Tracy's HackMoor Campaign 2013/01/22

[tmjva]

Hi Tracy,
great hearing from you again!
I hope you and your player are feeling better?

Today this Player has a doctor appointment, so we scheduled a game of Settlers of Catan. I'm pretty good but still have a hacking cough.

Starmorgan is still under Afridhi occupation at this time right?

Yes of course, they are no where near overthrowing the barbarian yoke. Although I avoid calling them Afridhi, due to the Players' lack of paying attention to names, I just call them Barbarians.

Do they employ magic to keep track of personnel, or are they just well organized?

A little of both, the MI-5 style entry chamber was just a spur of the moment mental upgrade because this Player is one of those that has a tendency to go off on his own and waste Party time. I didn't want to waste more time with him raiding the city coffers (again, like he did in Detroit). Since the module gives the Barbarians a Magic User and they have allied with Rahl, I had justification and the means to install it.

Care to elaborate on this? :)

Weasel' used a spell called "A Day in The Life" where he gets to look and act like a Barbarian without getting noticed. (It is one of the better Hackmaster "disguise" type of spells.) This was a far better use of Party time for this Player to mingle with the Barbarians. While I have the Barbarians always on the lookout for Tenian saboteurs and renegades via Warsaw-like ghetto checkpoints, I downplay their ability to detect spies with internal security. The Barbarians fail on this this mainly due to Barbarian vs. Tenian racial stereotyping. Although he may have been discovered if he was asked for his Barbarian I.D. card. (Players haven't thought of using a 'Dr. Who' Psychic paper wallet yet, not that there is one. It would have to be a Player created magic item.)

Had this continued any further, I may have got him into a budding romantic relationship with one of the Handmaidens of Death. Since none of the Players understand the Handmaidens are in drag.

How common is raise dead spells in your campaigns? I used to keep them very limited, but I have sort of changed my view on this after a few chats with Frank Mentzer.

I don't have a problem with it, since the Constitution limit is strictly enforced. The Party's cleric just got to the point where he can Raise Dead on his own. We had fun with it earlier when one of the Player's stipulated certain conditions in his will under what conditions he could be raised.

Is the group directly employed by the Blackmoor Government? How do the players(PCs) feel about Blackmoor sending in new people to join their team? Are they just happy for additional manpower or do they feel that the Government is meddling too much? :)

The NPC's were the initial load from the module, I use them to exercise some sort of mission control or the Party may just wander off. Junkbot Jackson is a new PC because one of the Players decided to retire his other Characters. It was also at this point I decided any new PC's joining the campaign need to start at half the average party level, instead of level 1. Otherwise it detracts from the campaign as the experienced Players wait for the new person to catch up.

What will happen to Hiernonymous Castagere? :o

I'll probably have him with the general slave population due to be sacrificed, once the Players reach the Well of Souls area.

-Havard