Shackled City

Yair · Nov 6, 2005

I am preparing to run a Shackled City campaign from the hardcover, and although I must have read a dozen threads about it I figured I'll start one on my own. I'm looking for any advice on running it, really.

I currently intend to run it straight from the hardcover, not placing it in any existing campaign setting. I will add Action Points rules, allow Traits as the HC suggests, and allow high ability scores (78 points, buy with a 1:1 ration between 3 and 18). I expect around four players.
Does all this seem reasonable?

I'm gonna allow just about anything ruleswise: complete x, quintessential, psionics, whatever. Asides from "too much bizzare things" taste issues, did anyone have a problem with some class or spell or other feature? [specific to this campaign]

I haven't read the whole thing. I've read the first adventure, and will reread it prior to running it, and the "finishing up" and behind-the-curtain sections of the rest. Is there anything I need to know about the other adventures?

What NPCs and locations did you find the PCs returned or connected to? Did you have any noble/merchant patron? Did you feel the need to add some shops or artisans that became a standard support-NPC at your campaign?

And how did you treat the fact of Jzarszidune's size, secrecy, and points of access in Life's Bazzar? Having the abandoned neclave be unknown or only accesible through a secret door in a keymakers shop does seem problematic.

Any other advice is welcome.

Yair

Nightfall · Nov 6, 2005

Well not sure you need THAT high of a point buy...but considering you are using only for PCs, it's not entirely unreasonable. I'd have done something a little different but otherwise not too bad.

HeapThaumaturgist · Nov 6, 2005

We played a game with a starting situation very similar to that, using World's Largest Dungeon. The GM was changing stuff literally from the first room to account for the fact that we were able to walk over the module as-written.

--fje

JoeGKushner · Nov 6, 2005

Read the whole module.

Look at the character ability scores before starting. I've been in similiar campaigns that used an 80 point buy. Those characters are highly effective and while they may not "walk" through the adventure, they will do better than most randomly rolled 4d6 characters or 32 point buy characters.

The important part is to read about the city ahead of time. This will give you a good feel for what materials the players can buy, as well as what the characters can do as far as patrons.

I've got a thread about it around here. I'll see if I can find it and post it latter.

Yair · Nov 6, 2005

JoeGKushner said:
Read the whole module.

I was hoping to manage to avoid that.

I still have almost a month till the game will actually start, unless things turn up faster than I think. I'll try to squeeze in the time I need to read it between work and other obligations.

Regarding the point-buy...
I'll think about it some more. In principle, I like characters with high ability scores. I'll compensate if I have to.
I think I'll settle for 76 points. It gives an array of 18,16,14,12,10,6 - which is really as good as I want it to be. It's the 18,18,18,10,9,3 that frightens me... but I think my players won't go there.
Well, I'll think about it.

Nightfall · Nov 7, 2005

Yair,

Your call. Me for SC, I'd probably go only as high as say 45-48. It works in my SL games with less magic items, more players, and stronger monsters. In regards to SC, I don't think it will be too big a factor but not enough to make a TPK a certainity.

Solarious · Nov 7, 2005

Be careful. The module in which they go to the Underdark to rescue the dwarven heir is quite dangerous, and might elicit fusteration at the many difficult encounters that are derived from it. The only reason that the designers of the adventure set it that way is because they felt that the PCs can go outside and rest before venturing forth once more, which is stupid if the villians show any sense and sortie out to eliminate their problems.

Make the Stormblades obnoxious, but not overly so. While some of them are fairly repulsive, they are still on the PC's side... sorta. Depends on how your players treat them as the game goes on.

Yair · Nov 7, 2005

Nightfall said:
Yair,

Your call. Me for SC, I'd probably go only as high as say 45-48. It works in my SL games with less magic items, more players, and stronger monsters. In regards to SC, I don't think it will be too big a factor but not enough to make a TPK a certainity.

*scaratches head in puzzlement* You mean 45-48 with Wizard's point-buy method or something, right?
With a 1:1 point-buy, 48 comes out to a 8 average; that's an array of 14,10,8,7,6,3.

Yair · Nov 7, 2005

Solarious said:
Be careful. The module in which they go to the Underdark to rescue the dwarven heir is quite dangerous, and might elicit fusteration at the many difficult encounters that are derived from it. The only reason that the designers of the adventure set it that way is because they felt that the PCs can go outside and rest before venturing forth once more, which is stupid if the villians show any sense and sortie out to eliminate their problems.

Make the Stormblades obnoxious, but not overly so. While some of them are fairly repulsive, they are still on the PC's side... sorta. Depends on how your players treat them as the game goes on.

Cool, thanks.