Age of Worms - Deadly

A

Arrgh! Mark!

First Post

• Sep 22, 2005

• #1

I ran most of the first part of Age of Worms the other day. I had a group of less than average size but made up by giving them an extra level.

I had been planning to have to up the encounters on the fly.


I didn't need to. I had two character deaths and several all out retreats so many times it wasn't funny.

The lurking strangler wasted one character, and another fell down the broken elevator to AcidBugDeath (TM).

I've been called a hardarse on this stuff before. But I tell you what, I never had so much naked fear of the Mad Slasher before. It's fun how you can build stuff up.


Can you half tell that our characters are unused to dungeons? We haven't been in a dungeon in about four years now. How much you forget.

Anyone else have deadly problems in the Age of Worms bit? The second adventure seems quite hard as well.

 

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Nightfall

Sage of the Scarred Lands

• Sep 22, 2005

• #2

Eh maybe what you should do is a) have a mentorship program going on via DMGII rules and possibly b) get another level as well. Three Faces of Evil IS a tough one, but if you got good tactics AND can figure out how NOT to get killed, (by that what you should and shouldn't do when facing

Spoiler

three separate and well prepared shrines for each of the evil gods and of course their worshippers/minions.

Just saying), might help to make through the next adventure.

 

T

Tomovasky

First Post

• Sep 22, 2005

• #3

I do not know about the worms, though I am exited to play it for some of the cool stories things I read about ( cheek out the spawn of Kuss articole in the newst dragon), but back to point My players having a hard time with shackled citty. They droping hit points left and right

 

Nightfall

Sage of the Scarred Lands

• Sep 22, 2005

• #4

Yeah well neither campaign is for the weak or the underpowered.

 

IronWolf

blank

• Sep 22, 2005

• #5

Nightfall said:

Yeah well neither campaign is for the weak or the underpowered.

Click to expand...

From what I saw of Shackled City is seemed pretty stout. I guess I expected the same of Age of Worms. In either case is certainly looks like some good tactics by the party are needed. All the more fun!

 

Steel_Wind

Legend

• Sep 22, 2005

• #6

The swarm and the slasher claimed one party member (well - the oil thrown on top of his unconscious body in a panicked attempt to burn the swarm actually killed him - but that's getting picky).

The other death was exceedingly odd. One PC died in the brown mold after the entire party rolled strings of successive 1's in a vain attempt to extricate him from the deep freeze. Non-lethal or not - he was in there much too long and the cold took him.

 

A

Arrgh! Mark!

First Post

• Sep 22, 2005

• #7

You are right enough there. It was a combination of bad rolls, terrible tactics and doing dumb things.

While it wasn't important at the start, the party wasn't exactly optimised. Barbarian/Druid/Bard (Replaced Druid and Bard with Magister and Paladin respectively) isn't crash hot for disarming the nasty traps, for instance.

However, I imagine it'd be almost ridiculously impossible for Regdar/Lidda/Mialee/Eberk first level combination as well. Our statistics were above standard array.

As a rule I don't give many magic items out. I did however leave everything in place that was already in the dungeon.

Heh, I'm not complaining really. It's fun to put the fear of death back into them from even miniscule things. It's certainly a change.

 

KenM

Banned

Banned

• Sep 22, 2005

• #8

Reading though the Shackled City hardcover now, the first adventure is really deadly. Many chances for TPK's. Have not read any of Age of Worms yets, is it done by same people?

 

Nightfall

Sage of the Scarred Lands

• Sep 22, 2005

• #9

Ken,

Different authors but it follows a similiar path in terms of build up and rising climax to an epic type fight. I'm also sure Erik Mona will say that his former boss inspired him to exceed the pace and power of Shackled City.

Mark,

Magister?! Dude mageblade would have been WAY better. That or Greenbond. In any case yes you certainly had sub-optiminal party but missing a third player, ESPECIALLY in this campaign, can hurt BAD.

Iron Wind,

Uhm reading through Whispering Cairn, and comparing that with Life's Bazaar, I felt the Cairn was MUCH tougher since you've got a lot more ways to get lost along with ending up where you might die if you take a wrong turn.

 

T

Tomovasky

First Post

• Sep 22, 2005

• #10

a mix of new and old faces from the shackled citty