Stars and Wishes Feedback at the End of Chapter 1

Hey folks, I thought I'd try out a system of giving feedback to myself and other players about how the game is going so far. It's called "Stars and Wishes" and works like so:
So, go ahead and make a post about your stars and wishes based on how the game is going so far. Feel free to give as many stars and wishes as you like, and feel free to just chat about the game in general in an unstructured fashion.

Well first off, I want to put a giant gold star next to the heading of "Everything" because this game has been a delight all the way around. Both the DM writing and the writing of the rest of the group has been wonderful.

If I have to pick favorite bits, Twisp's scattered portrayal is great fun, Beven fell for Palasha entirely because of how Len portrayed her, and how can you not love 'custard damage' and an eating contest. That was a thing well worth reading.

Combining a Star and a Wish, I really love that Beven following his own path and dashing around, which would be a death sentence in most other modules, just worked here. Having said that, I wish to integrate Beven more into the group even if the bright shiny distraction pulls at him to stray.

Star: I’ve enjoyed a lot of the NPCs. I always love a Kenku. That character was very flavorful and full of life. Not to mention the shenanigans that resulted from its impact on the festival. I also liked the Old Tree from way back!

Wish: And this one lays firmly at my feet, but I wish that I could connect with my character a bit more. I don’t know if it’s because my time is short these days, but I haven’t really got a grasp on who this person is or what motivates them. Maybe I over-tuned them during character creation? I spent a long time on char gen to balance the party and pick an interesting combination, but Quennen hasn’t come to life in the same way as so many of the others have.

I don’t know what the solution is. Ideas?

My Star goes to the various events at this carnival. I agree that the cupcake contest was brilliant, and I also enjoyed the combat in the Mystery Mine.

If I have to supply a Wish, it would be for all of us to try and maintain this momentum. I know the holidays are coming up, but I feel confident that we can continue this great game.

Everyone's contributions have been so great! It's hard to pick standout moments because there are so many! I'll give my STAR to Candlefoot & Palasha's engagement duet. That was lovely!

I'll echo CancerMan and WISH that we can sustain this game and see the atory to its conclusion without losing anyone from the group.

* Star: My first star goes out to the "atmosphere" of the carnival. From the intro-post until the meeting with Witch & Light, I genuinely had tremendous fun and was in awe because of how lively the carnival feels. I consistently have an accurate picture in front of me, where we are and what we are doing with whom. The various pictures you share help to complete this feeling.

* Moreover I want to commend you on your professionalism. I enjoy our Discord channel, which makes things a lot easier; but especially one of your first posts there, when you told us newbies, that you will always have an open ear for our questions and wishes. In all my years as a player I never had a DM before, who communicated his open door policy so clearly from the beginning. I immediately felt well taken care of and less anxious to be in a new, unknown group of players and writing in a foreign language. Thanks a lot.

* Wish: I agree wholeheartedly with the wish, that we should try to maintain the momentum.

* But I am also excited to "meet" the other characters now, because I am feeling like we had two separate groups that didn`t mingle much and enjoyed the same carnival in different places. On one hand good, because, so we had the possibility to see more, but now I will enjoy our characters to adventure together.

My star would have to be just how alive the carnival has felt. Every post has been masterfully crafted to really make it feel like a real place. The cupcake contest was also awesome!

I have to echo the wish of the others: I want to keep up the momentum and complete this with an intact party!

Thank you for all the feedback everyone! I'll start responding, beginning with KCC!

Regarding connecting with Quennan, that's some great, honest feedback! I'm not sure exactly how to help there but I am definitely happy to work with you to work that out, though. Seems important to your enjoyment of the game. Btw, I am open to you rebuilding Quennan entirely if need be.

I know that when I'm trying to 'crack' a character's story, I ponder a few questions. When I think of Quennan, I think there are a couple of interesting angles that I know I want to know more about. He's a Drow, but he's also a Druid and he's Feylost.So, how was living in the Feywild? Sunlight sensitivity might have SUCKED in a bright and beautiful world. Did you stick to the mythical dark forests and underground dream mines? Did you seem out of place or did you fit in? Is this where you interest in Druidic magic came from? Did you meet a Druid there that taught you what they knew? Quite possibly it was a very different being - a Treant or a giant spider like The Storyweaver or something else.

Conversely, what was life like when your returned to Faerun? Did you end up back in the Underdark? If it was a traditional Drow society, I'd imagine that would be jarring. Do you miss the bright sunlight meadows and dreamy twilight mushroom groves of the Feywild or is it more a bitter memory than sweet? Did you leave behind more than a lyre?

I noticed you haven't listed your prepared spells. What magic are you packing at the moment? What are your go-to or signature spells? What cantrips you got? You're second level now - what is your subclass going to be? This could really help define your character in a mechanical sense at least. A circle of the moon druid is way different than a circle of spores or wildfire, etc.

"Your skin sparkles in the moonlight." What's that all about? The moon is shining right now, so you could be sparkling like a Twilight Vampire :)

Anyway, lots of questions and I'd be happy to work with you more to see what interesting details come to life in your character.

Yep, this is a wish for me as well. I think the plot moved quickly so far (by pbp standards), and we are all focused on the next clue or the next event. Now that you have convinced Kettlesteam to stand down, and that might help give space for player characters to interact with each other more.

Absolutely agree. Finishing with all party members would be golden and is my biggest wish. Both the finishing part and with all the original members.

I can say that I am loving this adventure, both as a DM at this particular table with all of you, and as fan of D&D adventures and how they work. I am so damn curious to see how the rest of the chapters play out and how you all will change it and break it and enjoy it. I am feeling zero burn out even though the real world has been throwing some some tricky curveballs.

I will say that I may slow down in the next two weeks because of the holidays. Or, my posts might be more basic as I'm posting from a phone more than my laptop. And maybe that will be true for some of you too. That's okay. I am confident that we will keep going forward and find ways to make it work.

If anyone does find themselves in need of taking a break, no worries. The Feywild provides plenty of plot reasons to come in and out. Better to take a break than crash and burn! Just let us know.

Thanks soises. This is very heartwarming feedback for me!

I think perhaps it’s the Druid part of the character that I haven’t quiet clicked with. Perhaps as I haven’t had cause to use it yet. I hadn’t even listed my spells yet, as you’ve noted.

The background, I imagine, will come to shine a little later. And the Drow aspect can be worked with. It’s just the Druid part that I haven’t really hit it off yet. Perhaps due to the nature of the module? I wonder could I have tackled some things differently, had I been more in tune with the Druid side of things. It’s just not something that had entered my head tbh.

Yeah, could be! If you bring the druid aspect into the game more, I am certain it will be valuable. Druids and Fae go hand in hand, and is certain to give you an edge in some situations.

Might as well go ahead and pick your cantrips and prepare some spells. If it turns out the character still doesn't click we can always find a reason to replace them and try something new.

Yes, I’ll fill out the sheet ASAP and see how it feels! Times a little short these days. I just have enough time to post before falling asleep! :D