There is a thread on the AoW messageboards with tips for DM's running the AoW AP. I thought a thread for the Shackled City AP would be good to have as well. So, what are the best tips or suggestions that you would have for someone running the SCAP?
My first suggestion would be to read all of the adventures before you start so that you can get an idea of the whole campaign. It also lets you see any parts that you might want to add, remove or change so that it better suits your group.
Anyone else have any tips?
Olaf the Stout
Get to know Cauldron and its movers and shakers as well as you can; get a feel for their motivations and potential reactions to PC actions. Consider personalizing them.
Oh, and read everything that Delvesdeep posts. :)
Get to know Cauldron and its movers and shakers as well as you can; get a feel for their motivations and potential reactions to PC actions. Consider personalizing them.
Oh, and read everything that Delvesdeep posts. :)
That's very kind Borealis - I agree with your advice too and wish to add to it.
Foreshadow the main villians and important NPCs as much as possible - beginning the foreshadowing for these characters from -
Life's Bazaar - Zenith (Jil, Orbius, the Sriders & Jenya already foreshadowed here)
Dragthars Way - Alek, Skie, Vhalantru, Terrem, (Half-orcs already foreshadowed)
Flood Season - Stormblades, Shebeleth, Fiendish Morkoth, Hookface, Embril & Ike, Skylar, Maavu
Demonskar Ball - have a look at this at RPGenius.com site - provides plenty of foreshadowing for the Nobles and future events
Zenth's Tajectory - The Smoking Eye (Adimarchus), Celeste, Necrocaunts
Demonskar Legacy - Gau, Nulin (The 'Fish'), Nidrama, The Chisel
Test of the Smoking Eye - Cagewrights, Adimarchus,
Secret of the Soul Pillars - Fetor,
Lords of Oblivion - Orbius
Foundation of Fire - Cauldron Nobles
Thirteen Cages Dry'yrd, Adimarchus
As you can see the majority of foreshadowing should occur earlier in the Path to allow the party to become more familiar with the main players of the SCAP and build up 'relationships' with each.
Delvesdeep
Hi All,
My advice would be to decide ahead of time how character death is going to be handled in the campaign. Decide how prevalent Raise Dead and the other associated spells are. If they are readily available, then character deaths will not be so terrible as to halt the campaign prematurely. If Raise Dead and the associated spells are not readily available, then steps will need to be taken to either assure character survivability (i.e. plenty of wands of healing, healing potions, friendly NPCs with healing spells, etc.) or the establishment of the means to keep the game going in the event of a TPK.
In my own campaign, I have chosen to keep the available healing magic high and to allow minimum access to Raise Dead and the other associated spells. To date I have had 3 character deaths, all restored at various points during the campaign and with accrued in game debts/favors owed. So far it seems to be working well. :-)
As an aside note, my group is getting ready to start Test of the Smoking Eye and the latest death occurred in the battle against Nabthatoron. The group is now 10th level and down to four members. I expect the next chapter to be quite challenging when we resume play in January.
Good Gaming,
Mark
PS: The use of Action Points has also been valuable in my campaign and I recommend giving them a try if you have not done so. They are a useful means of providing last-ditch saves to help campaign continuation. :-)
1. Action points. If you're at all worried about constant TPK's and character deaths, use these. They have saved my game from bad-luck TPKs a few times. However, I feel you get too many of them at higher levels (espeically with the fast-paced leveling in chapters 8, 9 and 10). I would reduce the total number of action points gained at each level to be half of what is suggested in the Eberron Campaign setting and Unearthed Arcana.
2. The Smoking Eye. If you don't forshadow the importance of this, the chapter will seem completely useless and out of place to the characters. Im my campaign, I constantly threw out statements and teasers on how the Smoking Eye was important with a character that had the Dream Haunted trait (fit very well). If you don't plan on using or showing the importance of the Smoking Eye, get rid of the chapter and throw something else in.
My campaign has been going on weekly now for 2 1/2 years. The four best things I did were to
a) start and maintain an "ingame" newsletter. The Cauldron Chronicle is in its 8th volume now, and was my primary source for introducing rumors, new equipment, geographical details, and forshadowing.
b) The most important NPC in the entire game is "Cauldron" your PC's need to see, smell, touch, taste and hear this city every session. Use every web source and all your DM experience to make the city come to life for your players, believe me it's worth it.
C) Even if you run it "as written" create a theme that is your own. For instance mine was India/Hindu. I played traditional hindu music, changed names and descriptions (especially architecture and dress), had snake charmers, elephants, tigers and 7/11 accents. Change treasure/class/PrC/template whatever to make it your/your PC's campaign.
D) From a players perspective I would say the best thing I did was weave each PC's backstory into the campaign. For example one PC wrote in his backstory about an exgirlfriend who broke his heart. She became the obsessive/cumpulsive cagewright in foundation of flame. The PC sorcerer set out to be a dragon disciple from the very begining and wrote the history of having a bronze dragon in his liniage, well I also gave him a secret black dragon heritage that was finally revealed when his uncle showed up as the 1/2 blackdragon in the street fight in cauldron. Now at 19th level my players count these as some of their most memorable moments because they were personal. That's why Tip B is probably the most important.
Sorry for the long reply, but me and my gamers are very very passionate about this campagin.
D) From a players perspective I would say the best thing I did was weave each PC's backstory into the campaign. For example one PC wrote in his backstory about an exgirlfriend who broke his heart. She became the obsessive/cumpulsive cagewright in foundation of flame. The PC sorcerer set out to be a dragon disciple from the very begining and wrote the history of having a bronze dragon in his liniage, well I also gave him a secret black dragon heritage that was finally revealed when his uncle showed up as the 1/2 blackdragon in the street fight in cauldron. Now at 19th level my players count these as some of their most memorable moments because they were personal. That's why Tip B is probably the most important.
Ditto on this. I made it important to fit each of the characters back stories into the campaign. It really made them feel like they were part of the campaign and world... Especially in a long campaign such as the SCAP, it's important for the players to feel important and that their actions are actually doing something.
I introduced some events between adventures for the PCs that were really PC specific. I say events, because I write them up like the adventure format. Typically, I get a feel for what the PCs want to do before the session and then write something that is appropriate. I feel this gives better results then reacting on the fly because I can give it more thought and more detail. This has really led to buy-in for some players who normally don't have as much drive and imagination.
Examples of what I did with my PCs:
1) The demon-hunting druid searches for signs of encroachment into the mountains from the Demonskar. Occasionally, he finds evidence of movement and can track these down. Usually, these lead to exotic locations and interesting terrain.
2) Paladin of a deity without a church in Cauldron starts a shrine. To begin his own shrine, he needed to find the land, secure funding from the community, and include prominent guests. Additionally, it was traditional for deities that share some aspect of his god's alignment to bring gifts and cast spells of warding. Thus, the PC had to work with the clerics of Wee Jas (which foreshadows future conflict).
3) The dwarf bought a tavern. Not really original... except he doesn't know that it sits above the hideout for the Last Laugh! (He wanted the Brass Trumpet and I couldn't resist.) Additionally, the dwarf will face the high taxes and also has to deal with waitresses and prima donnas in his floor show.
These little events gave more depth to the campaign.
I second the #1 tip about printing out stat blocks from the dreaded Appendix 4.
I scanned the Appendix 4 and are cutting and printing the monsters from the scanned pages into a few chapter-specific pages with broad margins. I feel that it's well worth the effort.
/ Henning
I second the #1 tip about printing out stat blocks from the dreaded Appendix 4.
I scanned the Appendix 4 and are cutting and printing the monsters from the scanned pages into a few chapter-specific pages with broad margins. I feel that it's well worth the effort.
/ Henning
I rewrote every single stat block needed in the campaign on 5x7 note cards. It's worked out great. A bit tedius to do every single creature (including not only the Appendix but also everything from the MM) but it's one of the things I enjoy as a DM. It also makes me really know each and every NPC and monster... I'd be good at Monster Manual trivia! ;-)
Anyways with the note cards, initiative and combat are a breeze, so it's worth it.
I second the #1 tip about printing out stat blocks from the dreaded Appendix 4.
I scanned the Appendix 4 and are cutting and printing the monsters from the scanned pages into a few chapter-specific pages with broad margins. I feel that it's well worth the effort.
/ Henning
I rewrote every single stat block needed in the campaign on 5x7 note cards. It's worked out great. A bit tedius to do every single creature (including not only the Appendix but also everything from the MM) but it's one of the things I enjoy as a DM. It also makes me really know each and every NPC and monster... I'd be good at Monster Manual trivia! ;-)
Anyways with the note cards, initiative and combat are a breeze, so it's worth it.
I did exactly the same thing!
The Game Mechanics have PDF's available with all the SRD monsters written up on index cards for you. They cost $12 (or $6 if you just want to by one of the 2 sets for some strange reason) but I think that they are well worth the money.
You can find out more about them here:
http://www.thegamemechanics.com/products/initiativecards.asp
Olaf the Stout
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The Game Mechanics have PDF's available with all the SRD monsters written up on index cards for you. They cost $12 (or $6 if you just want to by one of the 2 sets for some strange reason) but I think that they are well worth the money.
You can find out more about them here:
http://www.thegamemechanics.com/products/initiativecards.asp
Olaf the Stout
True - but they do not include stats for specific NPCs or advanced monsters that appear in the SCAP.
Henning, if you still have the scanned copies on your hardrive as a file, would you consider either posting it or emailing them to me at SirKicley@yahoo.com
That is an excellent idea, however I do not posess a scanner.
Robert
2. The Smoking Eye. If you don't forshadow the importance of this, the chapter will seem completely useless and out of place to the characters. Im my campaign, I constantly threw out statements and teasers on how the Smoking Eye was important with a character that had the Dream Haunted trait (fit very well). If you don't plan on using or showing the importance of the Smoking Eye, get rid of the chapter and throw something else in.
This is a great idea. I don't have anyone with the Dream Haunted trait, but I do have a character with the Scarred Soul trait, and I think I can use his dreams to do some foreshadowing. Anyone have any good ideas for how to introduce the smoking eye into one of his dreams?
This is a great idea. I don't have anyone with the Dream Haunted trait, but I do have a character with the Scarred Soul trait, and I think I can use his dreams to do some foreshadowing. Anyone have any good ideas for how to introduce the smoking eye into one of his dreams?
Ya check out the RPGenius site for the SCAP... I posted 3 or 4 sample dreams that featured the Smoking Eye.