I just ran the Chains of Blackmaw campaign, and the Githzerai druid of one of my players got stuck in the Maximum security cells. He didn't escape until the spellcaster-hating miniturized stone giant decided to come down, rip the door of his cell, and beat him almost to death. Anybody else have any characters stuck in the Max cells?
(He made good buddies with Sedakas Crane. After two minutes of role-playing, Sedakas threatened to use his skull as a chalice if he kept talking.)
I just ran the Chains of Blackmaw campaign, and the Githzerai druid of one of my players got stuck in the Maximum security cells. He didn't escape until the spellcaster-hating miniturized stone giant decided to come down, rip the door of his cell, and beat him almost to death. Anybody else have any characters stuck in the Max cells?
(He made good buddies with Sedakas Crane. After two minutes of role-playing, Sedakas threatened to use his skull as a chalice if he kept talking.)
I did worry about this sort of thing when I read through the adventure (albeit a quick read since I'm not the current DM)... the PCs should have advance warning not to advertise that they are spellcasters (and thus get locked in the max sec cells), but still, if a PC ignores this or is oblivious... they might spend the better part of a session or two talking to themselves in a cell until the break-out.
While I admit I did not warn him per se, I did mention that he may want to lie, and so did everyone else at the table.
Famous PC last words number 23:
"My character wouldn't do that!"
(#1 is:"I mean, how high can a dragon's spot check be?")
While I admit I did not warn him per se, I did mention that he may want to lie, and so did everyone else at the table.
Famous PC last words number 23:
"My character wouldn't do that!"(#1 is:"I mean, how high can a dragon's spot check be?")
HA! That's awesome! Did the other characters try to spring him or just leave him hung out to dry?
When the mini stone giant went into the cell did you have the reducuction effect go off and him get stuck in the steel doorframe, that would have been funny.
Did anyone survive the adventure? Did Karl? Just curious.
I did worry about this sort of thing when I read through the adventure (albeit a quick read since I'm not the current DM)... the PCs should have advance warning not to advertise that they are spellcasters (and thus get locked in the max sec cells), but still, if a PC ignores this or is oblivious... they might spend the better part of a session or two talking to themselves in a cell until the break-out.
I looked over it as well and worried about the same thing. It would be really hard to play a wizard in the story, what with your spell components and book somewhere else.
Still, it could also be fun to see how the players would try to get around it. A spellbook hidden in a cake. Hmmm...
I did worry about this sort of thing when I read through the adventure (albeit a quick read since I'm not the current DM)... the PCs should have advance warning not to advertise that they are spellcasters (and thus get locked in the max sec cells), but still, if a PC ignores this or is oblivious... they might spend the better part of a session or two talking to themselves in a cell until the break-out.I looked over it as well and worried about the same thing. It would be really hard to play a wizard in the story, what with your spell components and book somewhere else.
Still, it could also be fun to see how the players would try to get around it. A spellbook hidden in a cake. Hmmm...
Well, with the encounters the way they are in a magazine, I'd think that a 10th level caster could probably have enough spells available to make it through without having to prepare spells in the jail. Afterall, it isn't like he wants to be busting out fireballs and ice storms left and right everyday, or he WILL be thrown in the max security cells.
That being said, I like the idea of a spellbook in a cake :-)
Although another alternative would be to tear out the relevant pages for some crucual spells, and work out a good way to get them into the jail. Maybe as a letter from a loved one, disguised by forgery or illusion?
Perhaps a code (I just watched Da Vinci Code this weekend) that the jailed wizard needs to decipher (using Decipher script of course) and translate into the proper wording of his spells?
Or just take Spell Mastery of course.
PS. If this were an Eberron campaign, you could always try to smuggle in that dragonshard spellbook, and hope the monks don't cavity search you...
Although another alternative would be to tear out the relevant pages for some crucual spells, and work out a good way to get them into the jail. Maybe as a letter from a loved one, disguised by forgery or illusion?
Perhaps a code (I just watched Da Vinci Code this weekend) that the jailed wizard needs to decipher (using Decipher script of course) and translate into the proper wording of his spells?
This is an awesome idea.
This is an awesome idea.Although another alternative would be to tear out the relevant pages for some crucual spells, and work out a good way to get them into the jail. Maybe as a letter from a loved one, disguised by forgery or illusion?
Perhaps a code (I just watched Da Vinci Code this weekend) that the jailed wizard needs to decipher (using Decipher script of course) and translate into the proper wording of his spells?
Damn!
Damn!This is an awesome idea.Although another alternative would be to tear out the relevant pages for some crucual spells, and work out a good way to get them into the jail. Maybe as a letter from a loved one, disguised by forgery or illusion?
Perhaps a code (I just watched Da Vinci Code this weekend) that the jailed wizard needs to decipher (using Decipher script of course) and translate into the proper wording of his spells?
Thanks guys.
I just had the mental picture of a wizard hastily deciphering and scribbling the translated arcane information on the walls of his cell with a stub of charcoal, and then quickly covering it up if a guard walked by, and then wiping it clean before morning. Kinda like a Great Escape kinda thing, where they cover up the tunnel whenver a guard walks by.
While I admit I did not warn him per se, I did mention that he may want to lie, and so did everyone else at the table.
Famous PC last words number 23:
"My character wouldn't do that!"(#1 is:"I mean, how high can a dragon's spot check be?")
HA! That's awesome! Did the other characters try to spring him or just leave him hung out to dry?
When the mini stone giant went into the cell did you have the reducuction effect go off and him get stuck in the steel doorframe, that would have been funny.
Did anyone survive the adventure? Did Karl? Just curious.
They tried to help, but none had enough skill points or strength. They were nuetral, so they intended to steal the keys of the dead warden. How the warden died they didn't care, but they were considering releasing the former warden because they knew he wanted to kill Rao by busting down the door to his cell, than break out the druid in the chaos using keys or otherwise.(They turned around real quick after the golems started moving.)
Nah, I figured the permanance of the effect wouldn't be removed by a simple antimagic field. Everyone survived, but the monk following the giant took some damage when he gave up on climbing down and jumped (When the druid's hawk told the monk he was gettin monkey stomper.)
Karl got poisened, fell off the elevator(two people jumped after him. The monk caught and tumbled to safety, the Battle Rager fell into the depths, almost dying from the 15d6 damage) got pimp slapped by DeVries with a spiked chain in the forge, and then was sneak attacked by Corrin (Corrin wasted his death attack on the battle rager, whose hit points had been recovered by the party's bard).
Karl spent more time in negative hit points than not. It is entirely by luck that he lived through the encounter.
This encounter has given me new respect for the battle rager prestige class. With no levels in monk, he almost killed the inmate who pushed Corrin with one full unarmed attack. In fact, he put the guy at negative 20 subdual damage and we had to check and see if that killed him anyway (I think it just put him in a coma.)
Sounds like your party did pretty good with a difficult adventure. Having a monk inside is more than a little helpful I'll bet, and a battle rager...well if you are going to be unarmed, may as well be wicked angry and dangerous too. ;-)
Hope you guys had a good time with the adventure Baruch!
Did they kill Corrin (Jarret Muros)? Or did he get away?
They got him. The battler rager had made "friends" with him (You should have seen the look on his face when he realized who had death attacked him!) and so they brough him up on the elevator. They were still on the elevator when the attack happened, but the battle rager made short work of his hitpoints, and he "failed a tumble check"(aka succeded to look like he tried to tumble) and "accidentaly fell down the elevator shaft." Remember, feather fall was one of his spells. The bard rolled a 36 on his sense motive check and noticed that he had done it on purpose. They figured he could turn invisible due to some evidence they pieced together, so the bard cast glitterdust down the shaft to prevent him from doing so. The druid, incensed at his being in a cell the whole time, realized he was the only one who could get to the bottom of the shaft before the spell wore off. He used his Wings of the Eagle feet, using one wild shape to grow wings, flew down, and ten feet above the ground used another wild shape to lose the wings and turn into a bear. Then, after taking a sneak attack to his already weakened form and a few quick rounds of combat, mauled Corrin, becoming the new (and unwitting) leader of the Covenent of the Knife. The yells of the prisoners quited for a few seconds after the triumphant roar of Nature-Friend Dak, the Githzerai Driud.
What book is Battle Rager in?
One of the Forgotten Realms books. I'm thinking races of Faerun, but I'm not sure. It's a prestige class, and I don't own the book. One of my players does.
as far as letting your PCs know not to reveal their spellcasting identity...
I was so impressed by the adventure background, that I had to foreshadow it in adventures previously. My PCs are only 5th level, but they've heard about Blackmaw in rumours and "shop talk" - the stuff mined/produced there is traded nearby.
7th Level will see them dealing with an escapee in a nearby town, thanks to a spellcaster having been able to use Magic Jar and smuggle himself out. In the aftermath of that they'll hear about improved spell-caster security measures.
If they can't get those hints, then they deserve to have their characters killed and cremated in the prison forge.
I hope this also illustrates that even though it won't be specifically relevant for a long time, a cool adventure like this one can be a real inspiration to a browsing DM.
Cool! I totally agree! Foreshadowing is teh awesome! I love set up cause it creates such a great pay off later. Let me know how it goes when your PCs get inside the Maw Adom.