Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 devp Aug 30, 2010 11:00:27	I wrote an adventure framework for Dark Sun: "Free Tyr: the First Days". ("Adventure framework" means it's not quite an adventure path; it's more like a layout for an improvised game.) The hook is this: just now, Kalak, has been killed, and you're in the middle of Tyr. The situation is changing by the hour, and the characters must make the most of it to secure their own power and to shape what happens in the city. What I like about it: it's a condensed sandbox scenario with a big kicker and plenty of time pressure on the characters. There's random tables and encounter suggestions to help with DMs with improvising the events of the adventure. I'm interested in using the timeline sheets to allow multiple playthroughs and continually shift the timeline of what happens in the first 72 hours of Free Tyr. I'd love some feedback. (This is a more finished version of an idea I through out here some weeks back.) I posted a play report at the blog post.
#2 FlashbackJon Aug 30, 2010 12:04:09	Wow, I am quite impressed.  I may actually use this for my group. On first review, I can't see any major flaws, so I'll resort to the random picking of nits: is Wilder really a "faction" per se?  I can see that that table correlates fairly well to the themes, but it might be more fitting to have other factions like the True Cabal (admittedly this faction would probably spawn FROM Kalak's death, but...) or a faction relating to primal characters/motivations in the city.
#3 silverkaz Aug 30, 2010 12:56:09	I wrote an adventure framework for Dark Sun: "Free Tyr: the First Days". ("Adventure framework" means it's not quite an adventure path; it's more like a layout for an improvised game.) The hook is this: just now, Kalak, has been killed, and you're in the middle of Tyr. The situation is changing by the hour, and the characters must make the most of it to secure their own power and to shape what happens in the city. What I like about it: it's a condensed sandbox scenario with a big kicker and plenty of time pressure on the characters. There's random tables and encounter suggestions to help with DMs with improvising the events of the adventure. I'm interested in using the timeline sheets to allow multiple playthroughs and continually shift the timeline of what happens in the first 72 hours of Free Tyr. I'd love some feedback. (This is a more finished version of an idea I through out here some weeks back.) I posted a play report at the blog post. Very nicely done. I like the format and it captures the feel of the anarchy and power grab that would come of an SK's death.  I'd love to see some of the "suggested encounters" fleshed out (I'm doing that now for some of them) as well as more activities that happen in each of the sections, but as a framework this feeds the imagination perfectly! Thank you.
#4 rollawaythestone Aug 31, 2010 1:26:59	This is really cool. Thanks for making this available. My only issue is that I would probably use this for a 1st level introduction adventure. But most of the events you've outlined are probably beyond the scope of a 1st elvel group. Such as dealing with events in the Ziggurat or the Golden City.
#5 big_goon Aug 31, 2010 12:25:38	Excellent! I love the randomness of the events. Depending on what comes up, this could move the storyline is any direction. Adapting this to Raam would be super awesome... since the city is in constant upheaval. It wouldn't be a slave revolt, but some other reason: mob, warlord rebellion, or something else.
#6 devp Sep 01, 2010 0:48:51	Thanks for the positive responses! "Wilders": I agree that they aren't quite a faction. How about "Elven Tribes", for the various Elves in the marketplace and their mercenaries? I'm open to other suggestions. Raam: YES. I reread the city's description, and I think it's a powder-keg of it's own. It should totally be done. As for the encounters, I'd be happy to see expanded specifics; I'll try to take write up scenarios which worked for me in the past (though I'm as likely to wing it). I still have some troubles determining the right level for a kind of scenario (instead of creating a scenario to match a given party level). In retrospect, I see that a Level 1 party shouldn't have been able to take apart a Templar (who tend to be about Level 10 in the DSCC); it was easy enough to reskin a Level 3 creature as a Templar, but I may have made them look less threatening as a result. Perhaps part of the "sandbox" effect is that there are overly high-level threats roaming Tyr. If a low-level PC comes across a Templar (rather than their lower-level lackeys), they should run but also hope the Templar wants nothing to do with them. Some of the suggested encounters/plots would be a better fit for a higher-level group, but perhaps there's room for lower-level characters. (For example, Level 1 PCs ambush some Level 3 guards at a key outpost, leading the way for Very Powerful Mages to bust in for some reason.)
#7 FlashbackJon Sep 01, 2010 9:49:41	In retrospect, I see that a Level 1 party shouldn't have been able to take apart a Templar (who tend to be about Level 10 in the DSCC); it was easy enough to reskin a Level 3 creature as a Templar, but I may have made them look less threatening as a result. Perhaps part of the "sandbox" effect is that there are overly high-level threats roaming Tyr. If a low-level PC comes across a Templar (rather than their lower-level lackeys), they should run but also hope the Templar wants nothing to do with them. Keep in mind that the level system is based around the PCs and PCs alone.  Creatures do not have static levels or maintain them outside of the players' perspectives.  Even if the Templar is a level 10 controller in the DSCC, there's no reason he can't be a level 3 solo soldier for a level 1 party, so long as the level of challenge is maintained appropriately. A single creature that is a level 4 solo to a level 1 party, might be a level 8 elite to a level 6 party, a level 12 regular to a level 12 party, or a level 16 minion to a level 20 party.