We are a bit slow going, but well into book one and just cleared out the All-Eyes-Woods.
I did an intense 2-part session zero, Master of the Fallen Fortress along with a number of encounters so that we could start the AP at level 2. Because of that, NONE of the NPC's helped them. As they rescued people, they sent them running to the bridge in groups where they could. Our party has a Paladin, Wizard, Oracle of battle, Rogue and Sky Stalker.
Invasion night was amazing. I ran the whole scenario round by round (52 rounds) of frantic fight and flight. They took out two dozen hobgoblins, several wolves and the named mini-bosses. The party ran a complete ring around the town, saving Jet, Rhyna and Kining. Oreld's shop was overrun (I had events timed by round). They missed loot, had little time to strip bodies, but did save 46 of 60 of the named NPC's that I had placed as encounters. The bridge encounter was heavily reinforced by that time but they still pulled through and collapsed it with another wave of troops nearly upon them when it went down. It was brutal.
The next morning, after discussing their options, they decided to have the NPC's sort/organize the provisions and prepare to move, and the party decided the most pressing need was to warn Gristledown! It was most of a day's hike, but they hurried there. Going by the timeline, it hadn't been attacked yet, and with a 25 diplomacy they convinced the loggers to gather their tools, burn the camp and join the survivors before the hobgoblins got them. So that happened. +12 more NPC's that I had to flesh out, putting their band near 60.
The base is currently the cabin where the wasps were, and they have built their shelters around the cabin. The party is still scouting.
Any unexpected departures for you running this?
I just couldn't run the "Molthuni scouts" random encounter as written and decided to put the PCs in a a moral dilemma. The PCs found the tracks of the group and followed them. Since the invasion had happened almost a month ago by our group's timeline, the scouts had been badly surviving the Fangwood in that meantime, facing at least one hobgoblin patrol. They were hungry and still carried unhealed wounds, their weapons and armor were in a terrible condition. The Molthuni offered the PCs to share their camp, and shared some information. Then it was up to them to decide what to do.
The PCs ended up getting back to the hunter's cabin and called a general vote to decide if they would bring the Molthuni to the camp or abandon them to their fate. One of the PCs was vehemently against it, and the vote was really tight, but for 1 vote they decided to leave the Molthuni to their fate. In true Nirmathi fashion, some of the more good-hearted PCs and NPCs decide to at least bring some provisions for the Molthuni. The Molthuni-hating PC regretted his decision, fearing the scouts would be easy prey for Scarvinious to skin (he found the undead on Gristledown and that made him feel really sick).
Finally, they decided to employ the Molthuni as a kind of forward camp for the refugees - providing them with food and limited help for protection for one of their flanks.
I wish I'd thought about mentioning Gristledown sooner so the PCs would at least have a chance to save it. I'd probably run an attack during the PCs' stay in the village, have a big running fight or something.
Invasion night was amazing. I ran the whole scenario round by round (52 rounds) of frantic fight and flight.
I like this, I'll have to remember if we end up running this campaign. I've got a mondo-mat, too, which I could use to draw out a hex-map of the town. Hmmm...
Where is Gristledown described?
Where is Gristledown described?
G4. The Grave of Gristledown is on Page 29
I think the map of the forest is too small in scale. It's too quick to get more or less anywhere, even dragging around a group of bedraggled peasants that are slowing them down, and so I don't really see the amount of time elapsing that adventure assumes. If it takes the Hobgoblins 4 days to build a bridge, and get across the river, any group with any sort of vague plan, whether it is go to Gristledown or get to one of the major towns the other side of the Forest will be either fortifying Gristledown or off the map entirely before the Hobgoblins even enter the picture.
I basically ignored the scale, so everything is a bit nebulous but is probably roughly five times the distance, which means that since the Hobgoblins can avoid the forest to get to Gristledown, unless the PCs were willing to forgo the cover of the forest, they basically weren't getting there first.
Also, if my players had abandoned the NPCs to go off on their own, I'd have done something to make that decision have consequences.
My players got to Gristledown before Scarnvious but couldn’t convince Korvus to abandoned the camp (poor diplomacy roll) but he did offer to accept the refugees from their temporary camp into his own. Needless to say by the time they got back to combine the two camps, Svarvinious had been there.
It worked out well because my players saw the loggers as stronger allies to add to the group and realized the reason Korvus didn’t leave was because they bombed their diplomacy roll and not because I railroaded the encounter.
They liked Korvus too so the fact that they missed saving them by 2 days made them even more pissed at the hobgoblins.
My group befriended the Troglodytes and sublet half of the Cradle of Stone from them, and Ighiz and Handiss helped them destroy Camp Redjaw. (Stone Call is SO GOOD for this.) That is probably my biggest departure.