My group is running AoW with Pathfinder rules (although there is very little conversion being done) and they are starting to get a little fatigued. They are toward the beginning of Three Faces of Evil, just about to enter the Temple of Hextor. I was thinking of giving them a bit of a break after they finish with the Ebon Aspect but didn't know how best to do this. I guess I have two questions.
1. As I have not yet read through Encounter at Blackwall Keep, how different is it from the first two books? Is it different and refreshing enough to give them a taste of something different, or is it more of the same (i.e. very railroad/dungeon crawly)?
2. What other 3.5/PFRPG modules would be good to insert into the story at that point (between chapters 2 and 3)? I would want something that's fairly short (no more than a few sessions) and that isn't going to completely throw off their levels/plot investment. Suggestions? I was thinking of running a shortened version of Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, but I don't think they'll be strong enough to handle it at that point.
I broke up things with some side trek stuff, and took various other measures to make the campaign less rail-roady. I expanded the regional map of Diamond Lake and set up some alternate adventure sites of interest, so I ended up going with some homebrew stuff. I have a campaign journal started on the journals thread where I'll be posting more details of some of that side trek stuff in the next while. I'm also posting GM Notes that include extra maps and handouts I've made there and info on how I've been altering the adventures to make the transitions between them smoother, iron out plot holes and make the path less railroad (basically how I've tried to improve the AP for my group).
However, if you are looking for a published adventure I might consider running Feast of Ravenmoor. The only problem is that it too sort of deals with investigating a cult, but it's more investigative and less combat heavy than Three Faces of Evil.
Encounter at Blackwall keep feels different than Three Faces of Evil, but it still essentially a dungeon raid- except against lizardmen in a swamp.
You could get the players more involved in some of the goings on in town- like the dispute between Smenk and Tilgast. There's lots of good adventure seed type ideas in the Diamond Lake backdrop article that can give some good ideas.
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I'm interested on this as well. I'm putting effort into making AoW our next campaign, but it follows on the heels of Kingmaker, which is pure sandbox.
I'm inclined to agree that fleshing out the town is the way to go. A tournament, fair, challenge of champions (dungeon magazine), etc., could spice things up.
And actually, a better way to put it is, my players aren't feeling railroaded, I am. I think my players are all right on board with the story and trek right along with every plot hook thrown at them. They aren't doing so in a begrudging, "we do this because we're supposed to" way. They legitimately are interested in the plot and want to follow it through to see where it leads.
I think however, that this is the first time that I'm feeling railroaded as the DM. It takes me somewhere between 2-5 hours to read and prepare a given chapter of the adventure. It takes my group about 4 session to get through the same material. At a rate of one session every other week, that makes for one solid afternoon of planning and prep for me, followed by two months of nothing. I need to find better ways to break away from the AP as written, and make it more my own, not due to any fault of the original plot or story. That's fantastic in my opinion. I just need to be able to express some DM creativity and actually feel like I'm playing a bigger role than laying out encounters and being a rules judge.
That's why I added in some other side trek stuff and used the medium xp progression to account for it. FYI if you need pathfinder stat block conversions, I have a bunch, just PM me your e-mail and I can send you them.
We just finished Encounter at Blackwall keep. However I placed some additional documents/clues in three faces of evil that gave them some clues to lead them towards Hall of Harsh Reflections and Champions Games. In my game they went to Greyhawk and started some investigations around Bozal Zahol and Zyxog before opting to return to Diamond Lake and heading for the Mist Marsh.
I've found it fairly easy to incorporate a bunch of my own ideas and not just follow the script of the AP, since I too find that a bit boring for me. I don't want to be entirely sure what the players are going to choose to do next, and I want them to have some freedom to conduct their investigations as they choose.
Here's my altered documents for three faces of evil:
The secrets on this page are most holy. Know ye heretics that the eye of Vecna is upon you. If you read this, Theldrik, you have either slain me and doomed our cause, or the time is nigh for our final victory.
At last the riddle of this place is solved. In ages past, a great being named Kyuss rose above the petty warlords who fought and struggled for material gain. Mighty Kyuss is the herald of the Overgod. Soon he will sound the clarion call to the faithful. Three faiths shall be made one and the Overgod will rise.
The worms we claimed from the spawn captured in the southern hills cause the transformation as we expected. I have been examining the worms closely. I have concluded that there is more than one type of worm within the spawn. They look similar in appearance, but how they interact with a host varies depending on the species. The most dangerous type of worm brings on the transformation quickly by burrowing through the skin and going straight for the target’s brain. As a side note, this suggests that the brain does play some sort of role in controlling the actions of the body. Another of the worms causes the transformation in a slower more insidious way. This sort of worm lurks within the stomach of a host and reproduces. The worms then eat at the insides, eventually killing the host and causing the transformation. The time has come to share their gift with the people of Diamond Lake. Even now Smenk’s man is infected by the slow worms and undergoes the transformation, and he shall soon be spreading Kyuss’ gift among the refuse above.
In the meantime, the Ebon Aspect stirs within the pool, and the time has come to start making the final sacrifices that will cause it to awaken. I suspect that when it awakens it will need time to gain its full strength, but feasting on the men of Diamond Lake should give it the nourishment it needs to attain its full power.
Our course is clear to us, my dear Theldrik. Smenk’s use to us is nearly at an end. Once he brings us this final shipment we should have all we need to awaken the aspect and complete our business in this wretched town. If the calculations and portents are correct, the time for covert action is at an end. As the Age of Worms begins we must spread the gift of the worms and strike hard and fast to destroy any who might threaten the coming of the Overgod. Bozal Zahol says that the coming of the Age of Worms and the Merging of the Three is inevitable. He claims that our job is merely to hasten its arrival. I am more skeptical. We have so many enemies. We must not become complacent, and we must not underestimate them. The Overgod will rise, but it is up to us to ensure that everything is in place for the merging to happen.
Soon the Ebon Aspect will rise and grow to its full strength. Soon there will be a horde of the spawn. Then we will bring our army of worms to Greyhawk and cleanse it of its heretics and heathens. Kyuss will come forth to announce the Age of Worms, and then the three shall merge into one, and the Overgod will reward his faithful and crush the lesser gods. The world will be remade, and we will become its immortal rulers, lording over the masses of faithful and honoring the all mighty Overgod.
Theldrick,
May three become one! I trust that the financial contributions I have been sending have been sufficing to ensure that the Ebon Triad’s research continues on its course to fruition. Assuming that you and the Faceless One are correct and you have found one of Vecna’s ancient lairs, then I am confident that you will find answers that will help to birth the Overgod. I look forward to the day when the Overgod arises, and I have faith that he will remember my contributions and see to it that I am well rewarded for my devotion and loyalty.
Although I initially dismissed the tiefling that you advised me to speak to, I have in the past few months reconsidered the wisdom of your advice. I reinitiated contact with him, and the conversations we have been having have proved to be quite illuminating. I now see why the Ebon Triad has sought his advice in the past, and I believe that he can aid me in my quest to prove my devotion to the Overgod and restore the vigor of my youth.
He has spoken to me of a series of scrolls that he claims will enable us to achieve our ends. I have been in contact with an illithid that has a reputation for being able to acquire all manner of obscure items. The mindflayer’s network of contacts is said, by all accounts, to be vast, both on the surface world and in the underdark below. I have never had dealings with his kind until now, and the nightmare tales of his race are likely tame in comparison to the truth. He is truly an abomination, and I look forward to seeing the Overgod obliterate his kind along with all other races who he does not favor. However, even though I despise the creature and shudder at the thought of ever having to look upon him again, I believe that he is capable of procuring the scrolls, and when he does I will do whatever I must to ensure that they end up in our hands.
We hope to have the scrolls before the winter. In the meantime, Bozal has been advising me on the other preparations that must be made ready. There is much to do, but the Overgod willing, everything should be in order by the time of Champion’s Games next summer. Of course, all my efforts might not be necessary depending on how quickly you succeed in your own endeavors. Yet if you haven’t succeeded in the merging of the three by next summer, then I invite you to join me in helping to purge the City of Thieves of heresy and make a monumental offering to the Overgod. Who knows, perhaps that is what is needed to see the final fruition of our desires realized.
Sincerely,
Your faithful patron
Ready’reat 14th, 592 CY
May three become one,
My journey has come to an end for now. I stand in the ancient cathedral. I have met the Faceless One, the servant of Vecna that Bozal has spoken of, and a fellow believer in the teachings of the Ebon Triad. The Faceless One claims that this place was once a place where Vecna conducted his research before his divine ascension. I am inclined to believe him on that account, though how he found this place I do not know. However, Vecna is of little interest to me. When the three become one, Hextor will be the true face of the Overgod, and the power of the other two will merely serve to give him the strength needed to crush Heironeous and the other gods. Still this place is spectacular; it is dominated by a mysterious pool of black liquid.
The Faceless One thinks the pool is the key to unlocking the secrets of the merging of the three, but he will tell me no more than that. I am certain he knows a great deal more than he is willing to share, which is typical of a servant of Vecna. In fact, I am in a way surprised he has revealed as much to me as he has. He has set himself and his apprentices up in Vecna’s former laboratory, a place concealed behind a labyrinth of secret doors and hidden passages. He protects his sanctum with his loyal birdmen. I have been charged with defending the Dark Cathedral and the pool. I have agreed to this duty on the condition that I build my own fortress and chapel to Hextor abutting this ancient hall. The town above teems with faithless and desperate men skilled at hewing stone. They shall make perfect petitioners and laborers for the work I require. I look forward to putting my architectural gifts to use once more and honoring Hextor with a new place of worship.
There is a passage to a series of caverns joining Vecna’s cathedral. We have investigated them, and it seems possible that the caves may access the Underdark. I have recommended that we seal off access to the Underdark, but the Faceless One is insistent that we leave the passage open. He claims that he will only be able to make limited progress in his research until all three faiths are represented here, and he feels that soon the stirring will of the Overgod will send forth a prophet of Erythnul, a prophet that may well come from the depths, hence the need for maintaining access to the darklands. I pray that when such a prophet arrives he is a believer in the way of the Ebon Triad, for if he is not we may well be doomed. I also pray that in the mean time we aren’t assaulted by some other threat from the Underdark.
Reaping 5th, 593 CY
Praise be to the Scourge of Battle,
Work on the Chapel of Hextor goes more quickly than I had dared to hope. Our patrons in Greyhawk have been generous with their coin. We have gained the aid of one of the local mine managers. A fellow named Balabar Smenk. He has been providing us with quality supplies, particularly one required by the Faceless One that aren’t so readily available in Diamond Lake, and has helped us recruit a number of petitioners to aid with the work. Several have died from exhaustion, but I have been able to acquire enough onyx to raise those men as skeletons in my service. Skeletons have no minds and can follow only the simplest commands, but they require no nourishment and they work tirelessly until their bones crumble apart. I have given them picks, and they have been hewing through the stone at a pace that a living man cannot match.
The caves that I originally sought to seal have proved useful. They have provided us with a good place to dump the rubble from our excavations. I estimate that at our current pace, the fortress will be finished in a year.
Sunsebb 10th, 594 CY
Three will become One,
Today was monumental one. The chapel of Hextor nears completion, and a prophet of Erythnul has arrived from the Underdark. The prophet calls himself Grallak Kull. He is a member of a wretched and savage race known as the grimlocks, and were he not a believer in the way of the Ebon Triad, I would destroy him and his foul kind. He has brought with him several follows, all grimlock kin eager for blood and slaughter. They will have to learn patience, for we are still not near to being ready to move against our enemies on the surface. When the time does come he and his grimlocks can be the rabble to lead the attack, much like the peasant conscripts we send to their deaths at the front of so many battles back in the Aredy. Of course a pack of grimlocks are much more terrifying than peasant militia. They are more akin to a horde of raging northmen or orcs. I pray that they will be able to restrain themselves until we give the command to attack. They seem quite loyal to their prophet, so hopefully that will be enough to keep them in line until they are needed.
Flocktime 5th, 595 CY
Praise be to the Scourge of Battle,
The Faceless One becomes increasingly concerned. That addled beast of an oracle Grallak Kul has yet to provide new insights into the Overgod’s nature. The crude missives he sends speak of worms, of a slumbering power that must be awoken before the three can become one, but nothing more. I wish he would go back to the black pit that spawned him if he has nothing more to offer.
The Faceless One tells me this ties to an ancient figure, a being of great power. Of course he tells me little else. He enjoys keeping his secrets, but he forgets they will flourish only behind the protection of Hextor. His latest taunt is a scroll that he tells me contains all the answers I seek. Of course, the bastard wrote it in cipher. Were it not for the dictates of the Ebon Triad, I would lead my troops into their damnable lair and kill every last bird and wizard.
Grallack is the key. Thank the Scourge, he trusts me and not the Faceless One. Otherwise, I doubt the Faceless One would bother imparting anything to us. We cannot trust these mages. When the Overgod arises. I think it will be time to settle some old scores.
Wealsun 11th, 595 CY
Under the Herald’s Watchful Eye we conquer,
Grallak Kul has finally yielded a useful clue. I personally delivered it to the Faceless One, and he cackled like a hyena when he saw the message. Grallak spoke of the worms again of course. He says that the deep tunnels of Oreth are infested with them. All seems well for now, but soon the Age of Worms will begin and they will burst out of the earth and swarm across the land. Still part of his vision troubles me. Grallak spoke of a great power behind the worms, but the Ebon Triad teaches that these worms will awaken the Overgod, who will then reward his faithful servants with immortality. Is there some other power at hand here that we cannot see, and if so, is it friend or foe?
The Faceless One knows more on the matter, but of course he has little to say. Perhaps Grallak has invented everything or perhaps his divine insights are just mad ravings. If he is an imposter or a trickster, we may need to route him out of this place. In that case, we must ensure we have the supplies we need. Six coils of rope, and perhaps more bows and arrows, should do the trick. With the petitioners leading the way we can uncover any ambushes they have within the cliffs.
Reaping 6th, 595 CY
Curse Balabar Smenk and the Faceless One,
Progress is being made. We have managed to cause something to stir in the pool. Grallak claims it is an aspect of Overgod’s will- a sign that we are moving closer and closer to the merging of the three. The Faceless One assures me that we are on the verge of bringing it forth. The Faceless One also assured me that he had sent Smenk a message that would bring him back in line. Apparently that message has done the opposite, so my confidence in his word is limited at best. Smenk has had the gall to send his agents against us. I warned the Faceless One that he would not easily be cowed. He has declared war upon us. Darrus is dead, as are several of my more competent and loyal tiefling soldiers. No matter, I have enough onyx left to see that they serve me once more. The Faceless One insists we hold off on any offensive action until the Ebon Aspect emerges from the pool. I can live with that as long as it happens soon. In the meantime we shall ready ourselves in case Smenk tries to hit us again.
The Faceless One has also insisted on dealing with Smenk personally. I can live with that as well. He and his birds can go after Smenk. I will escort the Ebon Aspect and lead my troops against the garrison and the followers of Heironeous. Grallak and his grimlock warriors are most eager for slaughter and blood. However, they are too wild and savage to be of much use to me in battle. I am sure that they will slay with abandon, and that is fine. Their actions will provide a suitable diversion, and if we are lucky the garrison will divide their forces to deal with them. With the aspect of the Overgod fighting at our side, we will be unstoppable.
There is a disagreement between Grallak and the Faceless One about what should be done after the razing of Diamond Lake. They agree that the worms must be spread, so that we have a horde of spawn ready to serve the Overgod. Grallak wishes to begin the march towards Greyhawk, growing the horde as we go. The Faceless One is more cautious. He thinks that we must first travel to the Mist Marsh. He believes that somewhere in that trackless swamp is the source of the spawn that have started to plague the southern hills. He believes that finding that source might be the final key to our holy quest. I am caught in the middle, and I doubt the correct course of action will be revealed to me until after Diamond Lake has fallen.
May the hours until the rise of the Ebon Aspect pass quickly.
Reaping 7th, 295
Hextor give me strength,
You test my faith this day lord. Smenk’s heathens have struck again. I did not think they would dare to make a second raid so soon after the first. We repelled them, but they killed many of our faithful- faithful that were clearly not worthy.
The Faceless One has made the sacrifices, but to seemingly no effect. I ask for guidance. What have we done wrong? What more must we do to bring forth the aspect? I should have known better than to trust a wizard and a crazed grimlock oracle. They are probably both charlatans. Kendra and I have decided to return to Greyhawk. We will reconnect with brethren there, and bide our time. Perhaps, I will contact Bozal and seek his advice, but I am starting to suspect that the tiefling may also be a charlatan. Afterall, it was he who introduced me to the Faceless One, and that alliance has accomplished nothing. Still, I maintain faith that the Overgod will one day rise, but in the meantime, I will see to it that Smenk pays for his treachery.
Praise to the Overgod.
I don't know if it can help but:
As a prologue, I ran three adventures (my players where divided in 2 groups before the campaign)
First I'm playing in 591 AC in Greyhawk, it's not so important but I prefer to precise it. And I started the campaign in Coldeven/ Growfest.
First group played Cry Wolf – Dungeon #102 that I set in Ery Crossings (between High Crossings and Diamond Lake), I could introduce the following plot:
The Tilgast plot : Gelsh Tilgast organized a secret operation with Blackstone mine managers to attack Smenk convoys on their road to Greyhawk City. He's on a vendetta against Smenk and he wants everybody (and especially Smenk) to think it's a bandit Lord's work (I choose Roscoe Two Fingers [Doomgrinder - Lost Cairns Trilogy]. They met with Trovast Skunt, one of the lieutenant garrison from Diamond Lake. He clearly said he was on a bandit lord tracks. It will be helpful when they will finish the TFoE adventure... because I want the PCs to be catch between Smenk and Tilgast/ Gansworth war.... I can explain my plot in another post, the plot is really machiavelic (Gansworth/ Neff/ blackmail/ burglary/ trials...)
So Cry wolf....
In this adventure, a ranger had been captured by foresters because they want to poach. The ranger is The garrison' scout Merris Sandovar. I gave him a animal companion for the occasion, A dire female wolf named Rain. Helping him make the scout a good contact.
Besides this, On growfest 1st, it's the beginning of the whool festival [doomgrinder], it adds some background to the campaign debut and make the link to the third adventure.
Second group played Swamp Things RPGA Living Greyhawk CORE 01-09. It's set in the Cairn Hills, north of the mistmarsh.
In this adventure, they help a druidic community, attacked by lizard men and a troll. They follow the tracks into the mistmarsh and fights the lizard men and the troll. If the lizard shaman speaks, they learn that he was paid by a mysterious man with a amulette (vecna) to abduct people (if he asked for precision he says virgin girls => In P.H Dungeon's Campaign for example, The cultists under Dourstone Mine want badly virgin girls, so IMC)...
Then I ran Festival Knight RPGA Living Greyhawk ADP 01-02 as third adventure to gather all my players. The place was Ery Crossings (the second group was hired to escort some monks from the twilight monastery since Diamond Lake/ the monks wanted to break their monotonous life by participating the festival... even the monks are human after all)
It was useful to introduce the Kellek/Auric & Tirra band. It was risky but my goal was the Free City adventurers to solve the adventure (were creatures, shocked by the festival theme [Iuz is mocked] try to make a genocide among a disguised parade) and my players will feel very jealous. It worked perfectly. I was afraid, as I know some of the players and I, don't like NPCs to kill the bad guy and get the princess. But now them don't trust them and hate badly Khellek
Actually they are finishing the Whispering Cairn. I'm introducing step by step the rivality between the mine managers (Tilgast plot)
Other things : Just before HoHR I will run River of Blood (to introduce the octych plot).
One of my players will need to gather these item in order to come back to his reality => He's from the future and in this future, the Age of Worms is effective but travelling to the past, something went wrong and he's amnesic. He will have some flashback (first will occure in the wind waariors chamber).
Running River of Blood means that I will certainly need to run Expedition to Greyhawk Ruins or Castle Maure or Return to Inverness Ghost Tower)
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Good stuff!
Ghost Tower, oh man. Ran that converted when the PF beta came out, old school, crazy, non-sensical, but so classically cool.
There's a lot of dungeon crawls, so always on the look for Role Play heavy scenarios that flesh out the town. Like the mine manager plots. Also snatching those expanded journals.
I made some more updates on my campaign journal. Included a handout that is intended for PCs researching Kyuss in the library in Greyhawk. I thought I'd post it here as well. It is in the form of a scroll penned by an unknown scholar:
The exterior walls surrounding the inner ward of the Necropolis of Unaagh display some of the finest relief sculptures depicting the Age of Worms. The reliefs have deteriorated over the centuries, but the quality of their craftsmanship and the ghastly yet highly imaginative details displayed within their scenes of writhing death are still mostly intact and are unparalleled anywhere else in the known world.
When considering the nature of the Age of Worms, one cannot fail to associate this prophesized apocalypse with the entity known as Kyuss. Details regarding this being are limited, but he has been referred to as the “Worm that Walks” and the “Harbinger of the Age of Worms.” Scholars agree that Kyuss walked the earth as a mortal long before the rise of any of the modern civilizations that exist today. Shulm is the name of the civilization that he is most commonly associated with. It is suspected that Kyuss was either a necromancer or a priest of a death god, possibly Nerull. It is also widely accepted that he was shunned by his own people and forced into exile for practicing dark magic and speaking blasphemous prophecies of death and doom, presumably regarding the so called Age of Worms.
Rather than languish as an outcast, he became a prophet and drew to him demented followers who wished to hear his grim words. They saw him as a servant of the gods, and some even worshipped him as a living god. His followers believed that if they curried his favor he would protect them from the impending age of writhing doom that he prophesized.
In their exile, they fled to the southern jungles. There it is said that Kyuss and his followers discovered the ruins of a city built not by men that was already ancient in their time. He was drawn to the place and commanded that his followers rebuild the city. It became the base of his temporal power, and he ruled for many years as a god king. Kyuss was obsessed with attaining divinity, and he built a profane altar at the heart of the city. The altar was centered around a black monolith, which he used to channel his power. There he made countless blood sacrifices to his death god, and in a final vile rite he attempted to elevate himself to godhood by sacrificing his entire flock of followers. With their deaths he stepped into the monolith…
At this point the scroll is ripped and whatever came next is missing.
My recollection is that some who have run Blackwall Keep first ran a prequel with the players playing standard militia in the Keep and interacting with the infected & lizard men etc. I suggest finding that ( on the boards, probably in archives somewhere) as it sounds very different.
Another possible event for your characters future would be to try and intertwine Expedition to Greyhawk Ruins when they get to Greyhawk. This would require some foreshadowing now most likely
I also recall reading an interesting plot development for the faceless one
Otherwise I suggest focus on foreshadowing and npc depth through things other than journals, adventure paths always need more foreshadowing.
I'm still toying with the idea of trying to work in some of Expedition to Castle Greyhawk into Age of Worms. I'm not sure exactly how I would do it though. It's such a big adventure that it would be far more than a side trek.