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I just discovered the Age of Worms adventure path today and was considering running it. I'd appreciate some advice, however, on how to get my party involved believably.
First some background:
I've recently started running my first campaign, with 1 session under my belt (eh, 2 kinda, but first session was 3 players, 2 of whom changed their characters), starting in on the Sunless Citadel (it's barely started, they haven't actually found the citadel yet). I've set the game in Oerth, in the Yeomanry area. The party consists of a random grouping of adventurers brought together to find the missing kids who disappeared in the Citadel.
I could run the Sunless Citadel as planned, or I could sidetrack them (pretty much permanently) into the Age of Worms path. If I run Sunless Citadel first, they'd be 3rd level or so for Age of Worms, but I don't think that'd be a problem. Biggest thing is how do I get them into Age of Worms from this point, either before or after Sunless Citadel.
Any suggestions? Thanks much.
That's an interesting conundrum seeing how the Yeomanry is far and away from pretty much everything in the Flanaess, let alone Diamond Lake. I say run them through the Sunless Citadel (great mod) since everyone should have the opportunity to play it at some point, then let them stumble upon some artifact that they can't decipher (read through the background of the Whispering Cairn and find some way to tie the artifact into the AoW in a small way). Make it an item that radiates some faint magic but has an unknown function and can't be identified with simple magic. In order to learn more, they will have to travel far and wide. And what better place to learn more about lost lore than the City of Greyhawk? There really isn't any better place, and if your PCs ask around, that's what everyone will tell them. Here's where you might need to do a little adaptation. I suggest altering Allustan just a little bit so that he is a hobby-enthusiast in Wind Duke lore. Say for instance, that he already has a copy of the Chronicle of Chan, and that NPCs in Greyhawk recommend they make the short trek outside of the city to Diamond Lake to visit him. Don't allow Allustan to know too much, but once the PCs get there, Allustan examines the artifact and finds some link to the Whispering Cairn. Viola!
IFirst some background:
I've recently started running my first campaign, with 1 session under my belt (eh, 2 kinda, but first session was 3 players, 2 of whom changed their characters), starting in on the Sunless Citadel (it's barely started, they haven't actually found the citadel yet). I've set the game in Oerth, in the Yeomanry area. The party consists of a random grouping of adventurers brought together to find the missing kids who disappeared in the Citadel.I could run the Sunless Citadel as planned, or I could sidetrack them (pretty much permanently) into the Age of Worms path. If I run Sunless Citadel first, they'd be 3rd level or so for Age of Worms, but I don't think that'd be a problem. Biggest thing is how do I get them into Age of Worms from this point, either before or after Sunless Citadel.
Any suggestions? Thanks much.
MEEPO!!!!
I love that module... twig blights were just too k00l for words, and I'll never forget the party I ran through it... they adopted Meepo, who of course, as a 2 hp kobold who I expected them to just slaughter was about the only NPC creature in the adventure that I hadn't detailed.
Anyway... The suggestions already posted are pretty good. By the end of Sunless Citadel your party will probably be solidly 2nd level, possibly even 3rd, so you may need to adjust some creatures in Whispering Cairn, but there are a lot of interesting ways to do this.
Probably the easiest is to include some obscure references to the Cairn in one of the books the players find in the library on the second level of the citadel... they have to go through this room, and there is almost no chance of them not searching it. Alternatively, you could shift the goals of the big baddie druid... maybe he's trying to infest Diamond Lake with Twig Blights for some reason.
- Ashavan
Oh yea, I forgot to mention this. As for adjusting the encounter levels, I wouldn't worry about it. The XP system is self-correcting. The PCs will have a walk for a little while, which is fine; sometimes it's fun to be powerful. But I imagine by the time they finish WC they will be 4th level tops, which is perfect for doing 3FOE, in which being an extra level higher will help them a lot. Because the XP system is self-correcting, I have a feeling they'll be right on track after blackwall keep.
I just discovered the Age of Worms adventure path today and was considering running it. I'd appreciate some advice, however, on how to get my party involved believably.
If AoW can be adapted for any campaign world, I don't see why it couldn't be adapted for a different location on the same world. Diamond Lake could be a mining town in the foothills of the Yeomanry and all the adventures could take place around there. I don't have the Greyhawk knowhow to pull of a total conversion, but I don't think it'd take too much effort. The Wind Dukes could be ancestors to the Suel that came from across the mountains and the Plains of Pesh could be buried under the desert sands. Blackwall Keep and the lizardmen could be to the south, the arena could be in Niole Dra, capital of neighboring Keoland, etc. etc. By the time locations become important (the Great Rift and all), the party should have enough motivation to make the trip there.
Oh yea, I forgot to mention this. As for adjusting the encounter levels, I wouldn't worry about it. The XP system is self-correcting. The PCs will have a walk for a little while, which is fine; sometimes it's fun to be powerful. But I imagine by the time they finish WC they will be 4th level tops, which is perfect for doing 3FOE, in which being an extra level higher will help them a lot. Because the XP system is self-correcting, I have a feeling they'll be right on track after blackwall keep.
Especially as it sounds as if this is a bit of a novice party. DM admits to never having run a campaign before etc. This lets them learn a little before things get really hard and PCs start dying regularly.
I just discovered the Age of Worms adventure path today and was considering running it. I'd appreciate some advice, however, on how to get my party involved believably.If AoW can be adapted for any campaign world, I don't see why it couldn't be adapted for a different location on the same world. Diamond Lake could be a mining town in the foothills of the Yeomanry and all the adventures could take place around there. I don't have the Greyhawk knowhow to pull of a total conversion, but I don't think it'd take too much effort. The Wind Dukes could be ancestors to the Suel that came from across the mountains and the Plains of Pesh could be buried under the desert sands. Blackwall Keep and the lizardmen could be to the south, the arena could be in Niole Dra, capital of neighboring Keoland, etc. etc. By the time locations become important (the Great Rift and all), the party should have enough motivation to make the trip there.
True - but it does take some work to addapt things...its probably much easier on the DM to simply contrive a way to move the PCs to the correct location.