MarkB's page

My players had some bad luck during Sea Wyvern's Wake, with several character deaths setting back the average party level significantly. Currently, one is sixth level and the rest are fifth, and they're well into Journey's End. With some luck, the Mother of All and the Mashers will push the rest of them up to 6th, but that still leaves them behind the curve going into HTBM.

What I'd like to do is to try and tone down the early encounters in HTBM (but not too much - I really want that first scene with the tyrannosaur in there), and add some extra encounters to it, to help them get back on track by the end of the chapter.

What are the big 'risk' encounters here - the ones that tend to seriously tax even appropriate-level parties, and will probably puree a lower-level group?

Any suggestions for extra encounters, or ways to expand existing encounters without making them overpowering, would also be greatly appreciated.

I'm running Savage Tide in Eberron, and we're about to reach Sea Wyvern's Wake. Going by the adventure notes, they're going to have around 20-30 tons of free cargo capacity for their own personal use.

Now, I may be wrong - maybe they will indeed take along extra provisions, or armaments, or much-needed supplies for the colony - but something tells me their first instinct is going to be to stuff the hold full of whatever valuable commodities they can afford, so they can sell them somewhere between Sasserine and Farshore.

And that means they're probably going to be making Knowledge checks, and asking me what sells well that can be bought in Sasserine.

Since I'm basing the adventure in Eberron, their course from Sasserine in the Lhazaar Principalities will take them along the coasts of Q'barra, Valenar and Aerenal, and whilst Lavinia's schedule doesn't include stops at any major cities, I won't prevent them from making a minor detour, so they'll likely be looking for items to sell to one of those three places - or to the colonists of Farshore.

As far as I can recall from what I've read of Sasserine so far, its chief exports are lumber, whale products and exotic animals. Lumber isn't likely to sell in either Q'barra or Aerenal, though it might fetch a decent price in Valenar. Exotic animals have permits and restrictions on export, making the startup costs steep for that market. Whale oil would sell well, but the Darfellan party member has been carrying out an anti-whaling sabotage campaign in his spare time, so I don't see him going along with that one.

What else would make a good export? Any suggestions would be welcome.

I'm running There is No Honor online, and have just begun Part Four: Peril Under Parrot Island.

My players' PCs have just returned from a fruitless investigation of Shadowshore (Gather Information rolls were below 10, earning them a variety of dead-ends and deliberate deceptions). I was intending to introduce the informant the next morning, but one of them has come up with an interesting alternative.

His character is a goblin wizard who spent most of his starting gold (2nd level) purchasing a Dire Bat from the Sasserine animal dealers. He's come up with the plan of waiting until after dark, then casting locate object from a scroll and doing a 3-minute sweep overflying Shadowshore, attempting to locate the signet ring Vanthus stole from his mother (since Lavinia has its twin, he'll have a very good visualisation).

I'd really like to keep the Parrot Island expedition in the adventure, but I don't want to outright rule that the attempt will fail. If Vanthus is staying with the Lotus Dragons at this time, chances are he'll have the ring with him and be detectable even underground - I don't see him thinking to put the ring in a lead box or anything.

Then again, the PCs did make quite an impression on Shadowshore this afternoon, so Vanthus is likely already setting up his plan with Shefton Rosk. Maybe I could have the wizard pick him up as he meets Rosk, then by the time everyone else arrives Vanthus has departed and they think catching up with Rosk is their own idea.

Any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated.