Hello All,
I'm a relatively inexperienced DM that's starting the Adventure Path campaign for 4 players next week. I'm looking for any tips and advice on running the Adventure Path. Any help is welcome, but in particular:
1. How many stat points should the players start with? I've tentatively told them to use a 28 point buy, with maximum starting gold and maximum hit points at first level. (after 1st, hit points will be done Living Greyhawk style (half the hit die +1). I don't want the players to be too weak that there's a death every other session, but on the other hand, I don't want them to be so powerful that it's a cakewalk. What's a good game balance for the campaign?
2. Life's Bazaar doesn't detail any taverns or inns in the city of Cauldron. What's a good place for the players to use for their headquarters? Or at least get a night's rest.
3. With four players, what's a good party balance in terms of classes (and to a lesser extent races). Are there any "must-have" classes for the campaign? Any prestige classes that I should nudge my players toward?
Thanks for your time and consideration.
Mark Strecker
Hello Mark,
- I'm not mother tongue, so I apologize for the mistakes you'll find in the reply -
Today, I'm DMing the Test of The Smoking Eye installment with a group of three players.
CHAR CREATION - I'm quite against the point buy method, because inexperienced players may be tempted to create a standard character for what regards ability scores. Better have them roll dice (4d6 discarding the lowest may suite) and hear at their complaints when a poor result shows up. I think a +5 global bonus may be balanced (for example 16, 15, 12, 11, 10, 9). Hit points should work.
REST - It may depend on the party composition to be hosted, perhaps, by the local churches (Cuthbert, Pelor or Kord) in exchange for a small tithe. I don't have the Dungeon Mag at hand, but if I remember in Life's Bazaar should be presented the Tipped Tankard Inn and The Drunken Morkoth Inn. The first will surely have a common room and some uncomfortable rooms, while the second is surely good level.
PARTY BALANCE - Again, it may depend on a series of factors. Templates (if any), races (standard or wondrous - lack of better terms), rule sources other than PHB, DMG and MM. On the whole, after my players died and died and died again, a sturdy combatant, a church man, a rogue style and an arcane caster. My players are an aasimar Cleric of Heironeus, an Exalted Monk and a truly variable third character (was a Paladin and died - Tongueater -, took a Barbarian/Champion of Gwynharwyf and died - eaten by the hags -, now I don't want to tell what he created with his twisted mind - but has high chances to die again -)
Hope this will help.
Cristiano/Klysandral
Hi Mark,
My group rolled up their stats together, so everyone started with the same raw scores (placed where they wanted). I forget the exact numbers but it was something like 18, 17, 15, 14, 11, 9.
I used a lot of personalities/places from Green Ronin's Freeport setting to populate Cauldron. It has really worked out well.
My group has maintained a mix of Fighter, Sorceror, Druid, and Cleric of Wee Jas. It has worked well even considering we often must play with one member missing.
Good luck and great gaming!
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I have used 28-point buy with 4 additional points at DM's discretion (for example a cleric of Myrrhis, goddess of love, wanted to start at 12 CHA, which I raised to 15), which could also be used for favors (one wanted to start with an exotic masterwork weapon, which we have built into the history of the character, and a third wants to use it to gain specific spells at a later date).
As for the Tavern. I have built a new tavern called the "Rolling Barrel" it is located near one of the ramps running at the back of the building. It's trademark is the barrel roll, where new beer barrels are not brought in from the cellar, but are rolled down a spiral under the applause of the guests, because the first round due to the shaken barrel is free. Its proprietor is Halvor Skellerang, the older brother of Terseon Skellerang. It is often frequented by guards, and the group was herded to the Captain of the Guard who gave them the Speech (we have order in this town, otherwise we will see each other again..) and who gave them his brother's location as a recommendation (also for the other guards to keep an eye on the group).
Concerning the party makeup - check out the Can it be done thread further down the board (or use this link here
The best party is probably a paladin, a rogue, a wizard and a ranger. That's right, no cleric. There are not that many undead in the campaign (although there are a few), and the friendship of the curch of st. Cuthbert means the party has easy access to healing magic.
I've used the 25 point buy method, which worked pretty well. I like Oliver's DM's descretion points. I think I'll do something like that. Perhaps asign a point every few levels based on roleplaying or abilities used most, or something else.
Life's bazaar can be pretty deadly if you play the monsters 'smart', that is: regroup, ambush, flank etc. The Dark ones and Kazmojen especially could be very dangerous. Be sure to have a backup ready. The striders come to their aid, or perhaps Vhalantru showing up at an oppertune moment.
As for a tavern. Why not use the Drunken Morkoth? It's a pretty bussy tavern allready, being the headquarters of the striders. You could have a few striders show up, have a drink at the bar and then disappear upstairs. A bit of foreshadowing if you will. It's also the base of operations of that chantbroker from flood season. What's his name again?
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Two reasons why a different location was used.
1) I wanted to leave the organization of the "Striders Of Fharlanghn" out of the characters' view. Fario and Felliard are already accompanying the group in Jzadirune, because they were discovered shadowing the group durinig the investigation, and since they are posing as friends to Elethor Ashstaff, they have a reason to go with the group. (This will change drastically with the second group I am preparing for the Adventure Path as they have a cleric of Fharlanghn in their midst and the Striders will hide nothing from them).
2) The Drunken Morkoth is an inn for merchants, correct? That means the level of quality is fairly high and the prices, too. My group of beginning characters was not willing to afford the prices charged there, and that is exactly the policy the Drunken Morkoth Inn is following. High prices to attract only those, who are able and willing to pay for the quality offered.
Hey, Mark
I tried running Cauldron unsuccessfully a few months back (too many disputes with the PC's). So hopefully this advice isn't total bull
-I'm with Klysandral with rolling 4d6 and keeping the three highest. In my expierience, point buy just lead to insane min/max-ing and that has gotten WAY old for me.
-My PC's stayed at the church of St. Cuthburt in exchange for helping Jenna with some church matters. They later upgraded to the Drunken Morkoth.
-As for balance... Chef's salad is right on for playing your monsters smart enough to chalenge even very cheap PCs. I confess my PC were a little un-balanced, and I had a lot of them. A pixie male psion, a human male monk, halfling male rogue, drow female necromancer, assimar male paladin, and a male ogre barbarian. I let them bascially kick around the monsters and when I realized it would be too easy and tried to scale accordingly, my players cried bloody murder. Try to not let that happen to you, the campaign just broke down inside Bhal-hamatugn and I never went back to it.
Shame really, Shackled City is damn good campaign.
So hopefully you won't make my mistake and balance accordingly.
Mark, apologies if this gets to you too late to matter.
1. My players used the 4d6/best 3 method of character creation, and it has worked out pretty well for them so far.
2. This is copied from my handout for my players. Ignore the stuff about Free Companies and Adventuring Charters; these are specific to our campaign:
"Inns- The Drunken Morkoth is the classiest inn in town, located just lakeward of Obsidian Avenue in the Inn quarter. Lady Ophelia Knowlern owns the establishment, but Halpeen Welvihk handles its day-to-day operation. A night at the Drunken Morkoth costs 2 gp. The tavern’s kitchens are famous, and lunch is 2 sp, while dinner will set one back about 4 sp. An array of ales and wines are on hand, but the cheapest drafts are 5 cp per mug, and a bottle of wine is 10 gp. For adventurers of more moderate means, the Slippery Eel Tavern, located rimward of Magma Avenue, is a common watering hole for local citizens, traveling merchants, and adventuring companies, and is a great place to hear tales, rumors, and news of faraway lands. The owners, themselves former adventurers, offer a 20% “Free Company Discount” to registered adventuring companies. A stay at the Slippery Eel will set an unchartered citizen back 5 sp per night, and food and drink are priced at the common rates listed in the Player’s Handbook. For the poor and the less-than-savory, the Tipped Tankard, rimward of Ash Avenue, is a seedy bar near the city’s waterfront. Many members of the city’s Thieves’ Guild, the Last Laugh, frequent this establishment, and it is a venue where one can hire all manner of scum and villainy, as well as a place where secrets can be bought and sold. The Tipped Tankard is as much a black-market shop as a true inn, and all sorts of illegal wares can be discreetly purchased here, beyond the watchful eyes of the town guard. Lodging, food and drink at the Tipped Tankard are substandard, costing only the minimum listed prices in the PH. However, the idea of hygiene is somewhat foreign to many of the establishment’s staff and patrons, and customers sampling the inn’s rotgut alcohol have a 2% chance per night of contracting blinding sickness."
Jenya also acts as a patron for the PC's, and so the Church of St. Cuthbert has been a de facto headquarters for their forays.
3. I limited my players to the standard races, but there are no bad races in the Adventure Path. Classes, however, are another story- the party will definitely need a divine spellcaster for healing, particularly a cleric. A rogue will be indispensible for detecting and disarming the array of traps below the city. Every party needs a bruiser, and my personal recommendation for that is a dedicated fighter, although any of the combat-oriented classes would work reasonably well. Though we have one, I think that arcane spellcasters are overrated in this adventure; a ranger would be far more valuable (assuming the divine spellcaster is a cleric, not a druid), especially later on, in "The Demonskar Legacy" and "Test of the Smoking Eye." If the party lacks one, however, the Striders make a convenient place to pick one up. I'm grooming Fellian Shard for that role.