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Oh, that's easy: a couple of the PCs get back from a late night of drinking and find that their room has been ransacked by goblin thieves.

See, now, why didn't I think of that? Simplicity is usually the best solution :) Thanks...I might use that even if they do decide to help out the town guard, the party always has too much treasure anyway :P

I had thought about making one of the kidnapped persons from the first chapter a relative/friend of some sort to one of the PCs, but then it is tricky implementing some kind of subplot with that NPC that will not get the party too sidetracked :) E.g. I had originally thought that the party manages to rescue the rest of the kindnap victims in the Malachite Fortress but find out they were too late to stop the sale of some of the slaves (including the relative/friend NPC) to various denizens of the Underdark. On the surface that is the beginning of an ok subplot, but then I didn't want the party stuffing around in the Underdark forever.

I'm using the actual compiled SCAP rather than the magazines and it does mention some possible links such as if PC 1 is class X then they should have some contact with this particular prominent NPC. However it is a bit lacking in the actual ideas of how one may want to do this.

Also, I'm wondering what you would do in the second chapter if the PCs (for whatever reason) refused to assist with the goblin infestation problem? I realise that this particular chapter has been added in, so I guess it's not essential, but surely there would have to be consequences? Similarly for any point in the adventure where it is assumed that the PCs will go along with something. In 99% of cases they probably would, but it would be good to have a plan B :)

Hi all,

For those DMs who have run their party through all or most of Shackled City, I would love to tap in to your wisdom. I have only finished the first chapter, with everything going according to plan. However, I felt like I needed to bring the story a bit more to life somehow, to get players really engaged with the story. I have also read numerous logs of other campaigns where DMs have noted that playing straight from the book creates some poor linkages between the chapters, specifically in reference to recurring NPCs and references to plots/subplots.

So...any suggestions or examples of what has worked for you? Perhaps with the benefit of hindsight you might have done something differently (e.g. having NPCs recur more frequently, put in more 'foreshadowing' etc.).

Not sure how many people still read this particular messageboard since SCAP has been out for a while, but I'll keep my fingers crossed ;)

Hi guys,

Thanks for the links to useful information :) I snatched a couple of descriptions from the "building a city" document and also used City Works (I forget who did that pub) which uses a similar kind of thing for working out how many "blocks" are in a city, and how many of those blocks are dedicated to such things as entertainment, industry, docks etc. etc.
The building a city thing was also great for getting ideas on the kinds of services that should be available in the city. What I actually ended up doing was dividing Cauldron into three areas. The first I called "Inner Keep" which is basically Ash Avenue inwards (i.e. the poor section), then Midslope consisting of the next two avenues (Magma and Lava I think) which houses the middle class and then The Cusp which is basically Obsidian Av (i.e. high class). I then put a market place in each of these sections, with the markets having a mix of permanent and temporary services/stores based on the listings for high, middle and low class services and shops. For example, I made a market called Church Market which is in that little bit right next to the church of St. Cuthbert which has a mix of middle class services and shops and is heavily patronized by the clergy of the various churches and is thus not heavily frequented by the typical mix of unsavoury characters.

Dividing blocks into particular kinds also stimulated some other ideas. For example, it was suggested that there be 2 blocks for docks. I made two competing companies, one called "The Morkoth Fishing Company" and the other called "The Real Morkoth Fishing Company". I think I will make it so that the "Real" company is a splinter group of the first (maybe a rebellious son or some such?) with accompanying rivalry. Should be fun :)

I also took the "Cauldron Alive" idea from the thread that was linked in a previous post. I am also thinking of taking one of the Taverns from the Book of Taverns (again, forget who published this) as that particular book completely details taverns including patrons and other notable NPC's, their history, secrets and plot points etc.

Lastly, I'm actually thinking about using the Tournaments, Fairs and Taverns book (I think that's the title) for Chapter 3 to flesh out the start of the chapter with fun games for the players and the potential for prizes etc. It may even set up the scene for the rivalry with Stormblades if the two go into competition with each other?

Anyway, thanks again for the links guys, I have managed to get some great new ideas which should make Cauldron more like a real city...can't wait! :)

Hi all,

I've just finished putting my players through Chapter 1, and now that I know many of you are most (if not all) of the way through the SCAP I was wondering if you had ideas on ways to flesh out Cauldron? Basically, at the end of Ch1 the players are kind of meant to chill out in Cauldron for at least a couple of days and well...they need something to do! Of course, there are the descriptions for a couple of shops, but somewhere the size of Cauldron would surely have more shops and things than that. How about guilds? Other interesting people/places? Black markets? I know there has been a couple of threads on this topic before, but without much success :/

I'm also looking for resources such as...random city generators or some such that could give me an idea of how many of each thing there should be for a city of Cauldron's size, or books on interesting ideas for inclusions in cities etc. However, if you added in something extra which really worked well for you, I'd love to hear about it!

I know I should use my own imagination and creativity, but I fear my job has sucked it all out of me ;)

Thanks in advance to anyone who posts here.

All I have to say to the two people who posted about physical punishment of players is...lol :P

I just got this image of throwing the SCAP at the rogue player...now that book would pack some punch! :D Or maybe I should buy that 'World's Largest Dungeon' book, that would be even better ;)

If anyone here reads 8-bit theatre then the rogue in my group is exactly like Red Mage, maybe with a bit of Black Mage added as well. He could probably defeat a Tarrasque at 5th level just using rules :P Ah well, I will learn to be more assertive and tell him to shut the heck up once in a while, thanks for the encouragement guys :)

Yup, I've pretty much finish compiling a document with all the basic things I need to know. It also includes notes on special abilities/bonuses/penalities that apply to the character races and classes that are being played in the campaign. This might help to remind me when to tell players that they should have added/subtracted a certain amount for their roll. Things like trap sense for the barbarian where the +1 to reflex save could make a difference. Not to mention the various bonuses to spot and listen that elves get etc.

However, wondering if anyone has instituted simplified rules for grapple? The list of things you can and can't do and how you do them etc is pretty crazy.

Pretty much anything that isn't on my rule cheat sheet is not in the game :P

Thanks for the advice guys :)
I am currently doing some research using www.d20srd.org to find the most common problem rules so hopefully I can make some more informed decisions using those rules that I have on hand. I think I just need to rule a line about how complicated this game is going to be really, just need to do it in such a way that it doesn't seem to be railroading the combat in favour of any particular outcome.

The player is trying to get a new character so he can power play :P Currently he is a whisper gnome rogue 2/shadow mage 1. Originally he had a fairly ok back story for the whisper gnome rogue thing, but then he tacked on the level of shadow mage so that he has access to some other prestige class or whatever...and of course, no story to cover how he suddenly became a shadow mage :P I'm pretty opposed to having to make up people's back stories for them. I guess I don't mind if they are unhappy with the character, as long as the new one actually has some kind of story I can work with. I also don't see what's so bad about the core classes and races?

The Elves already came to the PC's rescue once, so I figure they've used up their 'opportune rescue' voucher from the Elves at this stage, so if they want help they will have to ask for it (and that will just kill them :P )

Ah well, hopefully with a little more knowledge on my part, and a little more compromise on the part of the player's we can make the game more enjoyable for everyone. I actually had a lot of fun doing the bits inbetween the combat.

The funniest thing was when the barbarian character charged the hobgoblins at the end of the hallway and got caught in the pit trap, miraculously avoiding all the spikes. He eventually climbed out, only to have the last remaining hobgoblin pull the lever on the second trap :P Technically, he probably could have been charging so fast that the hobs wouldn't have time to pull the lever (though I did have them ready actions to do so...toss up really), but it was more fun my way :P

Hi all,

My players have finally finished chapter 1 after defeating Kazmojen, Prickles and 8 hobgoblins. Problem is, DM'ing is rapidly losing its appeal for me in the face of players being really annoying. I feel like I don't have enough control as the DM because they're so bound up in rules such as "you can't do that" "this rule says you get a -4 penalty if you try and do blah" etc. etc. This is especially irritating because we play using FantasyGrounds and having them argue about what can and can't be done and what penalties/bonuses apply really bogs down combat. The last two session have pretty much been go through a couple of rooms, do one combat and then it's time to go to bed.
I'm also getting a bit peeved because I have the elves Fario and Fellian helping the party out (there are only four actual PC's) and the party is always saying how much they hate the elves blah blah, despite the fact that they would have been dead several times over if it hadn't been for the extra help. Do you think I should just make it so the elves have enough of their abuse and leave these guys to their own devices (hopefully deaths)?
Lastly, I have one PC who is all about having the "best" character with the "best" prestige class. Am I just weird, or would anyone else find it annoying if they just finished chapter 1 and a player says they want to create another character. It's not like the current one is totally gimp or anything.
Sigh.

Anyway, sorry about that big whinge. The real point is...do any of you other DM's out there have any ideas on making the party a bit more...cooperative I guess is the word. And also getting them to just stick to the characters they have, even if they aren't uber l33t and kill everything in one hit. I want the game to be fun damnit, and that means fun for me as well...which it isn't if I have to spend every minute looking up some obscure rule. Also not fun for the players who are not so obsessed with rules but have to sit around whilst the others argue about it.

BTW, the character that wants to start over pretty much killed Kaz with one critical, I was sad :(

I see your point about the world's getting jumbled up and that being a bad thing. However, I was thinking that the planar travel in this instance would just be a freaky coincidence of everything happening at the right time, which makes it impossible (or nearly so) for the player's to travel back and forth at whim. Basically it would go something along the lines of Vhalantru (in Cauldron) hiring a guy to give the PC's a suicide quest, although of course not telling them it's a suicide quest (just something innocent and easy sounding). The quest giver happens to know that there's a concealed portal into (taking the first poster's advice) the plane of shadow which the PC's will fall into and hopefully never return. However, luckily for the PC's, the plane of shadow is connected to one of the planes that orbit Eberron which at the time is actually touching Eberron, so whilst they are falling through the shadow plane they fall right through another portal which lands them in Eberron. They do some minor adventuring and discover that there is apparently only one, very powerful and slightly mad artificer who can create a temporary portal back into the shadow plane and give them the means of returning home. Obviously because the fact that these portals were all in alignment was freaky to begin with, they will have no way of getting back to Eberron once they return home...so hopefully fixing the jumbling problem. The adventure in Eberron is intended to be fast paced, they won't really get a chance to say, buy up on a bunch of magical/technological items or hire a warforged bodyguard and import it into FR :P

Hi all,

I was hoping someone might be able to help me out with the mechanics of this idea. I am currently DM'ing the Shackled City AP and I was thinking that it would be really cool to have a little diversion into the realm of Eberron. This is for two reasons: 1) Develop characters a bit more and give each player an exciting mini-adventure in Eberron 2) Give the players (and myself) a taste of the Eberron campaign setting to assess its suitability for later campaigns/adventures.

Now what I was thinking of doing was having the party stumble through a portal somewhere which comes out on to one of the planes that touches on Eberron. They will be falling through this plane, so only catch a brief glimpse as the ground (or matter, whatever is suitable to the plane) rushes up to meet them. Miraculously that plane is in alignment with Eberron at the time and, even more miraculously a portal opens from that plane onto Eberron at the exact point where they hit the ground. Obviously they'd have to land in like...a big pool of jelly or a pillow factory or something ;) Possibly in Sharn, with the plane they fall through being that which has a manifest zone there (I have forgotten the name)?

Anyway, I'm just wondering if that kind of planar travel, from Forgotten Realms (the setting I'm running SCAP in currently) to Eberron is possile, and what you think some good ideas are for making it work. Basically I only want a short adeventure on Eberron which will be focussed on getting them back to the Forgotten Realms so that they can continue the campaign. So something along the lines of an artificer needing a dragonshard to open a portal for them or some such?

Anyway, help would be most welcome!!

I bought the SCAP about 6 months ago and I'm currently DM'ing it...we haven't even finished the first chapter yet as we only get together every second Tuesday or so and I play it using the Fanstasy Grounds software which can make combat and other things a bit slow at times. Anyway...I love SCAP, and the price did not bother me at all, I thought it very reasonable for such a well put together product. I love the maps and artwork and the descriptions...it's all good.

Anyway, I heard about AoW and actually made a decision not to buy the magazines to get the campaign 'piecemeal' but to wait until it is published in hardcover, so I'm going to be really sad if it doesn't come out, particularly since it's practically impossible (and very expensive) to get back issues in Australia.

I just wanted to put my vote in for a boxed set as well, the flipping of pages is a bit tricky at times, and the more material the better. Bonus miniatures is also an awesome idea. I would happily pay like $120 Australian for such a set and not even worry about getting my players to help out with the cost. Pleasssse make it happen! :)

I just think it would be really sad to have the campaign messed up because of one person, because I really did enjoy the roleplaying of all of the other guys. I have one playing a barbarian who is similar to the guy from Fallout with the bone through his nose...man, that was just hilarious at every turn, especially when coupled with the Monk who is prejudiced against him, and the upright, lawful cleric :)

Thanks for your suggestion on using the "Races" and "Complete" books. I think I have a few of them floating around somewhere, so I might encourage him to have a look in those for ideas.

This is honestly the most fun I've ever had with D&D though! I DM using Fantasy Grounds, and I actually find that it helps you to be more in character when you're not surrounded by a bunch of people, mountain dew ("where's the mountain dew?!") and pizza boxes :P Not to mention it was heaps fun scanning in characters and maps and making little monster tokens and stuff. The map function on Fantasy Grounds is particularly sanzzy since you can just gradually reveal rooms...doesn't give anything away :)

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"I'm only thirteen levels away from finishing this game. So I either finish my game or make you wish I was never born." -Gaz

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone else here plays SC using the FantasyGrounds software? Or am I a heathen? :P

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"I'm only thirteen levels away from finishing this game. So I either finish my game or make you wish I was never born." -Gaz

Hi all,

I'm a newb DM running SC. I've already run one session, and it was awesome, I got heaps of compliments from the guys playing, so that was encouraging. One thing that is bothering me, however, is that I have one player who likes to play the most powerful thing possible. Now, I might be weird, but I think D&D is more about playing something...I dunno, kind of realistic, and it's not about being the "best". It's about everyone having a part to play.

Anyway, I limited my players to selecting the basic classes out of the PHB (cleric, rogue, paladin etc.) to make it easier for me (rules-wise) and he opted to go for a druid (despite my warnings about druids in cities/dungeons) and get this...got a crocodile as an animal familiar. Ok, so I let him have that, if he could roleplay it. Which he couldn't (i.e. you do not have a croc following you around the city in broad daylight, people would freak). So I'm making him change his character. Now he wants to play another druid, but one with a spirit thingy (I forget what it's actually called). Instead of having an animal companion, he sort of has a spirit inside of him. I read the stats and stuff, and it still sounds kind of overpowered, butttt...it is published in an official D&D book...so that means they thought about balance right?

So my question is...do I assume that this kind of character is going to be ok (in balance with the other members of the party who are a cleric, monk, barbarian and rogue), or do I try and convince him to do something else? I just hate power play! If I should guide him into a different class, does anyone have recommendations on which one, and how I should convince him?

We're playing another session this Tuesday, so hoping to resolve this issue soon. Any help would be welcome! :)