First session of Lone Wolf multiplayer game – part 5

You might want to read part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4 first.

Previously, our Kai monks completely destroyed one story branch where the adventure could advance. Beastmaster plunged his spear into the beggar, who happened to be able to lead them directly to Jasper Kleth’s hideout. 3 Gold Crowns per player wasn’t very expensive. But Beastmaster didn’t like the beggar. I didn’t see any way of recovering the situation after Torturer announced the beggar to be carrying the deadly disease, leprosy.

So Beastmaster, Torturer and Blender went back to the Golden Sun Inn. Nyssa the maid fled the room, where Archer was standing by the bed (I assumed he’s dressed), when they arrived. Shortly after, Catatonia returned from his unsuccessful reconnaissance.

The rooftop chase

I told them there was still the woman escaping over the rooftops. “She’s still there?” said Torturer, puzzled. Yes, she’s still there. She had to be. She’s your last chance of finding Jasper. OF COURSE SHE’S STILL THERE!

Ok, calm down. Deep breaths.

It didn’t make sense for the woman to have waited so long. The beggar incident would have taken some time. By then, she should have been gone. But I didn’t want to think of another way of bringing my friends to Jasper. Besides, I thought chasing after the woman on the rooftops was fun.

There was a series of Tests involved in the chase. The first part was on the flat tops of the roofs, difficulty 3. Catatonia stumbled and fell. So did Archer. The rest continued, but Catatonia and Archer could follow on the streets below.

The second part were pointy rooftops. This time, it’s a difficulty 5. Beastmaster missed the next roof by a finger’s width, and fell to the ground. Blender and Torturer were still on the chase. As long as there was at least one player on the chase, they could still follow the woman.

There was a third and final part, ramshackle houses. A difficulty 6. I didn’t make them go through this. First, it was an honest mistake. I really missed out on the section. It was indented in the script, unlike the first 2 Tests, so I didn’t notice it. Like I said before, the publisher didn’t seem to put care into the product. Seems kind of shoddy.

And anyway, did I tell you that this was the last chance they could find Jasper? If Blender and Torturer failed that Test, I’d have to think of a new option. So I let them continue.

Jasper Kleth and the slave trade

The woman mysteriously disappeared. But she led them to the slums, where Jasper Kleth lived. Harbold’s hat could be seen outside a door, which I hoped was enough to convince my friends that Harbold was actually held here. There were some muffled cries for help beyond a chained and padlocked door.

I conveniently forgot that they had to overcome this obstacle.

If they had the beggar lead them here, the beggar would have given them a key to that padlock. Oh well…

“Oh thank you thank you thank you!” gushed Harbold as he was released. My nerves were a bit high strung at that point, so moving the story swiftly along…

They searched Jasper’s place, and found a ledger detailing names and physical features. A slave trade in Toran. They were sort of milling around, and I decided to just unleash the boss on them.

Jasper Kleth was a big man. He carried a broadsword and there was spittle around the corners of his mouth. A woman stood by him. Jasper charged at the same time as

“I shoot an arrow at the woman.” said Archer.
“She’s too fast. And she disappears from view.” I said.

“I plunge my spear at Jasper.” announced Beastmaster. Like I said, it’s becoming a habit.

“Aw my back!” cried Catatonia. And he stayed out of the combat.

The battle was short and ugly. Jasper went down in a few blows, and that was that.

To close up loose ends, the woman was a thief. Whether working with or for Jasper was anyone’s guess. The script deliberately said the woman would not participate in the fight, so I had to make her lightning quick and disappear when Archer shot at her. She was supposed to stay quietly by the side and watch the fight. When Jasper was close to defeat, she would leave.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I told them there was an ending passage in the script but they don’t have to hear it from me. They said it’s fine, and I could read it to them to close off the adventure.

Harbold wanted to thank them with gifts, but the Kai honour prohibits it. The merchant would be under the protection of the City Watch and the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star. The Kai monks returned to the Monastery, where Kai Master Stormsong was waiting. They related the events to him, and he congratulated them on their success.

The end.

Final thoughts

I stuck as much as possible to the scripted adventure because I wanted my friends and me to appreciate what the author wanted us to experience. Freeform role playing was fine. I just wanted the author’s plans to be the main part. So I didn’t want to do too much improvisation, although there were plenty of opportunities to do so.

One thing my friends noted. The battle chart was skewed ridiculously in the Kai’s favour. This would be fine for the single player mode, but this is a multiplayer version. We’re talking about 5 bloodthirsty Kai monks. I would need a fleet of Kraan and a platoon of Drakkarim to even worry them.

The publisher didn’t even swap out the LW for H in the battle chart, as referred to in the explanation of rules. E for enemy, and H for hero. LW stands for Lone Wolf. One of the few shoddy indications of careless publishing.

I estimated 10 to 20 minutes per battle. I was woefully wrong. Each battle ended in less than 5 minutes. There were about 3 or 4 battles in the entire adventure, so it was very combat light. We still played for about 2 hours, so you can imagine the amount of role playing and bantering involved.

And there was too much reading. In single player mode, there’s only yourself, so having descriptions while you immerse yourself in Magnamund was crucial. But let’s face it. Didn’t you flip through the Lone Wolf single player books until a decision was to be made? Until a battle was to be fought? You don’t even read the text.

And there’s copious amounts of text in this multiplayer version. I had to describe the weather, the sky, the land, and sometimes how the players reacted in mini scenes. This was my main gripe. I should never have to dictate what players should or should not feel, act or decide.

The ideal amount of information is enough for the players to make a decision on what to do next. Making decisions is the fun part, when you don’t have superpowers, or magic weapons, or divine armour.

I thought my friends would be bored by the story-heavy gameplay, as opposed to the usual D&D sessions filled 90% by combat. I was wrong. They had tons of fun, which was good.

I actually planned another short adventure in case this one finished quickly. Here’s a glimpse, in case I never get to run the adventure. The 1st line was carved in the wooden arch leading into a garden. The 2nd line and signature were carved into a stone slab directly below the arch.

As above,
So below
- D. Dallus