It is a bit tricky choosing a location in Eberron. I've read some people's arguments for Q'barra or for the mountains along one edge of Breland. Personally, I think it fits better in Xen'drik. Let all mentions of the larger city of Sasserine be references to Stormreach, and Cauldron is actually further inland around the coast somewhere. It was originally settled as a colony of Galifar, but run by a local council; during the Last War in particular, it's gone largely ignored and that has helped it get into its current political situation.
But I haven't started running this one yet, so hopefully someone else can come along with information from actual experience . . .
I set the adventure in Grehawk and it worked great.
3 players only is a challenge. I'd suggest recommending one of them be a druid so they can have a powerful animal companion, and then maybe thrown in one NPC to help them out.
As for class mix, I'd say they need at least one front-line fighter, one divine caster who can heal effectively (cleric or at leat a druid) and one arcane caster. It would be beneficial if at least one in the group has some kind of social skills, such as diplomacy, sense motive and gather information.
There are 4 PCs in my game. Because its designed for 6 PCs I have given them the reserve points system from Unearthed Arcana (so they don't have to retreat every 5 seconds) and an action point system (so they can get a bit of an edge in a particular combat). I am also playing the variant from AU where PCs survive until minus(con score) rather than -10 and they are disabled between 0 and minus(con bonus). However, I am also removing raise dead and the only church capable of performing resurrection would be Wee Jass (so they won't be getting any until they can do it themselves)!
With these tweaks they are doing OK. One death against Triel when she power attacked and smote at the same time. To be honest, without a bit of fudging, they would have died against Drakthar as they weren't prepared for a vampire and have few spells and medicre turning ability. Having NPCs accompany them sometimes for story reasons also gives them an occasional helping hand.
Cheers for info
Not sure where to set it yet. haven't got anything Greyhawk and was 14 when I last played there so I will prob move it somewhere, would like to place it in Eberron so they can continue after and also so I can insert some of my adventures.
Dave
Eberron is an excellent place to place SCAP. There are several resources on these boards that can give you assistance in adapting to the ECS. The primary changes I've seen are: altering the merchants to fit the Dragonmarked Houses and changing some of the races around. Other than having a preponderance of dragons in the adventure (something Eberron is not noted for), it seems to me to work fairly well.
The official adaptation is in Q'barra (IIRC), but really any on-the-edge-of-civilization locale can work. Personally, the idea of Xen'drik does appeal to me, but YMMV.
1. Where did people set it. Own campaign, one off? Would like to see if I could set it in Eberron but not sure where if any place would suit it?
Howdy! I set this in my own campaign world, so I won't be much help with this one.
2. I only have 3 players and I know it is set for more. The party don't want to play more than one character as they enjoy getting into just one character. How would you deal with this? I am thinking edit encounters or up the character levels.
3 players is rough. The hardest part with 3 players is that margin for error is a lot smaller -- if one PC drops there are only two left. Some quick suggestions:
a. Since your players don't want to play more than one character, you can use the gestalt character idea from Unearthed Arcana. This allows a character to progress in two classes simultaneously. It won't make the characters twice as powerful, but it will give them some more kick and flexibility.
b. Consider adding specific, one-dimensional NPCs like a straight-class barbarian, cleric, or rogue to fill in the gaps of the party. The barbarian fights, the cleric heals, and the rogue finds traps and disarms them (among other things). Be careful not to steal the PCs' thunder, though. The NPCs should complement the PCs and fill in the gaps, not run the show.
c. Look into options from the Complete books if you haven't already. For example, with the feats (e.g., Sacred Boost and Sacred Healing) and prestige classes (e.g., Radiant Servant of Pelor) from the Complete Divine you can create an NPC cleric who's both easy to run and eminently useful. (Healing is always in demand.)
d. Consider allowing them to play a more powerful race, but not use the ECL modifier. You need to be careful with this, especially at low levels. The ECL stuff is in there for a reason.
e. Modify the encounters based on the party's capabilities.
3. Any classes or party mixes that would be either very good or not great to use, not that my group will listen but at least I can give some advice.
Clerics are a necessity, as is a tank. An arcane caster is nice and a trap-finding rogue will have plenty to do in the first adventure, at least. It's hard to go wrong with the 4 iconics -- cleric, fighter, rogue, wizard -- but you have only 3 players. Personally, I'd say cleric, fighter, and wizard; that gives you a nice diverse mix. If they took that route, as a DM I'd seriously considering getting rid of most of the traps.
Roleplaying-wise, monks are kind of the odd man out in Cauldron, just because there is no monastery and no real ties for a monk. (Not that you couldn't make some...) Druids might get frustrated with the number of urban and dungeon adventures. Ditto with a ranger. (Though urban versions of either might quite enjoy the SCAP.)
4. A location for maps etc... that I could download and print out.
Aside from this board, which has a lot of great information, there is the RPGenius site: http://therpgenius.com/Default.aspx?alias=therpgenius.com/shackledcity
Lots of great stuff there, too.
The best advice I can give is to read the book a couple times before you even start making characters. The back of the book has a section on character creation that's helpful, but the thing that will help most is if you have an understanding -- not encyclopaediac knowledge, just a good basic understanding -- of the entire campaign so your players can bounce ideas off you and you can give them good advice.
Good luck!
Jeff
2. I only have 3 players and I know it is set for more. The party don't want to play more than one character as they enjoy getting into just one character. How would you deal with this? I am thinking edit encounters or up the character levels.
One word: GESTALT
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/gestaltCharacters.htm
My party of 3-4 is using it, and for the first time ever we have a rounded party covering all of the four main roles.
3. Any classes or party mixes that would be either very good or not great to use, not that my group will listen but at least I can give some advice.
They need a full time Cleric.
With only three people, it'd be good if they all have access to some healing magic or keep well stocked with potions/scrolls.As long as they work together, and have access to the cleric, with good planning and teamwork, they should be able to prevail. Be wary if their characters rely heavily on different styles, with only 3 of them, it'd be bad.
Good luck!
Good luck with your new campaign.
But I wouldnt get too stuck on where to set it. I'd just use default Greyhawk. Heck, you dont even need any products to do so.
SCAP offers a ton of examples that you as a DM can learn from. One of the biggest things it teaches is that all you need is a cool city, a few surrounding villages and some nearby dugeons and you never even really need a campaign world. You can go 1st to 20th and never leave your local setting. That isnt to say all campaigns should be that way, but SCAP definately is. AoW has much more globetrotting. But SCAP can all be run in and around Cauldron. As a result, it doesnt matter where you set it.
That should be reassuring for new DMs. I've DMed for 25+ years so the thought of setting creation isnt that daunting. I have several worlds relatively fleshed out. But I remember being a new DM and being nearly paralyzed with the idea that I had to create a whole world before I could even run an adventure. SCAP shows, without any doubt, that you dont need to be paralyzed by the setting choice. You can make a totally local setting and have a complete campaign.
That isnt to discourage you from having it set in some setting. But since the setting is largely irrelevant, simply use default Greyhawk and get to your gaming!!!
Clark