Griffin Mountain is a pretty great Runequest module as well. It’s really a mini campaign setting though. I’ve always been curious about Pavis and Bug Rubble.
One thing I like about the 1e modules is that they provide for greater player agency compared to what I’ve seen from later editions’ modules. They generally just provide the setting and characters without much plot or railroading. I think the idea that modules could be run out-of-the-box without any preparation, i.e. like following a script, is something that became more prevalent over time. I certainly don’t think many of the early modules were written this way.
Did a session last night where the DM turned over an hourglass, had us enter a dream-simulation concocted by mind flyers, and tasked us with speedruning Strahd. We played our characters playing different characters he handed out the sheets for - so I’m my usual All Might/Tick-style paladin playing a mopey shadow sorcerer whose sister died. Led to some fun moments of breaking character in the simulation to do something in-character for the paladin, shifting voices - at one point I attempted and succeeded in moving a boulder with a strength check on a weak-ass sorcerer (“I-I’m going to do it! I’m going to move the boulder!”)
We ended up getting extremely lucky and essentially picking the perfect route to get to Strahd, and it was still daylight when we got there, so he was in his coffin, I staked him, then we filled his coffin with holy water until he died. It was wild.
In the end the mind flyers let us go and agreed to let the peaceable flumps be, so all is well.
I found out the other kids on his outdoor school bus are always talking about DND, and he couldn’t make sense of it, and my sister couldn’t make any progress helping him make sense of it, so this Christmas is a “tabletop rpg books and dice” one.
Of course now I’m committed to try to run a game for him (11) and is little brother (8) I’m sure this won’t be a disaster.
Ok for real though I’m a lv5 barbarian with a new level in the chamber ready to fire, and I genuinely do not know enough about 5e builds and mechanics to decide what to do with it.
Anyone got any input?
My character so far is a hand-to-hand fighter but with a shield. Think Captain America, but a young female dwarf. I can’t say I haven’t been enjoying playing it, but I do feel like I kinda don’t have enough going on? Like I feel like I should have more buttons to press, as it were, than I do. Is that just me being too used to older editions, or am I actually gimping myself by only being a sort of running-jumping-climbing trees-punching everything and quaffing ales type?
I’m not opposed to the idea of adding magic, just so long as I can find a way to make it fit narratively
The barbarian is very much a class that Is limited in it’s move set. I think some of the subclasses gave more stuff, but by and large their abilities are just hitting shit real hard.
Totem Warrior, bear (Thunderbeast (basically bear but with (I think) tiger as the 3rd ability))
edit: if it helps, my stats are 15, 12, 14, 12, 10, 14. If I were going to take a magic class, I’d probably be best served by either Sorcerer or Warlock, right?
…Is there a Great Old One of revelry and partyin’?
Warlocks have a number of builds based around weapons. Your barbarian stats would help a lot with using those weapons, plus your charisma bonus will help make your spells more effective.
Sorcerer wouldn’t be a terrible choice either, but I think they typically need to keep their hands free casting so you won’t be able to utilize all your character strengths.
The super boring answer is that you could probably do with more Strength, but that doesn’t solve your lack of buttons problem.
Multiclassing is something I am sort of weirdly against personally although it is obviously a very cool thing to do. Especially choosing Warlock would give you a whole bunch of cool roleplaying hooks!
You could also think about adding Monk, which would very nicely compliment your fist focus and give you more cool abilities.
As far as I know, the game has near zero support for doing cool things with your shield, definitely nothing Captain America-ish. Do you have some kind of homebrew agreement about that with your DM? If not, that might be all you need to spice things up.
