|
At the start of Varnhold Vanishing, it states that the party should be ninth level by the time they reach Vordakai's tomb. My players however, are only half-way through 7, and are heading to Vordakai's tomb from the Nomen lands.
The book seems to assume that the adventures are going to fully explore the whole region before coming to the final dungeon. It's quite a silly assumption really, since most roleplayers are conditioned over years to follow plot breadcrumbs. I had a similar trouble with the first chapter too.
All I can really think do is rearrange some of the encounters so they face them on the route. But even this will only just get them to 8 before Vord. I know that's only one level, but Vordakai is the hardest fight in the game so far.
Has anyone else had trouble with players rushing through the plot?
Have you checked the GM thread dedicated to VV? I seem to remember that there is quite a bit of advice to be found in it.
Are you including quest XP and (not so) random encounters? My group gets a lot of XP from random encounters.
Make the entrance to the stairs only open at certain times of the year, so you can deny them entry for now and guide them gently towards other quests and adventure sites.
Maybe add the module by Neil Spicer which fits in nicely at their current level and story-wise to see how they cope with a mini-BBEG from the AP.
Ruyan.
How about having the centaur daughter who is captive ask them to escort her back to the tribe?
With her help, throw some more random encounters their way. Possibly even a minor side quest.
I noticed that this was likely to happen when I read the adventure.
What I did to change it was instead of the Centaur Leader just knowing that there was a place called "Vordakai's Valley" which the players would just go to. The Centaur told my players that Vordakai appeared in their myths and that possibly one of the Centaurs holy sites contained an answer. The leader directed them to Area F on the map first, then to Area R, Area T and Area X. I knew my players would go to Area F first because its closest over easy terrine.
The Centaur leader also told them her daughter was missing and that she goes around to each holy site once a season to maintain it. The only thing I had the Centaur leader know about Area X was that the tribe was not supposed to go past the stairs at the back and that they performed upkeep on the totems located at the site, but she didn't know why it was just sacred tradition.
My players went to each site looking for clues which I placed at them and looking for the Centaur Leaders daughter. My group also likes to ask the local wildlife whats been going on so when they were at Area X a bird told them some more info. My PCs didn't even take the stairs, after one of them scouted in bird form the location of Vordakai's crypt they just scaled the cliffs and walked through the mountains until they got there.
They were still one level under what they needed to be but that was because once in the crypt they found the room that is the focal point of the Occules of Abbadon's power. Without even knowing what the eye shape was they started destroying it which forced Vordakai to respond before the group had fully cleared the crypt. Had they missed that room by the time they would have gotten to Vordakai they would have been Lv 9.
|
Meh...my characters are an average of two levels below the recommended module level each time they begin,and it's still a cake walk if I run the encounters as written. This might change since I've been meager doling out stat-boosting items and AC. I look at encounters like The stag lord finale and then see Howl of the north and wonder why bother running these minor side encounters as written. For example, I'll add two or three of those undead cyclops at the stairs than the one as written, because they will walk over it solo. I was going to run Hook Mtn as a side adventure, but folks like the Grauls with their pathetic AC's are hardly the CR 6 they are assigned. Note that I've not even given them any magic items not contained in the modules, and they still crush the set-piece encounters with little effort.
Meh...my characters are an average of two levels below the recommended module level each time they begin,and it's still a cake walk if I run the encounters as written.
Hmm... with how many players do you run the campaign? Are your players the sort of min/max players?
I think the reason why this is so easy for your players must be with either you or your players. Because I don't read so much about, how easy this Ap is...I can't say for myself, because I won't begin Kingmaker before the end of this/beginning of the following year (as my group is in the middle of the fifth CoT module and I want to finish this first).
Meh...my characters are an average of two levels below the recommended module level each time they begin,and it's still a cake walk if I run the encounters as written.Hmm... with how many players do you run the campaign? Are your players the sort of min/max players?
I think the reason why this is so easy for your players must be with either you or your players. Because I don't read so much about, how easy this Ap is...I can't say for myself, because I won't begin Kingmaker before the end of this/beginning of the following year (as my group is in the middle of the fifth CoT module and I want to finish this first).
It hasn't been the hardest campaign that I've run or played in. There have been some rough patches, but not too terrible. Council of Thieves is way deadlier, IMO. I've had one player in CoT with an equal number of character deaths himself than all six of my Kingmaker players combined. In Cot, each of my players has at least one character death. I still have two players with PCs they started with in Kingmaker.
It hasn't been the hardest campaign that I've run or played in. There have been some rough patches, but not too terrible. Council of Thieves is way deadlier, IMO. I've had one player in CoT with an equal number of character deaths himself than all six of my Kingmaker players combined. In Cot, each of my players has at least one character death. I still have two players with PCs they started with in Kingmaker.Meh...my characters are an average of two levels below the recommended module level each time they begin,and it's still a cake walk if I run the encounters as written.Hmm... with how many players do you run the campaign? Are your players the sort of min/max players?
I think the reason why this is so easy for your players must be with either you or your players. Because I don't read so much about, how easy this Ap is...I can't say for myself, because I won't begin Kingmaker before the end of this/beginning of the following year (as my group is in the middle of the fifth CoT module and I want to finish this first).
You see... thats what I wanted to say: You have a group of six players and run a module which was written for four players. If you would run the encounters as written, your chars won't get any challenge at all. That is why I asked Achilles, how many players are playing in his campaign or if they are kind of munchkins (no offense meant ;o) ).
But if it is true what you say, then my players will feel like on a vacation, as soon as we start Kingmaker. Because in my CoT campaign I had (by now) no deaths at all... (Although some very close calls) And I run it with four players.
|
|
I noticed that this was likely to happen when I read the adventure.
What I did to change it was instead of the Centaur Leader just knowing that there was a place called "Vordakai's Valley" which the players would just go to. The Centaur told my players that Vordakai appeared in their myths and that possibly one of the Centaurs holy sites contained an answer. The leader directed them to Area F on the map first, then to Area R, Area T and Area X. I knew my players would go to Area F first because its closest over easy terrine.
That is brilliant!!! Consider me borrowing these ideas!!!
Also I had already intended to run the Fellnight Queen as RyuanVe suggested between book 2 and 3.
They're 90% done w/ book 3; but I've been dropping hints and clues all along that foreshadow the fellnight queen module taking place.
I don't award XP at all for anything - I merely advance the players as needed; so I need not worry about too much material advancing them too fast.
This system of XP adjudication also prevents players from munchkining random encounters just to level up. There's actually an incentive to avoid needless encounters.
Robert
|
At the start of Varnhold Vanishing, it states that the party should be ninth level by the time they reach Vordakai's tomb. My players however, are only half-way through 7, and are heading to Vordakai's tomb from the Nomen lands.
The book seems to assume that the adventures are going to fully explore the whole region before coming to the final dungeon. It's quite a silly assumption really, since most roleplayers are conditioned over years to follow plot breadcrumbs. I had a similar trouble with the first chapter too.
All I can really think do is rearrange some of the encounters so they face them on the route. But even this will only just get them to 8 before Vord. I know that's only one level, but Vordakai is the hardest fight in the game so far.
Has anyone else had trouble with players rushing through the plot?
I'm having the same problem in my campaign right now. They're in Vordikai's tomb and they're only 7th level (5 PCs, 1PC with leadership). I've taken the unconventional approach by doubling all XP gain. It's actually working out quite well and the players are none the wiser.
|
This happened to my group and they did fineish. Sure, my players had run out of virtually every resource by the time they got to old one eye but that just made it fun.
I will never forget the cries of "Are we sure we don't have any more healing potions?" Ah happy days...
Send them in, they might lose a PC or two but they should win out.