4e Campaign - KoTS - Finale!
Posted 29th December 2008 at 06:05 AM by ashockney
Session 8
The grand finale to the KoTS. Tonight's session consisted primarily of the last two battles at the end of the Keep on the Shadowfell adventure. We picked up tonight's adventure from where we left off last week. It was interesting that it's much easier to "pick up where we left off" than in previous editions of the game. Previously, there were a number of sub-systems and game elements (such as spells or hit points) with limited uses, and little to no rhyme or reason to their condition or storage. 4e presumes a few things, you are likely at maximum effectiveness in each encounter, can use most of your abilities, and have access to almost everything. The only things that were really variable were daily powers (including magic items), and healing surges. That was pretty minimal in terms of bookkeeping, and the use of daily powers was much easier to recall, because their effects were so significant.
The first encounter is the Citadel of Shadows, which turned out to be a tough fight. I had read others indicate that they had a tough time, and I believe the players on the D&D podcast (actual play) got owned in this fight. I made one minor shift in the fight, which was replace the undead minions with Dark Creepers. The party spread out at the very beginning of the fight, thinking at first sight that the priest must be Kalarel. Interestingly, what turned out to be so difficult was that the party was so spread out, and the villains could then easily "group" on individuals who were not "front line fighter" defenders. They took down the warlock, then the mage (both ended up succeeding in death saves). The barbarian ability to take an immediate attack action with bonus to hit and damage was devastating, especially combined with a few lucky rolls. I believe the party was trading blows for survival over a few rounds. Once the party regrouped with the fighters leading the attacks, and marking targets, it all became much smoother for them to turn the tide and finish the battle.
The final battle with Kalarel turned out to be much funnier than we had anticipated. In the beginning, I laid out the details about the blood and the difficulty of getting around in it. The party then proceeded to move easily around the blood with little to no distraction. The villains (namely the wight and a skeleton) proceeded to fail on at least three attempts to move into or across the blood. It almost became a little like the keystone cops. Kalarel's movement over to the portal was a scary moment for the party, however, when both fighters and the ranger were able to triple team him, as well as use tide of iron to knock him out of the magic circle, it was a dramatic shift in favor of the party. It was downhill from there. The reanimation was a cool ability, and one I hope to see more often.
The party returned to town and were celebrated as heroes. They obtained 5th level, and are now ready for the Thunderspire Labyrinth. I planted several seeds for the module in the last few adventures, and the party has really liked them. We seem to be playing a bit "ahead" of the curve, but only approximately a level at this point (5th vs. 4th).
I am continuing my "mash up" theme and have placed the Thunderspire Labyrinth in Draigdurroch Tower, outside of Loudwater in the Dire Wood.
The grand finale to the KoTS. Tonight's session consisted primarily of the last two battles at the end of the Keep on the Shadowfell adventure. We picked up tonight's adventure from where we left off last week. It was interesting that it's much easier to "pick up where we left off" than in previous editions of the game. Previously, there were a number of sub-systems and game elements (such as spells or hit points) with limited uses, and little to no rhyme or reason to their condition or storage. 4e presumes a few things, you are likely at maximum effectiveness in each encounter, can use most of your abilities, and have access to almost everything. The only things that were really variable were daily powers (including magic items), and healing surges. That was pretty minimal in terms of bookkeeping, and the use of daily powers was much easier to recall, because their effects were so significant.
The first encounter is the Citadel of Shadows, which turned out to be a tough fight. I had read others indicate that they had a tough time, and I believe the players on the D&D podcast (actual play) got owned in this fight. I made one minor shift in the fight, which was replace the undead minions with Dark Creepers. The party spread out at the very beginning of the fight, thinking at first sight that the priest must be Kalarel. Interestingly, what turned out to be so difficult was that the party was so spread out, and the villains could then easily "group" on individuals who were not "front line fighter" defenders. They took down the warlock, then the mage (both ended up succeeding in death saves). The barbarian ability to take an immediate attack action with bonus to hit and damage was devastating, especially combined with a few lucky rolls. I believe the party was trading blows for survival over a few rounds. Once the party regrouped with the fighters leading the attacks, and marking targets, it all became much smoother for them to turn the tide and finish the battle.
The final battle with Kalarel turned out to be much funnier than we had anticipated. In the beginning, I laid out the details about the blood and the difficulty of getting around in it. The party then proceeded to move easily around the blood with little to no distraction. The villains (namely the wight and a skeleton) proceeded to fail on at least three attempts to move into or across the blood. It almost became a little like the keystone cops. Kalarel's movement over to the portal was a scary moment for the party, however, when both fighters and the ranger were able to triple team him, as well as use tide of iron to knock him out of the magic circle, it was a dramatic shift in favor of the party. It was downhill from there. The reanimation was a cool ability, and one I hope to see more often.
The party returned to town and were celebrated as heroes. They obtained 5th level, and are now ready for the Thunderspire Labyrinth. I planted several seeds for the module in the last few adventures, and the party has really liked them. We seem to be playing a bit "ahead" of the curve, but only approximately a level at this point (5th vs. 4th).
I am continuing my "mash up" theme and have placed the Thunderspire Labyrinth in Draigdurroch Tower, outside of Loudwater in the Dire Wood.
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