Episode 255 – after a player character death
by Dan Repperger
* (0:31) A big thanks to Luna for the Secret Santa gift! You can see a scan of it here and her online gallery here. We also talk about some original Battletech art we have.
* (4:44) Handling the logistics of a PC death. We don’t debate whether characters ought to die but instead how to keep that person involved, manage the mood around the table, and minimize story disruption.
* (22:14) Taking advantage of the unexpected moments of great story and RP that happen during a game, without trying to squeeze them for too much.
* (28:45) Chad and modules. Nature takes its course.
* (39:30) Managing player morale during the ebb and flow of a game.
* (45:34) The greatest game you’ve never played: Hot Lead!
Hosts: Chad, Chris, Dan, Johann, Pat, Wayne
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Chad, the old modules came in several modes. The straight up a to b to c dungeon crawl was certainly one of them, for example Tomb of Horrors (which was a tournament module) but there are a lot of others from the same time period which are detailed descriptions of a place, its inhabitants, a set of actions they will be undertaking and how they might respond to a party of adventurers invading their place. The origional temple of elemental evil has a number of set pieces, but most of the module outlines an orginization and a mega-dungeon puzzle that the members of that orginization exists in. Gygaxian naturalisim often just set the stage and gave a gm the tools to make complex interactions between various factions and the party.