Creative Director
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Hey there, everyone!
I'm getting into the thick of revising, updating, and developing the Shackled City adventures into their shiny new incarnation as a hardcover book. On one level, this involves incorporating known errata into the text or modifying some stat blocks, while on another, it involves adding in new material here and there to make the whole campaign work better.
A lot of the changes and fixes I'm incorporating into the book are obvious, and I'm basically going through each adventure word by word and deciding what stays and what goes. But with a project this size, I'll invariably miss something or skip something. And that's where all you DMs out there who have actually run the Shackled City campaign can help.
I've been keeping an eye on this messageboard since the start, noting observations you've posted and suggestions for changes and errata. And I'm going back through the posts as well, but there's a lot of posts, and I'll invariably miss something there as well.
SO! If there's something specific that's been gnawing at you about how the Shackled City campaign could have been better, or if there's a certain stat block error or tactical error that you noticed needs fixing, here's your chance to help the Hardcover version be as error-free and as super-cool as it can be.
Post your thoughts here about how the campaign could have been better. Post things you've changed in your home campaigns to improve on what was in the magazine. Point out those ugly little errors that creep in (like how Dugobras forgot to account for his size penalty to his AC, or how one of Fetor's Metamagic feats is teh suck).
I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has to say! Now have at it! Tear the Shackled City apart!
Well, you asked for it...
What the heck was the voice at the end of "Demonskar Legacy"? You know, the one that speaks for Alek Tercival and warns the party about the Smoking Eye? There's no explanation given for it anywhere.
While we're on "Demonskar Legacy", the room where the final fight takes place with the glazbreu is way too small. It can barely contain the demon, much less the demon, all of the demon's mirror images, and the party. And the lead in for "Test of the Smoking Eye" is bad. Almost every group I spoke to said, basically, "We're only doing this because the plot calls for it."
"Lords of Oblivion"... the room where the conference in the Lady's house cannot hold all of the people that it is said to contain, especially if there's a table in the room. By the description of the room, not everyone can see the tapestry that they're supposed to be looking at, because they have to be placed around corners from it. And because the room is so small, heaven help the bad guys if the party wins initiative, because several fireballs will be incoming! (Most of my badguys didn't even get to move because the maximized, empowered fireball took them out.)
In "LOO", how do the hell hound shapeshifters get from the bottom of the shafts to the top? There's no stairs, and they can't fly or levitate.
In "Flood Season" a sidebar listing where all of the wands of control water are when the party enters the complex would be very useful.
Are the web enhancements going to be used for the modules, or not? I personally like the tilt-a-pits!
Hookface is mentioned as being male and female.
I'm sure I'll come up with more.
Squid
In "Zenith Trajetory" Aabhaca the monk is Neutral Evil...
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Creative Director
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What the heck was the voice at the end of "Demonskar Legacy"? You know, the one that speaks for Alek Tercival and warns the party about the Smoking Eye? There's no explanation given for it anywhere.
Good point. The voice will have a source in the HC.
While we're on "Demonskar Legacy", the room where the final fight takes place with the glazbreu is way too small. It can barely contain the demon, much less the demon, all of the demon's mirror images, and the party. And the lead in for "Test of the Smoking Eye" is bad. Almost every group I spoke to said, basically, "We're only doing this because the plot calls for it."
This is going to change; the transition from "Demonskar" to "Smoking Eye" was probably my least favorite transition in the series. As for the cramped quarters... good point. I'll fix it (somehow).
"Lords of Oblivion"... the room where the conference in the Lady's house cannot hold all of the people that it is said to contain, especially if there's a table in the room. By the description of the room, not everyone can see the tapestry that they're supposed to be looking at, because they have to be placed around corners from it. And because the room is so small, heaven help the bad guys if the party wins initiative, because several fireballs will be incoming! (Most of my badguys didn't even get to move because the maximized, empowered fireball took them out.)
I'll do some reworking of the text and furniture to make sure it all fits. As for the cramped quarters... I think I'm cool with that, since it gives the PCs a chance against what would otherwise be a PC-kill-fest. Actually, there will probably be a bit more information in Thifirane's and Vhalantru's estates, since they had to be truncated in the magazine... this'll be a section that has some new (or old but cut) content added back in.
In "LOO", how do the hell hound shapeshifters get from the bottom of the shafts to the top? There's no stairs, and they can't fly or levitate.
Heh... good catch. They'll have something to give them more mobility.
In "Flood Season" a sidebar listing where all of the wands of control water are when the party enters the complex would be very useful.
I agree. There will be a sidebar or something similar.
Are the web enhancements going to be used for the modules, or not? I personally like the tilt-a-pits!
Yes. The web enhancements are going in. The tilt-a-pits are also in, but I toned them down a little bit to a CR 2 encounter. CR 3 is too rough to be what could very well be the first or second encounter for a 1st-level adventure!
Hookface is mentioned as being male and female.
Hookface is a guy; the mentions of him being female will be fixed.
I'm sure I'll come up with more.
Excellent! :-)
There's a bunch of different sugestions I have. I divided them into bonus material I would like to have as part of the hardcover; stuff I would like to see done in more detail and things I changed in the AP to suit my own campaign/storytelling style.
[u]Extra's I would find useful as a GM[/u]
• A separate (or tear-out, if you must) book of illustrations and maps. Stuff I can show my players. And if you feel especially generous, make them downloadable so I can print them a couple of times.
• A hand out for my players with a description, the history of Cauldron, important shops, important characters, rumours, etc. Something I can give to my local PC’s.
• A 2 to 4 page description of the major events in the AP, and how these events tie into the AP.
[u]things I would like to see detailed further[/u]
• Work in Hookface at an earlier point in the AP. He/She should be named and seen a couple of times before the PC's fight him/her'
• Stats for the important characters in the AP. You know, Severen Navalat, Terson Skellerang, Lord Orbius Vhalantru, Alec Tercival etc.
• Stats for the stormblades at different points in the AP. Perhaps one stat block per chapter.
• More details on some of the key organisations: The Striders, The Last Laugh, The cagewrights. Who are they
• What some of the important characters or groups are doing ‘off screen’ during the AP. For example, what’s the Last Laughs agenda between Life’s Bazaar and Lords of Oblivion. What’s Vhalantru up to? Or the Striders? How about the Cagewrights? Where are they hiding out, and what are they doing before Foundation in Flame? This will give a GM an opportunity to work-in some of the interesting foes before the players have to defeat them in combat. You get more mileage out of your stat block that way.
Most of these details we can do right here on these boards. Still, it doesn't hurt to ask!
[u]Some of the changes I made to my own campaign:[/u]
Life’s Bazaar
Keygan Ghelve: This gnome bothers me a bit. They hold his rat hostage and he just let those skulks walk all over him? They need a bit more leverage than that. Otherwise, he would have found a way to get some help.
Jazidrune: For a large enclave, I kind of bothers me that there’s only one way in. (two if you count the Malachite Hold). Why? At least a couple of other entrances (caved in or not) would make more sense.
The encounter with Vhalantru is interesting, but a bit too cinematic for my taste.
Flood Season
I played out the Flood Festival. It was interesting. The highlight, of course, was the Hero’s Feast. I hope you include that in the hardcover.
Instead of the Ebon Triad, I used the Last Laugh. It made more sense in my campaign. That meant substituting the Allybashers and thugs for member s of the Last Laugh. A rivalry between Triel and Jil led the latter to give away the location of Triel’s hideout to the party.
The plans for the soul cage construction, while good for the story arch, did not fit in with the Ebon Triad, IMO. I understand you intended the Triad to build/forge the cage and have the cagewrights enchant it. This is too fine a point, in my opinion. The players won’t catch on to it.
The Kopru don’t feature anywhere else in the AP, so I ditched them from this chapter as well. Instead of the Kopru Ruins, I drew up a map of another dwarven stronghold; a sister complex to the Malachite Hold.
Zenith Trajectory
I substituted the Umberhulk for two Bulettes. I had the mini’s from the Giants of Legends set, and I just couln’t not use them. Of course, I built a huge set of cardstock buildings with [u]worldworksgames.com[/u] models just for the encounter. It was pretty cool.
I also substituted Celeste for Vhalantru. It made more sense IMC. Especially since Celeste doesn’t feature anywhere else during the AP.
I also made some changes to Gottrod/Dhorlot. Basically, they’re now one and the same: a Juvenile Red Dragon. Too many unrelated Dragons in one chapter doesn’t fit my taste. I’m not too happy with the way I changed it, though. A CR10 dragon is probably too strong for a level 6 party :-). I’m not too sure how to fix it so it works with other parties.
That’s all I’ve got right now. More will come when I’ve run other instalments.
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My Two cents...
- more Infos about "The Last Laugh"
- having caravans hijacked on their way to the coast (and the caravan guards killed) will help to understand the changes in the guard structure (and the rising of the taxes)
- I was thinking about ditching the Ebon Triad from Flood Season when you mentioned that they would feature prominently in AP2... hmm... make one priest in the church of Wee Jas also a member of the Ebon Triad (he's the one who "converted" Triel) to give this organization a bit more time in the spotlight.
- the Lucky Monkey is also the base for a lumbering company for Cauldron (that would explain why it is sooo big)
- both my groups travelled to Cauldron... they encountered Sarcem Delasharn and his caravan, accompanied by Alex Tercival, on his way to the coast and made a stop at the Lucky Monkey on their way (this way these characters and Shensen Tesseril were introduced early). Skylar Crewis was on guard duty upon entering Cauldron and they were led immediately to Terseon Skellerang upon arrival in Cauldron and got 'The Speech' - (you make no trouble, you won't get into trouble).
- have more economic reasons why there would be a town in the middle of nowhere (mining special goods - malachite, diamonds) plus vineyards.
- if there is a mining operation have labor camps for orcs and other humanoids outside of Cauldron on the mountain sides.
- a web enhancement with portraits of the major players in Cauldron (good and bad) and player's maps...
Both of my groups are still in the beginning stages of "Life's Bazaar" (one hasn't even reached Cauldron yet, the other will make its way into the Malachite Fortress in the next session).
Just one thing from me at the moment. Our group just started Flood Season and they left for the Lucky Monkey. When they got there, they checked the front, side and back doors and found them locked. They picked the lock on the front door and went to open it. At that point, I started laughing...
The description in the text says the front door and side doors are barricaded with furniture and require a strength check to push open. The map indicates that the doors open outward! Barricading the doors on the inside doesn't accomplish anything.
Two possible fixes. Change the map to indicate the doors open inward, or change the text to indicate that the doors have been barred, not barricaded from the inside. A piece of broken furniture shoved through the door handles would suffice.
Or, you could leave it like it is...I and my group (when I told them) got a good laugh out of it!
Just thought of one other thing. Could you move Tongueater somewhere else in the Lucky Monkey, like upstairs in a conference roomm...would need to make a nice large one to work this out? My group, after trying the front door (and seeing it was barred, not barricaded...see previous post) decided to go through the back. They had a titanic battle with TE in the kitchen....and then they had to mop up the rest of the bad guys in the Lucky Monkey. Needless to say, a bunch of drunk lower level enemies who are unaware they are under siege are little challenge for a group of prepared adventurers.
It seems to me the TE battle should be the climax of this scenario. Instead, it was a great battle and then a real let down. I had most of the minions surrender when the group trashed a a couple in each fight.
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Creative Director
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A separate (or tear-out, if you must) book of illustrations and maps. Stuff I can show my players. And if you feel especially generous, make them downloadable so I can print them a couple of times.
There will be a map/handout booklet. We'll see about making it downloadable.
A hand out for my players with a description, the history of Cauldron, important shops, important characters, rumours, etc. Something I can give to my local PC’s.
This would be cool, but I don't think there'll be enough room. There will be an extensive section that details Cauldron and the region though, so it'll be easy to build such a handout on your own if we don't have room to put it in the book.
A 2 to 4 page description of the major events in the AP, and how these events tie into the AP.
There will be a fairly extensive backstory and campaign summary in the intro.
Work in Hookface at an earlier point in the AP. He/She should be named and seen a couple of times before the PC's fight him/her'
OK.
Stats for the important characters in the AP. You know, Severen Navalat, Terson Skellerang, Lord Orbius Vhalantru, Alec Tercival etc.
OK.
Stats for the stormblades at different points in the AP. Perhaps one stat block per chapter.
Yes. I've identified 11 key NPCs that will have this treatment. Not sure how I'm gonna do it yet, but their stats will be available for multiple levels.
More details on some of the key organisations: The Striders, The Last Laugh, The cagewrights.
OK.
What some of the important characters or groups are doing ‘off screen’ during the AP.
OK.
Life's Bazaar
Keygan Ghelve's situation won't be changing, and neither will the number of entrances to Jzadirune. We can provide new maps, but changes to existing maps aren't something we can do much. The final encounter with Vhalantru will be changing to make it more RPG friendly and less of a railroad.
Flood Season
There will be more details on the Flood Festival. Ebon Triad will remain; their role in the campaign will be more detailed and less of a random side-element. The Alleybashers will be more detailed as a (somewhat pitiful) competitor to the Last Laugh. The connections between the Ebon Triad, the soulcages, and the Cagewrights will be strengthened. I might replace the Kopru with something that makes more sense... there's too many "lost civilizations" under Cauldron as it is.
Zenith Trajectory
The umber hulk remains, since we have art for him. ;-) Celeste's role in the adventure will be better explained, but I do intend to have Vhalantru show up in human form more often so the PCs get to know him better before "Oblivion." Dhorlot and Gottrod will remain seperate, but they (all of the dragons in the campaign, in fact) will have more detailed histories and will have a place in the campaign. Gottrod and Dhorlot will probably get adjusted down in power a bit... they are too tough for this adventure.
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Creative Director
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more Infos about "The Last Laugh"
Ok.
I was thinking about ditching the Ebon Triad from Flood Season when you mentioned that they would feature prominently in AP2... hmm... make one priest in the church of Wee Jas also a member of the Ebon Triad (he's the one who "converted" Triel) to give this organization a bit more time in the spotlight.
The Ebon Triad will have their presence in the campaign strengthened. They won't ever be center stage, but the'll be on par with the Last Laugh. They're basically the lower-level mooks that the Cagewrights use for grunt work.
The Lucky Monkey is also the base for a lumbering company for Cauldron (that would explain why it is sooo big)
Interesting!
Have more economic reasons why there would be a town in the middle of nowhere (mining special goods - malachite, diamonds) plus vineyards.
This will be addressed in the opening intro that includes a lot of details on Cauldron and the environs.
A web enhancement with portraits of the major players in Cauldron (good and bad) and player's maps...
This stuff will be in the book. We haven't decided what kind of web enhancements (or indeed, if there will be any web enhancements at all) for the book.
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Creative Director
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Just one thing from me at the moment. Our group just started Flood Season and they left for the Lucky Monkey. When they got there, they checked the front, side and back doors and found them locked. They picked the lock on the front door and went to open it. At that point, I started laughing...
The description in the text says the front door and side doors are barricaded with furniture and require a strength check to push open. The map indicates that the doors open outward! Barricading the doors on the inside doesn't accomplish anything.
Two possible fixes. Change the map to indicate the doors open inward, or change the text to indicate that the doors have been barred, not barricaded from the inside. A piece of broken furniture shoved through the door handles would suffice.
Or, you could leave it like it is...I and my group (when I told them) got a good laugh out of it!
HA! I'm tempted to keep it as it is and draw attention to the fact that their barracade job is completely lame. Helps to establish the villains of the Lucky Monkey as chumps.
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Creative Director
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It seems to me the TE battle should be the climax of this scenario. Instead, it was a great battle and then a real let down. I had most of the minions surrender when the group trashed a a couple in each fight.
Tongueater is indeed the climax of the Lucky Monkey session. Moving him out of the Kitchen seems like a good idea... might even make sense to stat up his encounter as an event that the DM can start when things seem to be reaching a climax.
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Well, in LIFE'S BAZAAR I had a little problem!
I had a hard time to convince my players not to kill Keygan Ghelve. They just couldn't understand that he didn't say a word just because of his rat familiar!!!
All those little kids and all the other abductees... "because of a damned rat?!"
By the way, would Keygan really do this... His AL is LN - does this fit???
And what would Jenya say, if this case is brought to her? Would she imprison Keygan? Nothing is said about this!
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Creative Director
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Well, in LIFE'S BAZAAR I had a little problem!
I had a hard time to convince my players not to kill Keygan Ghelve. They just couldn't understand that he didn't say a word just because of his rat familiar!!!
All those little kids and all the other abductees... "because of a damned rat?!"
By the way, would Keygan really do this... His AL is LN - does this fit???And what would Jenya say, if this case is brought to her? Would she imprison Keygan? Nothing is said about this!
Good point! I'll put in a little something that talks about the repurcussions that hit Keygan if his actions become public knowledge. His actions may well not fit his alignment, but I think that the Skulks have frightened him enough that he's too cowardly to report his rat's abduction.
James, as a note regarding TongueEater... my group went in through both doors simetaneously, and boy, were they surprised! TE ran them throughout the hotel.... it made a very good fight scene!
Squid
One thing about "Flood Season":
There should be SOME information for the players to find about what's going on, just to clue the players in that there are something more sinister going on in Cauldron. The Triad should also have some sort of plan describing what they are expected to construct.
The players could for example find a letter in Skaven's study with detailing the order (but not who made it) along with a description of what to construct.
One other thing about "Zenith Trajectory":
When the players are talking to Crazy Jared it says that he recognizes the name Zenith Splintershield, and mentions that he passed there on his way to Underdark and that Jared sent 500(?) of his finest knights with him. I guess you could just dismiss it to Jared being crazy, but if there's supposed to be a grain of truth to that claim one would have to ask why Zenith would go that way? He's got a perfectly good entrence to Underdark right there in his stronghold! It's not like he planned on going to Bhal-Hamatugn, his plan was to rid the Underdark of evil, so there's no reason he would enter the Underdark from anywhere else than the Malachite Fortress.
My Guess is Zenith exited the underdark periodically to resupply. The closest exit point happened to be the pit of seven maws, right under Jared's nose. His 500 finest men where either enchanted treefrogs or another illusion.
His 500 finest men where either enchanted treefrogs or another illusion.
My guess is that the 500 finest are the same he's offering to send with the PCs ;)
The thing about the entry about Zenith is that it struck me as an error on the author's part. I'm staring running Zenith Trajectory on monday, and I won't let Jared mention anything about Zenith... at least not anything that's not obviously crazy-talk :)
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Some more thoughts:
FLOOD SEASON:
Player Handout #3 could be better readable
ZENITH TRAJECTORY:
In Bahl-Hamatugn in Room#5a- There are no bridges leading to the middle ledge... How do the Kuo-Toas get there?
A big problem with Zenith might be - What if the pcs decide (while on their way home from Bhal-Hamatugn) not to trust Celeste and keep Zenith safe from her... My players did this (I have no idea how they came up with this...) and I had to make up a whole new session; with Celeste's thugs ambushing the pcs in order to get a hand on Zenith.
Some printed ideas here might help fellow DMs to come up with some solutions on their own!
COOKING UP MADNESS IN CAULDRON:
A little hint for the DMs would be good (because it can easily be possible, if the PCs are not outright good and feel responsible for Cauldron, that they might skip three encounters here) to prepare something different, if the players don't want to "play" the following encounters!
#1 The Umber Hulk. My players started the encounter a bit away from the point where the Umber Hulk breaks from the ground and decided to just watch it... "Why should we interfere and risk being harmed?" This is especially true, if the pcs had problems with the townguard before...
#2 The Fire Elementals. Here as well... Let the elementals attack the place where the pcs are staying. My players saw the fire on the other side of Cauldron and decided as well, not to help...
#3 Gotrrod. As well, if the pcs are not exactly at Jarreds Hut, they might decide to let Gotrrod go. Because the dragon is focusing on the hut, he might not care for the pcs (and Jarred) if the run away and hide...
Well, it's absolutely ok for the pcs to not fight/help or interfere in any other way. Those three encounters are the ones where I at least expected that. If I had given this possibility a thought beforehand I would have been prepared. But it happened to be my hardest part in DMing the AP! Don't get me wrong here - the encounters are great, but give fellow DMs a hint that his players might not want to participate in this encounter if they have no reason!
THE SOUL PILLARS:
Well, the Handout on page 35 is terrible to read. As a german I had a lot of problems to decipher it. Another font would be cool ;)
GENERAL:
Give us a hint when to introduce the players tothe overall plot! We DMs had to made this decision for ourselves, a little help might be good here as well.
I would also like a flowchart or something similar of the campaign. Something that gave me a better overview of the flow of the campaign. Also I would like all the campaign seeds to be collected in one place, and maybe get a workover.
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Creative Director
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The players could for example find a letter in Skaven's study with detailing the order (but not who made it) along with a description of what to construct.
I don't want to reveal the soulcages too early, since they don't figure at all for the next 2 adventures, but I will be putting in some sort of handout or something so the PCs will be able to see what the Ebon Triad is up to; all part of the "Make the villains more visible" project, so when the PCs confront the bad guys in the later adventures it's more satisfying to bring them the beatdown.
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Creative Director
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One other thing about "Zenith Trajectory":
When the players are talking to Crazy Jared it says that he recognizes the name Zenith Splintershield, and mentions that he passed there on his way to Underdark and that Jared sent 500(?) of his finest knights with him. I guess you could just dismiss it to Jared being crazy, but if there's supposed to be a grain of truth to that claim one would have to ask why Zenith would go that way? He's got a perfectly good entrence to Underdark right there in his stronghold! It's not like he planned on going to Bhal-Hamatugn, his plan was to rid the Underdark of evil, so there's no reason he would enter the Underdark from anywhere else than the Malachite Fortress.
Crazy Jared's crazy. What he says doesn't need to make sense, even if it does end up being good advice. ;)
How Zenith got from the Malachite Fortress to the kuo-toa place will be covered in more detail somewhere in the book, though.|
Creative Director
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FLOOD SEASON: Player Handout #3 could be better readable
Agreed.
ZENITH TRAJECTORY: In Bahl-Hamatugn in Room#5a- There are no bridges leading to the middle ledge... How do the Kuo-Toas get there?
Heh... that's pretty funny! I'll figure something out when i get there for them.
What if the pcs decide not to trust Celeste and keep Zenith safe from her...
The Cagewrights will just need to find another shackleborn for their last cage; this can happen offscreen. Celeste is going to be detailed better; she's not actually going to be allied with the Cagewrights though; her involvement with the adventure has always been complex but we'll explain it more in the HC.
#1 The Umber Hulk. My players started the encounter a bit away from the point where the Umber Hulk breaks from the ground and decided to just watch it... "Why should we interfere and risk being harmed?" This is especially true, if the pcs had problems with the townguard before...
I don't really see this as a problem with the adventure. If the PCs avoid dealing with the Umber Hulk, they'll just miss out on some XP and a chance to ge a little bit more famous. If they avoid it, the Stormblades can show up to be the heroes.
#2 The Fire Elementals. Here as well... Let the elementals attack the place where the pcs are staying. My players saw the fire on the other side of Cauldron and decided as well, not to help...
Another opportunity for the Stormblades!
#3 Gotrrod. As well, if the pcs are not exactly at Jarreds Hut, they might decide to let Gotrrod go. Because the dragon is focusing on the hut, he might not care for the pcs (and Jarred) if the run away and hide...
That's fine; not all encounters should be mandatory. This is actually the first I've heard of PCs avoiding these three encounters (umber hulk, fire elemental, and dragon attack). I'm not sure it's necessarilly a problem, except for the PCs who miss out on XP and reputation building.
Soul Pillars: Well, the Handout on page 35 is terrible to read. As a german I had a lot of problems to decipher it. Another font would be cool ;)
We often had to run the handouts small. In other cases, they have difficult fonts. We'll be tinkering with some of them, and should probably include the text of the handouts in the adventure so the DM at least knows what they're really saying...
Give us a hint when to introduce the players tothe overall plot! We DMs had to made this decision for ourselves, a little help might be good here as well.
Agreed. There's going to be sidebars in each chapter that discuss what the bad guys are doing behind the scenes, and these sidebars will make it clear when certain elements of the plot should be made clear to the PCs.
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One thing for Tongueeater again:
I, as well, thought that he should be the climactic encounter at the Lucky Monkey and decided to have him hunting some residents of the inn, the owner himself.
So I had always the possibility to let him come back to the inn (together with some of his baboons) and appear wherever it was needed... Might be a possible idea to give TE an event-character.
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Creative Director
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Again - it feels good that you guys from the magazine REALLY read us ;)
Thanx again!!!OH, btw - what about having Lord Vhalantru as a Fiendish Smoking Eye Advanced Beholder on the Cover of the whole thing?! PLEAASSSSSE... ;)
What's gonna be on the cover is still in the works. It probably won't be Vhalantru the Fiendish Smoking Eye Advanced Beholder, since that image would probably spoil 75% of the campaign... ;-)
ZENITH TRAJECTORY: In Bahl-Hamatugn in Room#5a- There are no bridges leading to the middle ledge... How do the Kuo-Toas get there?
My thought where: frog people. What do they need bridges for (or stairs for that matter). They can jump! Of course the fact that they lack a racial modifier to jump checks kind of screws up that thinking.
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My thought where: frog people. What do they need bridges for (or stairs for that matter). They can jump! Of course the fact that they lack a racial modifier to jump checks kind of screws up that thinking.
Yeah. I can imagine how funny it would look like, when the KTs just don't make the jump and fall all the way down ;)
Normally this is the part of my players *lol*
ZENITH TRAJECTORY: In Bahl-Hamatugn in Room#5a- There are no bridges leading to the middle ledge... How do the Kuo-Toas get there?Heh... that's pretty funny! I'll figure something out when i get there for them.
Actually, there is one brief mention of their being drawbridges in one of the tactic sections. The guards at the top get rid of the bridges at the first sign of trouble in the room, or something of that nature. I had this trouble about 3 months ago when the first of my groups reached this point. So it's there, it just needs to be made more clear.
One thing I noticed, and it is a really easy fix, was that in one of the adventures (I think it is either Demonskar or Soul Pillars) was that it said the last year had been pretty rough for Cauldron and the PC's. Then in a later adventure, one of the last ones, it said that this has only taken place over a couple of months.
Which one is it?
ZENITH TRAJECTORY: In Bahl-Hamatugn in Room#5a- There are no bridges leading to the middle ledge... How do the Kuo-Toas get there?
Actually, there is one brief mention of their being drawbridges in one of the tactic sections. The guards at the top get rid of the bridges at the first sign of trouble in the room, or something of that nature. I had this trouble about 3 months ago when the first of my groups reached this point. So it's there, it just needs to be made more clear.
Yeah, I just noticed that one myself when reading through that section. Maybe the map should be modified to make it clearer that there are drawbridges?
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Creative Director
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You might want to explain Valanthru's two appearances. With the way Polymorph works now, I find it hard to believe a beholder could actually fake being an elf for years (!).
Similarly, the polymoprhed otyugh/ogre in "Flood Season" doesn't work that way.
Yup; these both will be fixed.
One more thing about area 5 in Zenith Trajectory... the description says that good-aligned PCs can't enter that area without a DC 17 Will save, because of the Magic Circle against Good effect of the Unhallow. Well, that's wrong, because Magic Circle against Good only prevents summoned good creatures from entering.
I came up with a couple more:
In life's bazaar Jil tries to scare away Ruphus from learning more of the kidnappings, but later does nothing to stop the PC's when they're snooping around. There should be a convincing explenation why she doesn't do anything.
Kazmojen should be tied in to the last Laugh, or positioned as a rival. They're basically in the same business anyway.
In Flood Season the PC's could have Sacrem raised or Resurected. Either at their own cost or that of the church's. What happens if they do? Simply saying that it fails too unsatisfying.
In The Demonscar Legacy Nabatheron just sits there. Shouldn't he be tied in to the Cagewrights? He a pretty powerfull demon after all. And the cagewrights could just be his ticket back home.
Also related to the demonscar legacy, I think it makes Alec's fall from grace a lot more powerfull if you establish him as a paragon first. That means that the PC's should have heard of his deeds, and maybe seen him in action before the events of the demonscar legacy transpire.
That's all for now.
Sure you don't want to make it a 600 page book? :-)
One question about Sasserine: in the hardcover will Sasserine still be 200 miles to the south of Cauldron, as specified in Zenith Trajectory, or will it be positioned according to the recent Greyhawk maps? And will the whole AP be anchored in the World of Greyhawk?
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Creative Director
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One question about Sasserine: in the hardcover will Sasserine still be 200 miles to the south of Cauldron, as specified in Zenith Trajectory, or will it be positioned according to the recent Greyhawk maps? And will the whole AP be anchored in the World of Greyhawk?
Hmm... That first part's a good question. I don't know which route I'll go.
As for the whole, it won't be any more anchored in Greyhawk than it was when it was first printed in the magazines.
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I came up with a couple more:
In life's bazaar Jil tries to scare away Ruphus from learning more of the kidnappings, but later does nothing to stop the PC's when they're snooping around. There should be a convincing explenation why she doesn't do anything.
Kazmojen should be tied in to the last Laugh, or positioned as a rival. They're basically in the same business anyway.
I fixed this in playing out (in the initial encounter with Ruphus and the PCs) that Jill, well, not really fell in love with the party's rogue, but she showed that she was very interested in him... Later she became a great contact for the group and she also changed sides, of course ;)
Hello - this is my first post on these boards, but I couldn't resist putting in my two cents on the matter.
I'm in a special position, since I have read over some of the AP1 adventures, but have not yet run any of them. I was just considering back-ordering the ones I am missing, when the Hardcover was announced - needless to say, pre-ordering it was an easy decision!
Anyway, from the read-through I gave the adventures (mostly the earlier ones in the series), I spotted one main problem that I hope will be addressed in the Hardcover - namely a need to tweak the challenge of certain "boss" battles. In particular, I was worried of possible TPKs from Skaven (if faced in the spiders' den), Gottrod, or the erinyes in Zenith Trajectory. From what I have read of other attempts at running Shackled City, that seems to be a problem faced by many as well - a fairly high PC death toll.
Therefore, my number one request for the Hardcover would simply be to perhaps modify the deadliest encounters in the Path to fix balance problems.
Other than that, thanks for listening to everyone's input, and I can't wait for July to come around!
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Creative Director
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One more thing about area 5 in Zenith Trajectory... the description says that good-aligned PCs can't enter that area without a DC 17 Will save, because of the Magic Circle against Good effect of the Unhallow. Well, that's wrong, because Magic Circle against Good only prevents summoned good creatures from entering.
Good catch; it'll be fixed.
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Creative Director
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In life's bazaar Jil tries to scare away Ruphus from learning more of the kidnappings, but later does nothing to stop the PC's when they're snooping around. There should be a convincing explenation why she doesn't do anything.
OK. I'll come up with something to explain this.
Kazmojen should be tied in to the last Laugh, or positioned as a rival. They're basically in the same business anyway.
Kazmojen's getting tied into the plot, but not to the Last Laugh or the Cagewrights. His presence in the campaign won't be a coincidence.
In Flood Season the PC's could have Sacrem raised or Resurected. Either at their own cost or that of the church's. What happens if they do? Simply saying that it fails too unsatisfying.
First off, since his body's mutiliated, the PCs will need to use resurrection at least, and there's no one for some time in Cauldron who wants to or can cast that spell for them. In addition, Sarcem's spirit is wracked with guilt at failing to deliver the wands; a soul always has the last say as to whether it wants to come back to life or not, and Sarcem's just too guilt-filled to want to come back, I think. I'll make that more clear in the adventure, though. And in any case, having him come back to life won't really alter the flow of the campaign as much, apart from somewhat trivializing Jenya's role, I suppose.
In The Demonscar Legacy Nabatheron just sits there. Shouldn't he be tied in to the Cagewrights? He a pretty powerfull demon after all. And the cagewrights could just be his ticket back home.
Nabthatoron's actions and goals will be a little more clear. He's too self-centered to want to ally with the Cagewrights, but I'll include more details on his lair and goals and plots.
Also related to the demonscar legacy, I think it makes Alec's fall from grace a lot more powerfull if you establish him as a paragon first. That means that the PC's should have heard of his deeds, and maybe seen him in action before the events of the demonscar legacy transpire.
Good point. I'll make his presence in the campaign stronger in the pre-Demonskar adventures.
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Creative Director
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I spotted one main problem that I hope will be addressed in the Hardcover - namely a need to tweak the challenge of certain "boss" battles. In particular, I was worried of possible TPKs from Skaven (if faced in the spiders' den), Gottrod, or the erinyes in Zenith Trajectory. From what I have read of other attempts at running Shackled City, that seems to be a problem faced by many as well - a fairly high PC death toll.
I'll be toning down a few of the encounters (I've already reduced Kazmojen's fighter level a little to make that encounter less devastating to low-level PCs). We're also inserting a new adventure between "Life's Bazaar" and "Flood Season" as well; this'll help the PCs get an extra level or so and thus be able to handle Skaven, Gottrod, Aushanna, and the others easier, but I'll tweak and adjust the encounters as they need to make them less arbitrarilly deadly.
That said... I'm not gonna nerf the campaign too badly. In my experience, the adventures that people remember the most fondly are the hard ones; the ones where they really had to work to survive. Making it all too simple makes it less memorable. But making it too deadly makes it too frustrating. It's a thin line to walk, but fortunately I've got a couple years of working with the "Shackled City" to draw upon, and a LOT of player feedback on what parts of the campaign were probably too rough. And of course, these boards (and this thread in particular) are gonna be of immense help.
Ya. Thinking back to playtesting the early adventures, I don't remember ever making it more than about three short sessions without dying. That probably says more about my style of play than the adventures, though.
Good point! I'll put in a little something that talks about the repurcussions that hit Keygan if his actions become public knowledge. His actions may well not fit his alignment, but I think that the Skulks have frightened him enough that he's too cowardly to report his rat's abduction.
I added a kidnapped child victim, Keygan's own nephew, to make it a tad more compelling that he'd kept quiet, and had him chained up in the same room with the rat so that Keygan <I>knew</I> that as long as he co-operated, his nephew was okay.
The Stormblades: Since they all have a level of Aristocrat, and you can only be an Aristocrat if you take a level at 1st level, and Aristocrats at 1st level have a BAB of +0, most of the Stormblades can't have Weapon Focus (rapier) and Weapon Finesse, as it requires a BAB +1 to take it.
I added a kidnapped child victim, Keygan's own nephew, to make it a tad more compelling that he'd kept quiet, and had him chained up in the same room with the rat so that Keygan <I>knew</I> that as long as he co-operated, his nephew was okay.
Good one! That would make Keygan's actions pretty credible without messing up his alignment.
First off, since his body's mutiliated, the PCs will need to use resurrection at least, and there's no one for some time in Cauldron who wants to or can cast that spell for them. In addition, Sarcem's spirit is wracked with guilt at failing to deliver the wands; a soul always has the last say as to whether it wants to come back to life or not, and Sarcem's just too guilt-filled to want to come back, I think. I'll make that more clear in the adventure, though. And in any case, having him come back to life won't really alter the flow of the campaign as much, apart from somewhat trivializing Jenya's role, I suppose
I know, there was a thread a while back where you pretty much wrote the same thing. That was the direction I was thinking along too. Just wanted to make sure you put in something allong those lines.
The Stormblades: Since they all have a level of Aristocrat, and you can only be an Aristocrat if you take a level at 1st level
Bram, where exactly do you get that rule from?