So, last night we had our first Third-Party Thursdays Pathfinder event. I'm going to tell you it went really well, then I'm going to give you some numbers that might seem to contradict that statement, then I'm going to justify it.
It was an awesome success. Great fun was had by all, cool classes were showcased, there were even some statistical improbabilities:
That's a pair of simultaneously rolled 1's from when the party battlelord completely failed in his attack routine against a cyclops that then proceeded to toss the party's skill-monkey/tank off a 5,000 foot cliff.
Wait, skill-monkey/tank you ask? Yeah, only three people showed up, so the party consisted of the elven battlelord, the human magi, and the dwarven shadow assassin. Oddly, those three came together really well, and the fact that the adventure was for 4-5 PCs didn't prove too great a hindrance to them, though there were a few notable gaps in the group's capabilities (particularly in the realm of Knowledge and Handle Animal skills). And just like the fact that only three adventurers were tackling an adventure written for four to five didn't stop them from having a good time and taking apart the bad guys, only having three people show up to 3ppT's first showing wasn't a failure by any means. Here's a few of the big successes we had:
- The four of us had a great time, and we got to talk to a lot of the Game Wizard's customers about what we were doing, showing off The Adventurer's Handbook and Liber Influxus Communis.
- I got copies of Owen K.C. Stephens' compilation into the hands of two people who GM their own games, meaning that those classes and materials will get to spread to nearly a dozen other gamers.
- There was a dwarf with a knuckle axe and a buckler gun. That alone is metal enough to justify the whole event.
- One of the players was Jason Ventura, husband of Legendary Games' Business Director Rachel Ventura. As a result, we'll be doing a review of Legendary Games' Gothic Campaign Compendium, and hopefully using it for one of our upcoming 3ppT events.
So lots of good things as a result of this first night, and I'm positive that more good things (and hopefully more players!) are to come.
***UPDATE!!!***
So, I've been told there wasn't enough information given about the adventure, and people want more details!
The adventure starts when the party, consisting of Gruff Grimbeard the dwarven Shadow Assasin, Morgan Fire-eyes the Magi, and Avarlene the elven Battlelord, arrives in the town of Svest, where a huge celebration in anticipation of the annual trading caravel is underway. The party met a host of interesting townsfolk, participated in some celebratory games, and partied til the wee hours of the morning.
The next day, Gruff and Morgan were forced to power through some heavy fatigue and wicked hangovers as news spread through town that the trading caravel had been lost during the journey to Svest. The group was approached by two of the merchants in Svest who held stakes in the lost caravel, the kindly and soft-spoken Mishka Edeernald, and the slimy Ghraeme Kolder. Despite Ghraeme making what appeared to be the superior offer, the party decided to act as agents for Mishka, and after running a few errands and thwarting a sabotage attempt by some of Ghraeme's flunkies, they set off to locate whatever remains could be salvaged of Caravel Swiftsure.
During their journey (and after a few harrowing escapes and narrow victories), the party decided to take a rarely traveled short-cut through the high passes of the mountain range bordering the peninsula where Svest is located, hoping they can save enough time to reach the caravel before any of Ghraeme's hired goons. The pass seemed to be saving them a lot of time, until they were confronted by an angry and embittered cyclops who kept his lair in a cave hidden on the side of the mountain pass. The first few exchanges in the ensuing battle went poorly for the party, as the cyclops' thick hide easily deflected Avarlene's arrows while his massive axe nearly made short work of Gruff. The party rallied though, and Avarlene coordinated them with her Steel Rain drill, riding vicious arrow strikes on the tail of every scorching ray fired by Morgan. Victory seemed assured until the cyclops, sensing his imminent defeat, made a desperate rush to try and take out Avarlene and Morgan, bull rushing Gruff off of the steep mountainside in the process! Avarlene finally felled the best with a pair of flaming arrows to its eye, and Gruff avoided near certain doom with a lucky climb check to arrest his descent and a potion of fly to reunite with his companions.
The party made it through the other side of the pass, battered and weary. Taking refuge in an old hunter's lodge, they tried to catch some shut-eye. Unfortunately, Morgan's shift at watch proved to be entirely too eventful, with a trio of Ghraeme's hirelings catching up to the group and ambushing them while they rested. The combat was fierce and brutal, with adventurer, villain, and horse alike subjected to piercing arrows and flaming blasts. Morgan collapsed unconscious with a flaming arrow in her gut, but not before blasting the horse out from under the opponent's leader. Gruff and Avarlene were able to handle the rest of the fight, and managed to pour a potion of cure light wounds down Morgan's throat before her wounds overcame her.
...
And that's as far as we got. Depending on next week's attendance, we'll either wrap up the adventure or do something new. I'll let you know how it goes!
***UPDATE!!!***
So, I've been told there wasn't enough information given about the adventure, and people want more details!
The adventure starts when the party, consisting of Gruff Grimbeard the dwarven Shadow Assasin, Morgan Fire-eyes the Magi, and Avarlene the elven Battlelord, arrives in the town of Svest, where a huge celebration in anticipation of the annual trading caravel is underway. The party met a host of interesting townsfolk, participated in some celebratory games, and partied til the wee hours of the morning.
The next day, Gruff and Morgan were forced to power through some heavy fatigue and wicked hangovers as news spread through town that the trading caravel had been lost during the journey to Svest. The group was approached by two of the merchants in Svest who held stakes in the lost caravel, the kindly and soft-spoken Mishka Edeernald, and the slimy Ghraeme Kolder. Despite Ghraeme making what appeared to be the superior offer, the party decided to act as agents for Mishka, and after running a few errands and thwarting a sabotage attempt by some of Ghraeme's flunkies, they set off to locate whatever remains could be salvaged of Caravel Swiftsure.
During their journey (and after a few harrowing escapes and narrow victories), the party decided to take a rarely traveled short-cut through the high passes of the mountain range bordering the peninsula where Svest is located, hoping they can save enough time to reach the caravel before any of Ghraeme's hired goons. The pass seemed to be saving them a lot of time, until they were confronted by an angry and embittered cyclops who kept his lair in a cave hidden on the side of the mountain pass. The first few exchanges in the ensuing battle went poorly for the party, as the cyclops' thick hide easily deflected Avarlene's arrows while his massive axe nearly made short work of Gruff. The party rallied though, and Avarlene coordinated them with her Steel Rain drill, riding vicious arrow strikes on the tail of every scorching ray fired by Morgan. Victory seemed assured until the cyclops, sensing his imminent defeat, made a desperate rush to try and take out Avarlene and Morgan, bull rushing Gruff off of the steep mountainside in the process! Avarlene finally felled the best with a pair of flaming arrows to its eye, and Gruff avoided near certain doom with a lucky climb check to arrest his descent and a potion of fly to reunite with his companions.
The party made it through the other side of the pass, battered and weary. Taking refuge in an old hunter's lodge, they tried to catch some shut-eye. Unfortunately, Morgan's shift at watch proved to be entirely too eventful, with a trio of Ghraeme's hirelings catching up to the group and ambushing them while they rested. The combat was fierce and brutal, with adventurer, villain, and horse alike subjected to piercing arrows and flaming blasts. Morgan collapsed unconscious with a flaming arrow in her gut, but not before blasting the horse out from under the opponent's leader. Gruff and Avarlene were able to handle the rest of the fight, and managed to pour a potion of cure light wounds down Morgan's throat before her wounds overcame her.
...
And that's as far as we got. Depending on next week's attendance, we'll either wrap up the adventure or do something new. I'll let you know how it goes!
