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See, from what it seems, you really shouldn't be running a game you and the players aren't having fun with.
I've gone through the aforementioned adventures, and found the connections pretty decent for low levels. But that's me, and I like running AoW and my players enjoy it. So, if you don't like it at the beginning, then you won't like it later.
On another note, my players were constantly questioning if Allustan was trying to get them killed and what not. This is mostly due to the fact that's they're paranoid.
I hear what you're saying but, at the same time, I'm a bit taken aback. Your observations and opinions are about as opposite as mine as possible. I love the AoW adventure path (so much so that I took a second look at the Shackled City AP after failing to develop an interest in it on several previous attempts).
I find most of the adventure hooks in ANY published adventures to be weak; AoW is fairly better than most or equal (certainly not worst, IMO). I believe the plot flows well (with enough connections to follow but not so obvious players feel "lead by the nose"). I like the more subtle connections between modules and their different writing/presentation style. I'm having a great time with the path and so are my players (despite a death or two).
As far as errors and whatnot, we don't play 3.5 so those aren't a real issue for me. Personally, I find DMs way too anal about such minutia as whether such and such NPC/Monster should have such and such feat or damage or treasure, whatever. If your players are picking up on such nonsense then they obviously aren't having much fun in the game. The game should run like a good action movie or an epic tale without too much concern for minor details. If you find the cinemagraphic errors in your favorite movie that's one thing (like...wasn't his shirt buttoned in that last scene and now it's not) but you shouldn't notice it the very first time or the movie's not that good to begin with!
Bottom line - I agree with Modera. If you and yours aren't having fun now then it's unlikely your satisfaction level will rise any time soon. It sounds to me like the whole style and flavor of the path just isn't appealing to you. There are other adventures to run.
If it isn't fun, what's the point?
I’m going to join you in the minority in agreeing with you that there are areas where the campaign could improve, but you do a good job in identifying these areas so I won’t elaborate.
However, there is an adage that speaks true here: You get out of it what you put into it. I have put more than my fair share of work into managing the campaign, the word “managing” being key. It’s up to me as the DM to add additional elements that personalize the story to my characters; I can’t run it totally as is without having my PCs realize that it was written for every subscriber and loyal magazine buyer out there. In fact, in our AoW campaign, I would have to say 25% of the content I have ran (mostly role-play oriented) do not come from the magazine – it is stuff I have personalize based on who they are and the actions they take.
“Mr. Mona, I was wondering if every time an AoW campaign refers to “PC’s”, they instead say “Dirty Faced Killers.” That probably won’t happen.
Two things:
1) I would assume that this is as good as it gets. If you elect not to do the dirty work in pre-reading the adventure with your player’s tendencies and skill level in mind, then
2) You might want to fashion your own modules and avoid the dissatisfying gaming experiences.
I'm with you on this. I've read the AoW adventures as they arrive, and I'm underimpressed with the hooks (Guess what guys, it's time to go yet another another town and ask another scholar to do RESEARCH!!). The adventures themselves aren't grabbing me either, unlike the Shackled City path.
I've enjoyed reading the two Whispering Cairn adventures, but it's like every single room has a pretty tough encounter. I'm from the Gygax camp. My players hate empty rooms. They've literally spent a month of Sundays clearing out the Caves of Chaos and all three lairs in Against the Giants. But the AoW encounters seem particularly tough and rampant.
No offense to Mona. I love the kid and he's doing a great job with the magazine, but I'm not interested in running such a difficult, disjointed campaign. I'd rather get magic missiled. In the BALLS.
I'd rather get magic missiled. In the BALLS.
Hmmm.....I haven't read AoW, because I'm hoping a friend of mine will run it as DM and give me a break, but, ugly mental picture aside about the magic missile "touch" attack--here's what I do with adventures that I'm not happy with.
I strip 'em--rework them, change NPC's, change plot hooks, etc. I take the encounters I like from the adventure and drop them into my own dungeon or my own adventure. I often "speed" up an adventure by combining a bunch of less exciting encounters and replacing them with a different one.
My players don't like long-drawn out exploration adventures, so I use "fast forwards" quite a bit, which are easier to run in 3.5 when you can make a set of Search/Spot/Listen rolls and quickly put them into the next encounter while glossing over some less exciting areas.
If the encounters are too tough and the plot is not to your liking--change them? Instead of all the bad guys being in one dungeon--spread 'em out over a wilderness area so the PC's can rest between encouters. I almost never run an adventure exactly as written, even in the SCAP.
So, if it's so bad, couldn't you just do that and rework it into an AoW of your own liking? Or would that be take like placing your "items" between a sledge hammer and a dwarven forge :)
Most of the biggest irritations to me in the AP are the errors and omissions more than the plot issues. I would have much less issue with this if the author/publisher would take responsibility for the technical issues and issue erratas, but they haven't.
Speaking as an editor, it is our responsibility to minimize (and eliminate, if possible) the mistakes that get published in the magazine. If there is an error I have no problem taking full responsibility for it. (I don't want to speak for my fellow editors but I am sure they would agree with me.)
Errata is a trickier issue. We would love to be able it issue errata for the adventures, but there are two large stumbling blocks.
First (and most important), it is difficult for us to find time to revisit and work on earlier issues of the magazine. We just don't have the time, and our unfulfilled "to do" list has many other more important things on it. Unless it is a major problem that is easily fixed (like the missing text for 130, for example), we just don't have the time. The second problem is that there is really no good place for us to put the errata. As a rule, the web enhancements come out too soon after the release of the magazine to contain errata for it (since we usually don't know what needs fixing at that point). Maybe someday, the resources will be available for us to maintain an index for each adventure in each magazine, that includes things like errata and additions. But for now, that day remains far off.
All of that being said, I encourage you to stick with the adventure path. If your biggest problems thus far have been the mistakes made with the stat blocks and encounter descriptions, the consensus around here is that "Three Faces of Evil" represented a low point in the editing of the Adventure Path, and that things improved significantly after that. Seeing the number of mistakes that slipped through on that issue certainly was a wake-up call for me personally. In that sense, I think you will find that the adventures do improve as you go along, and there should be fewer stat errors in the later installments. Only time will tell of course.
Much of what you're complaining about has nothing to do with the module. It's expected that DMs will change things around to suit the campaign, the characters, and the players' tastes. Plot hooks, NPCs, monsters, dungeon maps, treasure, all of these things should be altered by the DM to suit the needs of the game. Come on. You can't blame a failed campaign on the modules. You also can't expect your players to enjoy a module if it's run by-the-book verbatim.
Also, if your players are not of sufficient level to comfortably push through a module, it's up to the DM (you) to run side quests to make sure your group is ready. I'm at a loss here. Modules are guides, not blueprints.
Fetch me my +3 Trollbane blade!
I'm not suprised that someone would complain about the AoW campaign, but I am suprised that they would do so in such a long and well written post.
I agree that some areas of the AoW need a bit more explaining like what the special items are for, or rooms that are missing numbers, but they are MINOR issues. All the adventures so far have been creative and had some really, really, REALLY cool encounters, NPC's and experiences to make for a stellar campaign. All the DM needs to add is some flavor to tie up the loose ends and some play balance. The two things that the original poster seems to be having trouble with.
Do your players really complain if something has too many feats, or doesn't have its AC or attack calculated correctly? If they do then they are WAY to familiar with your monsters and you need to shake things up a bit. They should know much more than what the monster looks like, what its doing now (like eating their face) and how much damage/effect is has. This also ties in nicely to play balance.
If your party is getting mauled, then soften the encounters! Its not hard at all to do. Just because a room lists 2 tieflings, or 8 skeletons or a Dire Board, doesn't mean that you HAVE to run it as such. The writers design encounters based on a generic rule of thumb. Its impossible for them to always get the challenge right for each party. For example 4 3rd level Archers may be a horrible match up for your group that lacks ranged attacks, but simple for one with 2 mages and 2 rangers. Add in the fact that theres multiple encounters strung in a row and they will never get it right. Thats what you (the DM) are for. To challange your party yet keep it fun. A TPK now and then can happen, but if your getting one almost every week your being too rough. I don't blame the party for get tired of it. Unfortunatly they won't be any happier with other adventures if you don't change your ways. Its not just the AoW thats the problem. Even die rolls will have a factor. Rolling poorly on init, or attacks in one encounter will waste resources for later ones. Theres no way to balance it all.
Finally, the lack of detail can be taken as a hinderance or as a help. Its up to you as the DM to decide. WIth all the structure, maps, NPC's, Names, encounters, traps, and treasure already preplaced, you have very little left that needs to be filled out. Just enough to make the campaign personal for you and your players. Not enough detail on the Diadem from the Wind Tomb? Take 15 seconds and wing it. Leave its use a mystery and your players will be more intregued than if you come out and say "Its a +2 Wisdom booster, that you may need later" In some areas if they put in more structure it would actually make things tougher for a lot of DM's. They would have to remove NPC's, locations, and entire plot lines that don't mesh with the world they invision. Instead Dungeon builds you a house, and lets you pick the interior colors and carpeting.
I haven't had any problem whatsoever with any of the issues you mentioned. I'm inclined to think therefore that you just don't like the style of the campaign, which is fine, it isn't for everyone. There are other fully-detailed campaigns out there for you to choose from (World's Largest Dungeon, Shackled City, Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil) if you don't like it.
I've read all the adventures up to the current issue and I haven't seen these problems myself. Concerning the typos, I don't count feats, skill points, and other details on bad guys because it doesn't really matter. My PCs aren't going to see the stat blocks to know something is wrong. I prefer to be concerned with whether the EL adequately reflects the challenge, which is easy to adjust on the fly ("I think this monster is really more of a CR 5 than a CR 4" or "I think 8 skeletons is too many, I'll cut it back to 4"). The story is more important than having a correct stat block.
To start with, I gave each player a xerox of most of the info from 124 on Diamond Lake (I blacked-out spoilers) and they came up with character concepts that fit the setting. This did not take a lot of time to do. They already loathed Smenk and were confused when he approached them about entering the mine. I cackled my DM laugh; the fools, Smenk is just using them by playing the innocent fool and they bought it. They were TPKed in 3FOE and loved every minute of it because it was an exciting encounter. They created new characters who came into Diamond Lake and heard of the disappearance of other heroes. Being adventurers themselves they investigated and finished off the mine. Dourstone and Smenk were arrested in the aftermath. Then Allustan approached the heroes about continuing the investigation of these green worms, to which they readily accepted. They escorted Allustan to Blackwall Keep and saved them while Allustan retreated for reinforcements. They negotiated a deal with the lizardfolk and returned. Now Allustan and Marzena have exhausted their leads and Allustan has sent them to Eligos to see if they can learn more. No plot holes. No glaring continuity errors. Everything done exactly like the module was written. Maybe my PCs are just more forgiving.
It seems to me that your problems have more to do with the lethality of D&D than this adventure itself. I just ran the first session of 3FoE, and was prepared for it from reading some of the complaints on these boards. My PC's realized this whole adventure is very dangerous, and spent nearly every gp they had crafting a wand of cure light wounds. This makes all the difference in 3FoE.
I also had Smenk force an NPC on the party (ie: meatshield). The players actually like this guy, and like him even more now since he took the brunt of the dire boar attack. ("BBQ for everybody!")
We had 3 character deaths in the WC, one a rather dumb move against the owlbear, and two from, of all things, the bugbear zombie of Filge's. The party easily defeated the underwater ghoul, Kullen, the wind warriors, the various traps (something I didn't notice at first - that elevator trap only does 2d6 damage - see the stats - it's not a Gygax 'immediate death').
My point is, sure there are errors, and Paizo's staff addressed this issue. But where else will you find resources like what you have here, and at sites like http://therpgenius.com/Default.aspx?alias=therpgenius.com/ageofworms ? I have virtually no time to prepare each week, either, so I have to learn to be light on my feet. To answer your question, I not only believe it will get better - it's very good now.
My party just finished the Champion's Games in the AP (with Greyhawk now becoming a city of undead - the party has yet to actually escape the city) and I have to agree with much that Chriton227 has said. I picked this campaign for the very reasone Chriton did - no time to do lots of prep. I mean that's what Dungeon is for, right. I soon found that I was spending a lot of time, usually most of Saturday and Sunday, fixing the campaign so that it made sense and didn't wipe out the party. What I found even tougher is that all the errors in the adventure aren't always appearent on a fist, second, or even third read through. It wasn't until I was running the thing that some of the errors became glaring, and of course then it's scrample time. I will say, however, that my party is having a great time - some of them have said this is one of the best camapigns they have played in years. So I think the extra work paid off. The downside is that we're going to take a break from this campaign for a spell while I get a couple of issues ahead - there really is too much work to do unless you're a couple of issues ahead of the game. And the DM needed a break. My only advice for you Chriton227 is to either put in the work (even though you didn't think you were going to have to) or call the thing dead and move on.
Creative Director
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To the Paizo staff - Have you considered asking on the boards for help in compiling the errata? I'm sure there are a lot of people that would be willing to chip in, especially if they could get definitive rulings on how to fix the more complicated issues. This would allow you to have the erratas available with a minimum of time and/or resource commitment from your staff.
First of all, sorry the Age of Worms hasn't worked out for you. Not all campaigns can be winners, even if it's the same campaign that works 100% for someone else.
As for the issue of errata, the cold hard fact is that we don't have time to really track or focus on errata. "The Three Faces of Evil" has the most errors in it of all the "Age of Worms" adventures, and that was mostly because we just didn't have as much time to work on that issue due to Gen Con, Origins, and other convention-related things taking up time. Only when there's something REALLY messed up do we issue errata, such as is the case in issue #130's "Palace of Plenty," which was missing 3 encounter areas. Those missing encounters have been posted to a thread in this forum, and will be printed in #130's online supplement. Stat block errors, in the grand scheme of things, are relatively minor, given the fact that if we took a day or half-day to hunt down errata, the current issue of the magazine would suffer as a result.
As for asking for aid from our readers here on the boards to compile errata... we have thought of that and have done it, for the Shackled City hardcover. The Shackled City errata thread was a GREAT help in compiling those adventures, and if we do an Age of Worms hardcover, I'll be doing the same thing. Likewise, I think the idea of starting a thread of reader-submitted eratta is a great idea.
As for Zosiel's circlet; it's full powers are detailed in issue #129 in the adventure "A Gathering of Winds."
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It sounds like your players like to breeze through enconters...I, as a GM, like them to be challenging. My PC's walked therough 3FoE. They destroyed the Tieflings before they could make it to the door. Had 2 lucky crits on the dire boar. Then just kinda refused to enter the Battle Temple. They waited, and waited, and waited, while Theldrack sent some gaurds to harry them in. They crushed the gaurds, the went in after all the baddies spells went down...Still had 2 players down at the end, but the Hexblade witha Greatsword does a ton of damage.
Now then, Champions games saw 3 character deaths. Since they were in GH, I allowed them to pay for Ressurections. They sold off half their stuff, and have about 100 gp each. Having the Demon, right after the Apostle was brutal. Thay had befreinded Draconic Brood, which in my game were a pair of half dragons, a preist and a paladin of Bahumat, who aided them by raising the Wizard after him dying to the Demon. They won the final battle, but the Rogue died in the fighting. A well timed crit by a Flesh golem. Draconic Brood hinted that they are prophesized among Dragonkind, to perform a great service, so they will be recurring characters.
I love it, so far. It is difficult, yes, and the players really need plans...they cannot go with the old "A-Team" philosophy of "get 'em". If they do not plan, pick spells carefully, they will die. They have learned this...I cannot wait until they fight Ilthane..
I agree with you Chriton on at least one point - that business with Zosiel's Diadem. Even though the problem is resolved now, with the full description provided in "Gathering of Winds", that didn't really solve the problem for those of us starting the AP back when Whispering Cairn first saw print. I understand that the authors/whoever can't always provide full explanations to every future plot device but in this case they should've done something better than "PCs who keep this item will be happy they did when it becomes useful in a future installment". Like Chriton said, something as simple as a domain (sphere, whatever) and intensity level for magical detection purposes was necessary and should've been included. It was really confusing and unfair to wizards, clerics, bards, scholars and anyone/everyone else who showed interest in that piece. Worst of all, the error made the DM look incompetent and ill-prepared (in short, it made an a*s out of us). Such errors are irksome to say the least and a more contrite spirit in response to complaints about such errors would be appreciated.
All that said ... I still think Age of Worms rocks!
I found the issue of Z's Diadem easy to deal with: from the hints dropped in the adventure I told the Wizard identifying the item that "It functions as a +2 circlet of Wisdom, and through your magic you know it has other powers, but it is curiously resistant to revealing them to you."
This drove them nuts, but they kept it nonetheless.
In circumstances like these I'd concentrate less on the black and white rules and more on what story flavor you can add when the characters cast divination spells and so on for these circumstances.
And as for getting better I'll put it like this:
For a party of 4, I'd be very very surprised if they got out of the first two adventures in the AoW without some deaths. The encounters are very tough, and if they don't have a fighter type in their midst they're toast.
Our group of 6 (1 paladin, 1 barbarian, 1 cleric, 1 bard, 1 rogue, 1 wizard) was hot and cold in the Whispering Cairn. The first few encoutners they slaughtered everything, then the tougher ones (Filge and his undead stooges, the Wind Warriors) they got messed up but came out on top.
Then in the 3 faces of evil the cleric got killed via a critical hit from the Dire Boar and everyone else was beat nearly to death - though they pulled out at the last moment by killing Theldric (last baddie standing) and ending the encounter. They spanked the Grimlocks (they'd hit 4th level at this point) and now get to face the Vecna group. Should be interesting and nasty, as my group is 4th level and there are six adventurers and not four.
What I did is soup up the baddies as such to make the encounters less of a walk through (the kenku as written are so much fodder):
Labyrinth Denizens CR 3
Kenku Sneak
Rogue 1/Scout 2
NE Medium humanoid (kenku)
Monster Manual III 87
Init: +9, Senses: Low-light vision; Listen +8, Spot +8
Languages: Common, Goblin, Kenku
AC: 19, touch 14, flat-footed 14
HP: 22
Fort +2, Ref +11, Will +1
Spd: 30 ft.
Base Atk: +1, Grp +1
Melee: Club +1 (1d6) and claw –4 (1d3)
Ranged: mwk light crossbow +6 (1d8/19-20)
Atk Options: Skirmish +1d6, Sneak Attack +1d6, great ally
Combat Gear: potion of shield of faith (+2) [drinks before combat], tanglefoot bag
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 18 (+4), Con 12 (+1), Int 13 (+1), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 10
SQ: Battle Fortitude, Mimicry, Trapfinding, Uncanny Dodge
Feats: Improved Initiative, Rapid Reload
Skills: Balance +11, Bluff +6, Hide +12, Listen +8, Move Silently +12, Search +6, Spot +8, Tumble +10
Possessions: Combat Gear, buckler, masterwork studded leather armor, club, masterwork light crossbow with 20 bolts, 5 sunrods, pouch with 7 gp.
Great Ally (Ex): When successfully aided on a skill check or attack roll by an ally, or when aiding another, a kenku applies a +3 bonus on its check or attack roll. Furthermore, a kenku gains a +4 bonus on attack rolls against opponents flanked by an enemy.
Mimicry (Ex): A kenku can perfectly mimic familiar sounds, voices, and accents. This ability does not enable the kenku to speak languages it can’t normally speak. To duplicate a specific individual’s voice, a kenku makes a Bluff check. A listener familiar with the voice being imitated must succeed on an opposed Sense Motive check to discern that the voice isn’t genuine.
Special: Kenku have a +2 racial bonus on Hide checks and Move Silently checks.
Kenku Boss CR 5
Rogue 2/Scout 3
NE Medium humanoid (kenku)
Monster Manual III 87
Init: +9, Senses: Low-light vision; Listen +5, Spot +5
Languages: Common, Goblin, Kenku
AC: 19, touch 14, flat-footed 14
HP: 40
Fort +3, Ref +12, Will +2
Spd: 40 ft.
Base Atk: +3, Grp +3
Melee: Rapier +8 (1d6) and claw –2 (1d3)
Ranged: mwk light crossbow +8 (1d8/19-20)
Atk Options: Skirmish +2d6, Sneak Attack +2d6, great ally, trackless step
Combat Gear: potion of shield of faith (+2) [drinks before combat], vial of alchemist’s fire
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 18 (+4), Con 14 (+2), Int 13 (+1), Wis 14 (+2), Cha 10
SQ: Battle Fortitude, Evasion, Fast Movement, Mimicry, Trapfinding, Uncanny Dodge
Feats: Improved Initiative, Uncanny Strike (can flank or catch any foe flat-footed), Weapon Finesse (rapier)
Skills: Balance +13, Bluff +8, Hide +13, Listen +11, Move Silently +12, Search +11, Spot +11, Tumble +13
Possessions: Combat Gear, buckler, masterwork studded leather armor, masterwork rapier, masterwork light crossbow with 20 bolts, elixir of hiding, elixir of vision, 5 sunrods, pouch with 7 gp.
Kenku Lieutenant CR 4
Sorcerer 4 (Draconic: Black)
NE Medium humanoid (kenku)
Monster Manual III 87
Init: +3, Senses: Low-light vision; Listen +6, Spot +3
Languages: Common, Kenku
AC: 21, touch 17, flat-footed 21
HP: 17
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +5
Spd: 30 ft.
Base Atk: +2, Grp +2
Ranged: Ranged Touch +6
Atk Options: Great ally
Combat Gear: Smokestick
Spells Prepared: (CL 5th)
2nd (4/day, DC 16) – Detect Thoughts, Mirror Image, Scorching Ray
1st (7/day, DC 15) – Identify, Grease, Mage Armor, Orb of Acid (lesser), Shield
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 16 (+3), Con 12 (+1), Int 10, Wis 12 (+1), Cha 18 (+4)
SQ: Mimicry, +1 bonus on all saves vs. paralysis or sleep effects.
Feats: Draconic Power, Eschew Materials, Point Blank Shot (+1 to hit, +1 to damage within 30 feet)
Skills: Concentration +8, Hide +12, Listen +5, Move Silently +8, Spot +4
Possessions: Combat Gear, 2 Quall’s Feather Tokens (bird), pouch with 32 gp.
Tactics:
Casts the following before combat:
- Mage Armor (duration: 5 hours) +4 armor bonus to AC
- Shield (duration: 5 minutes) +4 shield bonus to AC, Immunity to Magic Missiles
- Mirror Image: 3 Images (duration: 5 minutes)
Use the following combat tactics:
- Blast away with Scorching Ray
- Grease nasty fighter weapons
Fiendish Advanced Dire Weasels CR 4
NE Medium Magical Beast (Native Extraplanar)
Init: +4, Senses: Darkvision 60, Low-light vision, Scent; Listen +12, Spot +12
AC: 16, touch 14, flat-footed 12
HD: 6d8 (40 Hit Points)
Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.
Fort +5, Ref +10, Will +3
Spd: 40 ft.
Base Atk: +6, Grp +8
Attacks: Bite +11 melee (1d6+2 plus attach)
Abilities: Str 14 (+2), Dex 20 (+5), Con 10, Int 3, Wis 12 (+1), Cha 11
SQ: DR 5/magic, Cold and Fire Resistance 5, SR 11
Feats: Alertness, Stealthy, Weapon Finesse, Improved Weapon Finesse
Skills: Hide +16, Listen +12, Move Silently +16, Spot +12
Smite Good (Su): Once per day the weasel can make a normal melee attack deal an extra 6 hit points of damage against a good foe.
Attach (Ex): A dire weasel that hits with its bite attack latches onto the opponent’s body with its powerful jaws. An attached dire weasel loses its Dexterity bonus to AC and thus has an AC of 12.
An attached dire weasel can be struck with weapons or grappled itself. To remove an attached dire weasel through grappling, the opponent must achieve a pin against the creature.
Blood Drain (Ex): A dire weasel drains blood for 1d4 points of Constitution damage each round it remains attached.
Acolytes of Vecna CR 3
Male human Wizard 3
NE Medium humanoid
Init: +6, Senses: Listen +3, Spot +5
Languages: Common, Draconic, Infernal, Kenku
AC: 19, touch 15, flat-footed 17
HP: 17
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +4
Spd: 30 ft.
Base Atk: +1, Grp +1
Ranged: Ranged Touch +4
Combat Gear: Potion of protection from arrows (10/magic), potion of fox’s cunning, potion of shield of faith (+3), potion of gaseous form, scroll of Scorching Ray (3rd), scroll of Web (1st).
Spells Prepared: (CL 2nd)
2nd (DC 15/17) – Blur, Scorching Ray
1st (DC 14/16) – Burning Hands, Color Spray, Mage Armor
Spellbook: 0 – all; 1st – Burning hands, cause fear, color spray, disguise self, expeditious retreat, mage armor minor image,
shocking grasp; 2nd – Blur, Scorching Ray
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14 (+2), Con 14 (+2), Int 16 (+3), Wis 10, Cha 10
SQ: Rat Familiar (+2 bonus to Fortitude Saves, grants Alertness to master, can deliver touch spells)
Feats: Alertness, Combat Casting, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Scribe Scroll
Skills: Concentration +12, Hide +4, Listen +3, Spellcraft +9, Spot +4
Possessions: Combat Gear, spell component pouch, pouch with 48 gp.
Tactics:
Casts the following before combat:
- Mage Armor (duration: 3 hours) +4 armor bonus to AC
- Blur (duration: 3 minutes) foes suffer a 20% miss chance
- Potion of Protection from Arrows (duration: 3 hours) DR 10/magic vs. arrows
- Potion of Shield of Faith (duration: 9 minutes) +3 deflection bonus to AC
- Potion of Fox’s Cunning (duration: 3 minutes) +4 enhancement bonus to Int
Use the following combat tactics:
- Get the hell to room 25 (if possible)
- Blast away with Scorching Ray & Color Spray
- Repeat (mage’s switch)
The Faceless One CR 6
Male human Wizard 6
NE Medium humanoid
Init: +6, Senses: Low-light vision; Listen +4, Spot +5
Languages: Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Giant, Infernal, Kenku
AC: 24, touch 16, flat-footed 22
HP: 42 (58 with false life).
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +8
Spd: 30 ft.
Base Atk: +3, Grp +3
Ranged: Ranged Touch +5
Combat Gear: Scroll of Lightning Bolt (6th), Scroll of Summon Monster III (6th), Potion of shield of faith (+4), 4 potions of cure light wounds (1st)
Spells Prepared: (CL 6th)
3rd (DC 19, 3) - Fireball x2, Slow
2nd (DC 18, 5) – Blur, Scorching Ray
1st (DC 17, 5) – Burning Hands, Color Spray, Mage Armor
Spellbook: 0 – all; 1st – Chill Touch, Expeditious Retreat, Hold Portal, Identify, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Ray of Enfeeblement, Shield; 2nd – False Life, Flaming Sphere, Mirror Image, Touch of Idiocy, Web;
Wizard’s Staff: Cantrips, deliver touch spells, +1 enhancement bonus
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14 (+2), Con 16 (+3), Int 22 (+6), Wis 14 (+4), Cha 16 (+3)
SQ: +3 bonus to AC when casting defensively (Imbued Staff feat)
Feats: Combat Casting, Empower Spell, Imbued Resistance, Scribe Scroll, Sudden Empower Spell (1/day)
Skills: Concentration +16, Spellcraft +14, Tumble +6
Possessions: Combat Gear, lesser metamagic silent (extend), cloak of charisma +2, Mask of the Faceless One (combines the effects of a mask of resistance +1 and mask of intellect +2, wearer suffers a –3 penalty to all Charisma related checks), spell component pouch, pouch with 48 gp.
Tactics:
Casts the following before combat:
- Mage Armor (duration: 6 hours) +4 armor bonus to AC
- False Life (duration: 6 hours) +16 Hit Points
- Potion of Shield of Faith (duration: 12 minutes) +4 deflection bonus to AC
- Shield (duration: 6 minutes) +4 shield bonus to AC
- Mirror Image (duration: 6 minutes) 5 images
Use the following combat tactics:
- Use metamagic rod to cast empowered monster summoning III to bring in a Huge Monstrous Centipede
- GET TO COVER THROUGH THE CENTIPEDE!!!!!
- Blast the shizzle out of the party!
I would like to say, "Right on, Chriton." As a vocal critic of 3Foe, I fully support Chriton's disappointment with the early episodes in the AoW path. The Whispering Cairn is overly lethal, as we all know. You don't have to look very hard to find several threads that say this very thing. 3FoE is, by the editors' admission, chock full of typos and errors. I'm not just talking about an extra feat or a misallocated skill point or two, I'm talking about serious mistakes like incompatible gear on NPCs (my characters WILL notice when the cleric is wielding a two-handed flail and a shield at the same time, and not because they're "too familiar with my monsters.") and incorrect room numbers.
That said, Chriton, they DO get better, IMO. I still have problems with variety for variety's sake (e.g., the inclusion of a pair of harpies in the lizardfolk lair) and the repetitive "ask the NPC for help" hooks, but the adventures are getting better as they go. Champion's Belt and Hall of Harsh Reflections, in particular, are excellent adventures.
I, too, started running AoW because I don't have the time to do my own campaign. Of course, I quickly discovered I was going to have to make the time to make adjustments and look for areas that need fixing (for example, the draconic kobolds in Blackwall Keep are described as wielding spears, but have rapiers in the stat block). Most of these mistakes are not the end of the world, but time to fix them is still necessary (ps. the map is not missing, you are right that it is the unnumbered poster map).
I hope that helps (and actually adresses the question you posed).
O
They key to any campaign is to plan ahead. I read the first three adventures before starting my AOW campaign..I knew what the players might face...when they were in player creation phase I steered them towards feats and skills that would aid them. Thus I wound up with a gnome wizard with 18 con (don't ask) who buring hands as a starting spell..a grey elf rogue with 18 int who has a obsene search skill, a human ranger whose major enemy was undead etc...
A lot of players want to create whatever character they fancy...that's fun for them until they find the set of skills is next to useless for the campaign..you can solve a lot of problems before campaign starts by nudging the players...I gave a "hero point" to each player who decided to be from Diamond lake and take a reasonable race/class combo. That quickly stifled the min/maxer who wanted to play a goliath...
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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I may be alone in this, but personally I would have rather had erratas than stat blocks for scores of people in town, especially since there are very few of them where full stat blocks will ever be useful.
The Overload outline was concluded way before there was any errata to be compiled, so this is a false dichotomy. Further, the town stat blocks were completed before #124 ever came out--it was the outline portion that took us (me) so long to polish that resulted in the big delay on the Overload.
It appears that there has been a lot of time spent fleshing out the setting, but the focus seems off. There are lots of details about townsfolk, but WC specifically give the party a base outside of town to minimize the time they spend there, and 3FoE seems to encourage the party to do it in one trip. Blackwall then...
My own party played something like 15 four-hour sessions in Diamond Lake before setting out for Blackwall Keep, so I think this is all a matter of pacing and how much "non-module" stuff you do in between the adventures.
Me? I tend to do a lot of it. The adventures provide the framework for the campaign, but it's the DM's responsibility to add extra encounters and stuff that speak directly to his players' interests and backstories, and the assumption is that a lot of this goes on in Diamond Lake in the early part of the campaign.
I have read posts from people on this site who blew in and out of the Whispering Cairn in a single night of play, and all I can do is shrug my shoulders and say "you and I play a very different sort of Dungeons & Dragons."
--Erik
...all I can do is shrug my shoulders and say "you and I play a very different sort of Dungeons & Dragons."
--Erik
I've thought about this before. I've often wanted a chance to sit in a game with the Paizo folks, or in Monte Cook's game, just to see how the "pros" play it. But I have to admit, I enjoy being the DM because I like the way I run things, and I don't always like the way other people run things. So, who knows how I'd feel.
I think you really hit it on the nail when you say that you make it work for each group's interests and backstories, though. I do my best to get to know each player's ideas and wants, and I work it into the game. The result is always great.
So you haven't yet finished 3FOE, and your players aren't into the epic plot. Could it be because the adventure path hasn't even truely revealed the plot? To me WC was more of a prologue to the AOW, it involves unrealited events that only barely brush on the impending doom by chance. Had Kullen and Co. snatched some other body's for Filge, the PCs would return from some random expedition to find the world engulfed in darkness. You know, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, naturally they became heroes... Personally I loved it.
The cult beneath the Dourstone mines, at this point, seems like another unrelated event. Until they read up on the cultist leaders plans. Then they begin to see a glimpse of things to come. To give you fair warning, the next 2 parts have little to do with the overall plot as well, the Champion's Belt is the next opportunity to really learn anything more about the AOW, followed by another seemingly un-related adventure (though it ties nicely to both WC and EBWK). Looking at the outline in the Overload, it looks like from that point on the heroes are working to stop the AOW full-time. To me it's like a TV show which combnes random single-episode plots intermixed with sweeping multi-episode storylines (like X-Files). The slow build may not be your group's style, which is fine. It sounds more like you and your group were expecting a single unified plot in 12 parts, and perhaps that expecation hurt things.
If you want the players to be more engaged, toss in a few random references to the coming apocolypse (check out the Worms Crawl In thread). If they don't bite, maybe its time for someting new.
On another note, I don't think its realistic to think that a published campaign can work out for every group. A DM needs to review the campaign, and alter things that they don't feel work. Sometimes its little things like swapping a weapon to better fit the party fighter's weapon of choice, sometimes its completly re-working an encounter. Of course this takes time, but not nearly so much as writing your own adventures.
I totally understand having limited time to work on a campaign. But here's a few suggestions:
1) Take Dungeon to work with you. Assuming your employers allow the legally-required lunch time, read through the adventure then. Grab a highlighter and some post-its from the company supply cabinet (rob the company, its good for the soul) to make notes.
2) Use that hour-long commute to think about what you read over lunch, think about how to tailor things to your group. Brainstorming doesn't require so much focus as to impair your driving. Taking notes, however, will. If there's a pocket recorder in the supply cabinet, snag it; if not, think about picking one up or call your voice mail on your cell with your notes.
3) Find a time where you can work on the campaign at home without interuption. Explain to the fam that this is your alone time, and it's the only thing keeping you from putting round after round into innocent bystanders from a clock tower. As you pointed out D&D is a release for some of us (picturing you boss's face on the orc your character is cleaving in twain is also chicken soup for the soul). Or set the alarm 30 minutes earlier, and work on things before anyone else gets up. Sleep is overrated anyway.
Hey all!
I was also thinking that the lethality of the path may have something to do with the party composition. Bard/Rogue/Warlock/Cleric is a strong combo in some respects, but without a heavy hitter/damage soaker like a Fighter or Barbarian, any adventure can prove too much.
I have been running a lot of games out here in Hawai'i recently and nobody ever wants to play a fighter...which I can understand sometimes, but the side effect is that I have to tone down some encounters otherwise rogues and warmages are dropping like flies in the fight.
Maybe if you decrease the danger of some encounters to compensate for the lack of a tank the path will prove less fatal.
Then again...with the right spell combo, a cleric can house a fighter at higher levels, but not at 4th or 5th.
so what have we learned so far?
- RANDOM dice rolls can result in easy combats or TPKs
- campaign taste is individual
- a series of adventures written by different authors isn't going to be as cohesive as from the one author or as good as a homegrown campaign
- the writers and editors are human
at the risk of repeating myself from an earlier post on an old thread, what did Dungeon provide before the Adventure Paths? a series of seemingly unrelated adventures that those of us with enough magazines and little time to spare must have somehow strung together into something resembling a campaign. has so much changed that campaigns are now falling apart due to lack of interest?
i have always treated ANY Dungeon adventure, even the AP instalments, as one-shot deals and if they fit into a grand design of my own, then all well and good, otherwise they're out. the campaign overview which has been provided is IMHO just added gravy which ABSOLUTELY needs to be tweaked by individual DMs for their groups, foreshadowing etc etc whatever your group needs to keep interested.
i do agree about the errata - there's no easy solution but neither do i see it as a new or AP-specific problem. i suggest wait for the hardback if you don't have time to make fixes.
(LWB scurries back to She Who Must Be Obeyed for his deserved punishment for conversing with mortal scum)
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Wow..I thought my girlfriend and jobs were time consuming, thank God I only have nephews..LOL..just kidding. I agree about party composistion. We started with a Bard, a Cleric, a Wizard and a Hexblade. Here is what they have now. The bard retired. We all loved the character, and he was awesome when it came to traps and social stuff ( they neve would have gotten this far without his diplomacy ) but the player tired of being ineffectual in combat. So he now has a Barbarian/Fighter/Tempest. The Hexblade picked up a few levels of fighter and 2 of rogue, all well played out, so I allowed it. The Wizard went to Force Missile mage, then Elemental Savant, and the Cleric went to Paladin then War Priest. They are pretty tough, but now they are going to have huge problems with A Gathering of Winds. More likely than not, setting off most traps the way they were intended to go off. Should be interesting..
I'd just like to poke my head in here and agree with chriton227 and others who have voiced disappointment with this campaign. I started the AoW path with high hopes after reading "The Whispering Cairn", which I thought was a great adventure (with a very little bit of personalized tweaking). From there on however, I've been pretty disappointed. I think the plot hooks are pretty awful. someone else on here said something about going from town to town to interview scholars, which I think is dead-on. Pretty much every hook of the adventure path so far (and I just read "The Spire of Long Shadows") involves the PCs travling to talk with some new "expert" about the information they've gathered so far. This could be a little boring in the first place, but add to it the fact that, for the most part, they're not really discovering from these experts anything all that new or revelatory. Quoting from "Blackwall Keep" under concluding the adventure: "Marzena tells Allustan what she's heard about green worms in the Cairn Hills, but unfortunately her news offers little new information apart from confirmation that spawn of Kyuss are increasing in number throughout the Cairn Hills..." Granted, the PCs inadvertently discover more information (through speaking with Hishka or whatever), but the original point of them going came to nothing.
Then they run to the free city to talk to Eligos, an even bigger "expert". on pg. 33 of the magazine, 4 pieces of information are given. I'm not going to type them all out, but they are, basically: first, involvement of Kyuss who mastered undead; second, there are other, more powerful creatures associated with kyuss (other than the spawn); third, that the cult of kyuss is growing; fourth, brief information about the age of wurms. The PCs are potentially privy to ALL of this information in one form or another (most, if not all of it, was discovered by interviewing Filge and reading the handouts from TFoE, and/or by having Allustan research it). There are very minor new ideas added, but nothing justifying having an entire adventure built around trying to find them out.
Then they run to Manzorian, who actually does give them some pertinent information (relevant artifacts and specifics about Kyuss for example), but it's still mostly just a more concise reiteration of everything else they've already learned. By 13th/14th level, they're still really just following up on the same basic information that they found in the middle of the first episode at 2nd level.
Again, I reckognize that through these visits, they're directed to other information and quests, but the visits themselves act as bad plot hooks and PC motivation because they're an utterly transparent tool to move the characters along. The flow and the PCs' motivations should be much more natural feeling than that. I also reckognize that I, as the DM, can tweak these plot hooks, and I have. But I run pre-made adventures so I don't have to spend a lot of time messing around with that stuff, so I think it's a legitimate criticism of the adventure.
I know a lot of people don't care about this stuff as much and are thouroughly enjoying AoW. That's totally fine and I'm not trying to jump all over Dungeon. I'm just voicing my opinion. To me, good plot hooks and PC motivations are essential to a good scenario, and I don't think much time was spent creating a good flow between episodes for this adventure path.
The biggest issues for me now are 1) where can the party rest to continue and 2) how to introduce the replacement for the dead character. I really dislike stopping in the middle of an adventure.
1) I've only done my first readthrough on 3FoE, but it seems to me that the 3 temples don't have a great communication system set up. So long as the missing tiefling guards in the elevator shaft aren't noticed, the group should be able to rest in one temple once it's cleaned out. Given that the temples seem to be self sufficient, you can have it where days go by without anyone going into the elevator shaft or replacements coming for the guards. The temple of Hextor would likely be the one responsible for checking on the guards as they're the most miliatry / organized. The others may simply assume Hextor's group takes care of it. The plot assumes you start with Hextor's temple, so if that's what happened, have them rest there undisturbed once it's cleared out. I don't remember if killing one of the high Priests would trigger the Ebon Aspect, but you can simply slow the time frame of that or change it all together so that all 3 have to be killed.
2) Simple: Others could have noticed what's going on and be checking it out as well. Here's the hook I'm using in 3FoE: Two of my PCs have Bronzewood lodge connections. It's a safe bet that the nature based group would have noticed the increased undead and be concerned about rumors of cultists. I'm also having the Twilight Monestary get involved as they've had "portents" of something bad to come. Given that niether group would have much faith in the town political / military structure to help, they're banding together and addressing it on their own. This is what I"m using to get the group into Dourstone, not the whole Smenk thing (though I'm weaving in some spies of his). With this as the backdrop, it would be easy for the group to come across another PC or NPC sent down to scout it out. Give him / her a connection to another party member, or a common contact, and you have a new group member.
Well, in another dose of probably unwanted advice, I'll say this...
I disagree with some of my fellow posters (and agree with your own response). It sounds to me like your party composition was reasonable and well-balanced and should've been well-prepared to face "whate'er lies ahead".
Maybe I'm way off track here, Chriton, but I got the impression from some of your earlier posts that your group is used to playing in some high power games. I hate to apply the descriptor "power-gamer" but I get the impression the PCs were superstrong, well-equipped, superheroes who basically just walked around kicking butt and taking names. The biggest challenge for you as the DM, in the past, has been providing bigger and badder supervillians to feed into the meatgrinder of the party's legendary battle prowess. This isn't MY particular flavor of play but it obviously worked well for both you and yours. It also sounds to me like your players almost never started any campaign at first level - jumping instead directly to 3rd and avoiding that whole messy challenge to stay alive thing. I think this represents a distinct style of play that is obviously completely uncompatable with the Age of Worms adventure path. I think both you and your players entered into AoW gameplay with the idea that you'd start out with some decent well-balanced, well-equipped characters who would then go about in their usual kickin' butt/takin' names style while developing over 12 fully-developed episodes into the awesome high level superheroes you all know and love. The players were probably expecting their usual fantasy cake-walk and you were probably expecting to invest minimal input - merely managing their victorious tromp and buffing up a few adversaries so it wasn't a complete wash. This assumption came crashing down painfully when your thoughtfully prepared 1st level characters got their butts handed to them by their very first encounter (and by something as uninspired as a few wolves!). Followed by more defeat, more defeat and oh ... another butt-whooping and narrow escape. Now no one is having fun. It's more like a practice in frustration. I'm sorry for your disappointment, sincerely. I view this whole situation as caused by your distinct playing style (fast-paced, low challenge, almost certain victory by powerful characters who only meet death under the most extreme conditions). I think perhaps the surprise for you (and perhaps the lesson learned) is that your style of play is more rare (rarer?) than you originally imagined. I don't believe a significant percentage of the D&D players engage in that sort of play (not that there's anything wrong with it).
I disagree with your comments to Erik. I believe most people do indeed play at the slower rate, despite the black-and-white breakdown established under the official advancement system. I don't believe anyone (or at least not any significant portion of the D&D population) seriously believes they are going to complete AoW from 1st level to 20th in just 12 months. We all like to aim for that, sorta like the "ideal", with the realization that it isn't really likely to happen. I wouldn't personally be surprised if it did indeed take years from my playing group to complete this adventure path (which is perfectly acceptable to all of us).
I hear your complaint about the different authors but you were aware of the situation (and the resulting disparity between adventures seems therefore obvious) before Whispering Cairn was even published. Part of the point to the Overload was to give an overview of the entire plotline so that DMs could plan/adjust accordingly. Or were you absent that day?
I also am a bit confused on your complaint about the errata and "glaring errors" that are only revealed when actually in game-play. Isn't that the purpose of these messageboards? You very nicely requested a place where readers could share problems and brainstorm solutions, possibly with input by editors/authors/other "experts". I regret that you were basically declined by the Paizo staff but I think the question was superfluous. These messageboards already pretty much provide that service. Everytime a new episode of the adventure path is released, a bunch of people read it and point out typos and possible trouble spots. Then DMs chime in with their experiences of running the adventure, others comment and offer advice, conversation ensues. For instance, the problem you mention with the elevator being boarded up and therefore being illogical had already been discussed at length in various threads. Your complaint with what some considered weak plothooks and/or poor continuity between episodes has also been thoroughly discussed on various threads. The trouble with the flails - also exposed and corrected by your friendly fellow DMs.
I guess what I don't understand is ... If you knew enough to find this messageboard and start your own thread to expose your disappointment with the AoW AP in the first place, why haven't you been reading and utilizing the wealth of information provided on these messageboards and therefore avoid the very pitfalls of which you complain?
I hope I don't sound harsh here (I don't intend to be). I'm just trying to help you avoid such disappointments in the future.
Good luck with whatever gaming materials you do impliment. Happy gaming and above all ... "Let's be safe out there"
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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My actual suggestion was that someone consolidate the errata, get official okay on the proposed fixes, and make it available in a location like the official errata link that is on the Dungeon magazine home page.
If some readers want to take the initiative to pull something like this together, that would be just great, and much appreciated.
--Erik
Erik...dude, it's Sunday. Put down the mouse and step away from the keyboard.
I must be finding things a bit different from most, but I've had to change a number of things in Whispering Cairn to make things a bit more acceptable to my style of DMing and more interesting to the players. This is the first time I've used published adventures in the modern era, I haven't used one since the 2nd Edition days. I wanted a more active role and my players wanted more actual roleplaying, so I adapted.
My players are "good with math" as well, and so they min/max whenever they can get away with it. My response is to min/max the encounters. They don't like it much, so they try to be careful.
As a DM it's my responsibility to make the game work, and that means I have to do the work. If I don't like something in the module, I change it. Has it been tough on my group? Sure. They've suffered quite a bit. No deaths yet, but I expect them. I warn my players that I expect a 50% death rate in low level adventures, and they accept this. They keep extra characters in the chute just in case. They are adventurers, and that means risk.
I've read and prepared for the first three adventures. I'm through most of the first, and as I've said, they've suffered, but they aren't bored. And when they do complain it isn't about the adventure. It's about how they've handled things. They've had a good laugh about their mistakes at the end of the sessions. They've had a good time and that's why we play, after all.
I haven't actually run Age of Worms in actual play yet (though I'm running Shackled City with much success and fun at the moment). However, in reading the adventures to date, most have seemed like a lot of fun, filled with interesting ideas. In particular, I was blown away by the Spire of Long Shadows. That is surely one of the best adventures I've read in a while in terms of containing awesome cinematic-feel scenes waiting to happen. And it is filled with great new monsters that are so great that they inspired me to understand how to create custom monsters for other adventures on my own as well.
I do agree with the criticism above, though, about the weakness in the plot hook between adventures regarding seeking the next sage or expert who ends up revealing very little. I hope very much that Dungeon will publish Age of Worms as a hardcover. When that happens, the one place I hope Dungeon's staff will put some extra effort is in finding better hooks to link some of the adventures instead of the repetitive hook of traveling to ask a sage.
To me, good plot hooks and PC motivations are essential to a good scenario, and I don't think much time was spent creating a good flow between episodes for this adventure path.
I think this criticism is perfectly valid, and it is something we will consider carefully when planning both AP III and (potentially) the Age of Worms hardcover.
I was also thinking that the lethality of the path may have something to do with the party composition. Bard/Rogue/Warlock/Cleric is a strong combo in some respects, but without a heavy hitter/damage soaker like a Fighter or Barbarian, any adventure can prove too much.I've found that rogues and warmages function best against either single tough targets or large quantities of minor targets, but a small number of moderately tough targets give them trouble. I actually think the party would have given their right arms for a warmage in the Hextor temple just for the AoE damage to clear out the minor targets.
I'm gonna eat some of my own words here. We gamed last night and the party consisted of a warmage, a sorcerer, and a warlock. We housed everything...everything. It was a travesty. Warmages rock out with their socks out. Fighters can just take a hike I guess. :-)
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I'm gonna eat some of my own words here. We gamed last night and the party consisted of a warmage, a sorcerer, and a warlock. We housed everything...everything. It was a travesty. Warmages rock out with their socks out. Fighters can just take a hike I guess. :-)
I've noticed that even at low levels (3rd-5th) a well thought wizard can make a fighter's kill tally look like small potatoes. On the other hand, my wizard wouldn't even think of trying to hold a narrow corridor from a stream of angry orcs. Meatshields have there purpose and though Warmages are more combatty than wizards, they still can't take the shear punishment that a Fighter with a huge AC or a Barbarian's massive number of hit points allows.
From what you say about your time constraints you have no business trying to DM as well as juggle all your other commitments. Being a DM requires work, lots of it; no matter if you are trying to run a published adventure or making up one of your own. I go to school and work and have a kid and play D&D, often DMing. When things get too tight, I take a breather from D&D. It isn't fun, but neither is having a DM who doesn't have his you know what together.
I understand some of your complaints but get real. You know what I have done to ease the problem of erratta? I haven't started running the adventure yet! My PCs will start up after the first of the year and I will have all the posts on the messageboards as well as letters to the editor to work with to figure out problems. I personally was amazed at the amount of material outside of Dungeon for this adventure. It has made my preparations that more thorough and complete.
I suggest turning the reins over to someone without so much on his/her plate. Or else buy an RPG for the computer so you can play at your pace and you don't mess w/anyone elses groove.