Isle of Dread

Yora

Yora

Should be playing D&D instead
That's what preparation and improvisation is really all about. Not making something out of nothing in the middle of the action, but having a versatile collection of tools ready for when you might need them.
You can not prepare finished content for every eventuality, and you often can't just make up things up on the spot. When you're well prepared, you don't have everything already ready, but able to say "I have just the right kind of generic thing here to improvise something".
 
The1True

The1True

8, 8, I forget what is for
Or at least have enough options laid out ahead of time so that when the PC's inevitably zig when you thought they'd zag you can limp along to the end of the session without boring everybody. I'm a big fan of improv because it tends to be roleplay and exploration heavy. Especially in 3rd+ ed, trying to drop monsters in on the fly becomes an absolute nightmare. But yeah, writing your own stuff is hard you guys (as I am agonizingly discovering over at GTC); when the PC's wander off the reservation (and as an occasional player myself, I enshrine that sacred right to not be railroaded) it's good to have something printed to grab off the shelf and go with.
I definitely agree with what Beoric's been saying; how modules used to be modular and gradually became constrictive adventure paths. It's always the classics that I end up turning to in an emergency. Easy to pull apart/cannibalize/airlift into any situation. That said, I remember having a huge amount of fun running the Desert of Desolation series. Those 'I' modules are much maligned imho.
 
The1True

The1True

8, 8, I forget what is for
Beoric said:
Ok, you have to tell us what that looked like! (And I'm aware that we are three posts in and I've already taken us off topic. But then my opinions on Isle of Dread are verboten. Or maybe I should say verboden?)
Click to expand...
I think I mentioned this twice in a matter of weeks. Enough to make myself curious as well. I went and dug up the old notes. DP's words carry weight with me (despite being salted with a spicy crust of scorn); I have to believe writing my own stuff is better. Places and faces will just come more readily to mind on the fly if they're your own. But here I am, proud of this mashup and fascinated by all these other mashups people are coming up with.
I look at this thing and I'm actually pretty amazed by the intricacy of it:
Mashup.jpg

The PC's found an artifact on the aisle of the Kopru in the hands of a mummy from a long extinct civilization. The civilization's great city was where the huge crystal lake now is. Defeating the plesiosaur they previously fled and swimming down into the depths, the PC's found a city under a magical dome. The artifact let them into a tower that touched the roof of the dome. Entering through the tower they slew a hideous chitinous abomination that they caught mid-molt and that sets everything in motion.
Basically this city has been moving in treacle-time for aeons but on activating the artifact and accidentally murdering the avatar of Blibdoolpoolp, consort of Dagon they have set a timer in motion. The city was ruined by a cataclysmic upheaval and sent to the bottom of the lake. Its inhabitants divided into the Engineers to the NW, defending the rapidly mutating surviving citizens with their constructs (S3); the Wizards warring with each other to the SW including a school of Diabolists, an Archmage living with his cloned daughter and an army of white apes and a school of elves committed to undeath to protect their secrets (Ruins of Mythdrannor); Deep ones to the SE led by Dagon from Cthulhu D20 are trying to raise great Cthulhu at the pit of chaos in C11 (The death of Dagon's consort has tipped him over the edge); and the Blight to the NE, an evergrowing thicket full of vegepygmies (The control room is in the center of the lake). And a mysterious Trader who wanders between them all, seeking his own ends.
I wrote up a rough ruins generator to allow PC's to explore and peppered it with rooms from the various cannibalized modules, fitting them into the various buildings. I let the PC's form alliances and work fetch quests for various powers on the board and meanwhile, moved up the clock day by day, slowly building up the tension of a groaning dome over their heads. The PC's wrote the story themselves. Tipped the balance, engaged in pitched battles in the streets between robots, apes, liches and devils before crashing up that pillared promenade in the SE in a giant construct bristling with reactivated energy weapons to kill Dagon and stop the great summoning. The place crumbled and they escaped through the garbage disposal in the NW leaving all but the goddess of the hospital (original copy of the archmage's daughter) and her mutated mongrelman patients (to whom they gave the key to the control room) to their fates.
Obviously that could have been even more TL/DR but it's not worth a new thread. The point is, uh, shit what is the moral... Oh yeah, modules rock, doing your own stuff is awesome and mashups are total fucking yes.
You're all right. C'mon, group hug!
 
squeen

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
@The1True : Sounds fantastic! Gonzo as all get-out and it's got me thinking of the need for factions in the underwater temple I need to finish. Thanks.
 
Beoric

Beoric

8, 8, I forget what is for
The1True said:
I think I mentioned this twice in a matter of weeks. Enough to make myself curious as well. I went and dug up the old notes. DP's words carry weight with me (despite being salted with a spicy crust of scorn); I have to believe writing my own stuff is better. Places and faces will just come more readily to mind on the fly if they're your own. But here I am, proud of this mashup and fascinated by all these other mashups people are coming up with.
I look at this thing and I'm actually pretty amazed by the intricacy of it:
View attachment 343

The PC's found an artifact on the aisle of the Kopru in the hands of a mummy from a long extinct civilization. The civilization's great city was where the huge crystal lake now is. Defeating the plesiosaur they previously fled and swimming down into the depths, the PC's found a city under a magical dome. The artifact let them into a tower that touched the roof of the dome. Entering through the tower they slew a hideous chitinous abomination that they caught mid-molt and that sets everything in motion.
Basically this city has been moving in treacle-time for aeons but on activating the artifact and accidentally murdering the avatar of Blibdoolpoolp, consort of Dagon they have set a timer in motion. The city was ruined by a cataclysmic upheaval and sent to the bottom of the lake. Its inhabitants divided into the Engineers to the NW, defending the rapidly mutating surviving citizens with their constructs (S3); the Wizards warring with each other to the SW including a school of Diabolists, an Archmage living with his cloned daughter and an army of white apes and a school of elves committed to undeath to protect their secrets (Ruins of Mythdrannor); Deep ones to the SE led by Dagon from Cthulhu D20 are trying to raise great Cthulhu at the pit of chaos in C11 (The death of Dagon's consort has tipped him over the edge); and the Blight to the NE, an evergrowing thicket full of vegepygmies (The control room is in the center of the lake). And a mysterious Trader who wanders between them all, seeking his own ends.
I wrote up a rough ruins generator to allow PC's to explore and peppered it with rooms from the various cannibalized modules, fitting them into the various buildings. I let the PC's form alliances and work fetch quests for various powers on the board and meanwhile, moved up the clock day by day, slowly building up the tension of a groaning dome over their heads. The PC's wrote the story themselves. Tipped the balance, engaged in pitched battles in the streets between robots, apes, liches and devils before crashing up that pillared promenade in the SE in a giant construct bristling with reactivated energy weapons to kill Dagon and stop the great summoning. The place crumbled and they escaped through the garbage disposal in the NW leaving all but the goddess of the hospital (original copy of the archmage's daughter) and her mutated mongrelman patients (to whom they gave the key to the control room) to their fates.
Obviously that could have been even more TL/DR but it's not worth a new thread. The point is, uh, shit what is the moral... Oh yeah, modules rock, doing your own stuff is awesome and mashups are total fucking yes.
You're all right. C'mon, group hug!
Click to expand...
Fertile ground indeed!
 
PrinceofNothing

PrinceofNothing

High Executarch
Staff member
squeen said:
All those terms are double-plus good! I will abridge all my written texts as required.
Click to expand...
Double-plus good. Be sure to mention how much we love D&D and Bryce.

Update: BigBryce has let me know that from now on Ignorance Is Our Strength and that D&D has always been Bryce. Doubleplus good.
 
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PrinceofNothing

PrinceofNothing

High Executarch
Staff member
Beoric said:
So my opinions are a thought crime, wrong, and a reversal of my previous opinions as stated earlier? Not sure I'm really following.

And what does "hatethought" mean?
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That sounds like hatethought. Do you not love BigBryce, Brother Beoric? How many Editions do you see?

1595533190678.png
 
squeen

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Editioncrime! plusungood!

There was only ever one edition.

(sneaky pete! --- you started with 2nd!)
 
M

Mage Hand

*eyeroll*
Ok. Isle of Dread was not that bad but not that good. I misplayed it by railroading them there. Live and learn.
So we started a new game as a one shot. Anti heros in Sasserine, which is near enough to the isle of dread. The first game was super fun. I do a good five room One shot.

This turned into an anti-heroic game. We are deep in 5E now: A tiefling sorceress. A fallen assimar blood hunter. A Goblin paladin of a made-up god. A wood elf monk. This isnt really dnd. Its like starwars without space, or something like that. Nothing about chivalry or divine plans etc

I'm not exactly complaining. Just thinking out loud ...
 
DangerousPuhson

DangerousPuhson

My my my, we just loooove to hear ourselves don't we?
Mage Hand said:
We are deep in 5E now: A tiefling sorceress. A fallen assimar blood hunter. A Goblin paladin of a made-up god. A wood elf monk. This isnt really dnd.
Click to expand...
I think I'm pretty close to winning Edgelord-Character Bingo, I just need a Tabaxi shadow assassin or a Drow Ranger who is clearly a Drizzt knockoff to show up.
 
M

Mage Hand

*eyeroll*
You know guys, this 5E game is really fun. The trick is to just ignore race all together. And not in a PC way. It just doesn't matter. It's a state of mind. No one cares if elves like dwarves or not. You probably all know this already.
 
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