Hey, everyone. I started to run Encounter at Blackwall Keep the other day, and noticed a couple things that really bugged me that I hadn't noticed before (as I usually do in the middle of a game).
All of my problems with this adventure stem from the namesake of the adventure- the battle around Blackwall Keep. First off, nothing about it make sense. Allustan, an 8th-level character, asks the PCs to accompany him along to this place to visit a friend of his who apparently has sent him a letter about the green worms in the Cairn Hills. What does this mean, exactly? Did Marzena, someone who's stationed at a fortress miles and miles away, sends Allustan a letter about something in his own backyard? What exactly did she send him a letter about? When I ran this, I misunderstood what was going on, and almost gave a bunch away that I shouldn't have (that is, the only thing my mind could relate between them was that she had seen green worms around Blackwall Keep, but that couldn't work because she the only source of green worms near her was the Spawn of Kyuss in the cellar, which was completely unknown to her- or worms with the Lizardfolk, but the lizardfolk don't even know about them, and I believe it's assumed she contacted Allustan before the Lizardfolk even arrived). So, basically, this whole part (the hook for the adventure) wasn't very well though-out, and is very poorly explained. Not only that, but it assumes that Allustan "still hasn't had time to explore the Whispering Cairn"- how fast does the AP expect DMs to have everything occur? Is 3FoE supposed to take place a day after WC, and then are the players immediately supposed to run off to Blackwall Keep? Is there no downtime? Could Allustan not find a single freakin' day to walk over to the Whispering Cairn? Again, poorly thought-out.
The second thing that doesn't make sense is Allustan. So he gets the party there, and as soon as they see the battle, he leaves. He tells the PCs that he has to get back to Diamond Lake as soon as possible to get soldiers- I'm assuming because he sees this battle as something that can't be overtaken by a group of four people- and yet, if the PCs don't want him to leave, he gets all pissy and tells them that they can take care of it themselves. What the heck? He thinks it's far beyond their power, yet he thinks less of them if they agree? What exactly did the writer (Sean K. Reynolds, I believe) put this in the adventure for? Why have Allustan come along if he's going to serve no purpose? I mean, sure, he could go back and get soldiers, but why does he need to? (See my next point.)
Next, the battle is WAY too easy. My group, made up of three 5th-level characters with slightly above-average stats, waded through them with no trouble whatsoever. True, it wasn't an all-out battle with every single lizardfolk involved all at once (they took out two of the groups with hit-and-run tactics), but even when they were swarmed by over half of them, there was no threat whatsoever in my mind. They each (with the exception of the two elites, one of which died in a round and the other- the warrior- was the only one that put up any sort of a fight) have have a +2 to hit (which, in my party, meant that, with a flanking bonus, they had to roll a 15 or better to hit the slowest member), and they all have 11 hp, which equates to half of a hit from the Barbarian (who luckily didn't have Cleave), two hits from the TWF Paladin, and two hits from the rogue. If they had a spellcaster in the party, it would have been over in half the amount of time it was- and the whole thing, altogether, only took ten or fifteen rounds or so, some of which was non-combat. Why, exactly, was Allustan so worried? He, himself, could have taken out all of them. Sure, they add up to an EL 11- statistically- but in practice there was no chance whatsoever that they were going to win. Heck, I didn't even have the soldiers help out until the last couple rounds- and the only reaon I did was because I didn't want the PCs to feel that they were alone for the whole thing. In my opinion, huge amounts of easy-to-kill bad guys never equates to a difficult battle. I understand that some of the urgency is that there's probably more Lizardfolk (well, there definitely are, but not another 30, to my knowledge), so winning this battle doesn't mean winning the war, but still. The bad guys ended up standing no chance. Allustan, in my opinion, had absolutely no reason to leave, but the adventure required it (which, again, is stupid- why have him come along, then immediately leave? Why not ask the PCs to go to Blackwall Keep, because Marzena sent him a letter saying it was under attack, and Diamond Lake can't afford to send any more soldiers? That would have made a lot more sense, in my opinion).
Also, time is idiotic in this part. Allustan hurries home (using his one scroll of Teleport), and is probably going to return with soldiers in a week or something. Well, does anyone really expect the Lizardfolk to still be around in a week? Or, if so, do they expect the soldiers to be around for a week? You see, in real life, battles can last days, weeks, even months- but not in D&D. My group, as stated above (and I'm sure lots of other people's groups), beat all of the lizardfolk in, basically, two minutes. I really don't see any way that this battle could last more than another hour, even though it's implied that it's been going on for several days. What was going on for all of that time? Certainly not battle, due to everybody's low HP- anybody who gets hit more than once would probably be dead, and so as long as somebody attacks at least once an hour, everyone would die within a day. Seriously. Wars don't really work in D&D, time-wise.
Next, there's a few errors with the statblocks. The numbers of soldiers in Blackwall Keep doesn't add up at all. How many soldiers are there, and how many are in good condition? Also, the Lizardfolk king (who uses a Trident to great effect) doesn't even have his Trident damage figured out correctly. As someone else has stated, there's 3 chests listed in the room with the eggs, but only one in the actual adventure. As I understand it, this was changed at the last minute or something.
I'm sure there's other things, but we only got as far as the end of the battle (which, in my opinion, was anti-climactic). Has anyone else had similar experiences?
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We haven't played it yet, but I've been following these forums closely for a little over a month now, and others have voiced the same kinds of experiences.
Because of this, I took care to set up Marzena as someone familiar to the PCs from the very start. One of the three heroes is the current apprentice of Allustan, having replaced the bored Marzena who left two years prior (to replace the Spawn-ified previous arcanist at Blackwall Keep, of course).
When we get to this adventure, the letter (actually a missive by House Sivis speaking stone which is destroyed in the attack--we're playing in Eberron) will be sent directly to them from Marzena. Allustan won't have any part in the action unless the PCs take the time to contact him using magic or some other means before pursuing the lizardfolk. Even then, he won't be sweeping onto the scene; I'm taking away his scroll of teleport. I figure on him using his influence with his brother to spur the militia to action, again assuming they bother to let him know that lizardfolk are assaulting the Keep.
I'm bummed that we're only just now getting rolling with our "Age of Worms" campaign, but it is a good thing to be able to anticipate and prepare for the trouble-spots experienced by others. Thanks for bringing up these points again, and here's hoping the rest of the adventure is more exciting to you than the first part.
(And you never know, your players might have had a blast tearing through the lizardfolk siege; did they say they thought it was boring and anticlimatic?)
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The "solution" to Allustan's realistic departure lies in the reason he is there and the suggested setup.
The PCs are to travel to the swamps with Allustan so they can get to know him better and have him become less of a remote NPC and more of a party member.
There are supposed to be a few encounters along the way where Allustan can participate in combat alongside the party to foster this closeness.
To have Allustan need to leave, throw an encounter along the way that incudes foes that have a nasty poison ability. Then - poison Allustan on both the primary and secondary attacks.
A nasty CON poison won't kill him but it will make him extremely weak. Rule that lesser restoration is not powerful enough to repair the damage. He will need a full restoration to deal with the poison.
While a cleric in the party at this point will be able to cure disease at 5th level and cast lesser restoration, a virulent poison will be beyond him or her to fix. Said poison will make Allustan very weak and prevent him from participating further or going into any more combat in a meaningful manner. Facing serious combat, Allustan will opt to head back for the Cavalry while the PCs are charge to hold on..
Take it from there...
I agree with the first poster, so far through the end of BlackWall Keep, the hardest adventure was the grimlock tunnels of the three faces of evil. So far three PCs have been knocked unconscious but none has died yet.
At BlackWall, you can take out almost 1 whole group per fireball, and the lizardmen are not significantly any more difficult to kill than the Grimlocks or any of the other 'basic' monsters that have appeared so far.
The encounters in the Lizardmen's Lair are also too easy, all of the BBEBG's want to rock the party alone as a test of manhood, well since all my party's ac's are pretty high, he didn't just cut them up like he should have.
Also I might have made a mistake, since I let my PCs re-equip in between three faces of evil and the Blackwall Keep.
However My beef is something different: All of the endings assume that the PCs break the big black egg, but as far as I can find it doesn't just happen on its own. So since my PCs are carefull they took it way out into the swamp to examine it. Did I just misread where it pops open or something if it is touched?
Also never never ever let one of your PCs get the FR regional feat Mercantile Background. Thats a reall killer.
Allustan, an 8th-level character, asks the PCs to accompany him along to this place to visit a friend of his who apparently has sent him a letter about the green worms in the Cairn Hills.
I changed this a bit. In 3FoE, the PCs find out that the Ebon Triad is looking for something in the Mistmarsh. Though it doesn't say what might be "among the lizardfolk," this is tbe only clue to what the Ebon Triad's next step was going to be. The PCs go to Allustan, who tells them that he knows the battlemage at Blackwall Keep, and offers to accompany them on the short journey, since he's been wanting to catch up with her for sometime now anyways.
Not only that, but it assumes that Allustan "still hasn't had time to explore the Whispering Cairn"...
I imagine that Allustan is a very thorough individual. The dangers of the Cairn are now gone (if the PCs give Allustan the lanterns to bypass the trap, that is), so he is able to study the cairn in detail. Simply gathering the information that is easily extracted (copying the glyphs, determing the function of the broken portal, etc.) can take months of research. At which time he decides it is worth the time and money to excavate portions of the cairn. Since he wants to make sure that the excavation goes smoothly, and with some sense of discreptancy, hiring the right people will take some time as well.
I've allowed several weeks of downtime between each adventure, and often a week of downtime during the adventures. I just suppose that actual research into something as complex as the Whispering Cairn would take lots of time.
The second thing that doesn't make sense is Allustan. ...I'm assuming because he sees this battle as something that can't be overtaken by a group of four people... Also, time is idiotic in this part. Allustan hurries home (using his one scroll of Teleport), and is probably going to return with soldiers in a week or something. Well, does anyone really expect the Lizardfolk to still be around in a week
Actually, I think that Allustan thinks that the party can easily handle the group of lizardfolk. What he is more concerned with is the actuality of hostilities from the lizardfolk, and the possibility that there are hordes ready to advance out of the marsh. Sure, this group of lizardfolk won't survive a week, but what if there are dozens more groups of 30+ lizardfolk ready to advance through this area? His first thought is to get the keep defended and prepared for such a possibility.
I'm not going to say that these are the "right answers" to these points... I'm just throwing in my thoughts of the thoughts of the NPCs.
{Next, the battle is WAY too easy. My group, made up of three 5th-level characters with slightly above-average stats, waded through them with no trouble whatsoever.}
Well, each group of lizzies is EL5, which should be a pretty routine encounter (using only 20% of the party's resources) for the four D&D iconics, which are designed to be sub-optimal. It is reasonable that three PCs with a good (non-suboptimal) build and above average stats would likewise find them pretty routine to deal with.
{True, it wasn't an all-out battle with every single lizardfolk involved all at once (they took out two of the groups with hit-and-run tactics), but even when they were swarmed by over half of them, there was no threat whatsoever in my mind.}
And that's because an all-out battle with an army isn't the best way to deal with the situation. If the PCs are clustered up, surrounding them with monsters means you're only able to get maybe 12 lizzies surrounding them ... which means the other 18 or so liz can't do much (launching weapons means they risk hitting allies). So you've basically reduced six EL5-6 encounters to one ongoing EL9 encounter ... an EL9 encounter which (as you point out) consists mostly of creatures with a +2 attack bonus. I'm not surprised the PCs had an easy time.
{At BlackWall, you can take out almost 1 whole group per fireball, and the lizardmen are not significantly any more difficult to kill than the Grimlocks or any of the other 'basic' monsters that have appeared so far.}
Though as an adventure for 5th-level characters, you probably don't have more than 1-2 fireballs available.
As for the various "Why did Sean include this?" questions: everything you're asking about was in the AoW outline.
Creative Director
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One of our goals with "Encounter at Blackwall Keep" was to give the PCs a chance to play with their new toys. This adventure sees them transitioning from low-level characters into mid-level characters, and as a result, it's important to give the PCs a chance to feel like they're getting better, growing stronger. Effectively, the start of Blackwall Keep was intended to give the PCs a chance to feel like they're becoming heroes.
If every single encounter in a campaign is designed to test the PCs to the limits of their powers, you'll find your players losing interest and dropping out. One of the most enjoyable aspects of D&D is building up a character to be more powerful; if every single combat ends with the PCs only barely able to defeat the enemy (or running away, for that matter)... well, why go on more adventures? Why adventure at all?
There's plenty of moments in the Age of Worms that'll kill off PCs. I just built Dragotha's stats, and that's one of them. I don't think it's a problem if now and then the PCs have reasons to celebrate easy victories.
James,
What you say makes sense. In fact, it's what I realised after my party waltzed through this adventure without breaking a sweat.
However, the way the module is written doesn't make this clear to the DM, and, in fact, stresses the exact opposite:
--Quote (Dungeon p. 20)
If the PCs charge the keep, they have to deal with all of the lizardfolk as a large group. Barring a few lucky fireballs or something similar, the PCs can't win--twelve normal lizardfolk are EL 8, a tough challenge for 5th-level PCs, and if fighting thirty such creatures could be measured accurately on the EL scale, they'd be at least an EL 11--certain death barring a freak combination of rolls in the PCs' favor.
--End Quote
When the siege plays out, and turns out to be pretty much the opposite of this description, I can understand why many DM's might think something has gone wrong.
Now, if the module had said what you say above, we DM's would have realised this was intended to be an ego booster and wouldn't be so concerned that we've mis-interpreted something.
Actually, SKR's assumptions seem to leave out player tactics and battlefield control spells.
With well placed Web and Entangle spells, it's pretty easy to deal with the Lizardfolks. And these are low level spells (compared to a fireball).
It also makes it less likely that "those lizardfolks you are currently not fighting" are in a stalemate with the Keep's guards. They are actually probably being shot down by the soldiers from safe distance while fighting to extract themselves from your spell.
Add in the "Wand of Burning Hands (CL 3)" they probably bought in Diamond Lake and they can roast plenty of entangled Lizardfolks (but don't use that on your Web!).
Bocklin
With well placed Web and Entangle spells, it's pretty easy to deal with the Lizardfolks. And these are low level spells (compared to a fireball).
Actually, Web isn't useful here (a mistake I made as well).
From the spell description (d20-SRD):
Web creates a many-layered mass of strong, sticky strands. These strands trap those caught in them. The strands are similar to spider webs but far larger and tougher. These masses must be anchored to two or more solid and diametrically opposed points or else the web collapses upon itself and disappears.
(Emphesis mine)
Web only works indoors, in heavily wooded areas, or in dungeons. It doesn't work in large rooms or wide open spaces, since there aren't "two or more diametrically opposed points" to anchor the web within it's 20' radius area of effect. You could web in between the stable and the keep, but other than that, it's a wide open area around Blackwell Keep, imho.
Of course, I didn't check the spell description closely when my players were in this encounter and so they used Web to great effect. It was only later that one of them pointed out to me that they shouldn't have been able to :)
James and Sean, thanks for popping in and answering some questions. After playing Sodden Hold, any delusions I had about things being too easy disappeared.
Also one thing my group did that helped alot in Blackwall keep was using silence spells, and since their main battle caster is a psion and not a wizard/sorc, silence doesn't screw them up other than dissallowing using energy ray as sonic, which you don't need at this level anyhow.
In Sodden Hold they did two things right:
1, They had bought four potions of waterbreathing after the whispering Cairn encounter.
2, They bought an extra lesser metamagic rod of extend and some scrolls to keep Prot vs. Evil on everyone virtually all of the time. This made it impossible for the Invisible Stalkers as summoned creatures to attack them.
The thing they did wrong was they had no universal solvent and didn't know about the alcohol thing with the mimics. No one died but it really drained the Psion out having to blast his grappled comrades free.
Also, they got lucky and discovered the Doppledanger in the party early. It had replaced the rogue/ranger and the party was expecting it to check for traps. Well the doppledanger knew about the pit trap and hesitated when it was suggested he search around the double doors. The PC paladin's sense motive check beat the Doppledanger's bluff check, and they pounded him in the mimic room.
With well placed Web and Entangle spells, it's pretty easy to deal with the Lizardfolks. And these are low level spells (compared to a fireball).Actually, Web isn't useful here (a mistake I made as well).
From the spell description (d20-SRD):
Web creates a many-layered mass of strong, sticky strands. These strands trap those caught in them. The strands are similar to spider webs but far larger and tougher. These masses must be anchored to two or more solid and diametrically opposed points or else the web collapses upon itself and disappears.(Emphesis mine)
Web only works indoors, in heavily wooded areas, or in dungeons. It doesn't work in large rooms or wide open spaces, since there aren't "two or more diametrically opposed points" to anchor the web within it's 20' radius area of effect. You could web in between the stable and the keep, but other than that, it's a wide open area around Blackwell Keep, imho.
Of course, I didn't check the spell description closely when my players were in this encounter and so they used Web to great effect. It was only later that one of them pointed out to me that they shouldn't have been able to :)
Ah! But they could have used the web to snag lizardfolk advancing through the field of stakes surrounding the keep, which are angled, but presumably reasonably close to parallel. So the tactic wouldn't be completely useless if you catch them close to the keep.
All of the endings assume that the PCs break the big black egg, but as far as I can find it doesn't just happen on its own. So since my PCs are carefull they took it way out into the swamp to examine it. Did I just misread where it pops open or something if it is touched?
The party I am DMing was at this point in the adventure when we had to adjourn. I'd be interested in any ideas you might have to influence the PCs into destroying the egg as I am not entirely sure they may be inclined to.
They inspected the black dragon egg but failed to note anything peculiar about it. I'll try maneuvering additional Listen checks that will enable them to have a hint of what's inside it. At this point, they're of the mind that Ilthane was not far from the truth in leading the lizardfolk to believe that the humans from the Free City were responsible as the party thinks that it could have been cult members in the City that brought the worms to the marsh. One character is leaning towards carrying the black egg off and selling it. The kobold guards have all been slain and none questioned (not that that would have helped much). Or they might just leave it be. In either case, it would seem a waste of a particularly good kind of encounter, if they missed the danger posed by the fake egg.
As was suggested, an alliance with Hishka had developed, and a seed of doubt planted as to whether Ilthane was really looking out for the interests of the Twisted Branch tribe. But I'm not sure they are inclined to destroy the egg if they still thought there was a chance Ilthane was acting as a sincere protector.
Of course, there is always the Spawn back at the Keep to present a nice ending to the adventure. If they left the egg behind, then it would simply mean a lot more Spawns in the Mistmarsh, which would add to the growing atmosphere of danger for the Adventure Path.
Still, if you have any suggestions on subtly influencing the party into the spawnling encounter, that would be nice!
Still, if you have any suggestions on subtly influencing the party into the spawnling encounter, that would be nice!
Remember that Hishka doesn't trust Ilthane. It might want the egg destroyed. In my game, I'm planning on having Hishka ask the PCs to destroy it to break the covenant between the Twisted Branch and Ilthane. The lizardfolk warriors are too afraid of the egg to destroy it themselves, obviously. And for good reason.
Thanks for the idea, Demiurge. I could have Hishka follow the party into the egg chamber and demand the egg's destruction as an addition to their agreement. Ilthane was responsible for stirring up the tribe against the humans in the Free City, a foolhardy course of action in the eyes of Hishka. It makes sense that he/she would want to liberate the tribe from such an endangering influence.
Actually, Web isn't useful here (a mistake I made as well).
From the spell description (d20-SRD):
Web creates a many-layered mass of strong, sticky strands. These strands trap those caught in them. The strands are similar to spider webs but far larger and tougher. These masses must be anchored to two or more solid and diametrically opposed points or else the web collapses upon itself and disappears.(Emphesis mine)
Web only works indoors, in heavily wooded areas, or in dungeons. It doesn't work in large rooms or wide open spaces, since there aren't "two or more diametrically opposed points" to anchor the web within it's 20' radius area of effect. You could web in between the stable and the keep, but other than that, it's a wide open area around Blackwell Keep, imho.
Ouch! I have let that pass... :-)
They had placed the web very close to the keep, on the avant-garde of the lizardfolks, so as to ensure that they do not turn around a attack full scale when they come from behind.
So I suppose a generous DM could say that the web was holding thanks to all the pikes poking out of the ground and also thanks to the walls of the keep.
I'll know better next time, thanks!
Bocklin
Or for dramatic effect you could have the egg cracking a little during the battle, and possibly hatching a wyrmling dragon to fight on top of the kobolds, but instead, whalaa the spawn of Kyuss.
And most pcs will see $$$$$'s when they see that egg, or want to destroy it as it is an evil dragon.
Evil Dragon eggs must sell for a bundle. Just imagine how much that would be in comparison with 3000 for the baby owlbear.
And most pcs will see $$$$$'s when they see that egg, or want to destroy it as it is an evil dragon.
The party has a henchman along who could probably make a fuss about leaving an evil-dragon egg behind. It's just that Hishka's stand on Ilthane wasn't presented definitively in the module and so the dominant PCs in the party are of the mind that since an alliance with Hishka has been struck, then it wouldn't do to deprive the tribe of its protector's egg.
Anyway, as it happens, I suspect it'll play out ok in the end. They kind off committed themselves against Ilthane when they went and dispatched her kobold minions anyway. The henchman making that point out about leaving the eggs of evil dragons behind coupled with Hishka showing up and ensuring that the last tie with Ilthane be severed should commit them to the spawnling encounter.
Thanks for the ideas! I also spotted another post dealing specifically with the egg and there are some good ideas there as well.
I think I'll run the adventure and have a PC adventurer meet with Allustan and role play the encounter to help develope Allustan. He will prompt the group to check out the silence from his pupil at Blackwall Keep.
I run a large group, and will be changing the lizardfolk into blackscale lizard folk from MMIII. The standard Lizard Man gains 15 hp (average 26 hp rather than 11) and will make the fight there a LOT tougher. When theyu realize they are in for a tough fight I'll prompt them to get into the Keep and reform depending on how things develop.
The halfling Paladin used a dose of Keotom's Ointment on the
egg. It hatched in anger as a small zombie.
The dead worms shocked the lizard men into splitting with the dragon.
In the actual tower standoff the characters took out the
lizard men officers.
If there's a ninja in the party, that's what happens.
When the female druid is the last officer standing, surrender is negotiated immediately.
When the army arrived after the characters returned from the swamp, they dissed Allustan heavily.
Also, by the time the party returns from the swamp there are 3 spawn in the cellar and the soldiers had fled the tower.
Three spawn are a decent challenge.
Let me add that if someone has 2 feather tokens (tree)
them web is an option anywhere above ground.
I think feather token (stone pillar) might be a hot item.
Dwarven clerics could make some KA-CHING with that.
The second thing that doesn't make sense is Allustan. So he gets the party there, and as soon as they see the battle, he leaves. He tells the PCs that he has to get back to Diamond Lake as soon as possible to get soldiers
I agree that Alustan running off to get soldiers doesn't make sense, knowing that the battle is WAY easy for these adventurers, but there is logic here. How would Alustan know what the adventurers are capable of? He really has not seen them in combat, and even if he has, he doesn't know what they are up against. They could all be battle hardened Lizard-folk, or they could have tons of reserves.
I'm running this encounter tomorrow, and I'm going to have Alustan leave to go get soldiers, telling the PCs NOT to do anything until he gets back. He wants to wait and send in an all-out assault. But Alustan is not a battle-mage. He's just a wizard. What does he know of tactical assaults on keeps? Once he's gone, the PCs will have to decide for themselves, with a little coaching from the DM. Have the lizardfolk gain the advantage suddenly, and let one of the PCs see that they are about to breach the keep. They will be forced to act, and the adventure can begin.
Alustan can take as much or as little time as it takes to complete the adventure. You can explain away the time it takes with any number of political complications, monster attacks, etc. When Alustan returns, the PCs stand triumphant within the keep, having slain the Spawn of Kyuss and rescued Marzena.
If the lizardfolk surround a character then the PC is going down. On average you're going to get +10 to hit from aids. The players won't be able to kill the lizardfolk fast enough before one your PCs dies.
IMC, I had all 30 of the scalies involved. I had a huge field mapped out using 3 tables and the little map from the magazine. Instead of defending the keep, the party went after the leaders because they wanted the loot. With fireballs they killed almost all of the back 2 groups except the leaders, who went on the retreat. Unfortunately, my group decided to pursue and let the keep fend for itself. I resolved combat using an Excel spreadsheet I prepared the day before, and the keep went down quickly.
And to add insult to injury, I had the lizardfolk coup de grace all of the soldiers by biting into their skulls, preventing the cleric from healing anyone. Needless to say, there was no hope for a diplomatic solution after that.
The way I handled the Allustan issue was to use him to split up tasks that needed doing. During the initial battle, it was required that the keep be defended and the lizardfolk slain or chased away. So Allustan used his dimension door to enter the keep and help shore up the defenses and repel the lizardfolk while the PCs went for the head of the army and killed the siege's leader and the druid. Then, once the battle was over, there were two tasks that needed doing - rescuing Marzena and getting reinforcements. Since the commander of the Diamond Lake garrison trusts Allustan, he can get the reinforcements, and since the PCs have numbers, youth, and bristle with magical equipment, they're better suited to the rescue operation.
Web only works indoors, in heavily wooded areas, or in dungeons. It doesn't work in large rooms or wide open spaces, since there aren't "two or more diametrically opposed points" to anchor the web within it's 20' radius area of effect. You could web in between the stable and the keep, but other than that, it's a wide open area around Blackwell Keep, imho.
My player cast web in front of the main door, using the balcony and the ground as the opposed points. The lizardfolk were already at the door, trying to get in, so several of them got stuck.
It's only a 5 foot balcony (hence 5 feet of web), but if the lizardfolk can't make their strength checks, it's just as good as 20 feet.
That idea about Allustan going into the keep while the PCs keep the Lizardment outside busy is the best one yet.
I haven't run Blackwall Keep yet, but in the read-through I was also bothered by the hook and Allustan's actions. My group already doesn't completely trust him because of his brother, so I don't want to do anything that will further give them reason to suspect him (which having him disappear in the middle of a battle would absolutely do). So, I'm going to leave him out of the intro all together. As someone else mentioned above, the group finds what they need to point them to Blackwall Keep on their own in 3FoE. They don't need Allustan prodding them to go (though they may need a DM reminder).
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I did not have Allustan accompany the party to Blackwall Keep. He simply pointed them in the direction of Marzena as a resource for things undead, adding that rumors around town of "unkillable undead" from the swamps may be best researched there with her assistance.
I did send Merris, the scout from the garrison, with the party. He seemd most apporpriate for the journey. There was and is plenty of time for getting to know Allustan in Diamond Lake role playing sessions. The walk to Blackwall Keep seemed more appropriate for one of Merris's skills. He was able to return to Diamond Lake with less plausibility issues - especially as a solider of the region.
I liked the encounter with all of the lizardfolk. Yeah, it went fast and was not hard, but the players liked it - and that's what matters to me. The only problem was, as noted above, is that the numbers in the adventure text are confusing as they conflic. But, I chose five groups of six and went from there, because that is what I think it is suppose to be.
Anyway, just a few thoughts. Happy gaming.
Don Kenneth brown
West Jordan, Utah
Allustin running off is dumb.
Either of the options suggested are better.
There is a similar idea in the belt.
If the PCs attack the lizardmen they will undoubtably
focus on them.
The enemy in your face takes precidence.
If the PCs quickly eliminate the officers, the rank and file
lizard men will fail moral quickly.
I like to get into the NPC's heads.
Noone wants to play follow the leader into the outer planes.
(ok, but this is not a religious war.)
So Allustan used his dimension door to enter the keep and help shore up the defenses and repel the lizardfolk while the PCs went for the head of the army and killed the siege's leader and the druid. Then, once the battle was over, there were two tasks that needed doing - rescuing Marzena and getting reinforcements. Since the commander of the Diamond Lake garrison trusts Allustan, he can get the reinforcements,
Nice workaround! If I could go back in time, I'd DM Allustan this way! I think it would have been more consistent with his abilities and with the situation.
My PCs include an apprentice of Allustan's, so there isn't really much need for Allustan to travel with the PCs for bonding purposes--even if the apprentice doesn't survive to the Gathering of Winds, his friends will remember all the help Allustan has given the party and want to rescue him.
So, I think I'll run the intro to this adventure a bit differently. The hamlet of Mallow Gulch, not far from Blackwall Keep, was raided by the Twisted Branch tribe recently. When a patrol from the fort investigated, they found the corpse of a lizardfolk raider surrounded by dead green worms. (The lizardfolk was slain by village militia, and it had previously drunk one of Ilthane's potions with a slow worm in it. As with the infested lizardfolk back at the lair (6C), when this guy died prematurely, the worms crawled out of his body and died on the ground.) Marzena observed this and found it odd and creepy, so she saved samples of the green worm and included a special sealed letter for Allustan on the topic in the report that Blackwall's garrison captain sent to Captain Trask at Diamond Lake. Since the PCs will already recognize the connection between Ebon Triad and the worms, they'll want to investigate further, so Allustan can suggest they first go to Blackwall to consult with Marzena, and then, hopefully, track where the infested lizardfolk came from and find the source of the worms. When the PCs arrive at Blackwall they find it's under siege, and that gets the adventure back more or less on the "as written" track.
Alternatively, one could have Marzena's report on the worms go to someone the PCs are close too at the garrison--like Valkus Dunn.
Since it's likely the PCs can break the siege, they can send one of the garrison members back to Diamond Lake on one of their horses for reinforcements while the PCs rescue Marzena. I'd have the reinforcements arrive just after the PCs have taken out the Spawn in the basement.
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The way I handled the Allustan issue was to use him to split up tasks that needed doing. During the initial battle, it was required that the keep be defended and the lizardfolk slain or chased away. So Allustan used his dimension door to enter the keep and help shore up the defenses and repel the lizardfolk while the PCs went for the head of the army and killed the siege's leader and the druid. Then, once the battle was over, there were two tasks that needed doing - rescuing Marzena and getting reinforcements. Since the commander of the Diamond Lake garrison trusts Allustan, he can get the reinforcements, and since the PCs have numbers, youth, and bristle with magical equipment, they're better suited to the rescue operation.
it's funny how you handled the battle because i nearly did the same thing(Allustan dimension door'd out close to where the command unit was being held in reserve and (after recovering from the trip and performing some buffs) lit them up while the PCs helped with the siege efforts at the tower. Allustan led them on a merry little chase away from the keep then used another d. door to get back to the keep). after that, things went down pretty much the same way.