Saturday, October 7, 2017

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea Second Edition - Actual Play Event - The Black Moss Hag of Lug Introductory Adventure


So tonight I decided to get together with five friends swill down some brews & grab my table top copy of second edition Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Tonight I took bunch of first level PC's through introductory adventure of AS&SH second edition 'the Moss Hag of Lug'. Needless to say that I had a total TPK! That's right a bunch of first level PC's were wiped out to a man in a mine cave in caused by the players.  There were a bunch of factors working against the players in tonight's game:

  • The maps, plot, of the adventure were very well done but the players dice seemed against them. 
  • There were several key plot points where the players made two bad decisions which haunted them later on in tonight's adventure. 
  • They were a bit too aggressive against the 'monsters' in tonight's adventure session which caused a cave in of a dungeon tunnel. This killed the entire party of adventurers. The players found it funny and frustrating. 
  • Beer helps with a TPK but they want another go sometime next weekend.



    Things that I loved included Glynn Seal of Monkey Blood Design's cartography and artwork of the adventure setting and the town of Swampgate. This is an adventure location rife with lots of potential for all kinds of player mayhem. AS&SH second editions transitioning from PC creation to jumping into the adventure setting. The total immersion and attention to the Clark Ashton Smith vibe of AS&SH is much more pronounced in this edition. The setting details are clear, concise, and concentrated on the adventure action. Plus this is adventure and setting material that can easily be adapted to your own home based old school games.



    Overall my impressions of the AS&SH second edition system seems like its going to fit both my science fantasy and Swords & Sorcery needs quite nicely. But now I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board for more PC's. I'm actually thinking of having the players start with second or third level PC's just in case. Over all things went very smoothly but it was a very brief game because of the players actions and decisions. More as this game develops.


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