RedRobe's page

Clark Peterson wrote:

I think creating your own prologues are key.

This is absolutely true.

We do try to usually put in preliminary set-up encounters in our Adventure Paths. With Jade Regent, I kind of took a cue from Erik Mona's excellent "Whispering Cairn" adventure that basically puts the PCs on the front porch of the first encounter area (in this case, Brinestump Marsh) and lets them go from there. But even when we DO start an AP with a setup encounter, building a prologue that's customized to your party is an excellent way to involve the players from the very start in a way that feels like it's THEIR characters who are supposed to go on the Adventure Path, not some other group.

When I ran "Whispering Cairn" I only had one player playing two PCs while I ran a DMPC to round out the small group. Even with one player, I ran an intro to introduce my DMPC and to let the player feel out his characters before diving in to the big show. It really let him see who they were, to get a sense of the crap hole that was Diamond Lake, and why they would be motivated to take on the adventure to get out of there. I'm doing something similar in my current campaign (in my first homebrew world). Each character got a short intro encounter so the players could see who they were, to plant some seeds for later in the campaign, and to explain how they all got to the Home Base city. I plan to do it again in the distant future with Jade Regent. I'll be reading along this thread to see how things go and to get some ideas on how to transplant the campaign to the world of Avatar: the Last Airbender. Good gaming!

Here are d20 Modern versions of some of the key denizens of Diamond Lake that should be encountered during the first adventure "The Whispering Mine." Most of the conversions use the Urban Arcana "port-over" technique of multi-classing 3 levels of an appropriate base class (Strong, Fast, Etc.) with levels in a class that closely approximates the D&D class listed in the module. I use classes from d20 Modern, d20 Past, Urban Arcana, and the Polyhedron Magazine Dark Matter supplement.

Allustan - Allen Neff; Smart 3/Mage 6(Universalist)/Antiquarian 2 (town historian and head librarian)
Balabar Smenk - Bartholomew "Black Bart" Swank; Smart 3/Tough 2/Gangster 5 (recently purchased the "Whispering Mine," corrupt employer)
Kullen - Collin Fitzpatrick; Tough 3/Thrasher 3 (former MMA fighter)
Todrik - Ted Ericksen; Strong 3/Soldier 2 (thug, discharged Army infantryman)
Merovinn Bask - Marvin Baskin; Charismatic 3/Telepath 2 (Swank's interrogator; hides his gift behind a facade of deductive reasoning)
Filge - Jacob Filge; Smart 3/Field Scientist 1/Mage(Necromancer) 2 (Swank's occult expert; outcast in hiding from the White Council)

My intent is not to focus too much on getting to know the citizens of Diamond Lake too well as the hunters are new in town and are on a job. I did not feel converting all the NPCs was worth the effort and will stick to the action/investigation scenes as much as possible as befits a Supernatural and Dresden Files story. More to come.

I started my second run of AoW two weekends ago. This time I've put a different spin on it by setting it in a d20 Modern Supernatural/Dresden Files world. I'm trying to boil down each adventure to some key scenes that would fit into an amalgam of the two settings. I'm only allowing humans to start, though other templates such as vampire and werewolf may be available later on depending on the course of the game. I'm using the Pathfinder skill system and feat progression. To spice up some of the classes, I'm also allowing the incorporation of certain class abilities. For example, the Mage will get the Wizard's class abilities as well as the ability to specialize which replaces the Mage's class abilities. I'm using hp/wound points to allow for quicker healing. Divine classes with healing spells will not be allowed as I am trying to keep to the grittier feel of Supernatural as much as possible.

The characters (all human) are: Daniel Riverbend - Dedicated 3/Shadow Hunter 1; Leon Cooper - Fast 3/Gunslinger 1; and my GMPC Nicodemus - Smart 3/Mage 1 (Evoker). After some background discussion and much hilarity during the car ride, the trio of hunters made their way to Diamond Lake, New Jersey with plans to investigate reports of a haunted iron mine. I've decided to cut the entire "Whispering Cairn" dungeon crawl and focus on the characters dealing with a ghost, the old farmhouse, a possible bar fight, and the creepy, early 1900s observatory on the hill.

I started my second run of AoW two weekends ago. This time I've put a different spin on it by setting it in a d20 Modern Supernatural/Dresden Files world. The characters (all human) are: Daniel Riverbend - Dedicated 3/Shadow Hunter 1; Leon Cooper - Fast 3/Gunslinger 1; and my GMPC Nicodemus - Smart 3/Mage 1 (Evoker). After some background discussion and much hilarity during the car ride, the trio of hunters made their way to Diamond Lake, New Jersey with plans to investigate reports of a haunted mine.

Actually, I'm playing SW:RCR, not Saga, so the book's crunch might not be totally wasted. I know it was released pre-RCR though, so it may need some tweakings. I perused Wookieepedia and found it to be pretty much all I need. I may pick up the Secrets book if I can find it cheap. Thanks for the book critique!

Use Naboo. Civilized, lots of nobility and commerce.

-Skeld

Hmmm...maybe you have something there. I DID think if replacing the bullywugs in TBG with a tribe of Gungans. Question for you all out there in the know: is the book "Secrets of Naboo" worth buying, or should I just wing the info from Wookieepedia?

RedRobe wrote:

Well, let's start from the ground up. First off is "There is No Honor." What planet should I place Sasserine on?

Use Naboo. Civilized, lots of nobility and commerce.

RedRobe wrote:

I had actually already thought that maybe some kind of kraken-like plant creature that can survive in a vacuum lay somewhere in the path that the ships must take to the planet.

How about this?

-Skeld

I hadn't even thought of that. Great idea though. Thanks!

Well, let's start from the ground up. First off is "There is No Honor." What planet should I place Sasserine on? I had thought at first to place it somewhere on Corellia. Its a port city with its fair share of smugglers and criminals, so I thought this would be a good fit. Any other ideas for possible planets? I have Coruscant and the Core Worlds and Geonosis and the Outer Rim so something from either one is preferred. Lavinia will still be the group's benefactor, but with Diplomat levels instead of Aristocrat. The Blue Nixie will be a starship stuck in a docking bay instead of the harbor. I've already converted the vault and will use Star Wars appropriate creatures in place of the D&D monsters, with the exception of a shambling mound and girallon which I thought fit nicely as alien creatures (those of you who have run/read the module know what I'm speaking of). Nemien Roblach is a Noble/Force Adept using the Urban Adept archetype and substitution special abilities from the Hero's Guide. Rowyn will be a Scoundrel/Scout (possibly Scoundrel/Force Adept). The Ragodessa will be run as written. That's it for tonight. More to come.

Orthos, I was thinking that the sailing would definitely be changed to space travel. I had actually already thought that maybe some kind of kraken-like plant creature that can survive in a vacuum lay somewhere in the path that the ships must take to the planet. Also, perhaps Forl (now an ithorian, maybe) did some research when he found he could gain passage to the "Planet of Dread," and discovered that the "Olmans" (some near-human, ancient space-faring species perhaps?) left some clues behind on various planets that pointed the direction to the PoD, and wants to visit them each along the way for "educational purposes?" This is reminding me some of Battlestar, but I'm going with it because it sounds good :-P

Carl, I'm also liking the droid ideas for the latter adventures. I've already said that "Demogorgon" will be a group of BBEGs bent on galactic domination through the use of bio-tech weapons and cybernetics. Maybe they pushed a little too far and were absorbed by the techno-monsters they tried to create and the next step beyond the fairly tame rakghoul savage tide is the Nano-bomb that will spread a new disease and make everyone a kind of psycho-Borg?

Thanks for the ideas! Keep 'em coming!

Hey, I'm actually in the process of converting my current running campaign into a more modern/realistic setting. I've pretty much ported elements from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie wholesale (18th century Spanish main)

My Sasserine is now Port Royal. I have also wrestled with the thought of making South America into the Isle of Dread, but there are several problems. Why would colonists place Farshore at the southern tip of S. America when all the trade routes are criss-crossing the Spanish Main (which touch the northern part of S. America)

I would like to hear more of how your conversions are going. Thanks!

These are actually on hold, or stopped as of right now as I'm working on converting it to the Star Wars Revised Core Rules. Thanks for the interest, though, and good luck with your game!

So I've tinkered with the idea of doing a Savage Tide d20 Past conversion, but I'm already doing a d20 Modern/Urban Arcana campaign, and want to do something different when that wraps up. So, I've gone back to trying to convert the campaign to the Star Wars Revised Core Rules. What I would like ideas for are locations (Sasserine, Farshore, Scuttlecove, etc.), classes for NPCs (Lavinia, Vanthus, Harliss Javell, etc.), and what to do when the campaign goes to the Abyss. I've already tossed around the idea that "Demogorgon" is an evil organization instead of an entity in itself (kind of like Cobra). They primarily work with biological engineering and cybernetics. The Savage Tide itself will be a bio-engineered version of the rakghoul plague. I'm thinking of setting the campaign during the beginning of the Dark Times just to add a bit of tension from the presence of the Empire, and also to have some stormtroopers to waste. Any ideas you all may have are welcome. Its very early in my redesign phase at this point. Thanks in advance!

We're using a group-made homebrew world with rotating Game Masters. So far we're using the PFCR, some random things from the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, the Character Traits web enhancement, the "Lands of Mystery" map and Maps of Mystery from Dungeon Magazine, and the firearms section from d20 Past (from early to wild west era weapons). Its a pirate/seafaring campaign with each of 3 GMs running a 3-4 adventure story arc and then passing it on.

So, I've gotten stuck on A Gathering of Winds, Kings of the Rift, and Into the Wormcrawl Fissure. The settings for each of these adventures are so unlike anywhere on Earth as we know it that I'm having trouble placing where they would take place. AGoW is supposed to be over 1,000 miles away from the site of The Whispering Cairn, according to the module. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to have such a deep dungeon in the "Underdark" somewhere in Africa or Asia. I thought perhaps somewhere in the Middle East might be fitting as the Wind Dukes seemed to be somewhat related to genies as they are air-based. You could even keep it pretty much as-is as its so far removed from civilization. That's all I got for now...discuss!

No thoughts on the rest of the modules yet. However, I would like to point out something that you should begin to think about when trying to do a massive conversion like this, and thats converting characters from their D&D classes to d20 Modern counterparts. I'm currently trying this by converting the Savage Tide to d20 Past with Urban Arcana and d20 Modern classes (lots of fun, by the way). The UACS gives quick rules on how to bring over characters from D&D into UA, but you can follow the same rules while converting. One of the Tables presented is D&D to UA class analogs. For example Barbarian = Thrasher, Fighter = Soldier or Archaic Weaponsmaster, Cleric = Acolyte or Mystic, and so on. D20 Past gives some more choices with Shaman (roughly equal to Druid) and Sorcerer (which is much cooler than the D&D Sorcerer). One thing that you might want to consider is allowing your PCs to start with 3 levels of a base class (Strong, Fast, Tough, etc.) and one level of their chosen Advanced class. Basically you'll do the same with the listed NPCs and tack on 3 base classes to get them to the proper level. For example: lets say Allustan is a level 8 Wizard. You would create your UA Allustan with 3 levels of Smart Hero, and 8 levels of Mage. You would do the same for each bad guy with levels. You will need to adjust the monsters without levels or just add more to the mix, but you'll find that its not that difficult once you get the hang of it. Happy converting!

Since Urban Arcana as written relies on the assumption that creatures from beyond Shadow just show up for no apparent reason, then why not a complex like that from The Whispering Cairn? You can place this first adventure in a backwater mining town and have the Cairn just "show up" out in the hills maybe 20 years back but no one goes out there because its in an abandoned and boarded-up mine.

This sets the stage for TFoE below your mining town. I remembered scenes from Stephen King's "The Graveyard Shift" when I originally ran this adventure. If you need inspiration for Diamond Lake, definitely check it out.

Blackwall Keep is kind of iffy, but I do like the idea of a neighboring town with the county jail being assaulted by some kind of monster.

Hall of Harsh Reflections can be put in the "big city" nearest the mining town. I always think of New York (where my Urban Arcana-esque game is set), which would be perfect for a romp in the sewers by the docks, like was mentioned before. However, you might want to make sure you consider which big city you'll use for the final fight of the campaign, which could take place in Chicago (see Prince of Redhand, below).

The Champions Belt idea mentioned previously was cool, but maybe add a big "sporting event" like Wrestlemania or something taking place in the arena above while the "underground" fighting is going on as a mirror event for denizens of Shadow. This would cause all kinds of panic if/when the Big Bad of this adventure is released.

A Gathering of Winds would be back in your mining town in the same cairn, can't think of much more right now.

You've got me on a brainstorming high right now, so I'll leave you with these little nuggets and come back when I've thought of some more stuff. Keep us posted, though. I'd love to hear what you think up since I've run the entire AoW in Eberron already.

I haven't been working on this for a couple weeks as I'm trying to get my Urban Arcana campaign running again. Its been on pause for about 4 years, but I ran a refresher adventure and my group wants to see it to completion. If anyone has had any ideas about the Savage Tide d20 Past conversion, please post them. Thanks in advance!

What year will your game be set? (I'm not that familiar with d20 Modern or Past, but I'm guessing the Age of Adventure is somewhere between the 1600s and 1700s?)

The campaign will be set somewhere from the mid 1600s to the mid 1700s, which is the time of the Age of Adventure. I was thinking of keeping the Caribbean, Central and South America as the focal area of the campaign. I read up on St. Augustine, Florida. It was named for a Catholic saint, Augustine of Hippo, as it was first sighted on his feast day on August 28, 1565. I could potentially draw parallels between this and the founding of Sasserine by its namesake, Sasserine, a cleric of Wee Jas. In place of Sasserine slaying a dragon to found the city, perhaps the founder, Admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and his crew of adventurers slew a beast that made its home in the lands around St. Augustine.

I'm really liking the idea of Sasserine being somewhere in the Mediterranean, so I think I'll brush up on my geography of that area. I saw a thing on the travel channel about Lisbon, Portugal...hmmm.
Also, I just had this thought as I was pondering how to work in the wake portal and traveling to the Abyss. What if the Bermuda Triangle was a portal through Shadow to the Abyss? In this case, the Abyss is kind of like the Dark World in Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past in that it is a dark reflection of our world, and instead of the Central and South America we know, they become the areas of the Abyss in the modules? Perhaps an appropriate incantation, such as can be found in the Urban Arcana CS, could activate the portal. Like Barbossa said in At World's End: to find a place that can't be found, you have to get good an lost. What better place to get lost than the Bermuda Triangle?

So, one of my first concerns is where to place Sasserine. I read a suggestion that Singapore could easily replace it, but I think that may be too exotic. I need a place that is both cosmopolitan and on the fringes of civilization. I'm perfectly willing to just place Sasserine on the coast of a particular country where it would fit in, but I would like suggestions of possible locales. As far as converting characters, I've taken the suggestion from Urban Arcana and run with it. I'll tac on 3 or 4 levels of an appropriate base class or classes to the recommended "modern" version of the class listed in the module (Barbarian=Tough/Thrasher, Fighter=Strong/Archaic Weaponsmaster or Strong/Soldier, Cleric=Dedicated/Acolyte, Druid=Dedicated/Shaman, etc). I'll be using the Renaissance firearms from the DMG in place of those listed in d20 Past.

So, in my spare time, when not creating cities, NPCs, and adventures for my homebrew D&D world I have yet to run, or my Urban Arcana campaign, I've considered converting the Savage Tide AP to d20 Past. It will be set in the "Age of Adventure" setting, and will include most of the races and monsters from Urban Arcana. If anyone has had experience doing this, or running the STAP in general and would like to contribute suggestions, warnings, or other ideas, please feel free. My greatest concern if I ever get around to running this AP is what to do when the PCs need to travel to the Abyss. Should I find a suitable wrap-up point before that, or should I treat it like World's End or Davy Jones' Locker in Pirates and just go with it? Thanks in advance!

Hello, all. I am currently developing a homebrew world and I want to tweak a few classes for flavor and variety. I'd like to develop a druidic version of the Favored Soul. I WAS going to keep it simple and tweak the flavor by including druidic weapons for "Deity's Weapon Focus" at 3rd level and allow for faerie/dragonfly wings for "Wings" at 17th. However, after some thought, I decided it would be more fun to change the Special Abilities and try to incorporate some of the druid's traditional abilities, or perhaps some variations on them. I like the Aspect of Nature wildshape variant on page 67-69 of Unearthed Arcana, but am unsure as to how/when to incorporate it and keep the class balanced. I also don't want to reduce five Special Abilities to one. I also would like to stick to the same levels at which the Favored Soul gains Special Abilities. I would appreciate any feedback any of you fine folks may have. Thanks in advance!

Grimcleaver, any plans to incorporate Force users into your Forgotten Realms game? Yours is the only hybrid Star Wars/D&D game I've encountered other than my own. I think its interesting how you've switched out the regular races for Star Wars species. In the setting I'm developing, alot of the more well-known planets are represented by individual countries or regions. The tech level includes muskets and such, but also includes weapons from the D&D 3.5 handbook. I have non-magical airships, as the only "magic" is the Force. I'll be keeping up with your posts for possible inspiration. Nice job so far.

Has anyone out there encountered any material on the game mechanics for a Shannara-style airship? These ships use sails to absorb sunlight and transfer the energy into crystals built into the hull to provide lift/propulsion. If anyone has created their own home-brew rules, that would be very helpful as well. I'm still in the process of designing my hybrid Star Wars/D&D world, and want to use airships that aren't elemental powered nor zepplins (sp?) Thanks in advance!

Very well done. I'm liking this entry very much. I'm running the AoW in Eberron, myself, and like to read the parallels with how things worked out in my game. Hope to read more soon.

Well, as of 3/4 of Kings of the Rift completed, the characters at this point are:

Scratch: male changeling artificer 18 and his best friend Cleaver: male personality warforged fighter 18 (played by one player)
Karl Gringott: male half-orc werebear barbarian 11
Abacus: male personality warforged cleric of Kol Korran 18

The roster has changed alot since The Whispering Cairn due to some players not being able to continue playing for one reason or another, and others joining up. 2 characters have died and stayed dead. 4 (including the DMPC cleric that has been around since WC) have gone on to rescue a 5th PC who went missing while in the town that is now the host of the Demon Tree Malgarius. Scratch and Cleaver are the only PCs that have been through the entire campaign. They both died during the Library of Last Resort, but were raised from the dead by the DMPC cleric. The campaign has been running since August 2005.

Well, its out now. What does everyone think who has had a chance to peruse the book?

RedRobe, I've cancelled your order. To get your back issues with free shipping, go to the Transition Page, make sure "Back Issues" is selected, then click the "Save Changes" button. You'll be taken to a page where you can select the issues you want.

I really appreciate your understanding and quick action to help me out. You Paizo guys are the best!

RedRobe wrote:

Just wondering if I missed something. I'm assuming everyone who chose back issuses for their remaining Dungeon subscription issues has to pay shipping? I saw the "Promotional Code" box and was wondering if I missed what I needed to enter there to avoid shipping costs. Thanks.

We're covering shipping.

I'll repost this here as I didn't catch that you had responded to my earlier question.

OK, so on order #771938 I tried to use my remaining Dungeon subscription issues for two back issues, and I entered them as my choices, however, it charged me for both issues and shipping. I goofed and accepted charges. Can I have my order cancelled and re-entered with the transition issues and not be charged anything? Thanks in advance!

OK, so on order #771938 I tried to use my remaining Dungeon subscription issues for two back issues, and I entered them as my choices, however, it charged me for both issues and shipping. I goofed and accepted charges. Can I have my order cancelled and re-entered with the transition issues and not be charged anything? Thanks in advance!

Just wondering if I missed something. I'm assuming everyone who chose back issuses for their remaining Dungeon subscription issues has to pay shipping? I saw the "Promotional Code" box and was wondering if I missed what I needed to enter there to avoid shipping costs. Thanks.

My d20 Modern/D&D hybrid campaign: Once or twice a month on Sundays.

Would you care to expand on your D20 Modern/D&D Hybrid game in another thread if you have time? I love D20 Modern/Urban Arcana and would very much like to hear about someone else's campaign. Thanks!

I tried to match up the pic of the wormcaller with a mini in a similar pose. I used the hunched over orc skeleton as my wormcaller. For the Harbinger, I used a Thri-kreen barbarian...the only multi-armed buggy looking mini I have.

The PCs in my group have just defeated the Overgod and found the loot stash. They have yet to discover what the ledger really is. So far they've kept from causing any trouble. I haven't yet pointed out the significance of the Great Project and how it resembles the Spire. I figured that a day or two before the Great Banquet, I'll have them see that the Ziggurat is being finished with the addition of a spire very similar to the one in Long Shadows. The only rumblings of possible future trouble that I've noticed is when one of the players said, "Guys, I think we may have to fight EVERYONE in this town before its all over..." They even decided on their own that raiding Lashonna's house wasn't the smart thing to do. They don't really know what to make of her yet from all the stories and hearsay.

So I've been working for some time on a Star Wars/D&D hybrid and have been stuck on how to handle the Jedi class and Force powers. In my notes so far, the Light Side and Dark Side of the Force take the place of a pantheon of gods. After a trial run using Jedi and Force Powers as-is, I've decided to switch them out for a class and power system that is fully compatible with D&D: the Favored Soul class and divine spells. I know its not a direct analog, but for the purposes of what I want to do, it seems like it will work. However, I wanted to switch out the Favored Soul's class abilities for some that are more in line with Jedi class abilities. Any suggestions anyone has are most welcome. Thanks in advance!

Quick question on the subject of Prince of Redhand. I have 5 PCs, 3 are 14th level, 2 are 13th (one raised and one new). Do you think the module as-is will be appropriately challenging, or will they be in over their heads? They've already started, and haven't had any combat yet. They may enter the first one tonight, but hopefully they'll work through the encounter (catacombs below Church of Blessed Deliverance) without fighting. Thanks!

RedRobe,

I just noticed that you are "RedRobe" and not "RedRobes". This means that you are in the US and not in the UK.

D'oh.

I'll get you a replacement.

*blush*

Thanks,
cos

Not a problem. Thanks for the quick response!

Has Paizo started changing the shipping methods? I've had a subscription since Dungeon Issue #111 and never missed an issue. However, since the big annoucement I never recieved issue 146 (I did get credit for it on my account) and I'm still waiting for issue 147? In the meantime the European folks have gotten theirs weeks ago.

I haven't received my issue 147 yet either.

If you haven't reached him yet, here's a cool Dragotha figure from McFarland's Series 6 Fall of the Dragon Kingdom: Fossil Clan Dragon

That just plain ROCKS! I haven't picked up any of the McFarlane dragons, but that might be my first. On the subject of minis, anyone wanna post their lineup of D&D minis they have lined up for Prince of Redhand and beyond? My pre-adventure ritual is to sit down a few weeks before and pick out specific minis for all the baddies the PCs will encounter and write them down. That way I'm not shuffling my entire collection over to my buddy's place since that's where we play.

I am going to post my campaign journal here, feel free to read along. We play every Saturday, so I hope to keep updating every week.

The story so far.

Our group all grew up in the depressing, dreary, and damp town of Diamond Lake. Our group of friends is somewhat large. (Our group consists of a Gnome Gninja, a Dwarf Dwarlock, 1 Half Orc Barbarian, a Wood Elf Fighter, a Spellscale Bard, a human Dragon Shaman, And a Grey elf Wizard (my sister) and a grey elf cleric of Pelor (me)) Since we all knew each other (if you look at the make up of the 1000 person town, we made up the entire 1% of non humans. It's easy to stick together when you are all "freaks") we became friends and are desperately looking for a way out of the town, fame or fortune.

4/14/07
We heard of some "adventurers" talking about investigating a cairn outside of town. Little did they know, that was just the local necking place for teenagers. However, it got my bookworm sister thinking and she said she found an old map which showed the location of an abandoned mine. So, we all took a day off and headed out to the cave. Stopping at an old crumbling house, we found the entrance and headed inside.

WOLVES! BY PELOR! I thought wolves were just dogs, but I was wrong. They savaged the Barbarian, and hurt the gninja before we were able to dispatch them. I never knew wolves would attack people. I guess we had cornered them and forced them to fight.

After searching around, we found some strange lanterns and a tomb which moves. After playing around with it, we were attacked by a SWARM OF ACID BEATLES and a GIANT SPIDER SLASHY THINGY! It was only by the grace of Pelor and the Aura's of the dragon Shaman that we all survived. Since the party was ravenged by such a relentless assault, we decided to head back to the city to rest, and sell a strange armband. Since the lanterns were magical, we kept them as we felt there was more to the puzzle...

You should post this in the campaign journal section.

Since the adventure is supposed to be somewhat of a tribute to X-Men, the scrying chamber is most likely supposed to be something like Cerebro. Not sure why there would be an EL rating if there isn't a challenge to overcome.

Loreena McKennitt "Marco Polo"
Its actually one song on a mix cd I've dubbed "Tavern Tunes" I'm still building. Its mainly Nickel Creek and Loreena McKennitt, with one song by the Ditty Bops and two solo songs: one by Sean Watkins and the other by Chris Thile, both from Nickel Creek.

Has anyone had much trouble running the encounter with Darl Quethos' band? Has anyone changed out any of the group? I decided that I didn't want to muck things up with an efreet riding a huge nightmare so I replaced it with an 18th level warforged fighter/juggernaut. Hopefully my characters will gain some levels in the next couple of adventures. They're currently 13th (6 PCs) and will finish up SoLS next week. I'll probably find some way to grace them with another level before the start of Prince of Redhand.

Charles de Lint lives in my city (I have sometimes seen him performing folky music at a little irish pub), and he's a very prolific writer of urban fairy tales.

I really liked his "Dreams Underfoot" book of short stories, all based in the same city. Most of his stories are based in the same city, creating a really large continuity of stories.

There was a Hellboy anthology of short Hellboy stories by various fantasy/sf writers, and Charles de Lint wrote one. As a Charles de Lint fan and a Hellboy fan, it was pretty cool to see Hellboy come to Newford for an investigation.

Do you happen to remember the Anthology's title? That sounds like something I definitely want to check out. Thanks for all the great suggestions. This definitely gives me alot to look into.

Name: Aenid(Elan Druid/Master of Many Forms ECL 12)
Name: Taurine(Sorcerer/12)
Adventure: Spire of Long Shadows
Location: Sea of Worms/Lair of the Overworm
Catalyst: Overworm bites and Wormcaller flamestrikes
Current Condition of the Fallen: Raised by the power of the Silver Flame

Darius, cleric of the Silver Flame was swallowed by the Overworm and stayed in its gullet till the fight was over, making his saves and using a Prayer Bead to CSW while being digested. Cleaver, the Warforged fighter fell into the sea of worms early on and was unphased by their burrowing attacks due to an Iron Construct infusion and immunity to poison. He attacked while 30 under the sea of worms. Meanwhile the Wormcallers unleashed hell in the hallway by Flamestriking the PCs repeatedly. Taurine fell first, followed by Aenid after a wicked bite and a flamestrike. The rest of the party finished off the worm and Darius clambered out, barely making it out of the sea alive. Fortunately, he was able to call upon the Silver Flame to raise his comrades to continue the fight against Katashka-Kyuss. This had to be the most challenging fight of the entire campaign so far. Good playing by all.

While not really in the "Urban Fantasy" genre, I would suggest Neil Gaiman's books "Neverwhere" and "American Gods", the latter arguably being Gaiman's masterpiece. These novels definitely have the fantastic taking place in a realistic urban setting. And they are very good.

For lighter fare, I would suggest Christopher Moore. Just about anything he's written, as nearly all of it involves the fantastic intruding upon a seemingly normal life with hilarious results. The notable exception to this is his masterpiece called "Lamb; The Gospel According To Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal". However, they are all good reads and I suggest them all.

Finally (since I'm veering away from the OP anyway), I'd like to suggest a book that basically asks the question "What would happen if magic came in the world of Jane Austen?", Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell. This novel is a wonderful examination of heremetic-type magic (wizards) versus inborn-type magic (sorcerers) in Victorian England. And it's a fun read.

Hope this helps!
cos

I've read Neverwhere and American Gods, and I agree they are quite good. I liked Neverwhere a bit more, but AG was interesting.

I'll take the other two suggestions into consideration. I don't know why I get on these kicks. I think it has to do with wanting some inspiration for an Urban Arcana game now and then. I once tried to stat up Croup and Vandemar from Neverwhere (with different names) as well as the Crow Girls from Charles de Lint's Newford books. I didn't get very far, but I'm thinking of trying again. I know its a little off topic, but its keeping with the Urban Fantasy theme.

I don't own Urban Arcana, but just had a flash of inpiration for someone who does:

Convert the Age of Worms Adventure Path...

I'm currently running AoW in Eberron. I've actually thought about using the Sons of Kyuss organization to tie in an extraplanar scheme to bring a little of the AoW to the Real World (not the reality show :-P ). Does anyone who has read/DMed Murder in Oakbridge or Chimes at Midnight think that these modules would work well tweaked a bit and placed in New York City?

Anybody had any luck converting D&D modules to a modern setting? I used part of the 3.0 module Forge of Fury when the PCs went on a rescue mission to find some missing college kids who were LARPing in the Appalachians. The students ran afoul of the critters in the main cavern area in that adventure. Any suggestions on which modules you used and how you did it would be great. Thanks!

I'm on an Urban Fantasy kick right now and would like some suggestions on what to pick up. I'm eagerly awaiting Dresden Files 9: White Night and want something to hold me over until April. I've started the Repairman Jack series with The Tomb, but its not quite in the vein I'm looking for. I'm a Charles de Lint fan as well but haven't had an opportunity to read his newest full-length novel. The Anita Blake books aren't really what I'm looking for either. Sorry to head those series off before their suggested, but I don't want to waste anyone's time. Thanks in advance!

Ah.

Actually, that wasn't exactly what I meant. I wanted Dragotha to be the fake final boss. Like "oh, we've beaten him! We've stopped the age of worms! I hope people throw a parade for us." Then when they get back to alhaster, think "AW CRUD!"

Well, unless you've put it in your players'/PCs' heads that the AoW can be averted by performing certain tasks, specifically the defeat of Dragotha, then this might not work. The cover to issue #124 shows Kyuss dripping with Overworms and issue #135 has Kyuss attacking the iconics directly, so unless your players haven't seen either of these issues, I'd say they will think that they still have to slug it out with the Wormy Wonder.

Ok; so it has been on a few weeks; guess he is doing the demon thing tonight; so any new opinions; what does everyone think so far? I hate the name and it certainly isnt the Dresden files as far as I am concern, no way, shape or form, but am still enjoying it as a show.

The first couple of episodes weren't that great, but episodes 3 and 4 were better. I think I enjoyed last night's episode the most so far as it showed us some of Bob's lascivious nature and we saw Harry "hex" the security camera at the station. Morgan is less of a jerk, but we still saw him belt Harry a good one. I'm eagerly awaiting the Stormfront pilot episode that they decided to run later for some reason. This will give me my Dresden fix until April when White Night is released.