I’m (still) running Flood Season. It’s a great adventure and I really love it, but I have some problems with the last chapter: the Kopru Ruins. Overall, the chapter is full of loose ends. Neither the Kopru nor the Ebon Triad feature in any of the subsequent adventures. The adventure doesn’t explain how a bunch of low-level spellcasters were able to build and artefact level soulcage. It’s not too clear why the triad wants the wands (they have plenty of cash from the soulcage), or how they knew when to ambush Sarcem.
I also had some problems with the map of the Kopru Ruins. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it. I just like to build models of the sites my players visit (using Worldworks games models.). Actually, come to think of it, there is one gaff I found: The lake on the the Kopru Ruin’s map is connected to Cauldron’s central lake. If that overflows, isn’t it going to flood the Kopru Ruins? I suspect the Ebon Triad would use the wands to stop this from happening, but it hardly seems to be the safest location for a base during a flood.
Another (unrelated) loose end I’ve run into is that apart from Lords of Oblivion, the Last Laugh completely falls off the map. I think they should at least make a few more appearances before LoO.
Anyway, the logical thing to do seemed to rewrite the last chapter. It’s a work in progress, so feel free to comment.
I substituted the Ebon Triad for the Last Laugh. I used the outline Klysandral provided in this thread. I subbed the Kopru Ruins for a abandoned dwarven stronghold named Dunklersee. It is still built on the shores of an underground lake, but the layout is different. There were several strongholds built throughout Cauldron, defending it from Underdark invasions. All of these have since been claimed by the Last Laugh as bases of operation. The Malachite Hold by the Slavers division, Dunklersee by the extortionists. The site was used by the Last laugh to build several soulcages as a tribute to their new Cagewright masters. After the last soulcage was completed, the site was abandoned. Only a token force has been left to make sure no-one else claims this prime piece of real-estate. The only other inhabitant is Skaven Umbermead, the Halfling diviner from the original adventure. He makes another appearance in the AP, so I though it would be a good idea to keep him. The in-game reason he’s there is that he assisted in the construction of the soulcages. As a reward, he asked for the opportunity to copy the tomes used to create the artefact. He is currently busy copying the books. In other words, I intend to drop Tarkilar.
Triel is a member of the Last Laugh, and has been even when she was still a member of the city guard. With her help, the Last Laugh managed to evade the guard for many years. When she was found out and confronted by her fellow guardsmen, she murdered them and fled the city. She laid low in Sasserine for a couple of years and returned to Cauldron to become a full member of the guild. She currently works for Jester Wadrax, who heads the extortion division. Her fiery temperament and knack for unusual and ‘creative’ cruelty make her a rising star in that division.
This also meant I had to change Artus Shemwick’s motivation for helping the party. The adventure mentions Artus associates with the Last Laugh, so leading the Party to Triel and one of the guide’s strongholds would probably be seen as a betrayal by the Jesters. One of the options I came up with is an internal rivalry between several members of the Last Laugh. Maybe Jil is jealous of Triel’s success. After all, she was the guide’s rising star before Triel showed up. Or maybe it’s something between Triel and Alpen Knott, the extortionist’s second in command. Whatever the reason, Artus is just a middle man. He is supposed to deliver the message, nothing more. This also means he’s not that eager to get is money. In fact, he’ll start with a lower price, double it no more than 2 times and he’ll show up on the third night no matter what happens. After all, failure will cost him a lot more than he can hope to earn.
It was Triel’s idea to steal the wands and extort the city. She happened to learn of Sarcem’s trip to Sasserine when she overheard Zachary Aslaxin and the other Stormblades. They were discussing Sacrem’s visit to the temple of Kord in order to get Omar Tiskinsen to co-finance the wands of water control. From there, it was a simple matter of having Sarcem followed in Sasserine by an ally from the days she was laying low there. This ally sent a message the day Sarcem left, giving Triel plenty of time to plan the assault on the Lucky Monkey, where she knew he would be staying. She took Tongueater, a thug the Last Laugh uses when they need to rough someone up, with her. He is not a member of the guide, as he is far too unsophisticated. After capturing the wands, Triel and a small contingent of her cronies set off to her base of operation, the Dunklersee stronghold where she awaits the city’s reactions to her demands.
As this chapter begins, the PC’s are contacted by Artus Shemwick and directed to the lava tube that leads to the underground lake. I really liked the carriage across the lake. I’m definitely keeping that. There’s this scene from the WW2 classic “Where Eagles Dare”. Richard Burton and John Wayne ride up to the forbidding Nazi stronghold on these tiny carriages Check out this picture to see what I mean. That’s definitely going in this story!
I have this cool map all drawn out. I’m still trying to figure out how to present it to you. It’s just pen and paper right now. I’ll figure something out. And you’ll get the map key to boot.
Anyway, that’s all for now. I hope to get the map and key posted here soon. Any feedback would surely be appreciated.
I definately like your work.
For the soulcage creation and the kopru ruins I tried to give this interpretation (or misinterpretation if I was wrong):
- the Ebon Triad are not the soulcage creators. They were simply given it in order to ensure its protection. The cage was indeed worked by someone with a talent for crafting cage-things (like Dugobras the Fire Giant). That particular cage creation was made somewhere else and brought to the ruins for refining. That would explain the cage debris found in the large room (don't have the modules at hand, I just remember a forge-like room where a nasty creature was).
- for what regards the kopru ruins I'm writing/replying a thread
This is absolutely brilliant! I am sooooo stealing this for my game. Chef's Slaad and Klysandral have done a supreme job in expanding the depth of the story here. Man, do I love these boards:) My one addition to all of this is the following:
Someone, a while ago, mentioned that it might be cool if Hadamar Skellerang (the Watch Captain's brother) not only owned and ran the Slippery Eel Tavern but was also a Jester. What better person to lead the Forgery Division than someone who has direct access to all the beaurocratic going ons? It makes perfect sense to me and ties in even more of the Cauldron big-wigs. I mean if Hadamar is listening to soldiers day in and day out and has a brother leading the force, I think he is the perfect position never to be found out. I cringe if any of the PCs stay with him or hang out at his bar:) Also, he may have been the one who dealt with Triel in the past and was probably the guy she went to get the "heck out of dodge." It weaves in nicely I think.
Sorry for all the blatant theft of ideas here, but I have forgotten who said what:)
Creative Director
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It's really cool seeing how everyone is adapting and changing the adventure path to their own campagns. There's some really awesome ideas and adaptations going into it!
Anyway, one thing I wanted to clear up from my end: The Ebon Triad didnt' actually enchant any soulcages. The intent was that they were building the physical cages themselves and cleansing/preparing the finished product with rituals for preparation of the soulcage's creation. The cagewrights themselves are responsible for the actual creation, with the aid of the Tree of Shackled Souls and other stuff.
The Ebon Triad was merely providing the Cagewrights with the focus necessary for final soulcage creation.
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Hadamar Skellerang is from my campaign and this is definitely a big "Wow, I didn't see that one..." from my side. I will use this for my "Flood Season" with slight changes, that are detailled in the "Last Laugh" thread, where it belongs (in short: Vhalantru leads the Last Laugh, Cagewrights will take over later)
My group should be finishing flood season tonight. Here are some things I have changed/adapted to the story. First, I develped Skylar Krewis as Triels ex-lover/rival amongest the guardsmen. Since the party hadn't interacted with any guardsmen yet. Second, once the party returns with the wands and Cauldron is saved we will roleplay Sarcem's funeral. Two events will happen during the funeral a. There will be no representation from the temple of Wee Jas, and b. The lord mayor will invite the party to a hero's feast in there honor at his Manor. The Party will be roleplayed out with certain events for the party to participate in primarily it will be a way for me to introduce the party in a social setting to several of the cagewrights, chisels, and other prominent citizens including Lord Vhalantru who I plan on playing with a Donald Trump like persona. My current line of thinking is to have him hire the party as his apprentices to go look for Zenith Splintershieild. I also haven't decided whether I want celeste to be hanging on his arm or not?
Opinions Anyone?
It's really cool seeing how everyone is adapting and changing the adventure path to their own campagns. There's some really awesome ideas and adaptations going into it!
Thanks James, for the kind words. It kind of feels like I'm stepping on your ideas here, though. This is my favorite adventure in the series. I loved the Lucky Monkey, I love the flood festival, and I really like the Kopru Ruins. Yet I'm ripping appart everything you wrote and putting it back together again in what seems to be a totally different manner. If someone did that on my job, I'm not sure I would respond like you just did. I'd probably just be disapointed.
The lord mayor will invite the party to a hero's feast in there honor at his Manor. The Party will be roleplayed out with certain events for the party to participate in primarily it will be a way for me to introduce the party in a social setting to several of the cagewrights, chisels, and other prominent citizens including Lord Vhalantru who I plan on playing with a Donald Trump like persona. My current line of thinking is to have him hire the party as his apprentices to go look for Zenith Splintershieild. I also haven't decided whether I want celeste to be hanging on his arm or not?
You're using the Hero's Feast. Cool.
I like that you involved Vhalantru and Celeste in as a hook for finding Zennith Splintershield. A very neat solution. You could even make it so that the players don't know who's controlling who.
I actualy decided that the Last Laugh Hired the Tongue Eater and his gang, and the Ebon Triad was a secondary group looking for revenge, and raided the raiders. I guess either way works. I too found the Ebon's creating the Soul Cages a bit unbelievable, and it wasn't a factor after the Players left the Kopru Ruins anyway.
That's some solid work, Slaad. It does make me want to question the frequently voiced complaint about the Ebon Triad's lack of connections to the rest of the series.
What's wrong with the ET being its own thing? Not every thing the party encounters has to tie into the grand conspiracy, especially if you're running any sidetreks. For mine own part, I'll even go the other direction and remove any mention of the cagewrights from Flood Season. There's no direct evidence of any soulcages, so why try to force it in there.
Since I've heard this complaint from a few people here, I'm wondering if maybe I'm just missing something.
It's a fair qustion. You're absolutely right, it's a much more believable campaign if there are some loose ends. Individuals doing their own thing, with no connection to the story arc. And it's more fun. A few red herings leave the players guessing.
Thing is, even if you somehow manage to create a herring-free game, where every npc is in on the overall plot, players are not going to follow every lead you dangle in front of them. They're not going to explore every story angle you've laid out. But if the PC's ignore that one lead that just happens to be crucial to your plot, you're in trouble. They're following your red herring, convinced it's the real thing, while going nowhere. You'll either have a very frustrated group of players because they're stuck and can't seem to move on, or you'll have to railroad them into follow the lead you laid out for them. So what most GM's do is give players multiple hooks/leads to follow.
As an example, my players went looking for clues on Triel in Cauldron last session. After talking to Kristoff Jurgensen, they spent the rest of the session trying to get into the cathedral of Wee-Jas. Of course, the cathedral has nothing to do with Triel, but that doesn't mean they're not hiding anything.
See, the cathedral was a red hering in this story, but it's relevant later on in the campaign. That's the kind of continuity I'm looking for.
Of course, if you completely detach the adventure from the story arch, it has no place in the AP. You could have substituted any old filler adventure for it. In other words, it's no longer part of the adventure path.
It’s not too clear why the triad wants the wands (they have plenty of cash from the soulcage), ...
The treasure for the ebon Triad is being gaurded by the spawn of Kyuss. Triel and Tarkilar are unable to control the creatures at this time. Fearing Tarkilar, Triel and Skaven wanted to ransom the wands to purchase a device to control the spawn. Or so thats how I remember it.
Neither the Kopru nor the Ebon Triad feature in any of the subsequent adventures.
While you are certainly correct with the Kopru, if you plan on running the AP2 with these same players then you will see that the Ebon Triad plays heavily in that AP and this is a great chance to do a good deal of foreshadowing. I would make sure they get a good deal of info on the Ebon Triad (who they are, what they want, etc.), that way once time has passed and they have forgotten much they may still remember the basics and be shocked and awed when they come into play in the next AP.
It’s not too clear why the triad wants the wands (they have plenty of cash from the soulcage), or how they knew when to ambush Sarcem.
What the Ebon Triad wants is for the Cauldron to erupt. This is one of the prophecies that fortells the Age of Worms. The ET realizes that they don't even need the Cage Wrights to succeed in order to fulfill this destiny, they just need them to get 'far enough along.' So they are willing to help in what way they can. As they see it doesn't matter if an army of demodands invades or not, it will pale in comparison to the risen tripartite diety they are summoning.
As for the why they would steal the wands and how they would know about them, this easily could have been fed to them from the Last Laugh on the orders of the Cage Wrights. It might be good to have the PCs observe Jill leaving the entrance to their underground hideout and then find documents to this effect inside.
Actually, come to think of it, there is one gaff I found: The lake on the the Kopru Ruin’s map is connected to Cauldron’s central lake. If that overflows, isn’t it going to flood the Kopru Ruins? I suspect the Ebon Triad would use the wands to stop this from happening, but it hardly seems to be the safest location for a base during a flood.
Not necessarily, it is all a question of drainage. The central lake may have a relatively small drainage that runs into MANY larger holding areas, like the lake in question. Those could then have larger drainage than the lake or be so diversified that the drainage from the central lake is divided up and not overly taxing on the existing drainage system of each.
Another (unrelated) loose end I’ve run into is that apart from Lords of Oblivion, the Last Laugh completely falls off the map. I think they should at least make a few more appearances before LoO.
Agreed. That is why I will throw them in with rumors, interactions that the players just miss with other NPCs (but see the last laugh person leaving), etc. It leave them more mysterious and doesn't set the PCs up as their Most Wanted until LoO. But does keep them on the PCs radar until that time.
Sean Mahoney
Neither the Kopru nor the Ebon Triad feature in any of the subsequent adventures.While you are certainly correct with the Kopru, if you plan on running the AP2 with these same players then you will see that the Ebon Triad plays heavily in that AP and this is a great chance to do a good deal of foreshadowing. I would make sure they get a good deal of info on the Ebon Triad (who they are, what they want, etc.), that way once time has passed and they have forgotten much they may still remember the basics and be shocked and awed when they come into play in the next AP
I've been running the shackled city AP for almost a year now. We've gotten as far as Bhal Hamatung in that period. My guess is that the AP will last us for at least another two, perhaps three years. So by the time I need a new campaign, Dungeon will probably be on it's third AP. In other words, I really don't know if I will ever run Age of Worms with this group. Which makes some of the cool cross-AP foreshadowing kinda useless for me. And that's why I've dropped the triad and Celeste so far.