Hey,
I am running AoW, and am currently part way through HoHR. We'll probably get to the Sodden Hold next session, but there's some things about the building and its secret underground level that are glarlingly not working for me and I could use some advice on what I'm not getting, or how to tweak it so that it actually works.
First, Sodden Hold is supposed to be located on a river bank, but the typical ground by a river bank like that seems unlikely to support that type of underground tunnelling. Let alone to such a great depth.
Second, the map to the Warren Level appears to have an error in it. I presume the hallway entering room D9 from the top of the map is the short hallway at the bottom of the shaft in D8, but the text for room D8 indicates that the hallway should be running east to west.
Finally, if I am understanding the text for rooms D8 and 9 correctly, the depth math is really not working out. The shaft in D8 descends 35 feet to the surface of the water, which descends another 40 feet to the bottom of D9. The water in D9 is 40 feet deep, and the control pillar another 10 feet above that, which puts floor level of the Warren 25 feet below the floor of the Hold level, and the ceiling (presuming 10 foot ceilings) only fifteen feet below. None of that would be all that much of a problem, except that any attempt at arranging the two levels at anything remotely resembling the adventure text causes the 40 foot deept pit trap in front of the false door in room D2 to fully intrude through some important part of the Warren, making the whole thing impossible.
Am I missing something? Am I smoking crack? Am I nitpicking too much? All of the above?
Thanks.
Hey,
I am running AoW, and am currently part way through HoHR. We'll probably get to the Sodden Hold next session, but there's some things about the building and its secret underground level that are glarlingly not working for me and I could use some advice on what I'm not getting, or how to tweak it so that it actually works.
We hashed these questions extensively about a month and a half ago in an earlier thread, which should be archived by now. You may want to look search it up ("Sodden Hold" ought to do it).
Good point, but probably no one will notice, and one can always surmise that magical reinforcement has been used.
Based on the idea that this is originally designed for Greyhawk, I think the compass rose on the map is wrong. The Selintan River runs North to South along the west edge of the city, and so North on the map should be West. Either way, the text doesn't match the map. (Unless the orientation of the two levels is different?) If the passage really leads westward as the text says, and the upper level really faces westward onto the river then the whole lower level would be under the riverbed (but not by much). If so, that solves the next problem below. (I think we discussed this issue in the earlier thread, and may have received an answer from James or someone).
True, if the orientation of the two levels is the same. Your players probably won't notice unless they are completely anal about mapping. If you're worried about it, you could easily change the orientations of the two levels so that they face different directions, or have the pit trap dump them into the water, where the octopus can eat them.
[QUOTE=] Am I missing something? Am I smoking crack? Am I nitpicking too much? All of the above?
Thanks.
Perhaps the latter--but I'm sure the editors will want to take notes for the hardcover. Meanwhile, we all have to use our DM's license to "cut it to size and pound it to fit," as my dad used to say.