4th Level Troll
A Swedish player who holds the Tunnels and trolls banner high.
Posts: 377
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Post by trolletgunnar on Jan 4, 2023 10:39:07 GMT -5
Circle of IceMax le Vel's first expediton to the icy wastes was... very short. I have had shorter adventures, but none where the character has made it out alive. (I think the shortest was Naked Doom in which my first character didn't make it past the first paragraph.) The adventure was actually quite good, nice atmosphere and there were clearly a lot more options to explore, together with a bit of randomness which might have extended matters. Having played through a few more times I probably chose the absolute optimum path through the solo. I noted one tiny non sequitur (reference to a "room" which took me by surprise; I think this was due to the paragraph I was in being reached from several, slightly different links.) The reward did seem slightly too generous for what I had achieved. In a full size solo I suspect there would have been something else to do in order to get from the penultimate paragraph to the end. I was definitely expecting a nasty surprise at that point. Just for laughs, I ran Minnie through the same sequence (but re rolling the random bits). As it happened the rolls were much the same and Minnie claimed her unjust reward. I then took Max through the adventure again (ignoring the instruction forbidding this) and made some different choices from the outset. This time he got into some fights (at least two of which would almost certainly have killed Minnie) and by a combination of bad choices and bad rolls Max took some damage, though nothing too serious. This was more challenging and the reward seemed about right. There are still some unexplored byways but I suspect this outing covered most of the key paragraphs. So, using my four criteria: - Balance. If you make good (lucky) choices throughout you can succeed with a mediocre character. If you make bad (unlucky) choices it will be a struggle. Because of a slightly evil rule about the effects of cold, weak characters are likely to suffer irrespective of your choices. The introduction says the adventure is suitable for 1st to 4th level characters. I'd say 4th level might find it rather too easy, and 1st level will probably be outclassed if you get into a fight. I reckon you'll need to score an average of around
40-50 damage per round in order to stand a decent chance in the fights. - Content. Plenty in here considering the overall paragraph count. You might need 2-3 playings to explore it, which doesn't sound like much but again please remember this is a "pocket" adventure.
- Credibility. Again scores highly. Introduction sets the scene well, the paragraphs have just enough description to keep the mood going and the use of proper names gives a feeling this adventure is part of something bigger.
- Internal consistency. Seems fine (though I haven't - yet - mapped the environment in detail). As mentioned above, the end felt just a little bit sudden; certainly scope for expanding the solo if someone wanted to do so.
- I should also mention the solo was easy to navigate with all the coordinating instructions very clear - and some highly effective artwork.
Overall I enjoyed this one very much.
I played circle of ice last night. At first, when i read the recommendations for the character, I thought that it was going to be to tough for my Ranger Frengo. But as it turned out, I happend to make some lucky choices and caused a general thaw thus compleated my mission. It was a bit like an anticlimax, I thought. I also, as you did, liked the ambiance, so I think I will try it again; make some diffrent choices and see what happens.
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Post by houndle on Jan 19, 2023 13:45:21 GMT -5
Anchored in Blood Is what I've been doing this week. A couple of attempts so far. First try was... interesting inasmuch as I was "lucky" enough to reach a major encounter fairly quickly, but "unlucky" in that my character wasn't really ready for it; and then catastrophically unlucky in fumbling at a point where a failure was emphatically a bad thing.
Try number 2 and I deliberately tried a more subtle approach. I think this is more or less essential in the solo; exploring the environment thoroughly is not only a good thing for player satisfaction but should also give the character a better chance at crunch time. I say should because mathematics caught me out again, another fumble at the wrong moment (is there a right moment to fumble?) and another character was lost (well he actually survived but failed the mission and needed the services of a good healer).
There's plenty to explore in here and a nice sense of atmosphere. There's no doubt that the baddies deserve everything they get and in the right circumstances they should be - just about - beatable. I'll be back to try again.
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Post by houndle on Mar 16, 2023 11:59:57 GMT -5
Buffalo Castle It's been a while since I had time to do any soloing, so I thought I'd go back to one of the old favourites. But I tried a couple of twists: choose my direction randomly (as discussed on here a few days ago), and take a Hobb rogue instead of the human warrior which seems to be my default.
Robyn Burrows had to leave town and become an adventurer when her neighbours got sick of their stuff going missing. She turned out to be very lucky (at least in statistical terms. See below), average to slightly above average in most other respects and decidedly lacking in strength. In battle she uses a pair of daggers which individually are little better than eating utensils. Still, purely on the basis of her Luck score she waddles into 2nd level.
Robyn charms her way into the castle and decides to upgrade her knives. One gets a charm put on it which is unlikely to be much immediate use, the other is cursed. Not a good start. However, she's still good enough to take down a rather shabby orc and an oily character who makes her an offer she definitely can refuse. She does lose a little skin (Spite damage) though.
Still looking for the cafeteria, Robyn finds her way into a room infested with spider webs. Should be no problem for a character as Lucky as she is... ...er... Inevitably Robyn fumbles, or rather stumbles, into the web, fighting her way out eventually but severely weakened. At this point she decides it's time for a tea break and makes for the exit. A rabid dog attempts to bar her way but turns out to be a pussycat. Robyn goes home slightly richer and having earned some practical experience, namely it's better to be lucky than clever but you can never quite be lucky enough.
Even after all these years, Buffalo Castle continues to amuse. It's not the most coherent adventure but it was a fun way to spend a few minutes. I'll probably send Robyn back in at some point.
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Post by houndle on Mar 17, 2023 4:39:10 GMT -5
Post Adventure Thought ...Robyn did come out of Buffalo Castle with just enough AP to increase an attribute. My first thought was to build up her Strength enough to wield a proper weapon; but taking that to its logical conclusion I could eventually build her up to the point where she is just like a human. Quite cheaply too as she starts from such a low base. So I'm instituting a new, personal house rule:
Where a kindred modifier is less than 1, the AP cost to increase an attribute is multiplied by the inverse of the modifier.
So with modifier of 0.5, increasing Robyn's Strength will cost twice what it would for a human. Other attributes are not affected because the modifier is at least 1. Thus I can still make Robyn stronger if I want, but it will take longer.
Any thoughts on this?
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Post by houndle on Mar 18, 2023 6:51:11 GMT -5
Return to Buffalo Castle Robyn used some of her treasure to replace the cursed knife, and also buy some armour. She left most of the balance at the local bank (being too weak to carry it) before sneaking into Buffalo Castle by another route.
It didn't go well.
Immediately faced with a situation in which the best result left her weakened, she decided to rest up for a while as the alternative was to discard her armour and one of her weapons (for once I was keeping an eye on encumbrance). While she was resting she got hit by another nasty, and during a further mandatory rest period a second wandering meanie finished her off. At least she didn't fumble this time.
The final wandering monster definitely felt a bit over-powered; the possible range of Monster Ratings was quite wide and I rolled badly. This outing was a little dispiriting as it felt as if Robyn was plunged straight into a series of difficult situations with little means of avoiding them. Serves me right for choosing an adventure for warriors and sending in a very un-warlike character. Also, the random nature of some BC encounters means that it could just as easily have worked out very differently.
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nialldubh
5th Level Troll
Posts: 693
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Post by nialldubh on Mar 19, 2023 6:04:27 GMT -5
Post Adventure Thought...Robyn did come out of Buffalo Castle with just enough AP to increase an attribute. My first thought was to build up her Strength enough to wield a proper weapon; but taking that to its logical conclusion I could eventually build her up to the point where she is just like a human. Quite cheaply too as she starts from such a low base. So I'm instituting a new, personal house rule: Where a kindred modifier is less than 1, the AP cost to increase an attribute is multiplied by the inverse of the modifier.
So with modifier of 0.5, increasing Robyn's Strength will cost twice what it would for a human. Other attributes are not affected because the modifier is at least 1. Thus I can still make Robyn stronger if I want, but it will take longer. Any thoughts on this? I actually think this is a good idea, will slow down the race to increase those low attributes at a cheaper rate...
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mosker
5th Level Troll
Posts: 530
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Post by mosker on Mar 19, 2023 8:21:49 GMT -5
Post Adventure Thought...Robyn did come out of Buffalo Castle with just enough AP to increase an attribute. My first thought was to build up her Strength enough to wield a proper weapon; but taking that to its logical conclusion I could eventually build her up to the point where she is just like a human. Quite cheaply too as she starts from such a low base. So I'm instituting a new, personal house rule: Where a kindred modifier is less than 1, the AP cost to increase an attribute is multiplied by the inverse of the modifier.
So with modifier of 0.5, increasing Robyn's Strength will cost twice what it would for a human. Other attributes are not affected because the modifier is at least 1. Thus I can still make Robyn stronger if I want, but it will take longer. Any thoughts on this? I actually think this is a good idea, will slow down the race to increase those low attributes at a cheaper rate... Heh. This got me thinking how T&T delvers were akin to dog breeds (except for the magic) --wildly different sizes but still the same... ...then to how quickly (as RAW), AP advances can average out low scores, make everyone the same... ...then about how those attribute changes are often physical changes and how profound that could be. Conclusion: T&T delvers are really analogous to mechs and robots, and AP allows casual swapping out of parts, insertion of upgrades.
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trolletgunnar
4th Level Troll
A Swedish player who holds the Tunnels and trolls banner high.
Posts: 377
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Post by trolletgunnar on Mar 20, 2023 6:19:16 GMT -5
Buffalo CastleIt's been a while since I had time to do any soloing, so I thought I'd go back to one of the old favourites. But I tried a couple of twists: choose my direction randomly (as discussed on here a few days ago), and take a Hobb rogue instead of the human warrior which seems to be my default. Robyn Burrows had to leave town and become an adventurer when her neighbours got sick of their stuff going missing. She turned out to be very lucky (at least in statistical terms. See below), average to slightly above average in most other respects and decidedly lacking in strength. In battle she uses a pair of daggers which individually are little better than eating utensils. Still, purely on the basis of her Luck score she waddles into 2nd level.Robyn charms her way into the castle and decides to upgrade her knives. One gets a charm put on it which is unlikely to be much immediate use, the other is cursed. Not a good start. However, she's still good enough to take down a rather shabby orc and an oily character who makes her an offer she definitely can refuse. She does lose a little skin (Spite damage) though. Still looking for the cafeteria, Robyn finds her way into a room infested with spider webs. Should be no problem for a character as Lucky as she is... ...er... Inevitably Robyn fumbles, or rather stumbles, into the web, fighting her way out eventually but severely weakened. At this point she decides it's time for a tea break and makes for the exit. A rabid dog attempts to bar her way but turns out to be a pussycat. Robyn goes home slightly richer and having earned some practical experience, namely it's better to be lucky than clever but you can never quite be lucky enough. Even after all these years, Buffalo Castle continues to amuse. It's not the most coherent adventure but it was a fun way to spend a few minutes. I'll probably send Robyn back in at some point. I think that there are few solos that have so much replayability as BC does. I also use the method to randomly roll for paragraphs, even if I know, from past expericen, that I will be turned to stone, or such. You seem to have the samt tendency as I for rolling fumbles.
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trolletgunnar
4th Level Troll
A Swedish player who holds the Tunnels and trolls banner high.
Posts: 377
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Post by trolletgunnar on Mar 20, 2023 6:25:44 GMT -5
Post Adventure Thought...Robyn did come out of Buffalo Castle with just enough AP to increase an attribute. My first thought was to build up her Strength enough to wield a proper weapon; but taking that to its logical conclusion I could eventually build her up to the point where she is just like a human. Quite cheaply too as she starts from such a low base. So I'm instituting a new, personal house rule: Where a kindred modifier is less than 1, the AP cost to increase an attribute is multiplied by the inverse of the modifier.
So with modifier of 0.5, increasing Robyn's Strength will cost twice what it would for a human. Other attributes are not affected because the modifier is at least 1. Thus I can still make Robyn stronger if I want, but it will take longer. Any thoughts on this? I use a similar system for calculating the cost for spells. Since I still use STR, and don't want to punish small kindred, or promote an endless row of Dwarf wizards, a use the STR multiplyer. So Faires pay little, and stronger kindreds more. I think that yous system will work fine for you. I use the old system for experince also, but maybe I could adapt your method to it somehow.
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