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I'm about to run this adventure. At first glance I noticed the following from the adventure:
- Several statblock errors, but that's easy enough to correct
- Great NPC villains, especially Theldrick and the Faceless One
- Heavy on the dungeoncrawling
- Transition from Whispering Cairn to Three Faces of Evil a bit weak
- Tough final encounter since PC's likely out of resources
Now, I've read some great threads about DM's modifying or adding stuff to adventures, especially Encounter at Blackwall Keep. What I'm wondering is if anyone has similar advice DM's could use about this particular adventure. What worked and what didn't. Anything a DM should lookout for? For example,
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Here's a few pieces of advice:
1) Read and understand the plan for the Hextor cultists. They are well organized and drilled, so their defence plan should run mostly as planned. Allow for it to fail or not go perfectly though, or the PC's might get TPK'ed.
2) The grimlock caves are complicated. The cliff face encounter has the potential for several different groups of baddies getting involved at once. The kennel master, archers, chokers and barbarian may all get involved in one long, multi level brawl.
3) Be sure you understand the climbing rules for the above.
4) More of a tactics trick for the acolytes of Vecna and the allip. One or more acolytes cast web from their scrolls, thus tangling one or two PC's. The incorporial allip then moves in and ability damages them.
5)Don't be afraid to mix and match new spells, feats and items for the BBEG's. There are a lot of suppliments that players are using these days, and the baddies should be able to do the same. Same goes for summoned monsters.
Good luck!
1) Read and understand the plan for the Hextor cultists. They are well organized and drilled, so their defence plan should run mostly as planned. Allow for it to fail or not go perfectly though, or the PC's might get TPK'ed.
Another note for the Hextorian section. This is likely to be the area first explored by the PCs, since they'll be encountering guards for it immediately. Theldrick is fairly intelligent (13), perceptive (16), and knows how to deal with people (Cha 14, Diplomacy +10). Thus, he won't immediately start with hostilities if he can get a chance to talk.
Use this as an opportunity for one of those 'villan monologues', as cheesy as it sounds. Let him show off a little knowledge of the PCs (say, the fact that they went here first, because the other sections would've killed them). Emphasize their lawful alignments, by pointing out their rights to do research here or the like. Basically, make up a good, righteous speech, and let Theldrick deliver it once he's gotten the doors locked.
Give the PCs a chance to respond; end the spiel with a question, to give them an excuse to say something. Allow sneaky PCs a chance to prepare some nasty tricks during the speech; be sure to give the NPCs a similar chance for spells, potions, etc. Once the fight begins, throw everything you've got at 'em. Make it an all-or-nothing affair; as long as the PCs come in relatively fresh, and recognize that this is one of those end-all type of fights, they should pull out all the stops too.
Check out my thread:
http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/dungeon/ageOfWorms/tFoECorrections
and feel free to contribute to it!
Sleep and silence spells are very useful to the PCs. Through judicious use of these, my group managed to avoid fighting the whole Hextor temple at once, and are also breezing through the Grimlock caverns.
I put a delay in the Ebon Aspect forming as well for a variety of reasons, including dramatic effect. I also went through each section and thought about logical changes that might be needed. For example (and I haven't read through the errata, so this may be there), it didn't make any sense to me why the main entrace from the mine to the underground area would be something the PCs need to break through because it's all nailed shut. So, I made it LOOK like an area that's nailed shut, but is actually a swinging door with a lock. Things like that.
The one big thing I did was to give the Party a map of the area ahead of time. The REASON I did this was that we had 3 new players come in with the start of 3FoE, who were COMPLETELY NEW to D&D and the concept of RPGs. Becuase this one was so heavy on dungeon crawl, I thought the visual would make life easier for them (and it did). Drawing the player's map was a bear (I tried just fitting together the PC maps that came with it, but that didn't work, and there was stuff on them I didn't want the players to see)but I think the end result was worth it.
In game, this gave some good role playing opportunities as they had to go find this guy that had been paid by someone else to sneak into the area and do some recon, so they got to see the seedier side of seedy Diamond Lake. It also cut WAY down on the "which door did we skip? Did we go down that tunnel back there already?" stuff that normally happens during a dungeon crawl because we don't normally use any kind of mapping.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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My favorite alteration for the WC/3FoE transition is (if i may brag a little bit) simple but elegant: Throw the group in jail.
Let's face it, the expedition to the observatory is technically robbery with (most likely) murder sprinkled on top. And while it is a cesspool of corruption, Diamond Lake does have a town guard. A town guard deeply in the pocket of a certain obese mine manager, who just happens to be an old friend of the victim.
It makes little sense for him not to sick them on the characters. After all, they are guilty, and few would speak up on their behalf anyway. So after they return half-dead from the final battle with the Wind Warriors, have a good dozen townguards position themselves before the Cairn entrance, and take them into custody. Anyone trying to go heroic gets a fair fight and enough subdual damage to ensure cooperation.
Newly incarcerated, there is this message - Balabar Smenk wants to talk to you - has an interesting offer, they say... but you can stay here in the cell, we'll have a nice and cozy length of rope for you shortly...
It may be a little railroady, but its realistic, has a visceral feel and gives the group a very good reason to not belch into Smenks face and tell him to perform lewd acts on his own mother. ;)
I changed the temple to a temple of warforged which made it tougher as they needed no supplies so could wait out an assault too.
This module is really tough. My group of veterns really got bogged down in the Temple and really felt helpless. You should give them a way of getting out and getting help if things go really bad. The Summon Monster 3 was a real killer - literally.
I also struggled to get the characters to move in to the arena. They moved in once but not in the numbers I had hoped so I din't close the doors else the brave would have been killed and thats just not right.
Did I mention this module is tough?
I introduced several creepy clerics of the Green Lady cult, tending the boneyard. There had been a rash of bodies dug up recently (apparently a legend about a fake coffin full of gold hidden in the boneyard). They also have a strong hatred for necromancers - so its practice is forbidden by local laws (the clerics have a lot of political clout).
So no one bats an eye when the observatory is sacked - although my group took Filge prisoner, and didn't kill him. This worked out good, because he later became a reluctant source of good info on undead (Kyuss, etc).
The big change I made was making the "Faceless One" someone the PCs already knew... the local cleric of St. Cuthbert! (the crazy one who likes to whip himself). So when they eventually unmask him, they recognize him. This creates lots of interesting problems - townsfolk assume that ALL the Cuthbertines are cultists (in truth, only a few are - but which ones?), the church had been growing, attracting more followers lately - now many of them feel betrayed and disillusioned when they find out the high priest was really a bad guy.
Also - Dourstone has a reputation for treating his employees really bad, so only the most desperate people work for him - people no one else will hire (like rapists, murderers, psychopaths) - after the Aspect is destroyed, Dourstones mine is closed, putting all these people out of work (so the crime rate spike upwards, and people blame the PCs, rather than thank them... so later, leaving town is a very good idea...)
At the end of WC my PCs had taken Filge prisoner, and turned him over to the militia (because the PCs had alerted Filge to their presence before attacking, he sent a tomb mote to Smenk, who knows what happened. The PCs don't know this). They found the letter from Smenk, and Filge told them most of the things indicated in the adventure. They also gave a deposition to Lt. Venderin, telling her _everything_ about the Whispering Cairn, and teh cult that might be under Dourstone's mine. She agreed it was very bad and would take the report, and the letter from Smenk, to the Captain of the militia. She told the PCs to take the worm to Allustan and wait for a note from her.
The problem facing me was that, with evidence of the cult, the militia would have a good reason to go to Mayor Neff and ask to go into the mine (which is really the sheriff's jurisdiction, not their's) thus eliminating the need for the PCs. To remedy this I decided that Lt. Skunt is actually a member of the cult! He killed Lt. Venderin and had Filge taken to the mines. The PCs have been told by the Captain (and believe) that Filge kille Lt. Venderin while escaping. They also discovered that the Captain never received her report or the evidence, so now he has nothing to go to Neff.
Now the party is paranoid that Filge is looking for revenge, and that cult assassins may also be after them, not to mention Smenk. The spent the last night holed up in the cold celler of the temple of St. Cuthbert!
So, to get them to investigate the mines, the Captain has asked them to go and find evidence of the cult (and stop them if possible) as well as Smenk's dealings with the cult. Hamneezer (from the temple of St. Cuthbert) overheard the party talking in the temple (one of the PCs is a cleric of St.C) and offered assistance in the form of a wand of CLW.
One of the PCs is also a dwarf from the Greysmere Covenant. he was "thrown out" by Dulok for dereliction of duty because he was off adventuring instead of doing his job (he is a Knight from the PHB2). Later Dulok showed up in a shed near the Rusty Bucket and informed the PC that he had to make it look liek he was thrown out because he believes there is a spy in the covenant working for Dourstone (who is responsible for the mine cave-in back home). he has tasked the PC with going into the mine, and finding out what Dourstone is up to, so he can be taken back to Greysmere to be punished if necessary.
So, yes, a lot of Roleplaying was added to get the PCs to go into the mines which we will be doing this Friday.
Here's something to think on, regarding the formation of the Aspect. The timing originally stated works quite well, when you give it the proper reason.
The heroes infiltrate the Hextorian section, and put everyone inside to the sword. This can be considered an application of tyranny, since the priests there entered unopposed and could potentially claim the right to stay there, despite their goals.
Next comes the caves with the grimlocks. Odds are it will be a wholesale slaughter, something that Erythnul favors. Yet something else that would get the Aspect's attention.
Lastly, the Vecnan section. Killing the Faceless One would bring some secrets to light, bringing harm to people who would've otherwise been untouched (such as the evidence against Smenk). But it also renders who-knows how many secrets permanently buried, because the F. O. knew a lot about the region, the Triad, and their operations. Thus, secrets are revealed, and secrets are denied. More fodder for the Aspect.
Essentially, the Aspect's awakening can be seen as the fault of the PCs. Let them chew on that for a while.