4e Battle of Good & Evil - Rules and OOC Discussion

I hear you there! When the PC's are 15th level, it's not three rounds, it's one!

My PC's are 16th-18th level, but I spend a fair amount of time on bad guys to ensure they last more than 1 round. But, that's a heck of a lot of work for what amounts to little or no gain.

Gansk said:

I hear you there! When the PC's are 15th level, it's not three rounds, it's one!

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Hey, that happened yesterday only because our party was prepared for exactly what we faced, and two of the vampires missed their Reflex saves against sunburst. The last vampire lasted several rounds three of the four times we encountered him.

I've been reading some people's reviews and I think some comments are plain silly or "who cares". Although I agree that the module shouldn't refer to the Player's Handbook, that's more of a minor inconvenience than anything and it has nothing at all to do with KotS and a general editing blip by WotC. Obviously, the module was pushed up to precede the rules whereas it was most likely originally planned to coincide with the rules. I also bet that there are several basic character stats in the core rules that could be used for townspeople (one person claimed that as a 'big" negative, which I think is silly; I mean, c'mon just use some standard DCs).

Another big plus which I hope they continue was several pages on NPC reactions to specific questions. While some people may literally read them off the pages, others can use them for RP guidelines. The module even provides a suggestion to do it either way the DM feels comfortable. Outside of, say, other DM's on the RttToEE forum I have never seen such advice (i.e. the NPC reactions) in such detail.

If 4E saves me 90% of my time on working up NPC stats and such and solves all my problems with spells (stupid Vancian magic), metamagic (more stupid Vancian magic), and items, I'm really happy to track marks and ongoing effects every round. In fact, I am seeing some potential in getting the players involved in tracking that stuff, which they wouldn't have a need to do in 3.5e.

Well, it is probably a valid criticism to point out that they provided a town without equipment prices. The customer would have benefited if they simply put out the module at the exact same time as the books, then omitted the quick start rules packet and charged less.

I'm glad they anticipated questions that might be given to the NPC's and suggested some answers. You're right, I haven't really seen that from a WotC module.

Gansk said:

I'm glad they anticipated questions that might be given to the NPC's and suggested some answers. You're right, I haven't really seen that from a WotC module.

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It has been common in Paizo adventures and in Dungeon adventures the last few years.

I totally agree it's a valid criticism. I guess maybe I should clarify my perspective. I care less about whether the editing on the product is perfect and more about the adventure layout and the introduction to a 4E game. In both cases (so far), I think they exceeded my expectations. The layout is significantly better than Sunless Citadel, Forge of Fury, etc. (albeit with some editing-related issues like item prices and what those items are and references to the PHB). And, the feel for 4E is awesome; however, I am obviously somewhat jaded by the excerpts (especially magic item).

I made up my BBEG for the end of the RttToEE campaign (see spoiler) and it took me many hours. First, I had to decide what he would be, which was no easy task counting the sheer number of books I have. Then, working up the stats and magic items took me the longest time. While at some lower level of my consciousness I enjoyed the tweaking of numbers and items, it really was a waste of time. It makes it even more aggravating knowing I could've spent all that time for 5 minutes of "fun" as he gets popped in the first round. Sure, the players might have a load of "fun", but not equivalent to the time spent.

I have a saying about parenting, "It's all about the kids." Just about everything you do when being a parent is with an eye towards your kids, making them more happy, protecting for them, providing for them, etc. Well, in D&D it's not all about the players.

[sblock] Unariq VolTalsimol, the first First, a CR25 Ulitharid (from Lords of Madness). [/sblock]

Has anyone heard from EvilHalfling?

I've seen him posting around in the other forums.

Is he a daddy yet?