There are a couple massive contradictions in what is presented that the PCs can do in this adventure. Also the undead don't really follow the rules with one major thing.
* It's said that everyone yells at you and tells you to get out if you interrupt them in the salon, and they won't talk to you. But the adventure also says you can ask the students and professor about various things, and gives skill bonuses for this purpose. Which is it?
- I went with that they are grumpy at being interrupted, but the PCs could make a Diplomacy check to get them to open up. At this point the PCs could ask them questions. Otherwise the only opportunity to ask questions would be after confronting the professor.
* It's said that the students and professor go to bed at 1 am, and at this time Lucvi is sleeping in the salon and you can search it without interference from the obstructive residents. However, the undead attack only 10 minutes after nightfall on the night the players arrive, and the waves are certainly much less than 30 minutes apart. There is never an opportunity to actually search the salon.
- I went with adding a butler to the house as an extra NPC. When the butler prepares dinner the students and professor break for a meal, and the PCs would then have an opportunity to search the salon.
* The undead can break into the locked basement in 1 round no matter what, despite the majority of them not having the bonuses or damage to actually break a door by the rules on attacking objects short of a crit.
- I know part of this is just for the drama of them dragging the professor away, so I decided to keep this, but extended the time to break in to 3 rounds - the same as breaking through a barricade.
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* No stakes. None to be found in the house, none to be bought/crafted in the rulebook, and no rules for breaking those chairs into emergency stakes.
- Had to wing it so the players could stake some vampires.
* Ghouls break into the house, conveniently just happen to notice that the place is haunted mere seconds after arriving, and also just happen to know the right chant to summon up said poltergeist in 6-seconds or less.
- Handwave, impromptu tragic backstory involving the poltergeist and the professor's great-grandfather and that chandelier that the BBEG found out about and prepared for.
* Tables are nailed to the floor because <reasons, and not just because they would make excellent barricades and we can't have that, can we?>.
- Handwave, same tragic story except great-grandpa nailed those tables down because of the poltergeist and later generations didn't want to ruin the floors by pulling them up.
* How, exactly, does the professor lock himself up every night to protect everyone - if he can free himself in the morning without help, his evil alter-ego can free himself at night.
- I gave up and just whimpered sadly in my GM chair.
* How, exactly, does the professor lock himself up every night to protect everyone - if he can free himself in the morning without help, his evil alter-ego can free himself at night.
- I gave up and just whimpered sadly in my GM chair.
I did the same thing. It's also unclear whether he just locks himself in the basement, or whether he chains himself to the cot... but either way if he can free himself, what's the point?
I did the same thing. It's also unclear whether he just locks himself in the basement, or whether he chains himself to the cot... but either way if he can free himself, what's the point?* How, exactly, does the professor lock himself up every night to protect everyone - if he can free himself in the morning without help, his evil alter-ego can free himself at night.
- I gave up and just whimpered sadly in my GM chair.
This was the other reason I added the butler to the house, as the one person keeping the professor's secret and who locks him up in the evening and frees him in the morning... I couldn't see any other way around the logic hole involved here. I made his bedroom the small side room at the lower right of the first floor.
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I've only played it, not read it, but was also frustrated by some things. Other siege scenarios (Way of the Kirin, etc.) scatter things around you can use to prepare with - this has nothing. We made due the best we could.
And then they went to incorporeal undead that could just float through the work we'd done :(
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I've only played it, not read it, but was also frustrated by some things. Other siege scenarios (Way of the Kirin, etc.) scatter things around you can use to prepare with - this has nothing. We made due the best we could.
And then they went to incorporeal undead that could just float through the work we'd done :(
There were actually several items for the party to find. However, those were the *only* items for the party to find, which was just terribad design. Like, if you want to give someone silver knives and lamp oil and garlic (which are the items I remember), you mix them in with a bunch of other stuff to find.
- As written:
PC Sven: I search the pantry. <rolls perception>
GM: You find a dozen cloves of garlic.
PC Sven: In the entire pantry, in all the bins and boxes and shelves, I find just twelve cloves of garlic? Really? All these people eat is garlic?
- Better written:
PC Sven: I search the pantry. <rolls perception>
GM: You find a half-full barrel of apples, several of bags of flour, two hams, a sealed jar pickled herring, a bin of potatoes and another bin of onions, a garlic braid, a cask of mead, several wheels of cheese, a crate of raisins, and a large sack of unshelled walnuts.
PC Sven: Well, I guess we won't starve. I wonder if they'd mind if we had some of that ham for dinner. I am so tired of trail rations.
<several hours later, when fighting vampires>
PC Sven: Wait! Wasn't there some garlic somewhere? In the pantry? GET THE GARLIC!