The original Thunder Rift game was interrupted by emergencies (plural.)

Last weekend, my nephew and niece wanted to try this D&D thing playing via the D&D Cyclopedia, so I set them elsewhere in the Rift and went to playing.

We have a Thief (My niece),  Warrior (My nephew), and Magic User (My wife.)  They spent time wandering around Kleine, ended up buying some boots, and other gear in character before wandering off to Raven's Ruin. They found it a little hard, but are shaping up. We got halfway through the Dungeon (or so) before it grew too late.

I'm deeply amused and I've been randomly rolling most everything. Including on the spot potions, and such when they drink them. (I changed treasure in the Ruin, so more random stuff will turn up.)

So far they've taken on Goblins, scared off some Kobolds, trapped two skeletons in the jail sale they were in to begin with, and coerced another Kobold to tell them where important stuff was--interesting all together.

I'm trying to track down a Karameikos boxed set, so in case they do get bored of the Rift. Alternately I may make a random map using techniques in photoshop. Generate everything randomly with only a gentle trimming hand.

The D&D game for my nephew and niece ran from 4PM (therabouts) to 1AM with a break for supper. It is glorious think to see. They're excited about it. Maybe not so much as the superhero game, but they are.a delight whichever they play. In the D&D game we have Tinker (the Cutpurse), Drake (the Warrior), and Wolfsbane (the Seer.) The latter being my wife's PC since she can mediate well when the teens butt-heads. I do have to stop calling them "kids."

They finished the "module" I used as a kickstarter for play, Assault on Raven's Ruin in Thunder Rift. Unlike some people besides Thunder Rift, and a few of the modules as "places of interest." Everything outside that is "mine." From the NPC's I've added and the details, such as gods, magic items and so on. I feel the module gave them WAY to much stuff. Even though they missed the Cloak and Boots of Elven Kind. I gave them things that in my "modified" D&D rules will grow with them, not just be "oh look another +x weapon." Of course how it grows depends on their actions.

A lot of the game is randomly rolled. I generate tons of stuff for it. Even the rest of the world (I am not placing TR in Mystara, not because I dislike it but because I no longer have my Mystara resources like my lovely Karameikos boxed set.) The continent they are ON is randomly generated and then inked by me.

Their hall was enough to build a new church for the lone cleric in Kleine, and they donated it willingly when the tax-collector came by. (He was nice, even gave them back some of the money his co-worker the Tax-collector Thief stole from them because Wolfsbane charmed him--without magic other than the oldest magic of women and being nice.

They've become fast friends with the cleric Ferum (whose new temple in Kleine they are now financing) and his friend the sage Valentoroborius.

They have done Raven's ruin over one and half game sessions, and spent half of this last session sorting HUGE amounts of treasure. (I am not normally tough on Encumbrance but when you are carrying enough coins to slow a HORSE? Well.)

They ended up with more magic items then I intended. Some as rewards (randomly rolled) and four I created for Raven's Ruin rewards.

Lacking a cleric the warrior has a two handed sword made by a smith called "DragonTongue" (or at least that's what the sage set) that is a Sword +1, Flametongue. Whose command word is also the name a pokemon.
I did not know this when I made it up.

The thief received a plain looking dagger which is invisible when sheathed but turns her invisible when drawn. She still has to sneak with this, but its a really nice edge. I stole it from an old old module as I thought it was awesome.

The wizard walked off with a Cloak of Protection (+1) but since that wasn't quite equal to the others, I gave her a Helm of Infravision (skullcap.) I wasn't as excited about her plain items, so perhaps they have secrets...


They spoke to Valentoroborius and he asked them to get him a lost item he had made (when he was not just a sage.) In Hearth Home, and bring him back some tobacco (Blackleafe Wildroot) since my Hearth Home is a mixed community of Dwarves and Halflings with a smattering of humans. The adventurers had planned to investigate Stonefast, which is going to be a FUN, adventure, but the warrior got spooked due to the rumors around it. So they just spoke to the widow of Frederick the Furfoot (who had the mace.) Made friends with a gaggle of Halfling children (who shared the meals the poor humans couldn't finish, at their father's request to "help" them out.)

They also spent a fortune in getting jewels (to make their money carryable...) as well as armoring the warrior with some Dwarf made plate. He also got a cloak with wolf fur at the color and a stylized wolf head pin of iron with a ruby in its jaws. Nothing magical and all very expensive. (Thanks to the player making the warrior 7' tall.,)

Both the Dwarf Smithmatron and the Halfling tailor he saw, were very very happy to work for someone with so much "need" for their skills. The halfling nearly went giddy. He also bought some pants and shirt..but they weren't special.

The Mage bought Peach Brandy made locally to Hearth Home, to help ply the widow. Who really didn't need much plying for her dead husbands 'junk"

Turns out the mace wasn't really a mace, and the woman loved to carve figurines and so they taught her chess...


I've gone nuts with this post so I'll stop here.

I forgot how much wild-free D&D (and Cyclopedia D&D at that) could be.

Quote from: Silverlion;473827The D&D game for my nephew and niece ran from 4PM (therabouts) to 1AM with a break for supper. It is glorious think to see. They're excited about it.

I forgot how much wild-free D&D (and Cyclopedia D&D at that) could be.

It just works, but that shouldn't be surprising, because it's what brought millions of kids to the game during the 80s, myself included.

Glad you're enjoying it because it's by far my favourite edition of D&D.

Quote from: noisms;473905Glad you're enjoying it because it's by far my favourite edition of D&D.

It is mine as well, I just haven't run it in ages and ages.