I have yet to run it, but I am planning to put it into the campaign that I will be running. They synopsis is that someone is getting revenge for their loved one being killed due to the neglect of others. I have to admit, the way they put the adventure into Sharn was most interesting. Please keep us informed as to it goes when you run it.
I haven't run it, but it's certainly one of the best D&D mysteries I've read.
I haven't run it, and I won't be able to for a while, but it reads as a great adventure.
I loved Murder In Oakbridge, I'm adapting it for my SCAP game.
Plot Summary:
S P O I L E R S!
A series of murders in Oakbridge has the PCs uncover a series of interesting and layered suspects (and victims). Facing off against a bereaved mother, and dealing with dinosaurs!
/ S P O I L E R S!
I loved Murder In Oakbridge, I'm adapting it for my SCAP game.
Thanks!
...facing off against a bereaved mother...
Just out of curiosity, once your players (or you) found out the motivations for Ziki's crimes and her tragic past, did they have second thoughts about arresting\killing her or did they went on and did it just the same?
After calling around local bookstores/FLGS, looks like I'm going to have to order from Paizo, which should take about a week and a half.
Since that's the case, I would like some questions answered:
1) How tied is this adventure to Sharn? My campaign is currently set in Stormreach, and I'm wondering how adaptable it is to any place with nobility (My version of Stormreach HAS nobles and such, so it's possibly portable).
2) How scalable is it?
I think this is a stellar adventure and really easy to adapt to Stormreach with some slight background alterations...for example maybe a bunch of the carnies move to Stormreach to escape responsibility for the incident that happened at the circus during their watch, and Ziki tracks them there to exact vengeance.
The adventure is super easy to scale because the antagonist is a leveled character, so you can just raise or lower her level.
Nice work on this Uri...I really enjoyed it. Ziki especially...cool villain!
|
Along with issue #133's murder mystery in Sharn, this particular adventure has me REALLY tempted to push my friends to participate in an investigative campaign set in Sharn. I own a copy of Keith Baker's excellent Penumbra book entitled "Crime and Punishment", and so this'd give me a good chance to put those rules before the players.
I agree, this adventure is fairly scaleable (within reason of Eberron's general low population of NPCs with higher PC class levels) and could be 'ported to almost any other large city in the setting with multi-story buildings. I don't picture too many of those types of structures in Stormreach, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. "The Market", as it appears in DDO: Stormreach, would make a good place for the action.
Nice work on this Uri...I really enjoyed it. Ziki especially...cool villain!
Thanks! But are you sure that she is a villain and not a victim? :)
looks like I'm going to have to order from Paizo, which should take about a week and a half."
So I'm assuming that you long ago recieved your copy, did you have the chance to run it yet? I'm curious how it went...
Cheers
Llowellen
SPOILERS!
Almost done running 'Murder'. It's my very first experience running a module, and it's been a blast. I'm running it as a sister adventure to 'Chimes at Midnight', using Victor Saint-Demain as a friendly NPC assisting the PCs in their investigation. Last session, they had acquired a hair of Ziki's from one of the murder scenes. They went to a wizard-for-hire and used the hair to scry on her, and found her serving tea to the last two potential victims and Victor at the Bluebird Inn (Victor is acting as a bodyguard for them until the PCs can track down the killer). I left off there, so next session will be the final act in the adventure.
I'm almost done updating my blog with the last session's activities, so you can see for yourself how the adventure progresses if you like - http://shadowofevil.blogspot.com
-TH
|
SPOILERS
I agree with treehouse, my group just got done with "chimes at midnight" after running "Murder" with Victor as a main NPC character. I got rid of the watch involveing the players and had Victor bust into the Tavern where my characters were in and arrest Vrinn(SP). In the fight in the bar my PC jumped into the fight and help arrest the bad guy giving me agreat introduction for Victor. I then had Victor pull them into Murder and at the conclusion when the thought all was done with Murder I ran the street escape event in Chimes and the ball was off and running. Definatly push the time crunch to solve everything it wil make it more exciting for the PC's. Mine almost ran out of time and ended up cutting the hand off the prisoner to get her free before the bell dropped. These two adventures work outstanding together. Have fun with then and that was my 2 cents.
Mine almost ran out of time and ended up cutting the hand off the prisoner to get her free before the bell dropped.
Man, I don't want to be saved by your players, ever... ;o))
Along with issue #133's murder mystery in Sharn, this particular adventure has me REALLY tempted to push my friends to participate in an investigative campaign set in Sharn.
That's exactly what I'm working toward. I'm also planning to use Steel Shadows from #115 and Shut In from #128 in the same campaign.
I think Shut In fits well in Eberron and I'll be making Lady Dromdal into Lady d'Lyrandar instead, and give her Dragonmark heir levels instead of bard levels.
I've said it before. CSI: Sharn could be a darn fun campaign.
Along with issue #133's murder mystery in Sharn, this particular adventure has me REALLY tempted to push my friends to participate in an investigative campaign set in Sharn.That's exactly what I'm working toward. I'm also planning to use Steel Shadows from #115 and Shut In from #128 in the same campaign.
I think Shut In fits well in Eberron and I'll be making Lady Dromdal into Lady d'Lyrandar instead, and give her Dragonmark heir levels instead of bard levels.
I've said it before. CSI: Sharn could be a darn fun campaign.
Yeah! I totally dig the Holmesian feel you can bring to Eberron. The first prestige class I looked seriously at after buying the Eberron Campaign Setting was the Master Inquisitive, and I was like..."awwww, that's soooo cool!"
Yeah! I totally dig the Holmesian feel you can bring to Eberron. The first prestige class I looked seriously at after buying the Eberron Campaign Setting was the Master Inquisitive, and I was like..."awwww, that's soooo cool!"
I am in total agreement. I love the Eberron feel. Unfortunately, my players aren't really into the Holmesian/CSI type of game. I really liked all of these adventures, and they are definitely making me think about an Eberron game!
I haven't run it yet, either, but it's on our big campaign map for eberron. I thought it was one of the best Dungeon adventures in a while (though I don't read the Age of Worms stuff, since I'm a player in that campaign). The reason I like it is the character-driven story. Someone mentioned it, but the antagonist is a difficult nut to crack. She's a victim, seeking revenge, and if you have players that get into the role-playing side, they have to empathize with her plight somehow. They have to make decisions based on their world-view and it's not just 'bash the baddy and take her stuff.' I didn't like 'Chimes at Midnight' for that very reason. I just couldn't really see the antagonists' side. I've got a pretty good mod for that one, and I'll be running these two as 'linked' adventures, as well, but I just didn't like Midnight as much as Oakbridge. (Though I really liked the NPC's in Midnight - they seemed more like a 'circus menagerie' than those in Oakbridge - which is what they'll become in my implementation of these adventures).
I'm almost done updating my blog with the last session's activities, so you can see for yourself how the adventure progresses if you like - http://shadowofevil.blogspot.com-TH
You really warmed my heart, thanks :)
I'm in the midst of running this now for a party of 3 7th level and 3 6th level PCs. I've had to make some changes, like making Lucian an afflicted werebear Brb2/Ftr3. One player cleverly asked if he could use locate object on the flour found at Svan's place to locate the rest of the flour. I ruled no. ;)
They haven't thought of it yet, but can the PCs scry on Ziki by using the blood she left in Drummer's room?
They haven't thought of it yet, but can the PCs scry on Ziki by using the blood she left in Drummer's room?
It's a part of the body, so I'd say yes.
One player cleverly asked if he could use locate object on the flour found at Svan's place to locate the rest of the flour. I ruled no. ;)
They haven't thought of it yet, but can the PCs scry on Ziki by using the blood she left in Drummer's room?
Well, when I ran the adventure I ruled that both are possible since both the blood (now dead) and the flour are parts of some specific matter.
Discovering the flour's source is not that ruinous for the adventure as there are only two sources of flour in Oakbridge anyway.
But, if you feel perticulary sadistic (always a good quality in a DM) you can say that the locate object locates dozens of homes and people. After all, the flour is eaten by dozens of folks per day and is still considered flour until it's digested... :)
Thanks! But are you sure that she is a villain and not a victim? :)
Nice work on this Uri...I really enjoyed it. Ziki especially...cool villain!
Hello,
I played through this adventure, and I found that I couldn't argue with her reasons or the fact that my character had empathy for her, so she did something she probly shouldn't do and covered for her, she was trying to help her work through her problems. (Yay for having an item that allows you to object read) It was like she had lived through the same terror, and faced with having gone through the same thing as Ziki, it was all one could do to remain Neutral in outlook, because I had little sympathy for the elf woman who cheated on her husband, being elven as well.It was a great adventure, and I greatly enjoyed it, thanks for such fun.
SPOILERS!
Almost done running 'Murder'. It's my very first experience running a module, and it's been a blast. I'm running it as a sister adventure to 'Chimes at Midnight', using Victor Saint-Demain as a friendly NPC assisting the PCs in their investigation. Last session, they had acquired a hair of Ziki's from one of the murder scenes. They went to a wizard-for-hire and used the hair to scry on her, and found her serving tea to the last two potential victims and Victor at the Bluebird Inn (Victor is acting as a bodyguard for them until the PCs can track down the killer). I left off there, so next session will be the final act in the adventure.
I'm almost done updating my blog with the last session's activities, so you can see for yourself how the adventure progresses if you like - http://shadowofevil.blogspot.com
-TH
A very interesting blog post. I noticed while reading it that your players used some unusual methods to solve the case. In the end it did not play out exactly as the adventure seemed to assume it would though it certianly played out in an interesting manner.
I've said it before. CSI: Sharn could be a darn fun campaign.
Now that would make an interesting Adventure Path. Finding an interesting way to tie it all together and make challanging murder mysteries for 18th level characters might take some tight writing however.
Now that would make an interesting Adventure Path. Finding an interesting way to tie it all together and make challanging murder mysteries for 18th level characters might take some tight writing however.
I've said it before. CSI: Sharn could be a darn fun campaign.
I don't think an investigation has to deal with a murder or even a crime. High-level characters may be forced to explore and investigate some antediluvian ruins of a monstrous and ancient civilization, where clues are millions of years old and some epic abomination still roams the godless streets. Or if you're into crime than they may be hired to locate a someone (maybe even a deity) kidnapped from her plane to some far corner of the multiverse or a crime committed by an epic assassin who's absolutely immune to divination and makes to sure to leave no witnesses alive so the PCs must somehow anticipate his next step…
I think the possibilities are endless.
Now that would make an interesting Adventure Path. Finding an interesting way to tie it all together and make challanging murder mysteries for 18th level characters might take some tight writing however.
I've said it before. CSI: Sharn could be a darn fun campaign.I don't think an investigation has to deal with a murder or even a crime. High-level characters may be forced to explore and investigate some antediluvian ruins of a monstrous and ancient civilization, where clues are millions of years old and some epic abomination still roams the godless streets. Or if you're into crime than they may be hired to locate a someone (maybe even a deity) kidnapped from her plane to some far corner of the multiverse or a crime committed by an epic assassin who's absolutely immune to divination and makes to sure to leave no witnesses alive so the PCs must somehow anticipate his next step…
I think the possibilities are endless.
I agree, at 18th level divinations would like prove less useful if you are investigating the gods themselves, who have the ability to cover their tracks in ways mortals can't even dream. CSI: Sharn would rock.
I agree, at 18th level divinations would like prove less useful if you are investigating the gods themselves, who have the ability to cover their tracks in ways mortals can't even dream. CSI: Sharn would rock.
Nicolas, we should join forces and change the world!
I don't think an investigation has to deal with a murder or even a crime. High-level characters may be forced to explore and investigate some antediluvian ruins of a monstrous and ancient civilization, where clues are millions of years old and some epic abomination still roams the godless streets. Or if you're into crime than they may be hired to locate a someone (maybe even a deity) kidnapped from her plane to some far corner of the multiverse or a crime committed by an epic assassin who's absolutely immune to divination and makes to sure to leave no witnesses alive so the PCs must somehow anticipate his next step…
I think the possibilities are endless.
OK I agree. Any form of interesting mystery qualifies. That said making such an adventure for 18th level characters would still require some tight writing. Personally I would love to see some well done higher level mystery type adventures. Somebody ought to email James a good proposal along these lines.
Nicolas, we should join forces and change the world!
I agree, at 18th level divinations would like prove less useful if you are investigating the gods themselves, who have the ability to cover their tracks in ways mortals can't even dream. CSI: Sharn would rock.
Sounds awesome! We'll do it. Just got to talk to James about getting Sharn mysteries off da big black list. :-)
OK I agree. Any form of interesting mystery qualifies. That said making such an adventure for 18th level characters would still require some tight writing. Personally I would love to see some well done higher level mystery type adventures. Somebody ought to email James a good proposal along these lines.
I like a challenge Jeremy...Mayhap Uri and I will team up and try to fulfill this request.
Uri! Email me: nflogue@hotmail.com
OK I agree. Any form of interesting mystery qualifies. That said making such an adventure for 18th level characters would still require some tight writing. Personally I would love to see some well done higher level mystery type adventures. Somebody ought to email James a good proposal along these lines.I like a challenge Jeremy...Mayhap Uri and I will team up and try to fulfill this request.
Uri! Email me: nflogue@hotmail.com
Good Luck.
CSI: Sharn
Oh that would be awesome! I'd be in. :D If you need any more help, let me know, that would so rock.
Ana~
CSI: Sharn
Oh that would be awesome! I'd be in. :D If you need any more help, let me know, that would so rock.
Ana~
You're most gracious, m'lady. :)
A very interesting blog post. I noticed while reading it that your players used some unusual methods to solve the case. In the end it did not play out exactly as the adventure seemed to assume it would though it certianly played out in an interesting manner.SPOILERS!
Almost done running 'Murder'. It's my very first experience running a module, and it's been a blast. I'm running it as a sister adventure to 'Chimes at Midnight', using Victor Saint-Demain as a friendly NPC assisting the PCs in their investigation. Last session, they had acquired a hair of Ziki's from one of the murder scenes. They went to a wizard-for-hire and used the hair to scry on her, and found her serving tea to the last two potential victims and Victor at the Bluebird Inn (Victor is acting as a bodyguard for them until the PCs can track down the killer). I left off there, so next session will be the final act in the adventure.
I'm almost done updating my blog with the last session's activities, so you can see for yourself how the adventure progresses if you like - http://shadowofevil.blogspot.com
-TH
Are you talking about Ziki's sudden penchant for spellcasting? The campaign is gestalt, if that helps. She was a rogue/diviner, so she put confusion on the entire common room to cover her escape. My players were so irritated - they hate confusion!
Fun adventure, though. I am so behind on my blog. They're several sessions past the end of Chimes at Midnight (which was a blast), and now they are getting ready to chase Emerald Claw agents into Xen'drik.
Are you talking about Ziki's sudden penchant for spellcasting? The campaign is gestalt, if that helps. She was a rogue/diviner, so she put confusion on the entire common room to cover her escape. My players were so irritated - they hate confusion!Fun adventure, though. I am so behind on my blog. They're several sessions past the end of Chimes at Midnight (which was a blast), and now they are getting ready to chase Emerald Claw agents into Xen'drik.
No. I'm less interested in the mechanics of your game and more interested in some of the events that took place. For example your PCs seemed to set up a kind of watch on individuals that they expected would be targeted. Not something the adventure itself had really seemed to assume.
Another example was that your players figured out the motive for the killer fairly early on using a newspaper report of the historical event in question. Again I don't recall that being addressed in the module.
Finally IIRC the flour was maybe the key clue in the adventure and the assumption was that the PCs would follow the flour to the murderer. Your players never really twigged to the flour after establishing that the obvious suspect was a dead end.
Not that any of this as criticism or anything. Your PCs where pretty innovative and you dealt with their unorthodox mystery solving methods well. Mysteries can be problem adventures. If you go way back to issue #13 there was an interesting mystery adventure Of Nests and Nations . In the issues that followed #13 there where some interesting letters from DMs who had tried to run the adventure. A notable number of DMs had found that their players where never able to grasp what was going on and hence failed to solve the adventure.
I myself ran the module to appease a player who claimed he really desired more role-playing and less hack and slash in the campaign. My players where confused and one of them seemed to presume, based on no real evidence, that the Thieves Guild was behind everything. Needless to say the adventure faltered, My PCs substantially failed and soon wandered off back to the Dungeon. So mysteries are hard to write and they can be hard to run. Player frustration is a serous obstacle to a true mystery like Murder at Oakbridge , as opposed to, say, Chimes at Midnight which may well be an excellent adventure, but is not a mystery because the ultimate secret (in this case the villain who commited the crime) is revealed extremely early in the adventure.
I was simply interested in hearing from the DM who ran that adventure what parts had to be adlibbed on the fly when the PCs decided to go with the plan that no one who designed this thing had anticipated.
It might even be of some interest to other DMs who might want to run this thing in their campaign.
Sweet Water and Light laughter,
I just began running Murder In Oakbridge for my group which consists of the following.
A elven Half-demoness Scout/Wizard
A Halfling Healer
A Shifter Paladin of Silverflame a
A Warforged Artificer
I will keep you posted on how things go.
Good point Jeremy! Chimes is not so much a whodunnit as a what the heck is he gonna do next!!! :-)
The sequel I proposed...fingers crossed!!!...is much more of a mystery.
I also have a mystery (high level in fact) coming out in issue #141 I believe. If it makes the final cut, I even included a sidebar on dealing with divination magic in the adventure. Important for any high level mystery me feels.
No. I'm less interested in the mechanics of your game and more interested in some of the events that took place. For example your PCs seemed to set up a kind of watch on individuals that they expected would be targeted. Not something the adventure itself had really seemed to assume.
Another example was that your players figured out the motive for the killer fairly early on using a newspaper report of the historical event in question. Again I don't recall that being addressed in the module.
Finally IIRC the flour was maybe the key clue in the adventure and the assumption was that the PCs would follow the flour to the murderer. Your players never really twigged to the flour after establishing that the obvious suspect was a dead end.
Not that any of this as criticism or anything. Your PCs where pretty innovative and you dealt with their unorthodox mystery solving methods well. Mysteries can be problem adventures. If you go way back to issue #13 there was an interesting mystery adventure Of Nests and Nations . In the issues that followed #13 there where some interesting letters from DMs who had tried to run the adventure. A notable number of DMs had found that their players where never able to grasp what was going on and hence failed to solve the adventure.
I myself ran the module to appease a player who claimed he really desired more role-playing and less hack and slash in the campaign. My players where confused and one of them seemed to presume, based on no real evidence, that the Thieves...
Ahh, I see. Yeah, I had forgotten how hard it was to get my PCs on the right track in Murder. Not that they are dumb (they are actually very smart), but they just took the entire adventure from a different angle than I had assumed (or the adventure's author had assumed, for that matter). It was a lot of fun coming up with new clues, though, and the NPCs were great fun. I'm actually reusing Lucian Cruzgar - turns out he was right after all, the Claw actually was trying to kill him! So he's providing the PCs with the tracker they need for their expedition to the Lower Continent.
Ahh, I see. Yeah, I had forgotten how hard it was to get my PCs on the right track in Murder. Not that they are dumb (they are actually very smart), but they just took the entire adventure from a different angle than I had assumed (or the adventure's author had assumed, for that matter). It was a lot of fun coming up with new clues, though, and the NPCs were great fun.
Ahh now this is interesting. I wonder how many other DMs have found their PCs stumbling in mysteries and how the DMs handle it.
Mysteries seem to have been very well recieved by the subscribers. I believe we, as DMs, want to run our players through exciting mysteries. But sometimes things don't pan out like we had envisioned it all in our heads. Once the players become frustrated what is a poor DM to do?
I certianly don't have the answers but I'm interested in knowing about other DMs experiences running this. Maybe we can pinpoint the kind of things that do go wrong and address them, especially in future Dungeon adventures. Presuming of course that things go wrong at the same place for many DMs of course.
Ahh now this is interesting. I wonder how many other DMs have found their PCs stumbling in mysteries and how the DMs handle it.
Mysteries seem to have been very well recieved by the subscribers. I believe we, as DMs, want to run our players through exciting mysteries. But sometimes things don't pan out like we had envisioned it all in our heads. Once the players become frustrated what is a poor DM to do?
I certianly don't have the answers but I'm interested in knowing about other DMs experiences running this. Maybe we can pinpoint the kind of things that do go wrong and address them, especially in future Dungeon adventures. Presuming of course that things go wrong at the same place for many DMs of course.
Well, the main thing is that you need to have lots of options and lots of very specific information. Murder in Oakbridge worked very well even though my PCs didn't do what was anticipated of them because Mr. Kurlianchik gave us the entire adventure in schedule format, with events taken out of the timeline that could happen at any time based on what the PCs did. Regardless of my PCs' investigative methods, they still experienced nearly everything that the module had to offer simply because of how the adventure was organized.
Being able to adlib well helps, of course.
My one problem running the adventure was that I didn't keep the pace moving quickly enough. I left everything open-ended for the PCs, so they explored many fruitless avenues of investigation before striking gold, which to me makes sense in a mystery. If they don't guess wrong and follow false trails at first, it's not really a mystery.
As to this:
Chimes at Midnight which may well be an excellent adventure, but is not a mystery because the ultimate secret (in this case the villain who commited the crime) is revealed extremely early in the adventure.
I definitely don't think Chimes is a mystery, but I don't think that's what it was supposed to be. After the deliberate, methodical pace of Murder, it was great to run a fast-paced chase after a lunatic inquisitive, especially since they had thought he was a friend.
Hey tree!
Quick question, cause I'm real curious about this...did Viktor survive, and if so was he captured or did he escape?
Hope the adventure worked out well for you!
Hey tree!
Quick question, cause I'm real curious about this...did Viktor survive, and if so was he captured or did he escape?
Hope the adventure worked out well for you!
He died, unfortunately. I had really hoped he would survive, but he was low on health when Morgan hit him with a maximized scorching ray. If he had just dropped into the negatives, they probably would have stabilized him brought him in alive.
Victor was definitely wealthy and resourceful enough that he could have had a backup plan in place in the event of his death (involving raise dead, of course), but I haven't decided if I'll go that route and make him a reoccuring villain. Does your sequel adventure involve him?
When I finally get my blog updated, I'll send word your way so you can see the specifics of the fight in the abandoned church. It was quite hectic! My PCs also had a pretty clever solution for getting the Medani girl free.
Hey tree!
Quick question, cause I'm real curious about this...did Viktor survive, and if so was he captured or did he escape?
Hope the adventure worked out well for you!
He died, unfortunately. I had really hoped he would survive, but he was low on health when Morgan hit him with a maximized scorching ray. If he had just dropped into the negatives, they probably would have stabilized him brought him in alive.
Victor was definitely wealthy and resourceful enough that he could have had a backup plan in place in the event of his death (involving raise dead, of course), but I haven't decided if I'll go that route and make him a reoccuring villain. Does your sequel adventure involve him?
When I finally get my blog updated, I'll send word your way so you can see the specifics of the fight in the abandoned church. It was quite hectic! My PCs also had a pretty clever solution for getting the Medani girl free.
Thanks tree...yeah, I was thinking he would have a contingency plan for his death too...my sequel, which is only a proposal (and already copious hopeful notes and stat blocks) does indeed involve the big V, but in a very unconventional way.
Thanks for keeping me posted! Can't wait to read the blog!
I really liked "Murder in Oakbridge" (good mystery, up there with my favorite Dungeon mystery, "Of Nests and Nations"), but "Chimes at Midnight" remains my favorite Eberron adventure published in this magazine. When I was reading it, I could envision scenes in the adventure as if it were an action movie. It truly got the pulpy aspects of the setting right. Viktor was interesting, but I liked how all of the escapees had their own little quirks.
I really liked "Murder in Oakbridge" (good mystery, up there with my favorite Dungeon mystery, "Of Nests and Nations"), but "Chimes at Midnight" remains my favorite Eberron adventure published in this magazine. When I was reading it, I could envision scenes in the adventure as if it were an action movie. It truly got the pulpy aspects of the setting right. Viktor was interesting, but I liked how all of the escapees had their own little quirks.
Thanks Shroomy!!! Glad you dug it! The (proposed) seqeul will leave "Chimes" far behind imho...it's even cooler, much much cooler. But only the great Dungeon gods will decide whether I get to write it.
You're most gracious, m'lady. :)CSI: Sharn
Oh that would be awesome! I'd be in. :D If you need any more help, let me know, that would so rock.
Ana~
Hey, I think it would be neat to playtest an adventure through mail or something. So if thats what you want to do, let me know as well.
Sweet Water and Light laughter,
I just began running Murder In Oakbridge for my group which consists of the following.A elven Half-demoness Scout/Wizard
A Halfling Healer
A Shifter Paladin of Silverflame a
A Warforged ArtificerI will keep you posted on how things go.
Just thought I would give a slight update, Not sure how many botchs a single player can role in any given situation! We managed to loose our Shifter, when went to investigate how the man fell from the balcony..and managed to fall from the balcony himself.
Botched his balance roll, and fell, managed to take all of his hitpoint damage, and fail his Fortitude save. Alas for the paladin, who is now one with the Silver Flame we hope.