<BW> Into the Wilds

[Tim]

Ok, so I found a MUCH better module than Secret of Bone Hill to do BW Old Skool with. I present you with: Into the Wilds by Goodman Games.

This module features...

Goblins riding giant bats!
An unfinished castle haunted by the angry ghost of its founder!
A cursed and dying teenaged Baron, who is the last of his line!
A beautiful lady of the castle!
A scheming Al Sweringer of a moneylender!
Cannibals!
An ancient dwarven hall, brought down by feuding brothers, now home to many a trap and baddie!
Haughty knights!
Stalwart men-at-arms!
A cool tavern or three!
Gelatinous Cubes!!!

This adventure is set in and around a border fortress called Wildsgate. North of the river Saedre, wilderness adventure abounds, with lots of climbing around on mountains and potential perilous falls while exploring the Foehammer Spires. There are quite a few traps within the dungeons, but most of them are avoidable just by being smart players. There's a good bit of combat, but I'll scale things to make it semi-survivable by BW characters.

The best thing about Into the Wilds, is that it's designed coherantly (unlike Secret of Bone Hill). There's lots of cool intrigue to get involved in in town, and they're all related to the dungeoneering that's to be done.

Here are a few possible 'hooks' to get your characters involved in the adventure:

For any noble/knightly types: You've received a letter from your 2nd cousin, the young Kaldal, Baron of Wildsgate. The sickly Baron says that he is driven mad by dreams of his ancestors and fears that he will meet their fate if the curse of his lineage is not lifted soon! He implores you to come to his aid, whence he will tell you a great secret. He promises rich reward and undying gratitude if you can save him. Perhaps even the hand of his beautiful sister.

For the dwarfly fellows: Centuries ago the Foehammer Spires were the home to powerful clans of dwarves. Rich in ore and gems, the fastness was coveted by the nations of man, orc and elf. Time and time again the dwarves repelled invading armies. The fall of the Foehammer Clans came from within. When the Thane of the Spires died unexpectedly, his twin sons turned on each other. The dwarf clans were torn apart as brother battled brother for the crown. When the conflict ended, the dwarves had accomplished what 10,000 orcs could not: the fall of the Foehammer Spires. Somewhere within the ruins of the Foehammer Spires and its silenced forge lies the famous enchanted Anvil of Gyr. The chief artificer of your clan has charged you with retrieving this holy artifact from the ruined halls.

For those of Elven persuasion: Ever have the elves kept The Wilds wild. In the past few centuries the wilderness has grown a bit TOO wild, as your kingdom and its population shrink. The goblins of the Spires have grown bold of late, and a week ago several of your people, simple folk, farmer and hunters, were raided and captured by a band of the marauding greenskins. The Etharch refuses to do anything about it. He fears bringing down the wrath of the goblins on his weakened land. You think different. Someone has to do SOMETHING to help these captives. If you can't save them, at least you can bring their bodies back to the glade and a decent resting spot.

For the thiefly: You are a thief, descendant of thieves. Your most illustrious ancestor is the legendary rogue Zamuk the Swift; family legends have always told of Old Man Zamuk and the treasure he left hidden somewhere in the Wilds. You'll travel to Wildsgate and finish the job he started!

These are, of course, only suggestions (albeit ones that tie into the module very easily). You guys are welcome to pick one, a few, all, or none! The only stipulation is that you guys have to travel to Wildsgate together. You can't be from the town itself. Perhaps one or more of you posted a flyer in a nearby town looking for aid in whatever your personal quest is?

Does this sound more interesting than Bone Hill? (please say yes!)

Tim

[pseudoidiot]

This one does seem interesting to a wider array of character types and it looks like there's a lot more going on. So I'm certainly okay with going with this module instead of Bone Hill.

[Tim]

Cool! I also bought a pdf of Legacy of the Savage Kings which is also a really cool module. It's a little tougher than "Into the Wilds" though. I was thinking it would make a good follow-up, assuming we dig BW Old Skool.

I would highly recommend any of the Goodman Games modules written by this Harley Stroh fellow. He writes some kick-ass module with great atmosphere, good story elements, and some serious challenges that don't just out and out screw the party. They almost (almost) make me want to play actual D&D.

Did you run "The Sword" this weekend, Jeremiah? If so, how did it go?

Tim

[Frappe]

Hurrah! I've always suspected the presence of Cannibals!

[Tim]

I think they're even incestuous cannibals, Frank.

[Tim]

Alrighty! Let's see some final characters up here sometime in the next two weeks, so I can do some tailoring on the module. Feel free to ask any questions here or by ye olde e-mail.

Tim

[pseudoidiot]

So now that I've decided to go with an Elven outdoorsy fellow, I'm having a hard time coming up with compelling Beliefs and Instincts. The example hook you have for Elves is okay, and taming the wild is certainly something for a rangerly type to get involved with, but I don't know how interested I am in it.

Also, I never play elves, and this is my first one in BW, so I want to make sure I have something that fits with the feel of the Elves in BW.

Thoughts?

[Tim]

Hmmm. BW elves are, to me, all about the past. Their best days are behind them. Their joy is behind them. The time when the world was as they wished it to be is behind them. They're withdrawing into the west at an exponential rate as Grief catches up with them.

Pretty freaking emo.

You can address that stuff with your character, or not. Totally up to you. This is an 'old skool' game, after all.

Here's a few simple questions that you could ask yourself and see if any bright ideas come up:

Why has your guy taken up the adventuring lifestyle?
What does he feel about the other races?
Is he looking for anything?
What does he want RIGHT NOW?
Is there anything in the history of his people that would be a hook for the character?
What about his family? Lost relatives? Evil twin?
Why is he a ranger? What does being a ranger mean?
What's his personality like? Does he have any personality traits that drive him?

Dunno. Does any of that help?

Tim

edit: Instincts? Instincts about singing the Songs are good. 'Always have an arrow knocked when there's trouble' is a classic. Use your instincts to make your skills work for you OR use them to create interesting story opportunities (you could use your instincts to play up the fact that elves aren't human, for instance).

[Tim]

Also: first player to get a finished character up gets a free Persona point! (you'll all start with one Fate).

[pseudoidiot]

Okay, so I'm getting more of a picture of my Elf's background and Beliefs. Right now, I think I'm going to have a Belief about "there being too much sadness/grief/sorrow/etc in the world, and I will do what I can to remove the causes of them and comfort those who need it."

What I'm really seeing is my Elf facing his Grief head-on at every turn. He comforts people, tries to fix things, perhaps; i.e. a monster is killing a lot of people, so the monster should be removed. Anyhow, I'm wondering how that might actually work in a mechanics-sense, besides just getting a lot of extra Grief tests. Should I get a skill I can use to comfort people (Grief Counselor-Wise, heh)? Or rather, what skill might be appropriate?

I know Elves have Lamentations to help with their own Grief, but I don't have any.

[Tim]

I know Elves have Lamentations to help with their own Grief, but I don't have any.

I'm pretty sure you can buy spell and skill songs with your General Skill Points. Lamentations would certainly be the best way to handle comforting others and whatnot.

Tim

[pseudoidiot]

I'm pretty sure you can buy spell and skill songs with your General Skill Points. Lamentations would certainly be the best way to handle comforting others and whatnot.

I wasn't sure about that, because some of those are more powerful than others and would, normally, require a powerful lifepath to get access to it. I'll ask for clarification on the BW boards.

Any thoughts as far as trying to soothe others' grief/misery interesting in the game?

[Tim]

Any thoughts as far as trying to soothe others' grief/misery interesting in the game?

Hmmm. I suppose the best way to make it interesting is to give you the option of soothing someone else's Grief at the expense of lamenting and mitigating your own.

I'll have to think on it some.

[pseudoidiot]

The only problem there is that non-Elves aren't really going to have Grief; at least, not the emotional attribute kind. Mostly I was seeing at as I find someone going through something, and I "counsel" them, or whatever, and basically I get a test for Grief that I otherwise wouldn't have gotten. The question is really what's to be done for actually helping them feel better.

Plus, it might be a cool way to make friends and earn favors, that sort of thing, which would help offset all those extra Grief tests.

[Tim]

Mostly I was seeing at as I find someone going through something, and I "counsel" them, or whatever, and basically I get a test for Grief that I otherwise wouldn't have gotten. The question is really what's to be done for actually helping them feel better.

You only get Grief tests for the stuff listed in the books. Really, this all sounds like 'just' roleplaying, to me. Make up a Belief about it and you'll have a mechanical reason to roleplay it out.

Plus, it might be a cool way to make friends and earn favors, that sort of thing, which would help offset all those extra Grief tests.

Offset Grief tests?