Just finished this episode having read the whole series (and Proper Villains) over the last 2 months, really looking forward to more Stonetop and Proper Villains in the future!
Especially to see whether Pad can continue to rein in Vahid's hubris. Also curious to see whether Kirs Sr can live up to his namesake and help the party successfully steal the crown. (I'm curious to know whether, when you introduced Kirs Jr and his namesake 'Crown-thief, walker among the dead', you already envisioned the party one day meeting his father to find the crown, or whether that idea came later?). So many great character arcs, even among the supporting cast (Ozberg, Owain, Kirs Jr & Sr in particular).
I must admit, I thought the delve into Odo's lair ran on a bit long, without progressing the narrative much, but the boss fight at the end (and the uniting of the Delve bosses) was excellent, especially Vahid's hard choice, and Anwen finally getting to use Never Gonna Keep Me Down. I've played a fair amount of Ironsworn and with any progress tracks formidable or greater, I find that the progress needs to be montaged, even on misses, otherwise even a quick dungeon delve can take several hours of play. Tomkin simplifies and iterates on the delve rules for Ironsworn: Starforged, and there are some lovely rules for unlocking the mysteries of ruins in Ironsworn: Sundered Isles, but I do have a soft spot for the particular implementation of dungeon delving in Ironsworn: Delve.
I've definitely taken inspiration from the way you plan and play your solo sessions, switching between player and GM, so thanks for the great story, characters, and the insight into how you've used the mechanics to craft it!
I'm so glad you've been enjoying it! I got the notifications when you were liking a few of the old posts and it always brings a smile to my face. :)
Re: The setup with Kirs Sr. -- I knew that I wanted to have a 'key' for the Stormcatcher orb beneath Stonetop, and the crown was that key. The party finding Elder Kirs in Gordin's Delve was one way I saw that thread being picked up, but there were definitely others. For example, the party might not have gone to Gordin's Delve, and instead opted to go to Marshedge to deal with the various threads there. If that was the case, then it's possible (based on Seasons Change rolls) that the hdour might go to the Delve before the party, and capture (or worse, recruit!) Kirs Sr to his faction. That could've then led to some great scenes with Kirs (if he survived) and/or Katrin with their wayward father.
Re: Odo's Lair: 100% agreed. There was a lot of good stuff in there -- character moments (Pad in the prison pits, Anwen taking command, Vahid's moment that you noted), and some cool worldbuilding and action, but it felt a bit like a cul-de-sac. I'm hoping that paying off some of the setup (the redemption of Odo's followers, for example) might make it feel more worthwhile in retrospect, but we'll see!
Awesome to hear the work has been inspiring -- I'll make sure to check out your work as well!
Yeah -- there were a bunch of big loose ends to tie up prior to the coming battle, and I did feel a bit like some of it was rushed. But if each thing (I'm thinking in particular of Dawa's cure) became it's own quest, we'd never leave the Delve! :-D
I'm looking broadly across a bunch of games I've been curious about. Wanderhome is likely one of them.
I'm definitely looking at Blades in the Dark, and Monster of the Week -- I did a quick preview of the MotW pilot in an earlier PTFOOO episode.
ATLA has actually fallen off a bit -- when looking at the Playbooks, I was a little... uninspired. The art is great, the playbook concepts are flavorful, but the moves are not very exciting! If anyone has played and knows what I'm missing about them, please weigh in. :-)
I can not weigh in on ATLA but I'm so very down for a MotW type game especially if it continues in a different part of our rendition of Stone Top. I rather love the setting would love to continue exploring it through different points of view. Especially given that something like BITD and MoTW offer very different themes and motifs to play with.
I think a BITD game would be interesting for some of the far reaches of the hour and the clans. Possibly a few characters from there. I think a MoTW game would lend itself well to a lost tribe over run by the howling curse as a starting hook.
That's a fascinating take. Monster of the Week out in the Whitefang Mountains could be very hot. You can take a look at the MotW pitch -- it's an entirely different setting with new characters, but I think it might still be up your alley: https://ptfo.substack.com/i/136036321/pilot-preview-that-devil-sam-crow
You bring me crooked timber to build my temple.
Dude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't take full credit for that banger -- it comes from Immanuel Kant. "“Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made."
Just finished this episode having read the whole series (and Proper Villains) over the last 2 months, really looking forward to more Stonetop and Proper Villains in the future!
Especially to see whether Pad can continue to rein in Vahid's hubris. Also curious to see whether Kirs Sr can live up to his namesake and help the party successfully steal the crown. (I'm curious to know whether, when you introduced Kirs Jr and his namesake 'Crown-thief, walker among the dead', you already envisioned the party one day meeting his father to find the crown, or whether that idea came later?). So many great character arcs, even among the supporting cast (Ozberg, Owain, Kirs Jr & Sr in particular).
I must admit, I thought the delve into Odo's lair ran on a bit long, without progressing the narrative much, but the boss fight at the end (and the uniting of the Delve bosses) was excellent, especially Vahid's hard choice, and Anwen finally getting to use Never Gonna Keep Me Down. I've played a fair amount of Ironsworn and with any progress tracks formidable or greater, I find that the progress needs to be montaged, even on misses, otherwise even a quick dungeon delve can take several hours of play. Tomkin simplifies and iterates on the delve rules for Ironsworn: Starforged, and there are some lovely rules for unlocking the mysteries of ruins in Ironsworn: Sundered Isles, but I do have a soft spot for the particular implementation of dungeon delving in Ironsworn: Delve.
I've definitely taken inspiration from the way you plan and play your solo sessions, switching between player and GM, so thanks for the great story, characters, and the insight into how you've used the mechanics to craft it!
I'm so glad you've been enjoying it! I got the notifications when you were liking a few of the old posts and it always brings a smile to my face. :)
Re: The setup with Kirs Sr. -- I knew that I wanted to have a 'key' for the Stormcatcher orb beneath Stonetop, and the crown was that key. The party finding Elder Kirs in Gordin's Delve was one way I saw that thread being picked up, but there were definitely others. For example, the party might not have gone to Gordin's Delve, and instead opted to go to Marshedge to deal with the various threads there. If that was the case, then it's possible (based on Seasons Change rolls) that the hdour might go to the Delve before the party, and capture (or worse, recruit!) Kirs Sr to his faction. That could've then led to some great scenes with Kirs (if he survived) and/or Katrin with their wayward father.
Re: Odo's Lair: 100% agreed. There was a lot of good stuff in there -- character moments (Pad in the prison pits, Anwen taking command, Vahid's moment that you noted), and some cool worldbuilding and action, but it felt a bit like a cul-de-sac. I'm hoping that paying off some of the setup (the redemption of Odo's followers, for example) might make it feel more worthwhile in retrospect, but we'll see!
Awesome to hear the work has been inspiring -- I'll make sure to check out your work as well!
That's a lot of ground covered in a session. I loved the scene with the bosses and the judge. It really felt high-stakes.
I hope you have a good Thanksgiving break.
Yeah -- there were a bunch of big loose ends to tie up prior to the coming battle, and I did feel a bit like some of it was rushed. But if each thing (I'm thinking in particular of Dawa's cure) became it's own quest, we'd never leave the Delve! :-D
What games are we looking at for the pilots just ATLA and Wanderhome?
I'm looking broadly across a bunch of games I've been curious about. Wanderhome is likely one of them.
I'm definitely looking at Blades in the Dark, and Monster of the Week -- I did a quick preview of the MotW pilot in an earlier PTFOOO episode.
ATLA has actually fallen off a bit -- when looking at the Playbooks, I was a little... uninspired. The art is great, the playbook concepts are flavorful, but the moves are not very exciting! If anyone has played and knows what I'm missing about them, please weigh in. :-)
I can not weigh in on ATLA but I'm so very down for a MotW type game especially if it continues in a different part of our rendition of Stone Top. I rather love the setting would love to continue exploring it through different points of view. Especially given that something like BITD and MoTW offer very different themes and motifs to play with.
I think a BITD game would be interesting for some of the far reaches of the hour and the clans. Possibly a few characters from there. I think a MoTW game would lend itself well to a lost tribe over run by the howling curse as a starting hook.
That's a fascinating take. Monster of the Week out in the Whitefang Mountains could be very hot. You can take a look at the MotW pitch -- it's an entirely different setting with new characters, but I think it might still be up your alley: https://ptfo.substack.com/i/136036321/pilot-preview-that-devil-sam-crow