Good Time RPGs

1e Adventures vs 5e Adventures!

Currently I'm running my longtime friends through I3 Pharaoh (written by the Hickmans of Dragonlance fame), and a group of gents from England that were chums in school and wanted to all play again (different timezones); they are going through U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh (new version is just called Ghosts of Saltmarsh). I DM them once a month through my RPGclub GM account and my friends is just a thing we do every week.

In both cases I use the 1e module as a reference because while I like the adaptations to 5e, they are a little soft on delivery for combats and their 1e counterparts were pretty gritty.

HOWEVER, the one aspect of the adventure Redux's is the story aspects is elevated a lot! NPCs (non-player characters for those that aren't savvy to the lingo), are developed with motivations and timetables for plans...within plans. Even so far as to explain what some villains REALLY want and what they will sacrifice to get it. Which allows the players to Parlay and negotiate for things as opposed to just going in "blades swinging". It's very refreshing to read. The writers have decades of writing to lean on in the form of rules and lore that let's say, the Hickmans did not.

In I3 there is a part in the module where you find the pyramid and temple/tomb proper, there are fanatical Dervishes there that worship the old Pharaohs and my group of pals said the right things and had good reaction rolls to forge a tentative alliance. I've placed the added issue of the bandits that the group is trying to oust from the desert (the initial plot hook that quickly gets discarded when the party meets Amun Re's spirit wandering the dunes... who then demands the party put his soul to rest)... those bandits I've fleshed out as an organization.

the Sand Scarabs are a Baklunish terrorist sect that wishes to uncover any old Baklunish artifacts and old magic they can use against the current Suloise Empire; vengeance for the Rain of Colourless fire from ancient times. So they have reasons to search these tombs as well and rob them. These scarabs dress like Thune Dervishes to help get into sacred places... but once there go rogue.

Long winded explanation to say that when the party finds the secret entrance to the inner tomb maze... it's through a teleport process/device. But there is no explanation as to if you can go back through the portal. It's not described as one-way. It does say that you appear in a central room (mysteriously next to a skeleton whose blade is pointing in a random direction), but no indication if you can get back through or even how that works. You have to make it up on the fly and it has SERIOUS implications. They party can't get back to rest or level up, sell items, which is okay too... it just feels like an oversight. I have a feeling if these were adapted to 5e that would be addressed.

----change in topic----

Been trying to work on artwork and also get my dad to help with a scenic painting. He was just doodling and sent this as a rough layout to make sure I liked the design. It needs to be more morbid and less humorous but I'm always amazed at how quickly he just scribbles these sketches out! Wish I was as talented, but he'll crush a couple of landscapes / cityscapes and I'll stick with the organics (my specialty). see pics below for evolutions/examples

Well we got a couple of Angel backers for the kickstarter recently... one just this morning. While we are still far from the funding goal it was nice to see and may give us a nice boost. If you can spread the word today that would be helpful!

Currently, we've jumped to 26% funding sitting at around $4,850 of the $18.2k goal. Let's see what we can do within the next 24 hours. After that it's back to me pulling this thing across the finish line on my own.

Thanks for the help and I'll be updating some blog stuff today about my 1st AD&D group, some campy fun regarding "speaking" with animals and how to DM those moments!

Have a great weekend friends!

Art Fix - Noctis - horror/steampunk 5e/2024 campaign setting Replace AI Art for the Noctis campaign book, (5e/2024, also proposed adaptations for DC20 and Daggerheart).