Okay, here's another question.
I'm running champion's belt, and my PCs have been exploring a bit, and I'm expecting that they'll do a bit more. I really like the adventure, and we're having a good time, but details on Raknian's manor house seem to be missing.
Obviously the primary threat in the adventure is located in the secret shrine, which is detailed, but the PCs are there trying to investigate Raknian -- they're probably going to want to go into his house sooner or later, and that this point I'd have to wing it.
Is there something I'm missing in the text of the adventure? Something that cuts off access to his house for the PCs? Any suggestions?
-j
I took all the passages that lead off the map to be there as a just-in-case the party doesn't join the games. If the party joins the games, then these halls become deadends or other exits. I really don't want to have to make a mansion on the fly.
You could try having there be too much activity going on at the manor house. Sure, Raknian may not be there if he's presiding over activities at the Arena, but there could still be plenty of servants preparing some sort of party for that evening, or working hard through the night for a party planned for the following day. If the place is all lit up and servants scampering through, the PCs could find the secret passages to Coenoby and Temple (assume the passages connect behind a single secret door into the manner, or connect and then a single passage leads to the manor), but can't go further into the manor, simply have to turn and explore the other secret passage first.
Of course, my group is very motivated to win the competition, and paranoid about getting caught wandering where they shouldn't be, and disqualified. If your group is less worried about being caught, this may not work for you. In that case, I recommend finding a simple manor house layout, and just letting them explore the mostly-deserted place, but finding few useful clues (maybe a tiny shrine to the Ebon Triad tucked into a cabinet, or a couple of old letters from Theldrick).
You can use most of the Dromdal Manor map from the adventure "Shut-In" which is in the same issue. Add a bunch of mook guards and warn the players that they may be disqualified from the games if they are caught.
There are some mansions in the Shackled City Adventure Path that you can harvest easily. They are in the "Lords of Oblivion" portion of the adventure. I don't remember which Dungeon that was in off hand.
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You can use most of the Dromdal Manor map from the adventure "Shut-In" which is in the same issue. Add a bunch of mook guards and warn the players that they may be disqualified from the games if they are caught.
Great suggestion Takasi. I was just sitting down to do battlemaps of the mansion floorplan (I hate 'winging' it when I don't have to), but I like Dromdal Manor better. The secret chamber is perfect for the tunnel connection into the shrine. I need to add a passage into the arena and another stairwell down to the Coenoby, but that's what paintshop is for!
Okay, here's another question.
I'm running champion's belt, and my PCs have been exploring a bit, and I'm expecting that they'll do a bit more. I really like the adventure, and we're having a good time, but details on Raknian's manor house seem to be missing.
Obviously the primary threat in the adventure is located in the secret shrine, which is detailed, but the PCs are there trying to investigate Raknian -- they're probably going to want to go into his house sooner or later, and that this point I'd have to wing it.
Is there something I'm missing in the text of the adventure? Something that cuts off access to his house for the PCs? Any suggestions?
-j
John, you are absolutly right. Just from the start my group is suspecting that the source of evil is located in Raknians manor. Not only because it is located just next to the arena. So they tried to investigate the manor through various ways and find a way to get in. Because there are no details on the manor (and because it is a dead-end anyway) I let them find out that the manor is heavily protected through magic and huge forces of guards. So far the group has not found a way to get into it.
By the way it took them nearly 3 hours of plaing time exploring the first arena level and the cenoby level before they come up with the idea that there must be a thrid level in the middle and before they found the dump that leads to the Kyuss spawn room.And I had a hard time preventing them to follow some turned ghasts down the sewers and battle bigger forces of undead...