# The Spectacularly Boring Trial of Toteth Topec (Shelter from the Storm)



## Neonchameleon (Apr 1, 2011)

I'm running WoBS and we've just reached The Spectacular Trial of Toteth Topec.  And one glance at it told me that I was never going to be able to run that at a tabletop - my players would get bored about half way through the second column of text.  To keep things on track I'm afraid I e-mailed the PCs most of the three massive columns I was meant to read out.  (I'm also changing it from the hackneyed "Murderer" to the third act being itself a set of rituals (protection from elements, teleportation, hurricane) being cast simultaneously in plain view of everyone* as part of the play and using audience participation and energy to strengthen the rituals.)

* Simeon will eventually get there if the PCs botch their rolls - but he's not good at isolating the three.  He'll be able to say how all three should have worked afterwards, but he's not used to direct combat, unlike the PCs.


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## RangerWickett (Apr 1, 2011)

Some people just don't appreciate theater.


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## Neonchameleon (Apr 1, 2011)

Like Katrina? 

It's not so much the theatre as the three entire columns of text to read out with very limited chance for PC interaction between them.  Just some highly critical feedback in case there are plans to repeat in either Zeitgeist or Santiago.  (I also think that half my group would be happier with a ... stompier module).


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## Marius Delphus (Apr 1, 2011)

Boring your players is not something we want anyone to do. Speaking personally, I don't find anything wrong with letting players read swaths of "boxed text" outside the game session in similar situations if you don't think they'll enjoy hearing it read aloud during the session.

Good on ya for finding a solution that works for you and your group.


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## Ragnar_Deerslayer (Apr 2, 2011)

Happy coincidence!  I'm running the Spectacular Trial next week.

After the Council of War went over like a lead balloon (I tried talking in different voices and holding up pictures of who was talking, and using props for characters that didn't have pictures, but my players don't take to information dumps well), I've considered how to run the Spectacular Trial.

Ideally, someone would make a YouTube video of the actual play, and I'd show it to the players, then RP Katrina in between the acts.

Somewhat less than ideal, but still good, someone would produce an actual script for the play, and I'd have the players each take a character and read/act the parts out around the table.

Since neither of these seem to be available, I'm settling for having them each read a block of text aloud at the table.

Ragnar


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## Truename (Apr 2, 2011)

Ragnar_Deerslayer said:


> Happy coincidence!  I'm running the Spectacular Trial next week.
> 
> After the Council of War went over like a lead balloon (I tried talking in different voices and holding up pictures of who was talking, and using props for characters that didn't have pictures, but my players don't take to information dumps well), I've considered how to run the Spectacular Trial.
> 
> ...




As far as I can tell, there's no real point to the content of the play (and if there is, it's too subtle for me, which means it's _way_ too subtle for my players). I was planning on skipping most of it, although I do like the other ideas in this thread.

The council of war is another matter. I'm going to run that one soon. Any advice?


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## liggetar (Apr 2, 2011)

To post an alternate opinion, my tabletop players really enjoyed the play.  Maybe because the wording used is very visually evocative, and it's one of those things where it's really easy to picture being there.  Or maybe because one of the players announced that it reminded him of a Klingon opera, and from there on they were spotting the similarities


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## RangerWickett (Apr 2, 2011)

For the record, the play's content has almost no importance. It's thematically similar to the story of the Aquiline Heart, but you can totally just say, "You guys watch a play about some ancient druid guy, and there are lots of acrobatics. You think Giorgio's one of the main actors in the play. Katrina quietly complains throughout the whole thing, criticizing the plot and acting. Around the end of act two...."

Or something like that.


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## OnlineDM (Apr 2, 2011)

When my group went through the play, they had previously auditioned to be in the Wayfarers and one of them had a small role while another was on the stage crew (and naturally Tiljann was in the show, too). So, they were more engaged with what was going on. I made sure to call out what the players who were involved with the show had the opportunity to do, while the others joined Katrina in snickering from the peanut gallery. It only took a couple of minutes, so it didn't bog anything down too much.


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## Morrus (Apr 2, 2011)

Ragnar_Deerslayer said:


> Ideally, someone would make a YouTube video of the actual play, and I'd show it to the players, then RP Katrina in between the acts.




That would be awesome!


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## Jhaelen (Apr 4, 2011)

Personally, I never read boxed text and I generally hate DMs who do. It's vastly preferable imho, if a DM describes things in her own voice. So, I'd just summarize the play.


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## Neonchameleon (Apr 4, 2011)

Jhaelen said:


> Personally, I never read boxed text and I generally hate DMs who do. It's vastly preferable imho, if a DM describes things in her own voice. So, I'd just summarize the play.



Oh, I do _that_.  The problem in this case is that there are multiple A4 columns of text, with Katrina snarking in between each column.


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## Marius Delphus (Apr 4, 2011)

I think you're both right. As Ryan says above, the specific content of the play is unimportant to the adventure, so summarizing it is certainly something a DM can do without losing out on anything the heroes will need to know, either immediately or later. Heck, the adventure even tells you this: "If the heroes are not very interested, you can skip to the end of Act Two, where Toteth Topec is pulled into the underworld."

On the other hand, I personally think it's a clever bit of atmosphere-setting, and if I thought my players wouldn't sit still for my reading it (mine might, actually), but I still wanted to present it, making it an out-of-game handout is a fine approach.


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## KidSnide (Apr 6, 2011)

For what it's worth, I'm totally psyched that there is a detailed description of the play in the module.  Whenever my PCs go to the theater, the players want to know what the show is about.  It's a challenge to extemporaneously describe plausible theater (ok, plausible _good_ theater), and I'm glad that WoBS provides enough information for me to describe a world-appropriate play without having to invent it for myself.

YMMV, of course.

-KS


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