Zidovia: City in the Shadow: Prelude #2: Nevan the Bard
It’s about time for my second shot at DM-ing a one-on-one session in the prelude to my full campaign.
This time I’m going to take a crack at using Tabletop Simulator for laying out the initial scene. So far I like it quite a bit. It has a decidedly low-tech feel and the learning curve isn’t too bad. I’ve also snagged a copy of Unity, but it’s going to take me a while to learn the ropes for that software.
But, as far as Tabletop Simulator goes:
Pros
- Relatively cheap. Only about twenty bucks to try it out. But keep in mind that all of your players will need a copy as well if you’re going to run an interactive game and not just create 3D layouts. I splurged for their 4-Pack option so that I could share copies with my players.
- Fairly easy to learn. Once you find the objects you want to use, it really is just drag-and-drop.
- RPG friendly. There are tons of resources, many of which are D&D specific.
Cons
- It’s a little finicky. My first few tries resulted in me messing things up in ways I couldn’t undo. It also took me a while to realize that I’d have to use the Open GL version if I wanted it to work right.
- It does cost a little bit of cash. I think it’s worth it, but it could get expensive if you have lots of different players.
There’s a short video of my first rendering at the bottom of the page.
All this being said, I haven’t even tried to run a session with it yet. I’ll certainly have more opinions in the Post Game writeup for this one.
Now… onwards into the story!
“It wasn’t that Nevan had been careless. In fact, one could say that he had planned each step perfectly. But, he had clearly met his match in the back room of the Blacksmith and Leatherworks building of Hull’s Basin. Confronted by a massive half-orc with one hand and her minion, an equally impressive, shape-shifting ghul named Rolf, Nevan tried his best to escape. Despite being able to quickly subdue the giant ghul the spy on the run found himself ensnared in a powerful spell cast by the half-orc woman. As a magical blue smoke tightened around his struggling body Nevan slowly succumbed to its effects… and fell unconscious.
Clearly some time had passed. When Nevan started to stir it was evident by the hints of dim, amber, light that the sun had begun to set. His body laid, still restrained by the blue smoke, in the back of a covered wagon. Nevan could make out the hulking shape of Rolf sitting beside him as the cart’s wheels rebounded violently over the rocks and ruts lining what seemed to be a rough and seldom used road.
And then the world fell silent. Rolf sniffed the air and let out a suspicious grunt. The curious beast shifted as if to rise, but was caught off guard as the cart rocked violently. Something massive had slammed into the side of the wagon and now the two were slowly falling to the ground. Unable to move Nevan had no choice but to be tossed to the side. The floorboards creaked, groaned, and began to buckle as the world went upside-down. With his arms pinned to his body, Nevan struck the ground hard and once again fell unconscious.”
