RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
|
... and in case any of my players comes across this posting, know you (yes, you, not your characters) will be spit-roasted over an open fire in case you are stupid enough to derive any kind of demands from this post.
What happened was that when the Apostole of Kyuss burst from the arena floor, i made a fatal mistake: I applied the bonuses for being full-grown twice. That was, his AC was increased yet again by another Shield of Faith, he gained another attack, and so on.
Still, the battle rested on the edge of being won by the group (6 players...), but in the end auric was dissolved just 30 HP shy of bringing the apostole down. Now, this marked a (albeit dark) high point in the campaign, but i am a little concerned in unjustly depriving the group of the money they bet on themselves (the bookies probably will not be paying in the wight-infested ruins), since they came into the adventure already slightly under RWL.
Any suggestions on how to "make it up to them?"
|
i am a little concerned in unjustly depriving the group of the money they bet on themselves (the bookies probably will not be paying in the wight-infested ruins), since they came into the adventure already slightly under RWL.
Any suggestions on how to "make it up to them?"
Well, I made a couple of mistakes during the AoW campaign myself - nothing so dramatic, but still. So, I gave extra XP for the encounters that I overdid, etc. I generally owned up, but since the PCs still won the battle, it wasn't a problem.
In your case, I'd say that owning up is probably not the best idea since they lost. You can give them extra XP if you want, or up the treasure in the next adventure or two by ~20%. If they lost a significant sum of money (as in, they are considerably less effective because of the monetary problems), then weaken the next set of monsters.
I'd just throw in a little extra loot, maybe in the form of some cool magic items, into later adventures. Probably not equal to what they might have gained betting on themselves but maybe something closer to what they lost betting on themselves.
How'd they manage to be below their wealth by level guidlines anyway? AoWs gives out tons of treasure.
|
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
|
Well, a 6-man group is one effect, a wizard who burns through scrolls and wands like they are candy another, and finally, fluctuating playerbases - with characters usually taking the most valuable items with them.
I guess i'll spice up AGoW with a "treasure vault" type chamber, or maybe add a few expeditions to the ruins of the free city.
Well, a 6-man group is one effect, a wizard who burns through scrolls and wands like they are candy another, and finally, fluctuating playerbases - with characters usually taking the most valuable items with them.
I guess i'll spice up AGoW with a "treasure vault" type chamber, or maybe add a few expeditions to the ruins of the free city.
Hmm...you know the more I think about it the more I'm tempted to change my advice to...tough kittie toe nails. Its not really your job to keep them topped up. Its your job to see that you gave them their fair share of loot to begin with. If they choose to burn their money on charged items thats their choice. If they decide to bet on themselves becuase they figure that they are shoe in for the games victors they can't really complain that their gambling did not pay off. I mean they were kind of metagaming that one in the first place by presuming that, since they are the adventures hero's the bet was nearly a sure thing.
|
I didn't want to short my players on the wealth-per-level scale when I ran this adventure and the doomsday scenario happened, so I had the transformed Raknian throw them their winnings with a scornful laugh before departing. I believe his parting shot was something like "My thanks for a job well done, Heroes! Try not to spend it all in one place!", spoken in such a way as to suggest that he didn't think that they (or Greyhawk itself) would be around long enough for them to enjoy it.
Doomsday was averted in my Champion's Belt, but only by the quick thinking of Khellek, who, with the aid of his golems managed to almost single-handedly take out the Apostle. Of course, he had successfully confused the party paladin and feebleminded the party wizard in the rounds prior to the Apostle's emergence, so the party wasn't in much condition to deal with the problem themselves. However, after it was all over, I had the mayor of Greyhawk reward them the equivalent of what they would have won for their work in uncovering the plot (the party bard's warning and invisibility spell is what kept Auric from being swallowed). It was a rather unexpected outcome, but that's why we play the game.
Doomsday hit in my campaign and I did not give my players anything. Their winnings and betting money was being help by Urtos at his mansion which just so happen to be in the now wight infested city. They have sinse made up their losses, which at the point they are in for my campaign are pretty minor. The plan I have is to have the players head back to the city after they defeat Kyuss, and purge it of the undead. I'm not going to let them just wade through low cr wights though. I'll give them some fun with it while mixing in some higher cr slaughter wights from libris mortis before I start breaking out the big badasses that have since taken up residence in the undead city. As for the winnings, trophies, and betting money. My plan is to add to it, and provide it as a reward for saving the city they failed to save in champions belt. As for helping their treasure problem after champions belt. I doubled the value of all monetary treasure in the next module. That fixed things nicely without looking like I was giving it to them for free to fix money problems.
|
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
|
Ok, I've settled on a little expedition to the ruins of Greyhawk, where the party has a chance to recover some of their items in Storage (along with some gold, and most importantly, Eligios' notes). That should clear up some of the gold / equipment worries without retconning or changing further adventures much.
As for "Bah, Wights are just CR 3 anyway, we'll steamroll them"... well, i guess i should mention these Wights are a variant, and gain the following special ability:
Witness to the Apostole (Su): Any spawn created by this creatures "Create Spawn" ability retain all class levels they posessed in life, as well as faint, twisted memories of their former existence. They also gain this special ability in addition to their normal abilites. Wights with this special ability retain the ability to advance by class level.
I didn't want to short my players on the wealth-per-level scale when I ran this adventure and the doomsday scenario happened, so I had the transformed Raknian throw them their winnings with a scornful laugh before departing. I believe his parting shot was something like "My thanks for a job well done, Heroes! Try not to spend it all in one place!", spoken in such a way as to suggest that he didn't think that they (or Greyhawk itself) would be around long enough for them to enjoy it.
Awesome.