Hastur's page

I'm looking for some help in re-tooling the encounter with the Couatl in City of Broken Idols. As I read it, I can't help but think it's lame that such grand immortals are (essentially) waiting for heroes of a prophesy, then to "qualify" as these heroes, the PC's simply have to answer a riddle. It's like a really poor Sphinx encounter...

Note: I'm running the campaign in Eberron, where the couatl are pretty important in the scheme of the world, although this doesn't really matter, it's a good fit, it simply underlines the importance for me of having a meaningful encounter here rather than just a dumb riddle for the PC's to solve. And by "encounter", I don't really mean a fight - the PC's have already encountered one couatl previously, and used diplomacy rather than pick a fight...

Any ideas on something I could use to make the encounter with the couatl more interesting, and not just solving a riddle to somehow "prove" that the PC's are "worthy"???

A lot of people find the Sorcerer class to be pretty lame, so while I don't like to see too much over-hauled, I do see this class as being one that could do with a re-work...

At a high level, I propose that the new and improved Sorcerer be much more like a combo of the Wilder & Psion classes. Don't call it psionics, just merge in the basic mechanics of psionics but they are still spells...

So your sorcerer has a spell-point pool (more per level, and more per Cha), casts using Cha, learns a couple of new spells per level (same list as wizards, same kind of levels), and can augment spells somewhat. The augmentation is probably the one sticky piece, perhaps you can just simplify it so that you can spend spell-points according to the caster caster level you want for that spell (to a max of your caster level); for example, a 7th level sorcerer could cast magic missile and choose to spend 1 spell-point for a single 1d4+1 missile, 7 spell-points for 4 missiles (but still can't get 5 missiles until 9th level).

I think this change has some really good things going for it - it strengthens the sorcerer class to be more in line with the wizard, yet they are different (sorcerer gives you more flexibility on how you use your spells per day, while the wizard knows more spells), and it also brings in the basics of psionics without the need for a whole new set of rules and names for things - you're still using the same spells.

When it comes to kicking off an adventure, or even a whole campaign, is an NPC hiring the PC's a lame adventure hook? I would argue it is.

I've posted this a couple of times now, buried in other threads, so here's my attempt to see what other people think about this topic, in and of itself. Here's the latest, copied from elsewhere...

Hastur wrote:

Having read Savage Tide, the first few adventures did really turn me off, in that the only good hooks seemed to be some NPC employing the PC's to do a job. As a DM, I pretty much swear to never employ this one, and as a player there's nothing that annoys me more, I find it to be very lazy DM / designer practice (like, you can't take the PC's backgrounds and future goals and work something from all that).

This criticism is pretty unfair, considering that the designer/writer has to come up with a hook without knowing anything about the backgrounds of the characters or the interests of the players. Furthermore, they need to come up with one that appeals to as wide a range of characters and players as possible AND provides a tie-in to the central story-line of the AP. Given those restrictions, there are a limited number of hooks available that are suitable for 1st level characters. NPC interaction having a greater role in ST than in AoW, using the patron hook allows the designers to come up with a way to tie the various adventures together while setting up the Savage Tide threat and emphasize the fact that the campaign will be more than "kick in the door and kill the monster."

I dunno, I guess opinions vary - I think remember James dismissing my criticism of this some time ago, too, which was a bit disappointing really. From memory, the response was, "If you don't like that beginning, change it" - stating the obvious, but missing my point. I'm speaking from my personal experience as a player here, but I also DM a lot. I'm not asking designers to know my group, in fact I'm simply asking them to stop trying to dictate our campaigns. Leave things more open, don't try and enforce how things kick off, especially when it comes to motivations. IMO, it's the DM's job (with the players) to help get things started, and to help steer them throughout the course of the adventure. No designer can do that for us, at least not completely, otherwise no-one has free will, it's all pre-planned for us all (yuck).

For example, we played through the first set of Eberron adventures some time ago, where we were always being told what to do by some NPC - hired guns going someone else's dirty work, for lack of better description. I found it deeply unsatisfying, asking myself "why is my character doing this, and with these other PC's" on a number of occasions. The same DM has used this "hook" for other campaign's we've played too. Sure, I can go along with it, but I find it very uninspiring as a player. I'd rather that we, as players, have the chance to create our own backgrounds and ideas, and then the DM weaves these into the backstory of the adventure, thereby customising a beginning. An NPC telling you what to do basically means players don't need to come up with motivations, backgrounds etc, or even work at creating a cohesive group - some NPC is doing that for them. Sure, good players will try and do this anyway, but there's not really any incentive to do so, and you feel railroaded by this NPC.

Age of Worms did a very good job of coming up with a good intro, in my opinion. While I chose to alter the beginning somewhat, because I kicked off with another adventure before Whispering Cairn, the published text was flexible enough to easily accommodate other ideas, and also make me as a DM sit up and think, "yeah, that's a good way to try and start a campaign - tell the players some basics of how the adventure starts and where their PC's are, and let them fill in the details of exactly how this comes about." I found, with Age of Worms, I could easily scale back the NPC interferences that there were (quite a few in the mid-sections), and let the players come up with basically the same motivations without me having to be heavy-handed. Imagine if the beginning of the campaign was Allustan saying, "hey guys, why don't you have a look at this old abandoned cairn over here?" - what a flop.

Check out Greyhawk Ruins - it basically has no pre-planned opening at all, except that the PC's stumble across the aftermath of an attack that leads them into the adventure. Kind of like Mad God's Key, which had an excellent beginning, again throwing the PC's into the action, but letting them decide how they tackle it. Now, Greyhawk Ruins is let down by its continual page or more of background text every chapter, despite their being ample background info in the first chapter or so, but still, at least it doesn't waste valuable pages of the book trying to tell me how to get my group's PC's into the campaign's plots, or enforce some NPC hiring them to do stuff because the PC's have no motivation to do anything themselves (alas, it does that multiple times later on, but hey, I can re-work at least one of those easily enough). Mad God's Key and Greyhawk Ruins both simply presented a situation where the PC's have the option to get involved, thereby learning about other stuff that's happening, and after a while they find there are various things going on they can get involved in, all motivated by their own choices. Every player I've DM'd for has, in pretty short time, decided to pick up these plot threads and run with them, but in their own way based on their character, and it leads to good role-play opportunities as well, with the group working through who they are, what motivates them, and so on - this works especially well with parties that are of a generally good alignment, as helping others in need is a strong bond. An NPC hiring your group tends to kill role-play, as there's still the distinct possibility that you have PC's as individuals, only together because they have been hired to do a job, so genuine role-play that finds a common bond beyond that doesn't often occur, at least not that I've seen.

To make a small edit of my original post above:

Having read Savage Tide, the first few adventures did really turn me off, in that the only good hooks seemed to be some NPC employing the PC's to do a job. As a DM, I pretty much swear to never employ this one, and as a player there's nothing that annoys me more, I find it to be very lazy DM / designer practice (like, as a DM you can't take the PC's backgrounds and future goals and work something from all that?).

So all I'm saying is that published adventures don't need to have the, in my opinion very tired cliche, "NPC hires group of adventurers" hook. Save some space and just provide some minimal background and ideas on how to get the PC's into the action, then let the DM come up with the specifics based on their own group of players and PC's. That's a DM's job - having the NPC get the party together is basically trying to side-step the DM as well as the players, and in my experience creates issues long-term as far as creating a believable campaign where the players genuinely feel their PC's have the major say onw hat they are doing and why (even if in reality, the DM is steering them in the right directions as they go along). I'd much rather have another page or two of adventure text, than a page or two of elaborate background about the NPC, their organisation, why they are hiring the PC's, the NPC's stat block, and so on.

Thought I'd share the basic party composition that have just successfully compelted the Age of Worms campaign (pretty sure there's no old thread like this...)

Admiral Ogrynorek Damminson “Ogryn”
LG male Ogre/Fighter/Kensai 6/8/8 (22) (was NG originally)
AC: 44; hp: 257
STR: 34, DEX: 20, CON: 24, INT: 14, WIS: 11, CHA: 2
FORTITUDE: +24, REFLEX: +16, WILL: +14
primary melee: over-sized +5 Adamantine Maul +35/+28/+23/+18 (4d6+23)
Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Ride-By Attack, Flyby Attack, Mounted Combat (PH 98), Spirited Charge, Power Attack, Cleave, Weapon Focus (Maul), Monkey Grip
Owns a massive number of magic items, including an Admiral's Bicorne, mithral full plate of speed and winged boots (standard issue for the fighter-types) and a War-Beast Dire Elk which hardly ever got used except for transport.
Favourite tactics: power surge, move in to do hasted, full-round attacks, using as much power attack as possible without ruining chances of hitting at least 3 times (preferably hitting on all 5)

Nianna Winterbourne ("Nia")
NG female Human (Oeridian) Cleric of Bleredd/Rogue/Shadowbane Stalker 8/2/12 (22) (started as a Wizard/rogue, changed wizard to cleric around 5th level)
AC: 35; hp: 196
STR: 11, DEX: 20, CON: 18, INT: 16, WIS: 24, CHA: 24,
FORTITUDE: +18, REFLEX: +15, WILL: +12
primary melee: hasn't swung the Lightning Sword (+2 keen sh-burst mithral s-sw) for some time now
Endurance, Diehard, Negotiator, Leadership, Practiced Spellcaster, Domain Spontaneity (Fire), Domain Spontaneity (Metal), Divine Ward, Divine Spell Power
Owns "Iron Manor", a mining operation in Diamond Lake with a mansion etc, as well as numerous magic items e.g. Robe of Eyes, three Ioun Stones, ...
Favourite tactics: negotiation (diplomacy +36, Sense Motive +38), party eyes (spot +26, search +38, see invis etc) and spells like mass heal, destruction, Summon Monster VIII, Fire Storm, Fire Seeds, Greater Dispel Magic, Heroes' Feast (daily), Magnetism (from Oriental Adventures). If had time to prepare, used mass death ward for party, and bead of Karma to give +4 caster level.

Mélinde (Heironean Bon Vivant; follower of Nia)
LG female Human (Oeridian) Paladin/Shining Blade of Heironeous 11/9 (20)
AC: 35; hp: 223
STR: 20, DEX: 14, CON: 20, INT: 10, WIS: 18, CHA: 23,
FORTITUDE: +18, REFLEX: +15, WILL: +12
primary melee: Sword of Aaqa (enhanced to be +5 Axiomatic Mithral L-sw) +33/+28/+23/+18 (1d8+10)
Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (Longsword), Extra Smiting, Improved Smiting, Celestial Mount, Divine Might
Not a lot of magic, except self-buffing items, but Helm of Brilliance useful if melee not a good option
Favourite tactics: back-up Ogryn, flanking and using full attacks where possible (preferably avoid AoO on way in), with lots of smites and power attacks if possible. Power-up sword first, if opponent tough (holy, brilliant energy, etc).

Fonkin Hoddyspeak
LN male Elf Fighter/Sorcerer/Eldritch Knight/Abjurant Champion 1/6/8/5 (20)
AC: 28; hp: 170
STR: 22, DEX: 22, CON: 18, INT: 15, WIS: 10, CHA: 26,
FORTITUDE: 21, REFLEX: 18, WILL: 17
primary melee: Cambion Ice (+4 Frost Defender longsword) +27/+22/+17/+12 (1d8+10+1d6 cold) and Prickle (+3 flaming sh-sw) +26 (1d6+6+1d6 fire)
Owns a large array of metamagic rods, and Staff of the Magi, amongst other cool arcane items etc
Favourite tactics: time-stop, then Giant Size, Righteous Might (via limited wish), divine power (via limited wish) if have time, then get in to within 30' for full-round attacks (now Callosal, with +110 hp, +1 AC nett, DR 9/good or evil, etc.), with liberal application of Arcane Strike (usually 8th level spells so +8 to hit, average +20 dmg; often used +8 power attack to make it +28 damage per hit). Occasionally used Polymorph Any Object if melee not such a good option, and a lot of Dimension Doors used to move the whole party around. If had time to prepare, would use mass energy resistance (fire, cold etc), sometimes fire shields, and displacements to buff whole party.

In total, Nia died once, and Mel twice; both pretty early on in the campaign. I can't remember if another PC died and was instantly revived, or if they were merely incapacitated and wished back into action, perhaps it was both; at high levels, there's not a big difference really. Oh, and a number of animal companions died along the way...

All up, I'd say this was only a moderately optimised party, using some of the splat books but not a huge amount. Until near the end, there was a Druid / Wizard / Mystic Theurge / Arcane Heirophant in the party as the arcane caster (and druidic); Fonkin was a late replacement for the last couple of adventures (he was an NPC the party had met earlier on a side-trek in Istivin). The one thing the group lacked was a full-time spell caster, so it was only in the last adventure or so that every spell caster actually had 9th level spells available (which made a big difference).

The biggest things that made the difference were continuity of players and their PC's, and good players to start with. So the players had "grown up" with their PC's so to speak and hence knew how to use them really well; Ogryn & Nia started this campaign at first level, Mel was picked up as a follower from 6th level, and even Fonkin was run by one of my players two times in the past (one in an earlier campaign), so so-one was ever running a character they were not very familiar with. And of course I had fairly strong players in general i.e. experienced D&D players who are smart, have good build strategies, and can come up with good tactics in virtually every situation thrown at them. Not that they were perfect, but individually and collectively they were certainly above average, managing to survive a large number of situations I wasn't sure how they would when I'd looked at it on paper...

Following on from the various things I didn't like about Library of Last Resort (posted earlier), I decided to change the set-up for Kings of the Rift. To me, the adventures as-written smacked of the DM screwing the players over - they spend all this time on the island doing their quests, then at the end the knowledge they uncover becomes public domain? Nah, there's no way I could do that to my players, they would all say "why did we bother?!"

So anyway, I made it so that only they got the knowledge of where Dragotha's Phylactery was, and let them go to Kongen-Thulnir whenever they were ready. Depending on what they did, it was possible for others to find out what they knew and planned, but as it turned out Lashonna was avoided, and no-one else who could have told Dragotha was encountered, and so the PC's got to the Rift and found the city of Kongen-Thulnir as it would normally be, i.e. not assaulted by Dragotha's minions. I did throw a "random encounter" at them just before the city, that being Morginstaler, Red Dragon of the Rift (Oerth Journal 20), with the Fabler riding on him having just been taken for a tour of the rift. What happened from there was ad-libbed as I went alone, but it turned out that combat was avoided and one of the PC's actually went off with Morginstaler for a ride too, and eventually told him they were looking for something of Dragotha's. Now, because she was a great diplomat, and Morginstaler thought he'd use this info rather than just kill her, she was returned to the party and Morginstaler flew off to report what he assumed was some interesting information to Dragotha. Which it was, and of course Dragotha killed Morginstaler as "thanks", then sent Brazzemal off to investigate.

That was one of many ways in which Dragotha could have learned that the PC's were after his Phylactery, and where it was. Another could have been via the Fabler, plus I had some other options up my sleeve. What this meant is that when the PC's entered Kongen-Thulnir, it was a more peaceful place, with no dragon assault. That wasn't as much of a hassle to change as I first thought, especially if you can give the PC's a bit of leeway in using diplomacy etc to get into and about the place rather than be fighting the giants from the beginning.

For example, my guys made up various stories to the guards at the various gates as to why they were there, using the Fabler to help them out a couple of times, and managed to scout about the whole city, looking for likely places where the Phylactery might be hidden. Their guesses were pretty good, they basically suspected it was in the citadel, but also thought that looked a bit too risky of a first place to pick a potential fight (same as the palace), so after getting some more info from the local servants etc, they eventually decided the under-city would also be a good first place to check out, and went off to investigate this pit they had heard of. Which of course turned out to be a good first step, they easily slaughtered the giant leader there and captured Wilmot, learning the giant had dropped something valuable by the "mother worm", and so off they went, clearing out all the carrion crawlers with spells while flying then eventually triumphed over the mother worm through using a huge number of spells including a lot of walls of force etc to pen her in (one player said it was a bit like a game of tetris).

They are now deciding whether, having cleared out the whole area, they will rest overnight or push on to the citadel with the key (which, of course, they have no idea what it does, although they correctly suspect it will help them get to the phylactery). According to my time-line, Brazzemal has been to Kongen-Thulnir, surmised that the Phylactery must be there, and reported this to Dragotha, who has then dispatched a flight of about 40 dragons including Brazzemal to get it. So the dragons are about to hit Kongen-Thulnir any minute now - either as the PC's are moving about the city (if they leave the pit now), or while they are holed up for the rest of the day.

To handle this, I wrote a very brief "plan", using the material in the adventure as well as a few rules from Heroes of Battle, to guide what happens over the next few days. Basically, if the PC's press on quickly, they can get to the Citadel only facing a minor strafing run of black dragons lead by a green (as per the adventure), then they can actually see Brazzemal fighting the giant Cleric of Erythnul outside the Citadel; the cleric has a few guards and some Animated Tables helping him. If the PC's just watch, they will actually see Braz kill the cleric and his minions, tossing the clerics body into the rift, then fly off to attack the tower (as per the back-story in the adventure). If they are really keen, I guess they might dimension door over to join the fight, in which case it could be interesting, I've only made an outline of the cleric, and if Braz faces stern resistance he'll simply fly off to the tower and call in the blue Vermirox etc to deal with the Citadel. So either way, the PC's will encounter Vermirox etc at the citadel entrance. Unless they quickly run into the citadel, in which case I guess that's fine, good on them. If they rest overnight at the pit, Xyzanth is waiting to ambush them, and if they spend too much time in the city during the battles, they face increasingly more difficult strafing runs from the dragons, who are steadily winning the war against the giants. So I wrote up a quick outline of all this using victory points to help decide who wins the war, and at what points more dragons assault the PC's, although of course if the PC's get the Phylactery the war is going to be decided pretty quickly from there.

I think this will provide a much more organic, realistic set of encounters for my players. So far it's gone well, they do not suspect for one second that the city is about to be ambushed by a mini-army of dragons, so I'm really keen to see what happens at this week's game when they start to realise that Dragotha has learned what they are up to, and how they handle this new turn of events - will they choose a side to assist, will they wait it out and see what happens, or will they use the diversion to get to the Citadel (or maybe even the palace) as quickly as possible and try to get the phylactery before the dragons do...?

So I have found a few issues with the beginning of Library of Last Resort. Not show-stoppers, but things I was glad I thought about earlier and fixed, so here they are for those DM's who have yet to get there:

1. Lashonna has the longest monologue I've ever seen.
Simple to fix really, just make her meeting more interactive, abbreviating what she has to say, and allowing the players to ask questions about things she hints at or omits at first. That worked really well for me, and in fact the group asked a couple of questions on things I'd forgotten to have Lashonna mention at all (like that she had a lock of Heskin's hair!) All up, it was a very pleasant conversation, and my players seem to have just assumed that Lashonna is yet another helpful NPC with nothing but good intentions.

2. Lashonna decides to Scry on Heskin in the middle of the night!
I mean really, who would try and scry on someone at midnight? What do you expect to see - someone asleep tucked up in bed? (if you can see at all, after all it's likely their bedroom is dark!) As written, the results of the midnight scry are just way too convenient, I couldn't run it that way without the risk of losing my credibility. I fixed this by having Lashonna give the PC's her scroll of greater scry, and a lock of Heskin's hair, saying they should use it if they want to see what he's up to and (if they are lucky) get an idea of where he might be (although it's assumed by all he and Darl on on their way to the island). As it turned out, my group never ended up scrying on him (at least not yet), as instead they immediately went looking for info at the docks, asking if anyone say a ship (possibly one of the Prince's ships, or so they thought) leaving with people who matched Darl and/or Heskin's description. I threw them a bone and, for an appropriate bribe, had someone find someone who has seen their ship leave a coupe of days earlier. So my group just wind-walked to the closest part of the shore, the Druid wind-walked to the edge of the storm, then wild shaped into a dolphin and swam to the island, found the beach, them greater teleported back and got the rest of the party there also by greater teleport. Who knows, they might scry on Heskin yet, but I figure it's not mandatory, they might meet him first (see my other post re: Heskin). Of course, they currently have no real idea wabout who (if anyone) now accompanies Darl, but that's also because they have not specifically asked (e.g. they never asked the Orcs who was with Heskin).

3. There appears to be a discontinuity with Lashonna between PoR and LoLR, with regards to her true history and motivations around the Ebon Triad.
In Prince of Redhand, the PC's are told to find Lashonna, because she helped defeat the heretics (i.e. Ebon Triad). This gets no real mention in LoLR, despite it being an obvious question the party would put to her. So I figured she has, in fact, been known to help Zeech's men find and kill the odd Ebon Triad cultist over the years, but only ones she has deemed failures. Maybe even set up some of her enemies who are not cultists, and branded them as such so that Zeech's cronies linch them. What she tells the PCs, of course, is that yes, she has helped put down this cult of deluded mad-men from time to time - more white lies than outright falsehoods. I was lucky in my game; as mentioned above, my players never grilled Lashonna but took her at face value, maybe due to my role-play of her as charming and helpful but also not professing to know all the details - she said something like, "this whole thing about Bucknard has only ever been of vague interest until your group (the PC's) came along and actually backed up his wild theories, why, I'd almost forgotten about it! Here's what I've managed to learn in the last week or so, it's not much, but..." And so the whole Heskin leaving thing was also a very recent development - basically, nothing was going anywhere fast until the PC's turned up (which is a common thread in this campaign).

That's about all, for now. Overall I think the module is going to be great, it just needs a good read before hand and some tweaks and fleshing out in places; certainly not the easiest one to simply pick up and run on the fly...

I have a number of issues with the beginning of the Library of Last Resort, but have solved most of them (will post this separately). One thing I need to decide though, is: who is Heskin, really? To cut my story as short as I can, ...

My group has never scry'd on Heskin, so I figure Darl doesn't know he's being followed (although of course he suspects Lashonna must have sent someone after him, just doesn't know exactly who). Hence I figure Heskin must still be alive; after all, in the adventure Darl actually says at some point, "Only a few hours more, Heskin, and we shall see if you live or die.", by which I assume he meant that he'll kill Heskin if his information about the Library of Last Resort is not true.

Now I was originally going to have Heskin eaten by the ropers, say after being abandoned by Darl and co (or even fed to them once Darl found the way onto the demi-plane). But that seemed like a cop-out on my part, and also it occurred to me that a smarter move from Darl would be to actually leave Heskin alive, and scry on him as much as possible in case he meets whoever is following him (he can also communicate with Krekie via other means, in case she meets whoever is following him).

So I like the idea of planting Heskin somewhere on the beach, say in the maze as my group has already met and killed half the orcs and talked to the others. Which means, of course, that I need to decide exactly who this Heskin fellow is... the adventure doesn't say much about him, only how Lashonna describes him (... a simpering dog of a man .. who once served me...) So was he truly working for Lashonna, and if so does he know she's a vampire silver dragon? Does he even know she's evil? Would he try to join forces with the PC's? (I assume he's not powerful enough to try and kill them), and if so out of necessity (i.e. the only chance he has of living and escaping), or to actually try and help them (whether from the good in him, if he thinks Lashonna is good, or even just because he knows Lashonna wants them to take out Dragotha)?

I guess I'm veering towards making Heskin a CN mercenary type (maybe an aristocrat or other NPC class, but with a lot of levels), who does in fact know about Lashonna and her plans, but betrayed her and took up with Darl, only for Darl to quickly abandon him once he got what he wanted (i.e. entrance to the Last Resort). So when the PC's meet him, he'll make up a story (mostly true) about having been abandoned by Darl after he was captured and forced to help them get into Last Resort. Looking to get back into Lashonna's good books, he will then assist the PC's in their endeavours on Last Resort, and beyond even as far as Dragotha, looking to prove himself to Lashonna once they meet again. Or maybe just take his first opportunity to escape.

Anyone got any better ideas for Heskin?

This is a magic item I changed in the Shadows over Istivin adventure (dungeon 117). As written, it was simply an old Iron Horn of Valhalla lying in the mud in the dungeons under the guard house, "guarded" by a Reekmurk - not a very glorious place for such a valuable piece of treasure! I'd actually made this item up years ago but never used it. Hopefully it inspires someone else...

Iron Horn: Mephibosheth (Meh-fee-boh-sheth, “out of my mouth proceeds reproach”), an Iron Horn of Valhalla (semi-artefact; radiates strong conjuration): Created by a powerful frost giant; Neutral; Speaks and can read common, giant and goblin, and can communicate telepathically with whoever holds it; Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 12; Ego 7; Darkvision 60’, Listen +10, Detect Magic at will; market value 66,600 gp, weight 2 pounds.

Mephibosheth is very loud-mouthed and opinionated, especially when it has summoned forth its “barbarian horde”, which it cheers on during combat. It is even loud when it thinks combat might be likely (e.g. when the group gets to a closed door). It uses detect magic near constantly, loudly broadcasting any positive results. Once per week, when its name is pronounced and it is blown by anyone with proficiency with all martial weapons or bardic music ability (a standard action), it summons 1d4+1 Snow Goblin Barbarians (5th level). If the blower does not qualify, they are attacked by the hoard. Otherwise, they attack anyone the possessor of the horn commands them to until one side is all slain, or until 1 hour has elapsed, whichever comes first. The hoard prefers to fight in a group, is brave under strong leadership, and loves to eat horseflesh.

Mephibosheth’s Barbarian Hoard: Short and bandy-legged, this mixed group of male and female goblinoids have long arms, shaggy half-pelts of white hair, and large, loose sacs in their throats that give them a distinctly froglike appearance. They wear shabby studded leather armour and carry wicked greataxes, and each has a pair of javelins tucked in their belt.

Snow Goblin Barbarian 5: Small Construct; hd 5d12+5 (hp 43); init +1; move 40 ft. (8 squares), climb 30 ft.; AC 17 (touch 14); Greataxe +9 (1d10+4/x3) or Javelin +9 (1d4+2); Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +1; Str 16, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 6; Rage 2/day (+10 hp, +2 to hit, +3 dmg, -2 AC, +2 morale on Will saves; 6 rounds then fatigued for remainder of encounter,-2 Str, -2 Dex, can’t charge or run); Improved uncanny dodge; Booming Voice (can be heard over great distances), Darkvision 60 ft.; Climb +17 (can always take 10), Hide +6, Intimidate +5, Jump +7, Listen +7, Move Silently +6, Survival +3; Power Attack (Greataxe +5, 1d10+10/x3). Goods: studded leather armour, greataxe, 2 javelins. Languages: common, goblin.

Comments welcome - so far this has been excellent comedy value. The PC who "weilds" it hooked on his belt (it complained about being stuffed into a sack) has, so far, been too scared to "say my name and blow me", so he doesn't know exactly what sort of "hord" it can summon.

I'm about to start this module tomorrow night. I'm wondering about some of the finer details as far as rules of the contest go, just to make sure I'm prepared for whatever might happen.

In particular, I see no reference to what happens if anyone surrenders, or dies and can't be raised? In my game, I think I'll rule that all participants must be registered on the team roster, and should any participants surrender or fail to be able to make the next round (e.g. they end up dead), there are no replacements allowed.

So for example, Auric's Warband might start off with half a dozen flesh golems, and by the time they get to the final they only have three left that were not hacked to pieces earlier.

Anyone have to come up with an answer for this sort of thing themselves, and what did you do?

I personally think there is a simple problem with the CR system - NPC's with class levels are a push-over!

I mean, an NPC with say 10 character levels is no sort of challenge at all for a group of 4 x 10th level PC's, especially as each of the PC's have more (magical) gear than the NPC! Same for 4 x 6th level NPC's - a pushover! Nowhere the same level of challenge as a CR 10 monster. Compare a 10th level fighter opponent with a fire giant opponent - no contest! Only a Cleric has a snowballs chance of lasting more than a couple of rounds (depending on what stats and items you give it), and even then monsters tend to have less weaknesses. Would your 3rd level PC's rather fight an Ogre, or a 3rd level 1/2 Orc Barbarian? I think the Ogre still presents more of a challenge. Chain Devil, or 6th level Fighter? The list goes on...

In my games, I've recently decided to create a new CR system for NPC's with class levels. In a nut-shell, I figure a single character about two levels above the average party level is about an average challenge. The only place where this is a bit crude is the first couple of levels, where an NPC one level above the PC's is probably a reasonable challenge. For monsters with class levels, I'm OK with each character level adding 1 to the CR, but only once the character level exceeds the original CR (before then, I make it 2-1). Clear as mud? Let me try a different say of explaining:

NPC Level CR
1 1/2
2 1
3 1 1/2
4 2
5 3
6 4
7 5
8 6
etc.

Adding levels to anything with a base CR treats the NPC levels as +1/2 CR per level, until the levels reach the base CR, after which it's +1 CR per level. For example:
CR
Ogre 3
Ogre/Ftr1 3 1/2
Ogre/Ftr2 4
Ogre/Ftr3 4 1/2, say round up to 5
Ogre/Ftr4 6
Ogre/Ftr5 7
Ogre/Ftr6 8
Ogre/Ftr7 9
Ogre/Ftr8 10 (equivalent to say a 12th level Fighter NPC)
etc.

Not perfect still, especially as the classes are not all created equal especially when you only fight one or two rather than a balanced party, but much more in tune with monster CR, I feel.

Thoughts welcome, please...

I'm about to use the Vermin Lord in the Midnight Muddle backdrop this week, but have never seen a post here about anyone else's experiences. I'd love to hear about anyone that used him, be it in a role-playing and/or combat situation. Here's my plan...

In my campaign, the PC's are currently at the Sanctum of Heironeous, to try and get Melinde the Paladin (follower of a PC) raised. I'll use that as a good way to have them clear up the problem at the shrine of Heironeous in Midnight Muddle, i.e. the vermin lord. Originally I was wondering if the PC's would stumble across him by themselves, but they have not bothered exploring the area (probably because there's enough to do already, what with being impersonated by dopplegangers etc). So then I thought no worries, I won't need the backdrop then!

But when the paladin died, the players were scratching their heads as to how to get her back to life. The previous time someone died, they ended up at the church of saint cuthbert in diamond lake, where they became part of an elaborate multi-day ritual concocted by the high priest to make it look like he was conduit to a miracle (when he actually sent for a scroll of raise dead from the free city). In the process, the party Ogre was convinced to start praying to Saint Cuthbert, even indulge in self-flagellation in order to help in the process (to my amusement!) Needless to say the party ended up giving the church of saint cuthbert a wide berth from then on. So after some discussion, they decided to look for a church of Heironeous when Melinde died, after all, she was his paladin (and the party cleric worships a god Bleredd who is quite obscure in these parts and has no temple in the Free City).

At the Sanctum of Heironeous, the highest level person is a Fighter/Cleric who cannot cast Raise Dead, so he's said sure he can help find some way to raise her, if the PC's can investigate some trouble that went down in the Midnight Muddle that the church hasn't got around to investigating properly (I figure some acolytes must have gone there to retrieve the dead body of the priest who died in the fire, but not done a thorough investigation due to lack of man-power, time and/or people of high enough level e.g. maybe an acolyte or two went missing).

So the PC's should be off investigating Midnight Muddle, soon finding the Vermin Lord posing as a worshiper of the Weeping Widow (or whatever she was called - supposedly an aspect of Heironeous). I think the vermin lord will be cautious, but knowing the PC's are not from around here he'll ask them various questions (in a public place, not his shrine) then maybe ask them to come visit at a more appropriate time, but only one person at a time as his shrine is very small and so on. His aim will then be to bluff his way out of any sticky situation, killing the person if that doesn't work. If the Pc's are on to him (which they should be), I'll have him burst out of his lair, flying about with his praying mantis familiar claiming the PC's are trying to kill him while attacking them with various spells - a mad, flying combat in the back-street of Greyhawk.

Once he's dead or captured and turned over, the PC's will be referred to the church of Rao, who will raise the paladin but I'll also get them to extract an oath from the Ogre/Ftr to learn the ways of Law and use them to combat the growing chaos they see writhing under the surface of the world (a tie-in to him taking the Kensai prestige class).

So that's the plan, we'll see how it turns out soon. As always, things have a habit or finding their own path as we go along!

As I say, I'd love to hear about anyone that has used the Vermin Lord (my guess would be most people just had too much going on in the Free City to make full use of it all).

Well done to Dungeon Magazine for publishing an adventure which does a good job of meshing D&D with Cthulhu-style elements, something I've been secretly hanging out for more years than I can remember! It does a good job of using some interesting pieces from books I've not seen before (Lords of Madness, and DMG2), as well as good old Hastur and the Yellow Sign!

I have yet to run it, but will likely be doing so quite soon, having planted a firm hook in my PC's hands while they were cleaning out Sodden Hold in the Age of Worms. Now they can go for a side-trip running off to small towns near the Free City (Greyhawk) looking for the last pages of a book they have (the one from Mad God's Key), in between hunting the Mind Flayer who's been trying to kill them then on to the Champion's Games. Of course, Indar is changed to be the Free City itself, with the playhouse a medium-sized one in Clerkberg.

I'm pretty sure my players will enjoy the change of pace and weird alien nature of what they come across - personally, I can hardly wait!

Not sure my group will run through this whole dungeon in one hit (they might not survive if they do). I figure the dopplegangers will do something if my group takes a break halfway through exploring the doppleganger lair. Anyone got any suggestions?

My initial idea is simply to "replace" the (dead) mimics with a trio of advanced (6 HD) Phantom Fungus, and leave the rest of it as is, assuming limited ability to re-stock and not wanting to push any more troops up to the 1st level.