Dungeon Magazine Adventure Path - Cauldron and DM brainstorming

Jaxom · Aug 14, 2003

I started a weekly campaign usin Dungeon Magazine's adventure path of the following adventures

Issue #97 - Life's Bazaar
Issue #98 - Flood Season
Issue #102 - Zenith Trajectory

The characters live in Cauldron, the city built in the crater of a volcano, and I wanted the a realistic and grittiness type of feel so I toned down on people using magic. When items begin to get into the +2 enhancement range the people who can make that kind of item are rare and maybe too busy to do so. The characters all took skills that help them make a living within the city. Definitely adds a more realistic feel and two of them joined together to rent a building for their armor and weapon making business.

At some point before or around 10th level I'll have an event occur that will make magic more prevalent. Obviously as the characters gain levels and spells, I won't be able to continue with a real low magic and challenge them without the villains having magic as well.

There's plenty of plots and sub-plots for the characters to sort out already. I combined the first two adventures, since the party is currently five characters of 3rd level, to give them a chance to pick the direction they want to explore and adventure. I also added two kingdoms separated by the mountain range. One sees adventuring as profitable and a source of money, the other opposes adventuring seeing it as a way for others to get more powerful than the ruler of the kingdom. I did away with the Lord Mayor being an aberration as well, maybe I'll throw it in later, but for now I'm using his sidekick in his place.

The magic items that are around to find (example +2 Longsword) will have a story that fits the world in some way and will have some feature that doesn't effect the item's use. An example would be the hilt being wrapped in the leather of a medusa and sheds every so many days, with a story that goes along with how that weapon came to be.

If anyone has ideas on interesting magic items or for the campaign, I'm interested in hearing them. Every DM knows that just keeping the characters and players involved in a plot can be a time consuming project.

WizarDru · Aug 14, 2003

I would consider having some items show up that are patently unpleasant for the PCs to use, most likely from the Cagewrights. They're terribly unpleasant folk, and magical shackles, cages and other items of containment are right up their alley. These are also good when trying to keep items out of the hands of your players.

The general rule usually is that you don't want to give monsters/NPCs items that you don't want the players to have. The corrolary to that rule is to give the players items they don't want or can't use. The Book of Vile Darkness offers up many items of this ilk.

For the reverse, however, a good source of magic items should be either the catacombs beneath the city (either from discovery or a smuggling operation)...or from the city's REAL controller. Obviously, he's been watching the PCs...he may choose to find ways to get items into their hands Particularly ones that he can nullify.

Imagine that one of the players gets a metamagic feat rod from a patron, or purchases one. What he doesn't know is that it has a second code-word that can deactivate it for, say 1d4+1 rounds...a code word our occular friend KNOWS...becuase he put it there.

I also believe the modules make mention of a g.p. limit in town, and the requirements to exceed it...but 40,000 is a pretty high limit, all things considered. However, the latest module makes it clear that there is an upper-class system in place...money isn't the only thing necessary to get a wizard's services, sometimes.

Jaxom · Aug 14, 2003

WizarDru, a few of the things above I ahve thought of or given some thought to at least.

The one thing I hadn't thought of is the occasional magic item with the added command word to deactivate it. Ready action to deactivate an item like that could come in handy to someone who figures it could be used against him. Or he could sell the command word to someone else perhaps.

Lazybones · Aug 14, 2003

WizarDru said:
I also believe the modules make mention of a g.p. limit in town, and the requirements to exceed it...but 40,000 is a pretty high limit, all things considered. However, the latest module makes it clear that there is an upper-class system in place...money isn't the only thing necessary to get a wizard's services, sometimes.

I thought Cauldron itself only had a 3,000gp limit, the 40k was for the "big city" off-map.

To raise the limit, just remove the big city or make it farther away. Of course, when they get teleport, distance becomes less of an issue, but at least they have to travel there the long way once first.

I'm actually writing a story hour of a group running through the Dungeon Adventure Path set in the Forgotten Realms. Despite nominally being a high-magic world, thus far I don't see the treasure as being excessive. The one magic item they've found is cursed with the Vanishing (of course, they don't know that yet). Plus, thus far they've missed a few key secret doors

Actually, if they don't find the treasure rooms of the dark stalker and Kazmojen, I could see a party completing Life's Bazaar thinking that it's a low-treasure module.

WizarDru · Aug 14, 2003

Lazybones said:
I thought Cauldron itself only had a 3,000gp limit, the 40k was for the "big city" off-map.

To raise the limit, just remove the big city or make it farther away. Of course, when they get teleport, distance becomes less of an issue, but at least they have to travel there the long way once first.

I don't have the modules in front of me, but I think you're right...I probably got it backwards. Teleportation isn't that big of a deal, suprisingly, unless the players get a teleportation item. Teleport is a higher level slot, and not one that is nearly as easy to give up as you might think. Especially since you need to use two slots for a round trip, and you're limited on weight...which can be a problem at lower-mid levels.

Jaxom · Aug 14, 2003

Here's the city write up if it helps:

Cauldron (large town): Conventional; AL NG; Population 4,500 adults; 3,00 gp limit; Assets 600,000 gp; then the poulation mix.

Paka · Aug 14, 2003

MAybe a lava flow uncovered deep under the city that could be used as a forge, enhancing magic effects of weapons. The players, weaponsmakers, could team up with a Wizard to race down there and make a weapon of some sort.

Perhaps other Smiths in town are racing too and of course, something will be coming UP from underneath to use the lava flow.

Jaxom · Aug 14, 2003

Paka, are you hinting at a direct line to the elmental plane of fire? That's not very nice. I might just do something like that. Wasn't there a map of mystery of a lair that had lava in it in Issue #102.

Hmmm......

Paka · Aug 14, 2003

Jaxom said:
Paka, are you hinting at a direct line to the elmental plane of fire?

Um...sure. The thread title said, brainstorming and so I was storming...with my brain. Hope it helped, have fun.

Hey, whenever a game get's slow just throw in some Githyanki INCURSION.

Might be interesting to run lower level characters, just holding off the threat from their hometown while the big 20+ level Big Guns take care of the planar portals and spank the Liche Queen.