a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

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mutazoid
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a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

Post by mutazoid »

I judged Sailors on the Starless Sea. At the end someone that decided to take the Choas Lord effigy's head at the end of the adventure? Maybe a secret power or plot idea etc?
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Re: a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

Post by bighara »

It would certainly get one some odd looks carrying it through town. :?

It may also attract the attention of religious types. Priests or agents of both Law and Chaos would probably be very interested in why the PC has it and what plans they have (if any) for it.
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mutazoid
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Re: a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

Post by mutazoid »

I think we are going to play "the people of the pit" next. I havent read thru yet but I noticed there are cultists there. Are they related to the ones from Sailors?
Will the robes from Sailors affect the play through? Will the Chaos Lord anger these cultists? Hmm cant wait to read this module ;)
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Re: a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

Post by Raven_Crowking »

mutazoid wrote:Are they related to the ones from Sailors?
Only if you say they are.
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mutazoid
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Re: a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

Post by mutazoid »

just trying to think what Im going to do and get any ideas. Tomorrow we start ;)
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Re: a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

Post by Mat Mobile »

In theory, the effigy is supposed to be destroyed because the Shaman throws it into the pit, yada, yada, yada and it transform into the Chaos Lord.

That being said, all sorts of stuff can happen so it's no surprise that your players ended up with the effigy of the Chaos Lord.

To be fair, during my game, I underprepared for this encounter. Actually, the one player that was playing at this game flew through the encounters and I wasn't ready to run it and I got confused when I had to read it really fast. :? But he still had fun and I'm looking forward to running it again "correctly". So anybody running this adventure really has to take the time to read "Area 1-5A – Atop the Temple" as it can be confusing in the heat of the moment.

So what happened with your group mutazoid?
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Re: a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

Post by TithianKing »

I have a new Starless Sea question:

My players finished exploring the upper level of the ruin and defeated the Bullhead Beastman and his lackeys.

They lost roughly 40% of their 0-level PCs so far. They want to return to the village and regroup. I made clear that there were other prisoners who were taken below and that they might not survive if the PCs retreat. They are ok with this.

As this is meant to be a funnel adventure, how would you handle this? If I let them return to town does the Chaos Lord cometh? Or does the mission pause where its at?
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Re: a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

Post by Bobjester »

If the PCs went back to the village to regroup, then the Chaos Lord just might cometh as the worst possible scenario, and all the problems associated with that outcome.

The choice is up to the players. They either tighten their belts and strap up the loins and accept what is right in front of them as inevitable and continue in their present state or turn tail & run. Bravery has its own consequences, but there should be a price to pay in the eyes of NPCs for PC cowardice (if that is what it really is).

Retreating as a pragmatic decision? People are dying and more will die as a result? Then they must act now!

How much remorse do the players think their characters feel?

Perhaps on returning to the village, the remaining villagers would look upon the PCs with less favor because they left their fellow villagers there to die, or the PCs could write them off saying that they were dead anyway, no hope for those lost souls, accept the loss and keep moving forward, etc.

I'd keep how much remorse the players think their characters feel in mind when determining what happens next. How real the situation must feel for the characters - either their own mortality or the lives of their NPC fellows.

Allow the PCs to retreat & regroup, but the Chaos Lord does come - with a bigger army of beastmen! :shock:
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Re: a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

Post by TithianKing »

Thanks Bobjester.

What do you reckon might happen?

Assuming the PCs return the next day, i imagine the Chaos Lord would still be consolidating power and rallying his forces for invasion.

By day 3 I imagine he would march on the village in order to grow his ranks.

The first scenario should be easy enough to stage, by simply increasing the number of beastmen on the ramparts and describing a hording mass.

The latter scenario is rather more complicated, and well beyond the parameters of the module. Do I run that sacking of the village, or do I hand-wave it and say all is lost for the village and the PCs only hope is to need to flee.
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Re: a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

Post by Bobjester »

Those questions are best answered by yourself and your players. How much time do you have to prep?

Do a gradual mix of both scenarios perhaps? Send ever increasing waves of enemies at the PC's village (like "Temple Siege" Free DCC RPG 2021 Adventure Pack) until you send the Big Guy and a very large horde for the finale.

This is only if the PCs can withstand the initial waves that you send before the Chaos Lord.

The main point should not be to deliver an outside-the-lines scenario that completely overwhelms the PCs because they made a wrong decision.

But the cost should be apparent if the players are role-playing 0 level characters who supposedly love their fellow villager NPCs.

If they don't accept the costs, then all bets are off and you might want to prepare for a scenario where the PCs flee their village. Where would they go, and how would they survive?

As 0 level peasants (presumably) they probably aren't fully kitted to survive long in the wild. They're used to living in huts or hovels, not lean-tos.

The next village down the road? The NPCs there would wonder what happened to the abandoned village. Travelers would undoubtedly witness what happened, or the aftermath. Then they'd speculate and eventually spread rumors, whether true or false.

The Chaos Lord, if successful in destroying the PC's village might stick around to consolidate his return, converting villagers into beastmen using fell chaos magicks. They'd become a larger force to contend with in your extended campaign.

The PCs, if interested in defeating the now more powerful Chaos Lord might seek out something or someone to help them. Some wise old hermit or a wizard in a tower who can give them something - a magic item or ability, or even instruct them in their own abilities (level them up!)

Maybe there is a nearby keep with a Lord/Lady with a force of armed soldiers who can be recruited into attacking the Chaos Lord. They'd have to accept out of duty to their King/Queen, to protect their holdings, and honor. But they'd have to demand something from the PCs in return. A show of fealty or honor, perhaps. A ... quest? (Send them on a short adventure)

All viable possibilities, depending on your creative bent and time. But work on it one step at a time. Best to stay one step ahead of the players, in case they swiftly change their minds and directions.

My players did this all the time. Kept me on my toes! I'd keep ideas piling up, but not flesh them out & stat them until I was certain that that was the thing that was going to happen next in the PC's path.
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Re: a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

Post by TithianKing »

I set up the PCs as having come from the Village of Hirot from Doom of the Savage Kings. I really like Hirot and wanted to use it as a base from which to adventure.

Although I probably won't play Savage Kings as written, the villagers are more or less portrayed as written, with the reluctant and fearful Jarl, who will be very upset at the PCs bringing this danger onto his village with their reckless actions. What I will use from Savage Kings is the nearby Tomb of Ulfeongar, so the players may be able to retrieve his sword and use it against the Chaos Lord.

I am setting up the Hound of Hirot in game different from the module. In session one I granted one of the PCs a dog companion, and shortly into the first session the dog licked up the gooey seeds of the Zombie Vines. The seeds are slowly taking root in the dog's guts and will eventually transform it into a demon-dog. I am playing the long game on that.

It would actually be ideal for the PCs to encounter the Chaos Lord at the top of the Ziggurat, decide he cannot be defeated, and then retreat. Then I can set up the Tomb of Ulfeongar, and the PCs can attempretrieve reive his sword, and weild it against the Chaos Lord. The only problem with that is that I cannot trust my players to run away mid-combat. History has shown me that, once they commit to a battle, its win or die.
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Re: a question about Sailors on the Starless Sea

Post by GnomeBoy »

TithianKing wrote: Sat Jun 11, 2022 4:34 am They want to return to the village and regroup.
This is why I've always framed it as "you have too much to lose, or nothing left to lose -- that's why you're venturing to see who you can save and if you can stop this recurring threat". Any delay means more abductions, more loss of life. Time is of the essence!

Still, I had one group (out of about 8 times I've run it) that did go back to the village. I had them work on what they wanted to do, but then the beastmen attacked again that night, so they were back to square one.

Yes, logically, if they turned back at a point where if they had not turned back the Chaos Lord would be summoned within a couple hours, then he'd be summoned. But then I'd have to build a conclusion to the scenario where the Chaos Lord is summoned, but it's still somehow a funnel that does the job of a funnel. Too much work, much easier to pause the action at the Keep and wait til the Zeroes get back to where we left off...
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