What happened inside the pyramid?
Bo Jing remembers it this way . . .
I Bo Jing was on the ship seeking adventure and new trade routes that would benefit my family. I found many adventures, but as we reached Maztica, I wondered what new goods I would find. .But I really wanted adventure.
Inside the pyramid, I had many adventures.
There was a huge boulder that turned out to be a giant crab. I leaped on top of it, drawing my fiery sword and with a great shout and a mighty blow, cleaved its shell in half and killed the monster.
Approaching another room, we heard singing. We put wax in our ears to thwart any magical charm. There was a woman swimming in a pool. I did my best to ignore her, telling myself she was an ugly siren, like a tadpole without a tail. I knew that she wasn't really beautiful but just looked that way because of magic.
In another part of the pyramid, Bayan and I got trapped behind iron bars that fell from the ceiling. My friends noticed a painting of a sun and Shoji pressed it. The bars opened and a secret passage was revealed behind the sun.
In that hall, there were four animal heads, one an eagle with a shiny thing in its beak. When Kafka tried to get the shiny thing, the eagle's mouth shut and hurt him. Bayan unlocked the eagle's mouth with a tickle on the chin.
Continuing to explore the pyramid, we were alarmed when suddenly two iron doors slammed in front of us and behind us and sand began filling up the little space we had. Singh got his axe and kept battering the door then he gave me the axe and I screamed my battle cry and smashed it down.
We came upon a room filled with giant beetles. Bangqiu was a coward. He floated up to scare the beetles and climb the mountain of trash and then he grabbed a shiny knife from inside the stinking pile of beetle excrement.
After the ball game (a tale for another day) my cowardly friend Bangqiu called out for help from Sardan. We got out of a hole in the roof that sardan made.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Friday, September 7, 2018
Play Report: The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
Sometimes I write reviews of adventures that are five years old. Sometimes I write reviews of reviews that are 5 years old. In this case, Dungeon of Signs, reviewing The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan. I'm doing this because I don't have much to add to what Mr. Lux wrote, except that I won't follow him to his bizarre conclusion that this is a really good module, but not good enough to play. Because I did run the adventure, I have access to some additional insights, that I offer as tips on how to run the adventure.
As Lux notes, this one is hard to drop into a campaign, and I can't imagine re-skinning its Meso-American setting. Its far from "accurate." Mayan and Aztec pyramids were places for sacrifices, not burials, and didn't have much of an inside. The Nereid (beautiful naked temptress) is from Greek mythology and feels really foreign to the Meso-American view of life as pain without pretense. Despite this, the illustration booklet is very important to the adventure and everything in it looks Aztec (or Chinese-- but only slightly and it's just one room.) For me, the setting was easy. My players wanted to leave their faux-Asian homeland to sail across an open ocean and discover a new world.
The illustration booklet is great and essential. I very much agree with Lux that rather than try to describe the various trap-ridden rooms, it's great to have a picture to pass around. My copy had no map booklet, but it's easy to find the illustrations online.
In the 70s, everything was foreign and foreign was always a license to weird. Unlike Maztica, which tries, oh so earnestly tries, to respect other cultures (and makes them all sound like hippies), this module's authors have no embarrassment about their ignorance and rely on their imaginations to fill in the gaps. Again, the Nereid makes no sense but provided a lot of laughs, even though none of the PCs wanted to play the straight man and instead went to great lengths to avoid looking at the cavorting nymph. (Shoji revealed that he was asexual.)
The monsters are good, though as Lux notes, PC will easily miss the most interesting ones. This could be fixed by coming up with a quest to retrieve a particular object rather than simply escape the pyramid. He's also correct that all the monsters all seem attack-oriented. (Except the Nereid, I keep coming back to the Nereid.) I'm not sure this is a problem worth fixing. The rooms are self-contained and the residents are so alien that it's believable that they wouldn't have knowledge or interest in other parts of the dungeon. And the aggressiveness kind of fits with Aztec views of the world. On another note, the monsters, while individually tough, are not numerous. My party of 10 (PCs and henchman) was probably too large.
Lux disapproves of the poison gas, but it worked well for me. We have limited time IRL so it was good to have an in-game reason for haste. I didn't track the time closely, but the players had a sense of urgency about them. And they could not take a brute force approach to every problem ("Everyone stands guard and I individually press each block on the south wall. Ok, now the west wall. Ok, let's rest and heal and re-learn spells.") Lux is correct that this feeling of haste creates tension with all the weird objects begging for attention, but I think this helps preserve the wonder. My PCs know they missed some things and are talking about going back.
Lux is correct about the clunky text and clunkier special mechanics. I don't agree, however, that this necessitates hours of preparation. Because the rooms are self-contained and because the residents are combat-oriented, you don't need to think too much about how it all fits together. The adventure kind of runs itself so you can just pause and skim each room while your players look at the illustration.
Here's what I would do to prepare:
As Lux notes, this one is hard to drop into a campaign, and I can't imagine re-skinning its Meso-American setting. Its far from "accurate." Mayan and Aztec pyramids were places for sacrifices, not burials, and didn't have much of an inside. The Nereid (beautiful naked temptress) is from Greek mythology and feels really foreign to the Meso-American view of life as pain without pretense. Despite this, the illustration booklet is very important to the adventure and everything in it looks Aztec (or Chinese-- but only slightly and it's just one room.) For me, the setting was easy. My players wanted to leave their faux-Asian homeland to sail across an open ocean and discover a new world.
The illustration booklet is great and essential. I very much agree with Lux that rather than try to describe the various trap-ridden rooms, it's great to have a picture to pass around. My copy had no map booklet, but it's easy to find the illustrations online.
In the 70s, everything was foreign and foreign was always a license to weird. Unlike Maztica, which tries, oh so earnestly tries, to respect other cultures (and makes them all sound like hippies), this module's authors have no embarrassment about their ignorance and rely on their imaginations to fill in the gaps. Again, the Nereid makes no sense but provided a lot of laughs, even though none of the PCs wanted to play the straight man and instead went to great lengths to avoid looking at the cavorting nymph. (Shoji revealed that he was asexual.)
The monsters are good, though as Lux notes, PC will easily miss the most interesting ones. This could be fixed by coming up with a quest to retrieve a particular object rather than simply escape the pyramid. He's also correct that all the monsters all seem attack-oriented. (Except the Nereid, I keep coming back to the Nereid.) I'm not sure this is a problem worth fixing. The rooms are self-contained and the residents are so alien that it's believable that they wouldn't have knowledge or interest in other parts of the dungeon. And the aggressiveness kind of fits with Aztec views of the world. On another note, the monsters, while individually tough, are not numerous. My party of 10 (PCs and henchman) was probably too large.
Lux disapproves of the poison gas, but it worked well for me. We have limited time IRL so it was good to have an in-game reason for haste. I didn't track the time closely, but the players had a sense of urgency about them. And they could not take a brute force approach to every problem ("Everyone stands guard and I individually press each block on the south wall. Ok, now the west wall. Ok, let's rest and heal and re-learn spells.") Lux is correct that this feeling of haste creates tension with all the weird objects begging for attention, but I think this helps preserve the wonder. My PCs know they missed some things and are talking about going back.
Lux is correct about the clunky text and clunkier special mechanics. I don't agree, however, that this necessitates hours of preparation. Because the rooms are self-contained and because the residents are combat-oriented, you don't need to think too much about how it all fits together. The adventure kind of runs itself so you can just pause and skim each room while your players look at the illustration.
Here's what I would do to prepare:
- Look at the map. Starting with a cave-in that lands the PCs in room 1 works well and the gas extends through to room 39. Like Google maps, there are three routes that lead to the same destination. The routes cross over each other, so there are probably 7 or 8 combinations that will get PCs through the maze.
- Think about whether you want to move the cover star to a different room where the PCs are more likely to meet him. Or if he has something that will cause them to seek him out.
- Be ready to wing it on things like drowning or dodging boulders. The mechanics are complicated and inconsistent and rather than study them it might make sense to use saving throws. As with the poison gas, the threat of sand filling up a closed room is scary. But the in-play emphasis should be on the atmosphere rather than the mechanics. Rolling dice doesn't really enhance the suspense.
Monday, September 3, 2018
Over the Waves Part 10 (Landfall)
And so the Binggongchang left the Island of Wisdom and after another day of smooth sailing reached a suitable place to land. Bangqiu dropped anchor about one hundred yards off shore and the boat was lowered. All passengers and sailors were ferried to shore, just to give everyone a chance to walk on dry land after their many weeks at sea.
The landing place was a narrow beach surrounded by marshes and jungle. Rhialle recognized a mountain range further inland and Bagqiu concluded that he had made good use of Sakatha's ring. The sailors and sohei returned to the ship while Bangqiu organized an exploration party that would travel inland to find Rhialle's settlement. Kafka argued that he should remain with the ship to maintain order among the sohei and sailors. But Bangqiu insisted that he would need his help in this strange new land. Kafka relented and placed Mai-Thi in charge.
Thus, the exploration party comprised:
Bangqiu, with Kafka, Damai, and Rhialle
Bo-Jing
Shoji and his bodyguard Singha
Bayan and her adviser Minh
Hyamsam
The Lucky Ten camped on the beach and then set off into the jungle the next morning. By midday, they came upon a human settlement, one where the people spoke the same language as Rhialle. They did not know him, but they knew the way to his home.
A few more days of travel brought them to the village of Tamoachitz. Here Rhialle was recognized and the party was welcomed and honored-- but not in a manner that they recognized as friendly. After a few nights, Rhialle heard the shrill piping that he recognized as the prelude to a special sacrifice. He thanked Bangqiu for bringing him home and urged him to flee with his friends. Bangqiu agreed that he did not wish to be sacrificed but convinced Rhialle that he was ready to explore other paths to enlightenment. And so the Lucky Ten left Tamoachitz in the middle of the night, setting up across the surrounding jungle.
A full moon guided their path, and they made their way toward a light that glowed in the trees. This turned out to be the ruins of a towering pyramid. They slept on the white stones of the deserted city. In the morning, while planning their next move, the explorers heard the noise of the pursuers. In controlled panic, they ran toward the pyramid. Then the earth shuddered and gaped open beneath the party's feet. They fell amidst a roar of collapsing masonry. Dust filled the air and the sunlight disappeared as the darkness swallowed the,.
The landing place was a narrow beach surrounded by marshes and jungle. Rhialle recognized a mountain range further inland and Bagqiu concluded that he had made good use of Sakatha's ring. The sailors and sohei returned to the ship while Bangqiu organized an exploration party that would travel inland to find Rhialle's settlement. Kafka argued that he should remain with the ship to maintain order among the sohei and sailors. But Bangqiu insisted that he would need his help in this strange new land. Kafka relented and placed Mai-Thi in charge.
Thus, the exploration party comprised:
Bangqiu, with Kafka, Damai, and Rhialle
Bo-Jing
Shoji and his bodyguard Singha
Bayan and her adviser Minh
Hyamsam
The Lucky Ten camped on the beach and then set off into the jungle the next morning. By midday, they came upon a human settlement, one where the people spoke the same language as Rhialle. They did not know him, but they knew the way to his home.
A few more days of travel brought them to the village of Tamoachitz. Here Rhialle was recognized and the party was welcomed and honored-- but not in a manner that they recognized as friendly. After a few nights, Rhialle heard the shrill piping that he recognized as the prelude to a special sacrifice. He thanked Bangqiu for bringing him home and urged him to flee with his friends. Bangqiu agreed that he did not wish to be sacrificed but convinced Rhialle that he was ready to explore other paths to enlightenment. And so the Lucky Ten left Tamoachitz in the middle of the night, setting up across the surrounding jungle.
A full moon guided their path, and they made their way toward a light that glowed in the trees. This turned out to be the ruins of a towering pyramid. They slept on the white stones of the deserted city. In the morning, while planning their next move, the explorers heard the noise of the pursuers. In controlled panic, they ran toward the pyramid. Then the earth shuddered and gaped open beneath the party's feet. They fell amidst a roar of collapsing masonry. Dust filled the air and the sunlight disappeared as the darkness swallowed the,.
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