Starting Deep Horizon...any suggestions?

Greetings:
I picked up the Deep Horizon Module by Skip Williams and have read through it several times. I was wondering if anybody has had the chance to play it and what advice they could offer so I can maximize the adventuring experience. I have downloaded the Web Enhancement off of the WOTC website and plan on using it as aswell. Thanks for your suggestions.

What are the levels and classes of the PCs? I always like to personalize modules depending on the players to make it more enjoyable for them.

I have taken the liberty to even out the CR for all encounters due to the CR level of the party.

Sorcerer: 14th/2nd Level Dragon Deciple
Cleric: 17th Level
Monk: 14th Level
Fighter: 10th Level
Theif: 11th Level

Thanks again.

Advice, eh? Well, I would pick up the module, slowly tear it in two. Toss it in the wastepaper basket and light it . . .

But seriously,

As a player running through this module I thought it sucked horribly. You have to take great pains to generate sufficient player hooks, b/c the module itself is certainly no help.

Some mistakes our DM/module made,

1) There are no contingencies for using high-level divination magic. For instance, after the Bat-person adept (leader, forgot his name) was slain by assassins, our cleric simply Resurrected him. No harm done...

2) We scried on the assassins, having seen them and all. They were in the Fire Salamander citadel. We then proceeded to cast every buffing spell on the party, 'ported in with total surprise and laid waste to the entire establishment in record time.

Some tactical decisions that our DM made that were *good*:

1) The Beholders are potent, but relatively easily to dispatch *if* you can get behind them. Therefore, make every effort that the Beholders allies keep their foes *in* the anti-magic cone. If the PCs are human and therefore have magical darkvision, they are very screwed. Make sure you isolate foes and try to take them down don't spread yourselves to thin.

2) Re-think the spell selection of the NPCs carefully. Skip didn't put too much care in this it seems.

3) One of the more potent uses of Wish for the Efreet would be to use Planar Ally to summon a Pit Fiend. Tell the Fiend that it can have all the party's treasure (which should be a ton) if it can dispatch them. Since this spell actually brings the creature to the Prime (Rather than summoning it), the party gets XP for defeating it.

gfunk said:

Some mistakes our DM/module made,

1) There are no contingencies for using high-level divination magic. For instance, after the Bat-person adept (leader, forgot his name) was slain by assassins, our cleric simply Resurrected him. No harm done...

Click to expand...

First of all, resurrection is not a divination spell.

Secondly, the module DOES acknowledge the possiblity of the leader being raised from the dead and the possible consequences of it.

B.u.m.p.

Thanks GFunk for the suggestions. I was interested in this adventure because my players haven't encountered much creatures from the underdark and I thought this module would be a good introduction (story wise) to it. Aswell, as introducing them to the Drow civilization. Probably not the best way of introducing my players to the underdark, but 1/2 of my players are powergammers and this adventure is geared towards alot of confrontation.

If anybody has Ran/Played this advenuture and has suggestions (alternative suggestions is welcomed aswell) on maxamizing this experience for my players, I am very interested in your ideas.

Or if you have opinions on how I should introduce my players to the Underdark civilization, I would be happy to hear them.

Once again, thank you and good gaming.

My players set up shop in the Forge, so it was easy to hook them into the adventure: deal with the earthquakes or die. Deal with the bad guys or die.

If you read Wulf Ratbanes storyhour, as run by Dinkledog and viewable online here for your pleasure http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102&perpage=20&pagenumber=2 you could get some good ideas about how the module could work out, and some of the clever tricks that players might get up to.

I would guess that the 17th level cleric is going to be your biggest problem.

Cheers

Piratecat had this great idea for RPing the Desmodu!

Keep your arms tight to your side and make fists. Plant your fists to the table and then sway back and forth as you speak. Speak in a very thick slavic or germanic accent.

The Beholders were the toughest part of the mod if I reacal.

Have fun with the Desmodu judicial system. Make it a pain in the but for the PCs to get to the body to raise it, but it's not cruitial to the plot. If the party's paladin wants to have it out in the middle of the "bat-market" go ahead.

Actually, make fists. Hold your arms straight out next to (not in front of) your body. Now, bend your forearms straight down. When you're sitting down, you're almost making half a rectangle with you r arms, and taking up a lot of space with a vaguely wing-like profile. Now, sway back and forth a bit, and you've got a desmodu!

If you like that sort of thing.

Maybe not a slavic accent, but desmodu have very deep voices.

As for the adventure, it can be incredible fun, but for the love of God reduce the amount of combat. Yikes.