Wheel of Evil (The Best)

[Howard Andrew Jones]

I ran this one a couple of weeks ago, purchased many years back based on Bryce's recommendation. My (solo) player is less interested in combat than in interaction and sense of wonder, so I typically scale back the lengthy combat sequences that seem endemic to these modules. This was no exception -- I simplified the number of enemies and cut the opportunities for fisticuffs almost in half.

The chances for interaction and sense of wonder (or, more accurately, horror) were already in place; my player loved interacting with the kobolds and solving the problem to save the village cheese supply as well as the kobold fungus supply. The NPC notes about motivation and tone were just what was needed to role-play the situation on my end, and resulted in lots of fine, enjoyable moments.

Well worth the investment!

 

[squeen]

Thanks for the info. My players also avoid combat like the plague.

 

[Howard Andrew Jones]

My players used to dig combat, but any more the endless fights are boring for all of us: it's way, way more about telling a mythic story. The combats have either to be short and incidental, or actually MEAN something to the development of the story we're making up. I was reading a 5E product the other day I actually quite like, but it had a philosophy I don't written out near the random encounter tables. It stated that random encounters were a way to winnow away the party's resources and to push home the "risk versus reward" aspect. Maybe that's cool? I like the sense of random events and surprise to shape the story, but I don't think the function is to keep players in my elf game low on hit points.

I love a good sandbox, don't get me wrong. But I also like good pacing. I kind of want to be helping tell a Harryhausen monster/sword and sandal movie. I don't want to watch Herakles fight eight monsters one after the other, and so I'll happily ignore a random encounter roll sometimes if it's just going to result in another boring slug fest.

 

[squeen]

The random encounters originally were meant to be:
a) situationally appropriate (i.e. monsters that could credibly be in those environments, maybe even from another dungeon room)
b) prevent player pixel-bitching/time-wasting/noise-making i.e. if you do one of those == you have to fight a resource depleting monster with low-probability of treasure

They are an important but non-obvious check-and-balance in the original game that kinda got lost/forgotten/ignored. (Which is why many complained D&D turned into something else, and constantly needed to course-correct). It's like pulling off one of your rear tires and wondering why the car keeps veering to one side.

My players are just risk adverse. If they can gain the treasure without engaging, that's what they will try to do. They aren't even that level-driven, despite GP=XP, they just want to "win"...which for them is collecting all the good stuff (while expending nothing). If an magic item has "charges", it's almost a certainty it will not get used unless it's life-or-death.

 

[Howard Andrew Jones]

They are an important check-and-balance in the original game that kinda got lost/forgotten/ignored. (Which is why many complain D&D turned into something else, and constantly needed to course-correct).

I think I get that. I played back in the old days -- the mid '70s -- but I don't think I ever played D&D the way it was played by its creators and their friends. I'm not sure I ever used an encounter table, and I know I never understood how to run much less set up a hex crawl. I wish there had been all the great examples I see now (i.e. the Sine Nomine books, and some of Stater's hexcrawls, and wonderful hexcrawls like the ones for Rosethrone that Bryce has recommended -- though not the FREE Northern Highlands -- and then Runewilds, hands down the best 5E product I've ever seen and one of the VERY best hexcrawls I've ever read). If anything like THOSE had been around I would have been a much better DM a lot faster. At 52, after decades of gaming, I think maybe, finally, I'm a pretty good GM.

 

[squeen]

Yes. I too was an OD&D player back in the 70's & 80's with a free-wheeling ignore-rules-as-you-see-fit style. It's only been in the past 7-8 years I got back into the hobby with my kids, and have been learning a lot from folks on the internet.

Unlike you, I know I am a bad DM.
(...and still don't like hexcrawls.)

 

[Howard Andrew Jones]

Unlike you, I know I am a bad DM.

Hah! Fair point... I bet 20 years ago I would have told you I was a GREAT DM, so maybe I'm a little more humble now.

You know what matters? If we and the players are having fun. I have one small group, and one solo player for another campaign, and we're having a blast. I haven't had this much fun with elf games in years, and I can't recall when I was last running two campaigns at once. Probably in college, when free time seemed endless and the days before me stretched on into infinity...

 

[squeen]

You know what matters? If we and the players are having fun

Yes. That's the ultimate metric of if you should be playing (anything) or not.

Still...I have enjoyed tuning up my D&D education---it think it has been more fun since I started learning how the puzzle was originally suppose to go together. It's satisfying when the gears mesh, and I believe all the little wrinkles have kept my players engaged too.

 

[Howard Andrew Jones]

Still...I have enjoyed tuning up my D&D education---it think it has been more fun since I started learning how the puzzle was originally suppose to go together. It's satisfying when the gears mesh, and I believe all the little wrinkles have kept my players engaged too.

I'm in total agreement. For a long time I used to keep really tight control of the story. Then I tried experimenting, briefly, with just letting it all be dictated by dice. Now it's a far more confident mix of whatever makes it most fun at the moment. I'm more relaxed, the players are looser, people are enjoying their characters. The sense of wonder and exploration is back the way it hasn't been in years. A WHOLE lot of that change comes from all the cool publications I've been reading over the last few years, as well as wonderful internet resources like this one here.

 

[Beoric]

Unlike you, I know I am a bad DM.

I'm not sure I buy that, I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy your table.

Although I'm not sure you would enjoy me as a player, I tend to colour outside the lines a lot.

 

[squeen]

@Beoric : You are kind to say that, but it's not false modesty. I know for a fact---kicking myself after play---how I tactically fail my (easily dispatched) NPCs. I am also too soft on my players---rarely going for the jugular in the way I would if it were MY life on the line. I may have some tricked out Kobolds, but I am no Tucker.

Moreover, I forget/ignore rules at the table (curse you Reaction Roll!) unintentionally...and my creativity tends to be more trope and pastiche than anything particularly original.

Lastly, the VTT bandwagon hasn't arrived in my neighborhood yet...and 2e is still that "new fangled thang the kids are playing".

Still, if I can get my act together, perhaps we can play virtually together sometime this year. I might have a product or two that needs playtesting by a less cooperative crowd. Your unorthodox colouring skills would come in handy there. You can watch me come unraveled as a DM firsthand---only way to grow.