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I know this is an older post, but I still find the information on this board valuable so I will contribute for those who follow.

I am just about to run this chapter and had the same question. I then looked up the Alarm spell and found that it only gives a mental alarm to the caster (and the caster only). The alarm set off by this trap cannot be audible because the distance/throw of the sound is stated to be 60 feet (if there are no walls).

Great! So this mental alarm is sent to only one Cagewright... unless several were involved in the creation of the trap. It is conceivable that three or four were present during the creation of this trap and they each cast their own Alarm spell when the trap was devised.

With this in mind, I looked for anyone in the complex (because the Alarm spell only sends out a mental alarm to a distance of one mile, so those not in the complex are out of luck) who could cast Alarm (either by scroll or on their spell list). For safety's sake, I eliminated anyone who needed Use Magic Device in order to cast alarm.

This left two people: Freija and Thearynn. Those are the two I will "notify" if the PCs set the Alarm off. Now, Thearynn is completely paranoid (as stated in the AP) and Freija is methodical. I just need to "flesh out" how each of these individuals react to this news of an intruder. It should be fun.


I think most here agree that the story, as written, is missing a huge connection. I decided to flesh a bit of it out. Please keep in mind that this "fleshing out" actually allows you to follow the SCAP as written or DD's adjustments (with some minor adjustments). I am using a hybrid of DD's story modifications. I tried to keep the timeline of things in step with what the SCAP hardcover had written (Adimarchus disappeared roughly 50 years ago).

The Cagewrights

The Cagewrights are a secret society of cruel-minded individuals. They are led by a massive and deformed shator demodand named Dyr'ryd. His original goal in forming the Cagewrights - to foster a group of like-minded spellcasters and scholars dedicated to discovering a way to create a permanent portal between the prison plane of Carceri and the Material Plane. This portal would allow the demodands of Carceri to harvest inmates and slaves for the massive prisons and asylums in that realm. This event would come to be known as the Planar Junction.

Until approximately 50 years ago, membership in the Cagewrights consisted of less than a handful of evil, and some may argue mad, individuals; however, the last few decades have seen increased activity in the secretive group and membership, and zeal in the group's focus, is at its peak. While the members of the Cagewrights outwardly pursue the original goal Dyr'ryd set forth, the truth behind the Cagewrights' current intentions is not even known to the group itself.

Not long after Athux's betrayal and Adimarchus' imprisonment in Skullrot, a dark madness began seeping from the once angel. The Demon Prince of Madness, as Adimarchus is known, broke all connection with any level of reality and his demonic side began issuing surges of insanity. Initially, these surges could affect only the weakest of minds at near distances, but eventually the seething madness spread outside of Skullrot and to a handful of the inhabitants of Carceri. Eventually, his madness was able to touch the minds of the demodands on other planes. Those "touched" by the mad dreams of Adimarchus were generally unaffected in any significant way; however, Dyr'ryd was the lone exception. A combination of his near mad fanaticism for "feeding" the prisons of Carceri, his weakened state on the Material Plane, and his physical deformation made Dyr'ryd the perfect receptor for Adimarchus' insane impulses.

Unknowingly compelled by the demonic-side of Adimarchus, the decisions Dyr'ryd began making would eventually lead to the freedom of the Demon Prince of Madness. Each member of the Cagewrights, having spent a significant amount of time with Dyr'ryd, has slipped under this "influential madness" as if succumbing to a virus. Although their stated intentions are for the Planar Junction, they all are secret, subconscious worshippers of Adimarchus. Outwardly, they firmly believe that the Planar Junction will bring their version of a mad paradise on the Material Plane. Any members who have been deemed to be less than fervent in their worship of the demodands or whose motives seem purely self-serving have been systematically "removed" over the years.

While the Cagewrights would have begged for increased membership a century ago, the cult now limits its numbers to 1 leader (Dyr'ryd), 13 masters, and a handful of apprentices.

That's it... Let me know if there is some logical error in this.

Also, this "fleshing out" allows you to logically introduce Fetor since he is the first, other than Dyr'ryd, affected so intensely by the madness of Adimarchus. Off the top of my head, I would say that Adimarchus' mad dreams (affecting only the Cagewrights at the time) nudge Nulin to accept an assassination job where the target is Fetor. The "Demon Prince of Madness" compels Nulin, subconsciously, to stay his hand and spare Fetor (since Fetor will be the one who discovers some major helpful info for the Planar Junction... a bonus for Adimarchus to help him break free).

The Almighty Dru wrote:

Is is just me, or is the connection between the Cagewrights and Adimarchus never fully fleshed out? We are told that Fetor's increased evil is due to Adimarchus' madness, and later that several of the Cagewrights really serve him. I had to sort of bend and twist my understanding and version of events to make it all fit to me. This is a rather important connection for my campaign, as my player really has no intrest in saving Cauldron for its own sake, but because he knows (vaguely, via Kaurophon) that the Cagewrights' plan is somehow connected to Occipius, which he plans on ruling.

Anyone have any insight on how this was dealt with in their campaigns? I've seen a few of you have actually left Adimarchus out, but he's more my focus than the Cagewrights are. My current plan is to throw in the info that the Cagewrights were co-opted by Adimarchus' madness, but I'm unsure of how to reveal this before the actual encounters with them.


Since I cannot get the search feature to work, I will ask my question of the great community here.

Does it say anywhere what the magical effects of the Basalt Bastions are? I would suppose it prevents some type of teleportation and could possibly harm demons who come close to it, but I have no documentation on this (that I can find).


Am I the only one having difficulties with the search feature on this forum?


I noticed the same thing... anyone?


SPOILER ALERT

Hello all,

I'm an admitted lurker around here, only posting when I see the need or when I have a helpful comment; however, I just wanted to share an awesomely fun Siege of Redgorge scene.

Quick Backstory
After Vaprak's Voice, the party battle Nabthatoron and the insanely powerful urban ranger, Korvain, nearly bested the demon. Truly, it was a case of great dice rolls, wielding Alakast, and a zillion attacks per round that gave Korvain so much advantage (all the other PCs were taken out of the fight by a few nasty abilities and a reverse gravity spell).

Nabthatoron barely got away and ever since then has dedicated a scry-a-day to keeping tabs on Korvain (and Alakast), who so nearly killed him.

The PCs traveled to Occipitus and, as luck would have it, Korvain ended up throwing Kaurophon into the plasm and gained the Smoking Eye template (I like to call this type of character "chaotic everywhere" instead of "chaotic good" since, when something is going on, he has to be there).

Last Game
The party travels back to the Material Plane, gets to Redgorge to see that it is under siege (however, the siege has not started), parley with Skellerang and try to persuade him to "cease this madness," and overall are doing really well.

Now, I was a bit intimidated by the whole point system and event driven scenario of the Siege of Redgorge that I have (from RPGenius); however, I was willing to run it as written. Fortunately, the PCs sped up events and made it an all out battle royale (keep reading).

After meeting with the Chisel, the PCs decide to play diplomats. Two go to the human encampment, one stayed in town to formulate defensive strategies, and the other, Korvain, went to the half-orc encampment to parley with them. Remember, Korvain is on the deep doo doo list of Nabthatoron. The reason that Korvain wanted to talk to the half-orcs was that, during the fire elemental attack in Cauldron, he befriended a couple of them and thought that would get him far in this situation - not a bad idea.

The Blue Duke is informed that Korvain is in camp and, having been in league with Nabthatoron, he knows immediately to send a runner to the demon's minions carrying the news that Korvain is in camp - alone.

The Blue Duke meets with Korvain and the urban ranger begins to try to bribe the leader to leave the battlefield - again, not such a bad idea! The Blue Duke stalls and the talks go on for a good 30 minutes until one of the half-orcs steps into the tent and says, "Sir, your guests have arrived."

As Korvain brings his attention back to the Blue Duke, he notices the man is smiling...

Tent walls drop, the Blue Duke polymorphs into true form, and in the shadowy darkness Korvain sees dozens of figures, both demon and half-orc.

Needless to say, Nabthatoron took revenge. Korvain died and Nabthatoron broke Alakast. Over the next minute, Nabthatoron gave an inspiring speech as to how the demons would raze Redgorge and Surabar's curse was lifted. However, Korvain has the Smoking Eye template and so, after that minute, his body was transported back to Occipitus. The time? 10pm

Fast forward slightly:
Midnight - The party wonders what is taking Korvain so long.

1am - The demons, in a bloodlust frenzy, attack the human Cauldron forces as Nabthatoron retreats back to the jungle to rally more demonic support for the upcoming razing of Redgorge.

1:15am - As the party bard is playing in the Redhead Miner's Inn and the remaining PCs are enjoying the atmosphere, a scream is heard in the night. Then all hell breaks loose.
Running outside, they see citizens and Cauldron solders (humans) running through the streets madly. A screech is heard from above and the head of Skellerang splats on the ground next to one of the PCs. A second glance verifies that, what the PC thought was the spinal cord, is actually a broken half of Alakast...

The demons do not attack anymore for tonight... they regroup and the planning begins.

Meanwhile, the PCs find out that Korvain has been killed. They head to Occipitus, spend several hours (wind walk) getting to the skull, raise dead, plane shift, spend a full day traveling back to Redgorge (wind walk) to arrive as the city is under siege from demons and half-orcs.

End game...

The city, with its boost in numbers and siege weapons (salvaged off the battle field) can last 1.5 days (according to my math). Next game is gonna rock!!!!


Thanks... I am guilty of the same thing. I use RPGSoundMixer to create a tense ambiance, but I sometimes forget the awesome descriptions. I appreciate everyone's advice. I have a few ideas now...

Majuba wrote:
mathemaddict wrote:
Well, I need some advice.
Love your nick btw.


Yeah, I saw that my roommate (the one playing the cleric) had the PH open to Plane Shift this morning. A thinker that one is...

PulpCruciFiction wrote:
Would it be possible for Kaurophon to use his lesser amulet of the planes to get them all back to the Prime? They know the location of the final test, so they would only need to leave for a short time, shift back to Occipitus, and then use some other type of teleportation magic to get themselves back to the skull. If the party disappears, the dragon might go after the rakshasa and the giant instead, allowing the party to mop up the survivors when they return.


Well, I need some advice.

Let me give a brief synopsis of the group. There are 4 PCs: 11th level Cleric of Pelor, 11th level bard, 11th level urban ranger, and 11th level rogue. The 9th level cohort paladin was banished back to the prime material by a hezrou last game. Oh... and Kaurophan is with the party, but they totally suspect something.

Anyhow, they were 40 miles from the entrance to the tube that leads to the final test. The cleric decides that wind walk would be a great idea (and I somewhat agree). The problem: he can only affect the other three PCs and they don't trust Kaurophan enough to take him with them anyway. Kaurophan, being determined, tells them that he'll try to keep up (flying and pushing it).

The sad thing is that Kaurophan has been personable, extremely helpful, and I even had a "fake" character sheet for one of the PCs to use so they could run him. The problem is that the urban ranger is sooooo dark and mistrustful. This is just pissing me off.

Anyhow, the PCs make it to the ulcer field, are seen by the black dragon on their approach, and immediately make for the acid bath where Saureya is pinned. They land next to Saureya (dragon hot on their trail), and begin to change back to non-misty form. This takes 5 rounds. Luckily, the dragon was about 7 rounds behind them. They didn't have any time to roleplay with Saureya as they all jumped into the acid pool after healing the angel. Saureya followed... and so did the large dragon who can easily fit through the tunnel. The dragon grabs the urban ranger, flies out of the tunnel to a height of 80 feet, and drops him. Meanwhile, the rest of the PCs come out to save their friend.

A short battle begins and the PCs are definitely outmatched at this point - not because of power level, but because of their poor tactics. Saureya, written as a creature who could care less, takes the opportunity to get out of town and he flies off. The dragon successfully drains the strength on 2 PCs and, due to poor maneuverability and an angel moving at a slow speed in front of him, decides to take out Saureya.

The PCs dive back into the acid pool thinking all is safe and Kaurophan catches up to them at this point. They spend about 5 minutes on the inside of the tunnel (just out of the acid pool) interrogating him and making him out to be a bad guy. They move up the "throat" about 100 feet when a commotion from behind tells them that the dragon is back and is ready for seconds.

Now, they are in a 15 foot diameter tube with a dragon blocking the way out! Kaurophan buys some time with a wall of force and they rush up the tube to... anyone have a guess?

That's right!!!

All the commotion has warned the tube's other two inhabitants, the rakshasa and the fire giant, about the PCs presence.

So... I have a group of 4, generally tough, PCs pinned between a black dragon (which, in the air could likely demolish the group) and these 2 bad guys (which I have thought for some time will be VERY tough for this group as the giant will likely mow through them). I asked that we stop the game early before things get too out of control.

I don't want a TPK, but I have to be honest... I don't see too many options. One thing that might save them is if they don't wade into battle with kitty and the giant and instead ask to join forces to battle this dragon "less both groups perish."

However, both groups will also know that they are contenders for the ruling hand of Occipitus. Hmm....


Yup. I have consistently cut XP in half and augmented with minimal role play XP (since my group is role play heavy). I have to say that they'd easily be a level (perhaps two) higher without this cut. The party level right now is 9th and we just finished Zenith Trajectory.

I was totally surprised at how much XP was handed out. I actually don't even award defeat XP for "talking" their way through an encounter (not that they know... I just don't award it because I don't want them to cakewalk through the entire map).

Olaf the Stout wrote:

I am using the hardcover. Apart from updating the early adventures to 3.5E and adding in Drakthar's Way, I didn't think that any other changes were made to the adventures in general (apart from things like the Flood Festival, etc.). I thought that they changed it to recommend it for 6 PC's rather than 4 due to the fact that it was a meat grinder.

As far as I know I am using the 3.5E XP method. Here is how I calculate XP. Feel free to let me know if I'm calculating it incorrectly.

The party is 5 PC's who are all 4th level. They face 2 x CR2 Goblins. this makes it it an EL4 encounter. Experience is awarded as such.

A CR2 encounter for a 4th level party is worth 600 XP. 2 CR 2 encounters is therefore worth 1,200 XP. 1,200 XP split amongst 5 PC's is 240 XP each.

Note: Even though this was an EL4 encounter, which also happens to be worth 1,200 XP but you should still award XP by working out what each individual creature is worth (i.e. 2 x CR2 XP awards rather than 1 x CR 4 XP award).

If one of the PC's in the party was 5th level, compared to 4th level for the rest of the group then that PC would only receive 100 XP (500XP/5). Everyone else in the party would still receive 120 XP. Their XP reward for the encounter does not change, despite the party having a higher level PC in the group.

Olaf the Stout


I'm glad it was helpful. Thanks to everyone for their very entertaining descriptions. Awesome job!!!

Arnwyn wrote:

Great summaries!

I laughed a bunch of times.


I have seen this post before and the most common response is, "it's all in the hardcover." While I understand this response, I happen to think a brief synopsis by chapter is a great idea! Anyone? All I've read up to is Chapter 4 (so bad of me), but here is the beginnings of my synopsis.

[MAJOR SPOILER ALERT BELOW -- DO NOT EVER READ IF YOU'RE PLAYING]

Spoiler:
Chapter 1:
Flow: The PCs meet Jenya and are subsequently asked to investigate some kidnappings. They delve into Jzadirune, battle it out with some bad guys, hop down deeper into the Malachite Hold, battle it out with some badder guys, and get their first glimpse of "Orbius." (Hint: don't use that name... too obvious!!!) There should not be any hints as to the nature of anything at this point.

Background: "Orbius" is incahoots with an evil group called the Cagewrights. He is also getting some benefits for selling slaves into the Underdark. One of the recent slaves captured (the kidnap victims) happens to be a Shackleborn and so the Cagewrights want this kid back! Enter the PCs.

Chapter 2:
Flow: The PCs return and gain a little notariety in town. They are asked to investigate some recent vandalism. They end up going down into Drakthar's Way, battling it out with some bad guys and an even badder bad guy who has really bad hit points but has bad-ass regenerative abilities because he's a vampire. Bad news... Cauldron is built in a bad spot... bad bad bad. There may only be a glimpse into some of the plotline here, but mention of the Cagewrights is not a good idea. Likely, the PCs will say, "Who in there right minds would build a city on a volcano with entrances to the Underdark and all this bad history?" Suppress the descention.

Background: Drakthar brokered a deal to allow "Orbius'" half-orc mercenaries to come into Cauldron using Drakthar's Way. Damn those PCs for messing it up.

Chapter 3: Flood Season (or "The Longest Chapter Ever")
Flow: The Flood Festival starts to ramp up and the PCs recent actions make them a special focal point of things. There are a lot of opportunities for GREAT role play here. I highly recommend DD's Flood Festival outline!!! It's AWESOME!!!! Near the end of events, but before the Demonskar Ball, the PCs find out that Sarcem has been attacked. They go to the Lucky Monkey in great haste to get their asses handed to them by a werebaboon (Tongue-Eater). They win, rescue Shensen, a hottie half-drow with a penchant of attracting the interest of almost every male PC. Back in Cauldron, the PCs are asked to find out where the wands of water control are (which Sarcem should have had) before the whole of Cauldron is under water. Investigations lead to yet ANOTHER dungeon area below Cauldron - the Kopru Ruins. The PCs go in, get their asses handed to them several times (beware, several areas here are tough for the PCs), retrieve as many wands as possible, and save the day!!! The PCs go back to Cauldron, participate in the Demonskar Ball (if invited), and relax.

Background: Lots of information is in the hardcover, but it turns out that a disgruntled ex-guard (crap... I can't remember her name right now.. Toril?? Terrem??? Tercival??? NO... I got it!!! Triel!!!) was sort of kicked out of the Cagewright's plans and she's out for some kind of profit. She stole the wands to get money from the town. Triel and here cronies are part of the Ebon Triad and were pretty much hired by the Cagewrights to make the Soul Cages. Some more information about the main plotline can be sparingly released during this chapter. The PCs should start to think that bad things are afoot and tied together.

Chapter 4: Zenith Trajectory
Flow: The PCs are out minding their business, as a group, likely armed, and with no reason to be so, when an Umber Hulk comes out of the ground and starts to tear apart the area. After an interesting battle, the party is invited to the Cusp of Sunrise by a beauty named Celeste. There, they are told about Zenith Splintershield's disappearance and asked to find him. The foolish party accepts the mission to go into the Underdark. They are given Crazy Jared's hut as a marker to help find the entrance to the Underdark (no other reason for his hut than a waysign and a deadly encounter). There, they face a red dragon... good luck. Soon after, they discover a pit in the ground and an entrance to the Underdark, which happens to be guarded by a 7-headed Cryohydra. That bad-boy's 17 fast healing is awsomely bad. Into the Underdark and several random encounters later, they are on the doorstep of Bhal-Hamatugn, a Kuo-Toa city. Bam, wammo, powie, and a HORRIBLY DIFFICULT combat in a temple to Bildooboooposdposfoop (can't remember the name... but it's funny), and they find out that Zenith is not a prisoner, but a psychotic leader!!! Good luck convincing him to come home! Oh... there's another dragon down here too.

Background: This is "Orbius'" way of removing the PCs from the town. Zenith has gone mad with dreams from Adamarchus (central baddie demon dude in the storyline) and is now a profit for the Kuo-Toans.

This is as far as I've gotten... anyone else?

Blakey wrote:

I dont have the HC with me right now so this is probably available in there, but it occurs to me that I have no real idea what happens in the later parts of this campaign.

I've started running it (still on Chapter One at present) having read up to and including Chapter Three. But I dont have a clue what happens after that.

Could someone please post a one/two line description of what is supposed to occur in each Chapter?

Thanks
Blakey


Ully wrote:

Well, my group finally experienced their first PC death during last night's session. The ridiculously-optimized, mostly-broken chaos gnome chain-fighter was frozen solid by a second volley of breath attacks from the cryohydra.

That's one nasty creature, I'll tell ya. We had to end the session mid-combat, so it remains to be seen how the encounter turn out. The cryohydra has pulled back into the fissure, and the party is now effectively concerned for their own survival.

Funny, but that Cyrohydra was nearly a TPK for my group.


The text is from the magazines; however, I cross referenced everything with my hardcover. The stat blocks (creatures) are from 3.5. Since it is geared to my campaign (and thus has notes for my campaign in it), you will likely have to edit. I also leave out what I consider useless, but interesting, drivel (like "the workbenches in this room were used thousands of years ago to make steel pins"). I can always grab the hardcover if someone really needs to know that info.


Hey all,

I've recently been using DM Genie with SCAP. Currently, I have all of Zenith Trajectory inputted along with the maps, the creatures, and links to music (using RPGSoundMixer). Anyone else using DM Genie or RPGSoundMixer with their campaign? Any suggestions or interested in sharing DM Genie files?


I suppose I've been lurking around here long enough... the group I am DMing for are comprised of...

Desidarius Vorenus - Human Cleric of Pelor (now a Radiant Servant of Pelor)
Bilden Palimo (BP) - Human Rogue
Korvain Zaque - Half-Elf Urban Ranger
Thadeus "Busker" Tripletrout - Gnome Bard

That's it...


EATERoftheDEAD wrote:
Glad to hear it was still a challenge and was fun. Personally, I hate it when I get most of the way through an encounter and realize I have forgotten something that would have made it more challenging.

I absolutely agree. I have had too many encounters where I have forgotten some effect that would have made it more challenging. Luckily, most of the time it's something that would have tipped the balance against the party so much that they would likely have suffered some deaths. Specifically, the fight with Skaven in the spider lair would have been too tough if I remembered that he cast displacement.

One way I have fixed this "memory" issue is that I am using DM Genie. It tracks everything. I'm loving it.


Sean Mahoney wrote:
mathemaddict wrote:
On behalf of the player who died during the rescue of Korvain and the gaming group in general, thank you! Those are great suggestions.

Er... was this supposed to be a spoiler free thread? Your players are on here???

Sean Mahoney

My players are not on here.


On behalf of the player who died during the rescue of Korvain and the gaming group in general, thank you! Those are great suggestions.


Since I didn't tell the PC who captured him. Maybe I should do the Necrocant encounter that was written by DelvesDeep now.

This may be innocent enough to peel looks away from Embril.


So I have had an interesting and somewhat frustrating week with one of my players. Here's the background info:

There are 4 PCs in my campaign. We are playing through DelvesDeep's Demonskar Ball side adventure (top notch btw). Today is our last session involving the Ball and then we are off into "Zenith Trajectory."

Now, I wanted a little more realism in my campaign, so I told the PCs that, after the Demonskar Ball, they would have a long time to recup, train, and do mundane "life stuff." In fact, I told them to plan for two years' worth of activities (but I was only going to give them 14 months and then interupt it with the Umber Hulk attack).

Each of the PCs came to my house, individually, to run through there "inbetween" time so that very little of our campaign time together would be sacrificed. Three of the four PCs did exactly what I suggested - mundane things like rebuild the shrine of Pelor, train, learn languages, develop love interests, etc. The 4th PC... ugh...

It happens that this 4th PC, we'll call him Korvain, had died way back in Life's Bazaar because he has an innate ability to piss people off. The party has had to save his bacon several times, in fact. During the raise dead sequence, I thought it would be cool (because he's playing the demonscarred trait) to have a "dream/death sequence" wandering through "a mysterious and horid plane of existence." The atrocities he witnessed, the screams he heard, and the pain he went through during his death experience has really made him a dark character. I'm fine with that... except... during that death experience, he glimpsed into a room where he overheard some demonic language being spoken. A group of hellish beings were gathered around a table arguing about something, but what really caught his eye was 12 figurines on the table and 2 more off to the side. Something was very familiar about one of those other two figurines, but he still has no idea what. He then heard one of them say, "We have twelve, all we need is one more and the ceremony can begin." At that, one of them noticed him and, with a sudden rush, as if falling backwards, he was sucked back into his revived body. The experience was confusing and left him, obviously, shaken.

"What does this have to do with his time off?" , you ask. Well, the first thing he decides to do on his time off is visit Embril at the Cathedral of Wee Jas to discuss this death experience of his. Who would know more about death than a preistess of death? Innocent move on his part, but the description he gave her sent red flags everywhere. She knew he was in a now somewhat popular adventuring crew so she couldn't just kill him then and there - it would arouse too many inquiring minds. She told him she would research some texts and get back to him.

As I saw it, I had only 3 choices:
1) Ignore it and hope that Korvain would stop snooping. However, Korvain is an Urban Ranger and he is the biggest and best snoop around so that would not work. With plans coming to fruition soon, the Cagewrights could not risk having someone like that around.

2) Kill him outright. However, then his ragtag band of heroes would investigate and that just might lead back to Embril and the Cagewrights.

3) Send him to Sasserine to read through some texts there. Once he leaves Cauldron, she could teleport to the Ebon Triad HQ in Sasserine and inform them that one of the members of the band that eradicated their cohorts under Cauldron was coming into town. She knows that the Triad would completely demolish him and it can't really be tied to here OR the Cagewrights. It's just an evil group exacting revenge for a loss.

Of course, I didn't want to kill one of the PCs. Especially for such an innocent mistake, but my hands were tied with the reality of the situation.

I had the Striders contact Korvain and inform him that, after his party's recent success in the Kopru Ruins, the investigated and found that the Ebon Triad had a HQ in Sasserine. This gave Korvain TWO reasons to go to Sasserine. So... the next day, Korvain and Fellian head off to Sasserine.

Upon arrival, they hole up in the closest inn and are soon attacked. Fellian dies, Korvain lives to be a torture pet for the goons of Hextor. They use him as a practice dummy for months, allowing him wooden "swords" so he can show his worth. As we roleplayed it out, he began to become even darker and now is considering changing alignment to evil... ugh...

If that's not enough... I need to save him and somehow make sure that he doesn't suspect Embril as the set up person. Moreover, what would Embril do? I mean, she's PISSED that the Triad didn't just kill Korvain and she knows that the party will eventually go looking for him so do I have her somehow approach the party with a concerned look and say, "The last I spoke with Korvain was several months ago and I am worried. He went to Sasserine, but my sources say he never arrived at his destination. I have done a scrying and found that he has been captured by the same cult that you helped defeat under Cauldron."

This diverts suspision away from Embril, allowing her to circumvent the party thinking she set Korvain up. When they come back to Cauldron after saving Korvain, I'll go straight into the Cusp of Sunrise invitation (perhaps having Embril announce publicly that this band is, again, the heroes of Cauldron for defeating such vile creatures). Thus, I would totally skip the Umber Hulk showdown.

Any thoughts? I need help on this one big time...


delvesdeep wrote:

Great idea. The more TIME the better.

I actually sat down and discussed the idea of doubling the required XP required to advance up a level which would slow down the adventure and give them more time to roleplay, become accustomed to their abilities/feats/skills etc before they were given new ones and to allow me more opportunities to flesh out the world around them. They were happy with the idea and we have used it for the entirety SCAP.

...

Delvesdeep

I have actually developed a system for my campaign to slow down the advancement to a reasonable rate. I basically divide the combat XP by 3 (with slight modifications per class) and hand out role play XP. It allows a reward for those who love to role play and keeps the party from out-pacing the monsters. The way the SCAP hands out XP for combat in the 3.5 edition rules, my players (4 plus 1 NPC) would have be 7th level at the end of Flood Season (easily). That's just too much.

I told them to think about what their characters would want to do if they had 2 years on their hands. This is not to say that I am giving them 2 years, it's just a way to develop a wish list for them.


The Shining Fool wrote:

tries to complete a post for the third time...

the boards keep eating my response to this...

So, for a short answer: have lots of downtime, let the PCs do anything they'd like (go to Sasserine, buy property, etc). Let Cauldron live. If the players have an emotional investment in the city, which can be fostered by interactions during downtime, then they will be more motivated, as players, to defend the town.

The timeline given in the book need not be followed, change it to suit your needs. 13 months of game time have passed in my game, and we are just about to start chapter 5.

That's how I feel... oh.. and it took 4 tries for me to post.


I am toying with the idea of allowing the characters more time between chapters to "rest" and "level up." I'm not so much a fan of the simple farm boy becoming god-like in one year. It just is too hard to fathom (and yet a floating, talking eyeball is realistic... go figure). My party is just about to finish Flood Season and I thought that it would be nice to allow a passage of 6 months to a year. The reason for this is manyfold, but the top reasons are:

(1) It allows the PCs to get more involved with the town and its politics. Several of the are considering buying homes. One is a priest of Pelor and he wants to do some major improvements on the shrine. Another is thinking about possibly starting an Aquirers Guild. All these things take time and the investment into the PCs is well worth it. The gnome is the party is in talks with the local governemtn to rebuild Jzadirune and that will take time.

(2) Advancement! Like I said before, it's just too much for me to grasp that a few weeks ago these guys were wimps. Now, in just under 30 days (in game), they can perform feats most of the town can't. Even the best celebrity fitness gurus can't promise that. The time off would add the element of "training to perfect those skills." This could also lead to some cool contacts within (and outside of) the city.

(3) REALISM! I know, it's a fantasy game, but... the PCs have mentioned a few times that, with all the stuff that happens around here and all the denizens below, WHY would ANYONE ever live here? Letting things "cool down" a bit may lessen that feeling of, "Ok, what's next?"

What do you all think?

Any comments would be appreciated...


Sorry DD for the shouting of your name in the subject line, but I am curious if you've completed the storyline modifications for your alternative AP. My players are thoroughly enjoying the adventure, but I'm afraid they are going to reach a point where my lack of time and resources may start to show.

Thanks for all the hard work,

MathemAddict