I know sometimes people are looking for different ideas in how to run the adventures, so I wanted to toss out some of the plot changes I'm making in case anyone's interested:
Still starts with Ilthane's attack on the town, but when she learns the PCs aren't there, she instructs the townsfolk to give up the people who mean the most to them. Out of self preservation, they're happy to comply. Three NPCs that the PC have had significant interaction with get tossed forward, and Ilthane is told to go to the Whispering Cairn for Allustan.
I didn't like the "Oh, thanks for saving me... Since you're here anyway, you don't mind exploring the rest of this place for me do you?" way the game was set up, so I decided to make Ilthane's abductions the running theme for the WHOLE game, not just the first half.
Being the cunning dragon that she is, she decides to use the Cairn to her advantage (I don't know if 3rd ed still has the prohibition on Chromatics being able to polymorph to a humanoid form, but our house rules have always allowed all dragons to polymorph, so getting inside isn't a problem for her.) She doesn't just want the PCs to die, she wants them to suffer. She also wants to use the Cairns traps and challenges as a way to wear down their resources before they face her.
She's going to leave taunting notes for the group throughout the Cairn (some of them intentionally covering trap triggers), as well as scattering the abductees through out as well. Some of them will still be alive when the PCs find them. Some of them won't be. I want the group to REALLY hate her by the time they face her at the end.
I cut out the Seal of Law part as well as the side tangents (True Ghoul, etc.) so there isn't anything to distract their momentum. I also cut out part of the dungeon so that when they face Ilthane, it will be just outside of the true tomb. We'll see how it goes!
Great plot, I might also go into this direction...
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Some thoughts and comments...
I liked that in Gathering, you fight the big scary thing first. Made for a nice change from standard adventures. I have to admit I don't care for the idea, since it makes Gathering too much like TFoE, Spire, Kings of the Rift, and Wormcrawl (the path is already fairly rich on "big bad guy in a dungeon").
The hook I played up wasn't so much "Why not finish exploring" as the "ancient weapons were probablhy hidden here" angle. Since the party already knew Allustan was exploring in my version of things, it seemed pretty natural to carry on.
How would Ilthane know the ancient tomb well enough to use it against the party? Why are the guardians tolerating her presence? As a creature of chaos, I'd think she'd be in trouble.
How does Ilthane find the tomb traps without rogue levels?
Why is Ilthane leaving any of the hostages alive?
Some thoughts and comments...
How would Ilthane know the ancient tomb well enough to use it against the party?
Why are the guardians tolerating her presence?
How does Ilthane find the tomb traps without rogue levels?Why is Ilthane leaving any of the hostages alive?
As for the first three, it's a matter of knowing my group and that they don't analyze things that closely. They also have no idea what class levels she has or how I may have changed her.
As for the last, to screw with the PCs pure and simple. If all they find is dead hostages then there's no hope. And she wants them to HAVE hope..... so she can crush it.
... (the path is already fairly rich on "big bad guy in a dungeon").
Forgot to add... this is exactly WHY I felt I needed something more than just, "hey, there's likely stuff we missed back here the first go 'round." This way, the whole game is a rescue mission where the PCs (and players) have some emotional investment in the outcome. It just HAPPENS to take place in a dungeon. They are tired of dungeon crawls at this point, so I'm trying to give them something where the dungeon itself is secondary to their being there, not primary.