We are bringing the first adventure of the "new" D&D play-by-email to a close (I use the quotes because it's been going on for more than three months now), slightly faster than I expected. The PCs have succeeded in their initial adventure (retrieve the crown of the King of Birds, which has been stolen by a lizardman, in time for the holiday and the coronation), and are enjoying their safe return to the village. We are in the midst of a lovely little country celebration/dance scene, which is giving everyone a chance to explore their character's inner lives a bit, and how they interact with people outside the party. Players are grasping onto the romance theme I'd like to nurture in this first arc with fair enthusiasm.
We'll spend a few weeks doing interim stuff--divvying up treasure, buying new equipment, developing some background events--before we jump into the second adventure. If we can keep the fights moving at the relatively snappy pace we managed for the first, I expect this one will take around six months.
One thing I'm taking away to work on as I plan, is making sure to include opportunities for everyone to show off, since some players are more reluctant than others to put themselves forward.
I'm doing what I can to push other PCs to the forefront (and also to not take over everything, always a peril), and was very happy with the relatively quiet Arthur's very descriptive use of Detect Magic. I thought that was a good moment to shine.
ReplyDeleteExpect Vajik to continue to try to set his companions up for romance, and also to try to get his father to get around to picking out a new, young wife. Vajik, of course, should be on the market for a stout gnomish matron, but he's avoiding that for now.