> > For myself and my group, as far as equipment goes, I
> > thought up some other things as well that the LR's
> > might need and put them into a couple lists. Both my
> > players and I felt that the items given in the
> > beginning weren't entirely adaquate.

> Depends on what you're planning on doing. The standard equipment has
> always sufficed in my games, but if you add stuff to the adventures or
> stray from the text....well, there's no telling what you might need then.

And, you have to remember that the LightRaiders are supposed to rely on one
another.  No one LightRaider should be carrying every conceivably necessary
piece of equipment.


> > As far as money was concerned, I let them roll for d10
> > gold coins to start. We also modified the currency
> > exchange in the game to make it simpler to use. Sort
> > of a coppers > silvers > gold pieces kind of thing.
> > They then use the money to purchase additional
> > equipment they felt they might need.

> If you're going to add equipment, this is probably a good way to do it.
> It keeps the players from bringing anything their hearts might desire,
> adds a little accountability and responsibility.

That falls within "AM's discretion".


> > Love your ideas concerning making contests between
> > various classes and groups at the Academy! I think it
> > could be used as an opportunity to learn the rules
> > better and earn a few MU's. I smell a beginning
> > adventure, sort of a pre-Lightraider Test adventure.
> > You could weave a plot line into it for teaching
> > purposes, like things that happen outside of the
> > contests, interaction with NPCs, etc. Like what if
> > there was an instructor with dark leanings and the
> > students uncover a plot?

> There's been a few ideas kicked around over the years concerning a
> Liberated Land adventure. I don't know what the possibilities are, but I
> think some brief Academy contests could be made to work, especially if a
> few inward conflicts were thrown in (players with low Peace or Love could
> get a little envious watching better warriors, bitterness might arise
> against a player who defeated you, etc.). I think the notion of an
> Academy professor leaning toward the dark side is a little farfetched,
> though, both because it's hard to swallow and because that's a little
> heavy for a novice adventure. On the other hand, something like that
> might make a decent advanced supplement, if there were someone willing to
> take the time to develop it....

I would agree that nefarious things should not be uncovered by novice
LightRaiders.  These dark plots should be saved for experienced players,
perhaps for play after MoonBridge III.


> > Actually, just simply for the sake of discussion. One
> > of the biggest complaints from my group was the amount
> > of teaching situations that were presented in the
> > Moonbridge Raid. They felt like every time they turned
> > around there was a verse being thrown at them or other
> > teaching situation and it became overloaded at times.
> > I was just wondering if anyone else felt that way who
> > had played Moonbridge I, II, & III? I mean the main
> > teaching point on each island was great; but there are
> > hexes that seemed to have these random teaching
> > points, and it began to slow the flow of the game.
> > Just wondering if anyone else felt that way or if
> > anyone had come up with a solution. For my part, I
> > began to cut out some of the random teaching simply to
> > keep the game moving at a reasonable pace.

> The teaching situations are the central reason for playing DR (or at
> least the primary reason it exists). It's understood that there are AM's
> and players out there--particuarly the ones with prior RPG
> experience--who will always want to spice things up or otherwise make DR
> comparable to D&D. There's not much we can do about that, but I can say
> for certain that there are currently no plans to reduce the number of
> teaching situations available, either in any of the existing adventures
> or in any new ones that come down the line.

To clarify that, there are no plans to remove the Teaching Situations from
the currently available adventures.  The new adventures in development do
not have TS's every hex, but may instead have several TS's that can be
dropped in anywhere the AM wants to.


> One of the keys to making these teaching situations work is keeping the
> scene dramatic any way you can. Many Adventure Masters, even the ones who
> are great at making combat and normal role-playing realistic and
> interesting, can have a tendency to relegate the discipleship situations
> to the back burner and play them out at monotone level.

Conversely, our group gets into some good discussions during the Teaching
Situations, and we end up staying on them too long.


> Remember also that those teaching situations are a great opportunity for
> stocking up on MU's, which can accelerate the process toward Special
> Character Roles, higher SS ratings (meaning access to more powerful
> WordRunes), and the like. Most importantly, they're some of the best
> chances you have to connect your players to God's Word through the game,
> which should be why you're there to begin with. Treat them as the
> opportunities they are--and no matter how you feel, don't let on to your
> players that you're bored with them.

Or, just skip some of them that you think are too pedantic or repetitive or
whatever.  I would caution against throwing the baby out with the bathwater
though, make sure you do run through a good portion of the Teaching
Situations because, as Scott noted, that is why DragonRaid was produced.

Joe