Yeah I know it's old, but in case people revive this, here's my two cents.
I DMed my fourth LA and it's by far the worst of them - utterly broken, worse even than Umberlee-broken. I can't fathom how it shipped in this state, considering the work put into the design and maps.
The fights are nice, but DO NOT PLAY this LA without having your DM fix it first.
(If you've DMed and I got something wrong, *please* tell me, I'd be glad!)
Enter the spoilers (DM only).
[sblock]
MAJOR issue: once freed, Dhusarra is supposed to zoom out and attack Shi'Nayne. What NONSENSE is that? You're supposed to run a NPC vs. NPC battle, in the background, during a LA?? Worse is, D has strong odds of dominating S and thereby having her toss the ring and *ending the game*.
That's what happened in our game. This bypasses both the mirror challenge and the last fight... Totally silly.
MAJOR ISSUE: entering room 2 without the boat through entrance A is an absolute deathtrap. All 5 spiders can immobilize the PCs, sending them to a chasm insta-death and the darkmantle can also hobble them, not to mention the drow poison. Each Draw to Doom attack is a save-or-die situation, because the current flows at the START of the turn. Even if you set the swim DC low (why the Hell isn't this specified??), this is a pathetic way to fail.
MINOR ISSUE: all drows are supposed to use ranged attacks whenever possible. Except they have but a single ranged shot each...
MINOR ISSUE: what with the Guardroom? It's barred shut, hard to reach... and completely useless.
MINOR ISSUE: it's way too long for a LA. Unless the players know the tricks, and can speed-run it, bypassing EACH AND EVERY monster (get strong defenses and Athletics, plus teleport, run through the whirlpool and mirror, break the columns, END).
[/sblock]
And here are suggested fixes. DM eyes only.
[sblock]
ROOM 1
1. Replace the hunters' encounter attack with a weak at-will ranged attack
2. Do not start the encounter until a contact is established or attack is rolled. This is not how you start an encounter.
ROOM 2
3. Give each drow a basic ranged attack.
4. Make the Guardroom door locked and pickable. Place a spare wand in it *obviously*.
5. Possibly place the drows in the guardroom at the start, with a couple sentinels out only. The spiders should start near the walls and only move after one round.
6. Remove one darkmantle, put the other in ambush near the mirror, waiting for the PCs and blocking the way.
7. Roll for swimming at DC15 *before* the river current effect.
8. Make sure that the big spider's Draw to Doom attacks acts as a safety rope, preventing it from plunging to its death. After all, it wants to feed, not drown prey!
ROOM 3
9. Obviously, Dhusarra should simply follow the PCs around, not exit the room by itself. And do not run her as a NPC (clumsy), instead have her block the ritual and vanish, forcing the PC to fight it out but stopping the clock.
10. Allow for social skill uses with Dhusarra: she must be convinced of helping rather than vanishing.
ROOM 4
11. Allow for Thievery on the doors.
12. I don't think Shi'nayne should have a Slide 2 *effect*. She single-handedly TPKed with this.
[/sblock]
I DMed my fourth LA and it's by far the worst of them - utterly broken, worse even than Umberlee-broken. I can't fathom how it shipped in this state, considering the work put into the design and maps.
The fights are nice, but DO NOT PLAY this LA without having your DM fix it first.
(If you've DMed and I got something wrong, *please* tell me, I'd be glad!)
Enter the spoilers (DM only).
[sblock]
MAJOR issue: once freed, Dhusarra is supposed to zoom out and attack Shi'Nayne. What NONSENSE is that? You're supposed to run a NPC vs. NPC battle, in the background, during a LA?? Worse is, D has strong odds of dominating S and thereby having her toss the ring and *ending the game*.
That's what happened in our game. This bypasses both the mirror challenge and the last fight... Totally silly.
MAJOR ISSUE: entering room 2 without the boat through entrance A is an absolute deathtrap. All 5 spiders can immobilize the PCs, sending them to a chasm insta-death and the darkmantle can also hobble them, not to mention the drow poison. Each Draw to Doom attack is a save-or-die situation, because the current flows at the START of the turn. Even if you set the swim DC low (why the Hell isn't this specified??), this is a pathetic way to fail.
MINOR ISSUE: all drows are supposed to use ranged attacks whenever possible. Except they have but a single ranged shot each...
MINOR ISSUE: what with the Guardroom? It's barred shut, hard to reach... and completely useless.
MINOR ISSUE: it's way too long for a LA. Unless the players know the tricks, and can speed-run it, bypassing EACH AND EVERY monster (get strong defenses and Athletics, plus teleport, run through the whirlpool and mirror, break the columns, END).
[/sblock]
And here are suggested fixes. DM eyes only.
[sblock]
ROOM 1
1. Replace the hunters' encounter attack with a weak at-will ranged attack
2. Do not start the encounter until a contact is established or attack is rolled. This is not how you start an encounter.
ROOM 2
3. Give each drow a basic ranged attack.
4. Make the Guardroom door locked and pickable. Place a spare wand in it *obviously*.
5. Possibly place the drows in the guardroom at the start, with a couple sentinels out only. The spiders should start near the walls and only move after one round.
6. Remove one darkmantle, put the other in ambush near the mirror, waiting for the PCs and blocking the way.
7. Roll for swimming at DC15 *before* the river current effect.
8. Make sure that the big spider's Draw to Doom attacks acts as a safety rope, preventing it from plunging to its death. After all, it wants to feed, not drown prey!
ROOM 3
9. Obviously, Dhusarra should simply follow the PCs around, not exit the room by itself. And do not run her as a NPC (clumsy), instead have her block the ritual and vanish, forcing the PC to fight it out but stopping the clock.
10. Allow for social skill uses with Dhusarra: she must be convinced of helping rather than vanishing.
ROOM 4
11. Allow for Thievery on the doors.
12. I don't think Shi'nayne should have a Slide 2 *effect*. She single-handedly TPKed with this.
[/sblock]
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