DMs Only : Advice for GMs about to run or re-run HoH [Spoilers ahoy]

[Helaman]

Spoiler:

I've read a few reviews or accounts now where the players power through the research and/or dive straight into Harrowstone like its a dungeon to be tamed all within a few brief days.

My advice is to slow it down.

The town of Ravengro is as much a character as the five spirits and its a real pity if the characters don't have the time/opportunity/initial inclination to get involved.

There are events, mysteries and character within the town itself to be 'encountered'. These things tie the story together, which is more than just a set of themed/linked xp gaining combats.

There is the letters in blood issue, a stirge encounter, a townhall meeting to name the ones in the storyline, then there is the possible return of zombie lorrimor (and friends), cards bursting into fire in pubs and others that are suggested.

There is a slew of NPCs that while spending a day with each of them would be a waste of time, getting to interact with them could be fun as well - including a bit of fisticuffs with farmers in the local tavern (a suggestion but one where characters can use unarmed combat/combat maneuvers in a place where as the damage should be largely non-lethal, can try all sorts of shenanigans and maybe even gain trust.)

The trust rules don't cover a lot of 'gain' mechanics - that's where the DM and PC town interaction comes in. Some of the better accounts I've read have had characters helping with chores, fixing the Lorrimor house or hosting performances at the local - all these can gain trust... trust can also be a fun mechanic to measure the "mood" of the town. The more it goes down, the gloomier it gets, the villagers get more surly and so on.

Here are some suggestions to slow things down:

Research isn't a five minute read, despite how long it takes to read the handouts. Pottering around the Lorrimor house should yield a ton of books - folklore, stories, histories, journals or periodicals on natural science and so on. Finding the books on the whispering way? Getting all the info out? Thats gonna take some time. The same with finding records on Harrowstone etc.

I'd say it takes about a few hours to a whole day to dig up information for one knowledge check. Characters making a static "What do I know without looking around? I've got +5/+8 can be given the DC10 or possibly DC15 but the DC20+ stuff? Make them dig for it.

Kendra can be more than an anchor that holds the party in town for 30 days. Have her make requests of them - fix the house up some maybe. Let those craft and profession checks have a bit of an airing... Villagers seeing the Lorrimor place getting fixed up or the fences whitewashed should be good for a +1 trust ("see, they aren't so high and mighty, they know how to do a good days work just like anyone else").

Thats a day there.

Incidently Kendra can also be a good NPC to find information that the characters DON'T find but you want out there for story purposes. Have her also help in the information gathering mid to late game (early game she is too distraught).

A market day, town festival or even the town cook off that is mentioned in the townhall description could be a day there - have Kendra ask they come "It may help a bit, the people here think you are a rough lot". Just participating without hurting anyone? +1 trust. If they get roped in as judges by the jolly innkeep of the Laughing Demon and make an honest effort of it (ie not taking bribes or putting crap on/in the food etc) thats another +1 trust.

And thats a day of in game time there.

You NEED time for town events to unfold and not seem rushed together.

A missing child in the fields can be great day long mini arc for survival and other rolls as a set of skill challenges. Show up? +1 trust. Find the child? +3.

Religious holidays? Throw one in - it isn't lucky to go near the dead/Harrowstone on 'All Hallows Eve' (or the Pharasism equivilent). If the party go, up the strength of the undead/haunts as if under a prayer/bless effect. Half Channel Damage vs. the Undead.

As the atmosphere of the town worsens? Events spin out of control irrespective of town trust. You see, things have been getting bad ever since Lorrimor "the necromancer" died, so its all his fault. Have some villagers dig him up and drag the corpse out of town and buried at the crossroads.

Characters can spend a few hours getting the body back and/or beating up the villagers responsible. Maybe even leading to that bar brawl I suggested earlier. Trust could go either way on this one.

Thats a great arc for the return of the suggested Zombie Lorrimor (I can't see him rising from hallowed ground but onces its been defiled? Another thing altogether).

I'd also recommend searching these forums for cool stuff - of which there is A LOT. Someone suggested characters have dreams/nightmares of some or each of the five.

This is one of the better story arcs/adventures I have seen out there, and its a pity and a loss to treat it as just another dungeon bash. Slow the players down along the plot but keep the action up - if they need to kill stuff, even bring in a possible external threat of Orc or werewolf (great theme leading to the 3rd ep of the AP) attack in the area can keep the players occupied.

[Windspirit]

Totally agree....

My part spend some enjoyable time repairing Kendras house, with the result that now the Paladin think of himself quite a DIY-handyman, when in fact the group had to hire a (real) Handyman to fix his repairs.

Also he repaired the Frontdoor, which led to Z-Daddy coming into the Kitchen where all the PC's where having Lunch...
It all comes doen to REALY roleplay. My players where in the kitchen, eating dinner, no tehy had not there BIG weapons on then, no they wherent in Armor...made the whole think WAY more fun.

One of the Characters had a think for Kendra..play it out..First Date, flowers..the whole lot. This gives the PC a chance to bond with their character.

CC is an awesome AP if you go away from "Go to A, slay Monster B, take treasure C, LOOP"

[Biobeast]

Yep, giving them tasks around town is the way to go. Have Kendra invite them to accompany her to the town market. Have the sheriff hire them to do a minor investigation or hire them to guard something. Also, having the prison come off as real dangerous probably too much for them to handle at level 1.

[Spacelard]

Totally agree...To me the prison is the side-trek and Ravengro the main scenario generally outlined for me to flesh out. Yes you could just plough through the adventure as written but I believe that would be selling it short. There is a stack of things that can be bolted on and the (flawed as written) Trust Mechanic is there crying out for GMs to put that little effort in to flesh the thing out.
Maybe its because I am used to sidelines being a (mostly) CoC GM...

[noretoc]

I also had to slow things down. My players would have headed off to the prison right after the journal, unless there was a break. How I did it, is that I got rid of the "read this first" on the journal, so as soon as the PC opened the box, Kendra grabbed it, and held it dear. She read it in front of the fire and showed the PC passages from the book's beginning, wanted to read about her dad's life from beginning to end.

The players filled up the first couple of days with the other books, going to town, and helping Kendra. Then on the third day the first letter appeared and one of the zombie encounters. On that same day, they came back home to find kendra passed out (She is not taking the death well, and looks to the bottle) and the journal on the floor. Picking it up they notice the passages circled. By now they were already involved in the town though, and had a few occurance to check out.

[Helaman]

Incidently I just thought of a new thing to incorporate into the game.

Given that some DCs (25) are more than likely that players are likely to land at, a) give them a seperate attempt to try again after each level gained and/or, b) gives them an unofficial bonus of +1 each day if the characters specify they will continue the research in their down time (nights etc). So if Bob got a 15 total on his knowledge check, after 10 nights of bashing the books, he has a 'Eureka' moment and finds the data.

This may or may not garner the XP reward depending on how generous the GM is.

I enjoy the Gumshoe mechanic of giving the players all the clues but I think they also need to earn it on their own, either by investment in the right skills/activities or by putting in the hard work hitting the books. It gives the players the chance to get all the information, even with failed rolls.

Alternatively you can have NPCs come forward at some point and give them the data.

[Galnörag]

Great post, I've been spending a lot of effort getting ready for this AP and I want the city to really come alive. I've tried to get a really good feel for all of the NPCs in the Ravengro section of the book, adding some bones like appearance (to those without pictures), attitude and mannerisms. Many of them have little more then a name, like the money lenders, and I've tried to create a clear picture in my head who they are, so that I can make them believable and real. I think it also helps to deemphasize the important NPCs by make all the NPCS seem well defined. Players won't focus on the obviously well defined NPCs if there are lots of them.