I just started running Thornkeep recently. Though I stressed that this was a fill-in adventure for when our regular GM can't make it to our monthly sessions, the players still want to dig into the setting for more than just its dungeon. I placed Thornkeep in a territory in my homebrew world that is contested by a Celtic/Fey country and a Greco-Roman flavored country (sort of a blend of Taldor in Golarion and Thrane from Eberron). Those of you who are running or have run this mini-campaign, what other encounters and adventures have you added?
I'm doing pre-prep for our next campaign. One of the candidates is The Emerald Spire, and my plan is to use Thornkeep as an additional nearby town.
I'm doing pre-prep for our next campaign. One of the candidates is The Emerald Spire, and my plan is to use Thornkeep as an additional nearby town.
One of my friends who decided to sit out Thornkeep has Emerald Spire, so I don't want to spoil that for him if he wants to run it sometime. Good suggestion, though.
I have considered incorporating short Dungeon Magazine adventures here and there since I have a bunch that I have never been able to run. I probably shouldn't get ahead of myself, though. Its just an every non-and-then game.
You can just add any dungeon to the adventure. You're asking about including the setting, but you're using a different setting, rendering any advice moot.
I'm running the Emerald Spire in conjunction with Thornkeep. They are both located in the Echo Wood and along with Fort Inevitable make up the setting of the area. Fort Inevitable is run by the Hellknights while Thornkeep serves as a diametric opposite, as it is mostly lawless and run by a robber baron.
There are other mega-dungeons out there that can be easily cherry picked and reskinned for Thornkeep. Dungeon Magazine published four or five levels of Maure Castle. There's also Citadel of Pain, All Stars Take on the Mega-Dungeon, Rappan Athuk, The Grande Temple of Jing and many more. You could easily take a module such as the Black Monastery, Dread House, or Tegel Manor and add it to the region for more content.
You can just add any dungeon to the adventure. You're asking about including the setting, but you're using a different setting, rendering any advice moot.
I'm running the Emerald Spire in conjunction with Thornkeep. They are both located in the Echo Wood and along with Fort Inevitable make up the setting of the area. Fort Inevitable is run by the Hellknights while Thornkeep serves as a diametric opposite, as it is mostly lawless and run by a robber baron.
There are other mega-dungeons out there that can be easily cherry picked and reskinned for Thornkeep. Dungeon Magazine published four or five levels of Maure Castle. There's also Citadel of Pain, All Stars Take on the Mega-Dungeon, Rappan Athuk, The Grande Temple of Jing and many more. You could easily take a module such as the Black Monastery, Dread House, or Tegel Manor and add it to the region for more content.
I guess I should have been clearer with my question. What I am asking is what side quests have GMs fleshed out using the encounter/adventure seeds throughout the numbered town sites? For example, the proprietor of Echo Wood Arms is in fear of a vampire's bounty hunters and agents finding him in retribution for killing the vampire's favored minion. Also, Brother Eldrast of the Shrine of Battle is looking for volunteers willing to seal the old vaults at the Graveyard and perform the proper rituals to put an end to an undead problem there. Hope this helps.
So far, my players have followed up on the missing girl, Adeline Fraston, who went missing while collecting mushrooms. I put her in a moon spider lair using the Raging Swan Press Spider's Lair pdf to flesh out the details of the lair.
The next hook I plan on using is having Huntmaster Jaevron from the Hunter's Guild introduce Filero Dundaban to the heroes, so they can help him deal with the gangs that are extorting him. I haven't introduced the hook yet and will have to see how the PCs approach it before I flesh it out.
Since that involves potentially three gangs, including the goblin tribe, the Three Daggers gang and the Ironjaw gang, there are many ways they could approach it. They may just go to their known headquarters and confront them directly or they might wait until the gangs come to collect from Filero again.
I'll add further details as they evolve.
I'm planning to shift this game to Golarion for Pathfinder Society characters. We will not be following the PFS rules, just playing the PFS scenarios and using an altered version of leveling due to our monthly frequency of gaming. If the group goes beyond the dungeons beneath Thornkeep, I'll just pick out some encounters from other modules that I have that fit the feel of the area.
The area is pretty ripe for sandbox adventures. If you use the Echo Wood map and key provided in Thornkeep, you'll see various potential seeds in the nearby ogres, fey, ghost towns, and even the dragon in the cave in the northern section of the Echo Wood.
Something I wish I knew when I ran Thornkeep is that the novel Crusader Road is set in the area, and fleshes out some of the NPCs named in the sourcebook.
Something I wish I knew when I ran Thornkeep is that the novel Crusader Road is set in the area, and fleshes out some of the NPCs named in the sourcebook.
That's cool! I had no idea. Is it worth a read? That's something I miss about my earlier D&D days, is that we had iconic novels that set up the feel of the world. I've read a few PF Tales novels, but they don't really have the same impact for me.
The area is pretty ripe for sandbox adventures. If you use the Echo Wood map and key provided in Thornkeep, you'll see various potential seeds in the nearby ogres, fey, ghost towns, and even the dragon in the cave in the northern section of the Echo Wood.
Thanks for the suggestions. Do you know if there are any PFS Scenarios that take place in the area?
There are a couple of PFS scenarios, but they're based further out in the River Kingdoms and not in the Echo Wood area.
Here is the link to the Adventure Finder (by region).
You can find some stats and plug-in ideas that I used on my own thread.
There are a couple of PFS scenarios, but they're based further out in the River Kingdoms and not in the Echo Wood area.
Here is the link to the Adventure Finder (by region).
Thanks for the Adventure Finder link. I remembered you can search by region after I submitted the previous post.