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Due to an unexpected wealth of players, it appears that I'll be starting off my new Age of Worms campaign with seven or eight players rather than the anticipated four or five. Anyone have any recommendations for scaling up the Whispering Cairn so that the characters don't steamroller over the existing foes?

Once I get into the later adventures, I can just modify them as per having a higher-level party, but for now I'd like to still provide my players with a reasonable challenge.

So far, my group is made up of a cleric of Pelor, a warblade, a monkish swordsage, and a warmage. The warblade is elven; the others (so far) are human. I've probably got another player or two coming in eventually, too.

There's a great article on theRPGenius.com that has some backgrounds for Age of Worms. These might not be exactly what you're looking for but they may work as a basis for you.

By any chance, do you have a link to it? I'd looked through the Age of Worms archives and forums but hadn't been able to spot anything that looked quite like what you're describing.

I'm hoping to start my Age of Worms campaign soon, but I'd like to help my players emphasize their background by giving them a number of different background skillsets to pick from. Each will have their own benefits and drawbacks, more or less unique to the category into which they fit.

So far, categories I've come up with include Miner, Bronzewood Lodge Member, Gambler, Entertainer, Twilight Lodge Brethren, Mine Manager's Employee, Garrison Soldier, Hired Muscle, and a few other general ones like Acolyte, Craftsman, and Apprentice. Anyways, I could have sworn I'd seen a thread some time back which had something similar. I can't seem to find the link on the current thread listing, but does anyone recall what sorts of bonuses and drawbacks might have been in that thread?

(Example: Hired Muscle. (Requirements: Intimidate 1, Gather Information 1.)
-- You've done your time on the town streets, tracking down debtors and serving as surly bodyguard to the rich and privileged. It hasn't gotten you rich, though, and now you're thinking it might be a good time to strike out for adventure on your own. +2 on Intimidate checks and Gather Information checks, -2 on Diplomacy checks.)

Stinking cloud makes sense, too. Just adapt it as you would a sculpted spell, to change it to a 40' cone emanating from the froghemoth's mouth. Nauseatingly bad breath in an enormous carnivore? Definitely!

So the other night I was reading through the prestige classes in the Book of Nine Swords and noticed the little addendum after Jade Phoenix Mage -- that the class would easily be adaptable as a cabal of evil mage/warriors, looking to bring back an aspect of the Ebon Phoenix.

Would it be possible to adapt that idea in terms of Kyuss? And if so, how would you do so, and who would you modify to fit the template?

My initial thought was to go with the obvious -- transform the Faceless One from a level 6 wizard into a level 2 swordsage/level 5 wizard. He wouldn't be quite as powerful spellcaster-wise, but he could clearly be an lesser brother of the Ebon Phoenix cabal. Throw in some Shadow Hand maneuvers and stances, maybe shift the fire focus of the Jade Phoenix class into something more sinister and insidious, and <i>voila!</i> instant evil mastermind.

Would this be an intriguing addition to the mythology of the Age of Worms, or would it be overpowered? Who else might be reasonably adapted into the Order of the Ebon Phoenix?

A common difficulty, from what I've seen of various posts, is the trouble that inexperienced and under-equipped parties of 1st level adventurers may have with some of the unforgiving encounters in the Whispering Cairn. Clearly, one way to ameliorate this is to provide some mix of adventure beforehand -- something to give the players' new characters a chance to spread their wings and experiment with the party dynamics before being thrown into the blender.

I was considering adapting an old published adventure to the power-struggle environment of Diamond Lake. Imagine, if you will, an ancient crumbling manor up on a lakeside cliff a few miles from Diamond Lake. For nearly a century, this home has been left to the elements and mercies of scavengers, its ancestral family long since departed or died of old age. Always considered a rather sinister reminder of past indiscretions, due to a certain unsavory reputation of the family in question, the more recent years have given rise to tales of haunting. Strange sounds in the night, and a light seen from a high window whenever fog creeps across the surface of the lake, brought fears and unpleasant images to mind.

The garrison has investigated but found little of import -- years-old remnants of squatters and skells, long departed -- and a garrison soldier's fall through an unstable staircase influenced the abandonment of the garrison's official investigation. But one of the mine managers suspects something is afoot at the old manor-house, something that has to do with wagons moving in the dead of night and mysterious packages delivered to Balabar Smenk's compound at unusual hours.

This mine manager (I was considering Moonmeadow, but almost any will do as long as he or she opposes Smenk) contacts the nascent adventuring party to do some investigating and determine what's really going on. Moreover, if there are unsavory persons operating in or around the manor, and the party should happen to confront and/or remove them, well, the mine manager would be inclined to look favorably upon that...

After all, anything that might inconvenience Smenk is good in the eyes of the party's employer.

Assuming the party investigates well, they'd discover a group of smugglers operating from sea-caves beneath the manor. The smugglers work with a boat bringing unusual supplies across Diamond Lake from a supplier of Smenk's, supplies which are destined to find use in certain lairs deep beneath the city... but of course, the adventurers won't know that yet. Of course, the leader of the smugglers is a Vecna-worshipping illusionist, which may provide clues linking later events together in the PCs' minds.

The adventurers make out with a bit of loot, some minor (probably healing) magic, and a chance to work out tactics together. Ideally, either the smugglers have recently captured an explorer (a possible DMPC) who was searching for the Whispering Cairn -- which is somewhere in the hills nearby -- or killed said explorer. Either way, you have the possibility to introduce a map or hint that points towards the old records in the mining office, and thereby leads them towards the theoretical riches imagined within and a possible way out of Diamond Lake.

The adventure in question? The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh.

So, how have other DMs chosen to approach this problem?

I must admit, those are some absolutely astonishing pics. I'm hoping to start running the Age of Worms campaign locally in the near future. I'll have to check out possibilities at hobby stores to see if I can make settings similar to what you've presented here.