After a 4 months hiatus, we decided to play through the rest of The One Ring 2E starter set.
Learning from the previous session, I proposed to leave Bilbo out of it. He's way above and beyond the rest of the characters. We went into "Most Excellent Fireworks" with:
- Paladin Took II
- Rorimac Brandybuck
- Drogo Baggins
- Balin son of Fundin
The hobbits (and dwarf) were sent by Bilbo to retrieve some fireworks. They went on their merry way, questioning (sometimes interrogating) hobbits, until they reached the mining town of Scary. They sang and riddled with the accountant, who told them where to find the hobbit called Otho, who took the fireworks into the mines, presumably to blow up a tunnel.
The hobbits (and dwarf) sneaked into the mine at night. They literally found their way on the first roll, and caught Otho holding off an orc. A single axe strike by Balin made the orc run away. The hobbits (and dwarf) then very rudely threatened Otho into handing over all the fireworks. He complied, at axe-point.
...that's it.
At least it segwayed nicely into the next adventure, "Involuntary Postmen". Somebody (most likely Otho) put in a word at the authorities, who arrested the hobbits. Lobelia Bracegirdle replaced Balin. After being locked in the basement without food for a couple of hours (driving the hobbits to despair), they accepted an offer by the postmaster to take a letter to the other end of the shire. Not without haggling and troublemaking, but I was already on to their shenanigans and made sure they lost Hope at each un-hobbit-like transgression.
They had a miserable trek across the Shire, resorting to killing squirrels for food. Of course, all their lost Endurance and Hope counted for nothing after encountering the elf Galdor and sampling his elf-fare. To be honest, based on the way the hobbits treated the animals so far, I'd have cut this encounter, but what the hay. They rested anyway at Farmer Maggot's house, where they met Bilbo again.
...that's it.
On to the final part, "To Soothe a Savage Beast". Lobelia had enough nonsense and was replaced by Primula Brandybuck.
After accepting the quest (not without haggling and whining), the hobbits headed out into the night. The moment they met the Burnt Beast, the party immediately split. Paladin ran to the ferry to get away, while the rest fought. They realized that the Beast was too powerful, and ran after taking a beating.
But doesn't matter, as they rested at Brandy Hall, and were soon after the beast again. After a second attack, they followed the beast into the Old Forest.
Here they fumbled all their rolls of Explore and Hunting, but instead of random encounters, I bled them of Hope. Thus, the fight with two Burnt Beasts was the first real, actual gut-wrencher. The hobbits fought tooth and nail, but soon Paladin fell. They despaired. It was fun to see actual engagement on the players. But then Tom Bombadil showed up, saving the day. The hobbits retreated to his home. Tom proposed to save the beasts and turn them back into faithful hounds by singing to them and naming them. Upset at this childish turn of events, the players suggested rather naughty names, and we just lost it, laughing for several minutes.
Finally, they tracked down the beasts again, and wounded (thus, killed) both on the first turn.
Talk about an anti-climactic ending.
I let them sing without additional checks, and they returned to Farmer Maggot. The hounds got there as well, and I had to remind the players several times that they do not, definitely do not, want to kill them.
...
Thus ended the starter set adventures, and our merry time.
The system is not bad (or at least the starter rules aren't bad), but the adventures were a total letdown. No real stakes, no consequences, no suspense. I got better by the second part, but as you can probably tell, my heart wasn't in it. The hobbits waltzed through it all, and I just let go to enjoy the ride.
Also note that the adventure book isn't totally self-contained, and references "The Shire" publication, which I did not have. Alas, I improvised, much to my players' delight (and speeding up the session).
No comments:
Post a Comment