Feast of Ravenmoor for 3 Characters

[EATERoftheDEAD]

I've been reading about the brutality of this module but since I bought it and it looks cool I'm going to run it anyway. However, I only have three players that can commit, and I refuse to run an NPC. So are there any things that those of you more familiar with the module think I could change, either character-wise or module tweaks?

I considered upping their level to 4 or maybe granting more points for stats. Or maybe just leaving it as is and making them deal with it. lol

Any suggestions from the peanut gallery?

[EATERoftheDEAD]

I'd like to point out, I'm not a novice DM (20+ years of experience and I wish I could put that on a resume) and I'm sure I can make it work just fine, but advice or suggestions are always welcome and appreciated.

Also, I'm running the game in three days so anything that comes along quickly would be much appreciated. :D

[Brandon Hodge]

As the author, I'm going to tell you to carefully consider the final chain of events leading up to the finale, particularly in regards to PC rest and resources. Give them an extra wand of cure light and a potion of lesser restoration or two. They can easily blow their wads in a seeming-finale, and still have another very tough encounter to face. 4th level would be fine, though it makes the initial skill challenges less...ummm...challenging. Most of all, though, look out for that BBEG. Read carefully and adjust accordingly. Keep the stats for a gloomwing or giant mosquito handy if they get there and you detect the faint whiff of desperation and looming TPK. He's a killer. Blame James Jacobs. =-)

[EATERoftheDEAD]

Thanks for the suggestions Brandon. The players are showing up tomorrow with characters so I don't even know what they're playing yet. If they show up with some combat powerhouses it probably won't be as much of an issue. However, if they all decide to play bards...

I read yours and others comments in the thread that mentions the brutality of the finale and after reading it, it looks pretty damn rough. I think what may make this easier since my players don't focus on optimization but still put out specialist badasses I'll up their level to 4. The skill uses during the festival and whatnot I'll bump up a few points to keep them challenging.

By the way, you wrote a hell of a module.

[Brandon Hodge]

My pleasure! Thank you kindly for the kudos. It was a ton of fun to bring the story of Ravenmoor to life!

Sounds like you've got it under control. With only 3, there is a chance, depending on how they prep themselves, that the

Spoiler:

cult's attempted shanghia goes off better than planned, and the cult might manage to nab someone from their bed in the manor house. If that's the case, just have them dragged back to the Chenowitz farm and locked in a spare room, then play out as normal, most likely with uncaptured PCs rushing to rescue, and the captured PC breaking out to meet somewhere in the middle. Don't overly incapacitate anyone and take them out of the game. The original draft actually had a cage out in front of the house, because the chances of very real PC capture was a LOT higher in that draft, but, it also emphasized NPC-relations from earlier in the module. In other words, if PCs weren't dicks, they would get a little help from folks they had befriended who started to question what their superiors were up to. Some of those real solidifying encounters didn't make the cut (like rescuing the main contact's son from the bunyip in the river, which leaps out of the water to attack when some village boys taunt it in a game of chicken), but you can play that sort of thing by ear. I just worked hard to have a real sense of "you could really get captured" without totally taking a PC out of play.

And, yeah. Do gauge the BBEG carefully, but sounds like you've got it covered. You could just take away its DR or something and, like I said, keeping the gloomwing around as some less-powerful backup stats if things aren't going so well might help. Just make sure everyone has fun with it!!! =-)

[EATERoftheDEAD]

Due to a miscommunication we ended up playing Settlers of Cataan on Monday so I have a little longer to prepare. Thanks again for the ideas and insight into the earlier ideas for the story. I'm always interested when the writers share what their earlier ideas were and how things evolved during the writing and editing process.

I was planning on taking some more time with the town encounters. I want to really get them invested in the town and the inhabitants...

Spoiler:

...so when they do uncover the cult they will be more driven to purge it. I also was thinking about the ambush and wondering if they all might get captured. If they do I'm thinking of adding some loot around the area, perhaps on some mooks, to allow them to refit themselves before running into the field. The ending looks like a brutal run but I'm thinking they should make it if they play smart and they usually do. It will probably push them to the brink though.