Gravin, the Priest, will become a Priest of Mitra. He's in the village. And, I might change his name to something like Gravino.
The Bugbear encounter I'm going to change to Borderers. They'll be hunters, living out in the wood. I might even make them poachers, hiding out from the lord's men, living off the local lord's deer and wildlife.
With Clombush the Ogre, I've got an idea. I'm going to make him a giant of a man. Big. Muscled. But, also a simpleton. He'll be retarded or just slow. He's the local lord's blood--his son. But, the lord dis-owned him, and had him taken to the woods to die. Somehow, he survived, though. He lives in a cave. The people in the town know of him. Some are afraid of him. They call him "The Ogre".
I'm also toying with two more ideas for Clombush. I'm thinking that he might be gifted with second sight, and when the PCs encounter him, I can use him to spout off some cryptic clue to their adventures ahead. Or, the other idea is to have Clombush think that he has second sight, but really it's just the fantasy of boy in a man's body. Through roleplaying, though, I'd try to sell it as if Clombush's power is real. If the players buy what I'm selling, it would be fun to just make up some random mumbo jumbo and see how the players react to it. Could be a hoot.
There's a ferret trainer and a Giant Ferret in the Thieves' Den. For some reason, I want to keep that, though I may change the type of animal. A big dire wolf might be more appropriate. I've just got this picture in my head of a man straining to pull on the leash of this salivating beast, then letting him go. The thing tears up the earth, foliage ripped to shreds, bee-lining for one of the PCs. Talk about a Demoralize Other check!
There are a few Barbarians in the adventure, but I think I'll turn them into a group of escaped slaves, hiding out away from the big cities--maybe trying to leave the kingdom. It will be interesting to see what the players do with these guys if they encounter them. Will they help them escape? Leave them alone? Or, capture them and return them to Messantia? Who knows, with this group.
The thieves are camped out in an abandoned temple to some generic Sun god--which is perfect for an old, abandoned temple to Mitra. There's a crypt with the dead priests, and a ghoul haunts the place. I think I'll keep that. I'll seal the crypt and make it so the bandits could not have entered--and if the PCs find a way in, they'll be the first in that dark, dusty, dank place in many years.
Lastly, there's another were-creature in the Thieves' hideout. He's supposed to be a visitor (though the module does not tell us much more about him). I'm thinking of this guy being the source of evil that has fallen on the place. I'm thinking he's a liason to some secret, sorcerous group--something that I can expand upon later in the campaign. He's the reason the Harpy has been attracted to this place. Maybe he's a Stygian Priest, or follower of some dark god out of Shem. Baby killer. Commits human sacrifices. Not sure where this is going, yet, but it is dark. A hook to be fleshed out later in the game.
And, that's it. Those are my conversion notes to make the adventure more appropriate for the Hyborian Age. I've got a little bit of everything in there--a nice appetizer displaying things to come. I've got some hooks for later, and many of the encounters could blow up into something very interesting depending on PC actions. Surely, there's enough combat there, too.
It hasn't gotten by me that the players may try to join the bandits instead of trying to root them out of the area (as the PCs are mostly thieves), which is why the first encounter is so important. I've got to anger the PCs against the bandits so that, through their own motivation, they seek out and destroy the bandits.
I need a contingency plan, too, in case my first encounter doesn't work. I can see the players visiting the town, then getting up the next day and traveling back down the road towards Messantia, leaving the town to its problems. I need to come up with something interesting--some encounter--giving them a second chance to consider taking out this group of bandits. Otherwise, the adventure is ignored.
I'm also thinking of placing some lead to Messantia as a reward in the game. The PCs take the bandit camp and find papers mentioning fence or an information broker in Messantia. The PCs can go into the city looking for this guy, and he'll be a recurring NPC--an ally of sorts. A contact. A person to off-load stolen goods, or someone where they can find out about choice jobs.
Or, maybe the PCs just find out about a job that the bandits were looking to hit next. I could use this to lead right into The God In The Bowl, but set in Messantia instead of Nemedia.
The weakest part of this is to get the players interested in destroying the bandits without railroading them. I want it to be the players' choice to do so. Need to think on that more.
The Bugbear encounter I'm going to change to Borderers. They'll be hunters, living out in the wood. I might even make them poachers, hiding out from the lord's men, living off the local lord's deer and wildlife.
With Clombush the Ogre, I've got an idea. I'm going to make him a giant of a man. Big. Muscled. But, also a simpleton. He'll be retarded or just slow. He's the local lord's blood--his son. But, the lord dis-owned him, and had him taken to the woods to die. Somehow, he survived, though. He lives in a cave. The people in the town know of him. Some are afraid of him. They call him "The Ogre".
I'm also toying with two more ideas for Clombush. I'm thinking that he might be gifted with second sight, and when the PCs encounter him, I can use him to spout off some cryptic clue to their adventures ahead. Or, the other idea is to have Clombush think that he has second sight, but really it's just the fantasy of boy in a man's body. Through roleplaying, though, I'd try to sell it as if Clombush's power is real. If the players buy what I'm selling, it would be fun to just make up some random mumbo jumbo and see how the players react to it. Could be a hoot.
There's a ferret trainer and a Giant Ferret in the Thieves' Den. For some reason, I want to keep that, though I may change the type of animal. A big dire wolf might be more appropriate. I've just got this picture in my head of a man straining to pull on the leash of this salivating beast, then letting him go. The thing tears up the earth, foliage ripped to shreds, bee-lining for one of the PCs. Talk about a Demoralize Other check!
There are a few Barbarians in the adventure, but I think I'll turn them into a group of escaped slaves, hiding out away from the big cities--maybe trying to leave the kingdom. It will be interesting to see what the players do with these guys if they encounter them. Will they help them escape? Leave them alone? Or, capture them and return them to Messantia? Who knows, with this group.
The thieves are camped out in an abandoned temple to some generic Sun god--which is perfect for an old, abandoned temple to Mitra. There's a crypt with the dead priests, and a ghoul haunts the place. I think I'll keep that. I'll seal the crypt and make it so the bandits could not have entered--and if the PCs find a way in, they'll be the first in that dark, dusty, dank place in many years.
Lastly, there's another were-creature in the Thieves' hideout. He's supposed to be a visitor (though the module does not tell us much more about him). I'm thinking of this guy being the source of evil that has fallen on the place. I'm thinking he's a liason to some secret, sorcerous group--something that I can expand upon later in the campaign. He's the reason the Harpy has been attracted to this place. Maybe he's a Stygian Priest, or follower of some dark god out of Shem. Baby killer. Commits human sacrifices. Not sure where this is going, yet, but it is dark. A hook to be fleshed out later in the game.
And, that's it. Those are my conversion notes to make the adventure more appropriate for the Hyborian Age. I've got a little bit of everything in there--a nice appetizer displaying things to come. I've got some hooks for later, and many of the encounters could blow up into something very interesting depending on PC actions. Surely, there's enough combat there, too.
It hasn't gotten by me that the players may try to join the bandits instead of trying to root them out of the area (as the PCs are mostly thieves), which is why the first encounter is so important. I've got to anger the PCs against the bandits so that, through their own motivation, they seek out and destroy the bandits.
I need a contingency plan, too, in case my first encounter doesn't work. I can see the players visiting the town, then getting up the next day and traveling back down the road towards Messantia, leaving the town to its problems. I need to come up with something interesting--some encounter--giving them a second chance to consider taking out this group of bandits. Otherwise, the adventure is ignored.
I'm also thinking of placing some lead to Messantia as a reward in the game. The PCs take the bandit camp and find papers mentioning fence or an information broker in Messantia. The PCs can go into the city looking for this guy, and he'll be a recurring NPC--an ally of sorts. A contact. A person to off-load stolen goods, or someone where they can find out about choice jobs.
Or, maybe the PCs just find out about a job that the bandits were looking to hit next. I could use this to lead right into The God In The Bowl, but set in Messantia instead of Nemedia.
The weakest part of this is to get the players interested in destroying the bandits without railroading them. I want it to be the players' choice to do so. Need to think on that more.