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Any tips for DMing PHB2 release day adventure?
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<blockquote data-quote="Krensus" data-source="post: 4722734" data-attributes="member: 59340"><p>I ran this adventure Saturday and really hated it. I'm finding all the free material WOTC gives out is pretty terrible, which is why I don't play Living Forgotten Realms anymore. The main reason I DM'd this was for the free minis for myself and my people, and there were 2 tables running at our game store (the Book Stan' in Beaumont, TX).</p><p></p><p>One of the biggest problems is starting at paragon level with brand new characters that we've only been able to look at since Tuesday. My group is experienced in 4th ed., and had we been given the option of just rolling our own level 11's for the event, there would have been much more familiarity with the powers. </p><p></p><p>The first encounter took FOREVER because everyone was sorting through their two pages of powers to decipher what exactly their character did. Everyone rolled pretty bad initiatives, so the bad guys charged in to the party's position, making it so we only used about 25 squares of the map the entire fight. The bear lingered for an hour of real time until he was finally taken down, and the other 3 monsters also had high amounts of HP, dragging out the fight even longer. </p><p></p><p>The skill challenge had a ridiculously low DC to succeed. Using their primary skills, the players couldn't fail to calm Solphi. Because of this, it literally took me longer to read her story to the players than it did for them to catch her. </p><p></p><p>On the subject of skill DCs, I don't think the players can help but notice the back entrance to the mill, since it's only Perception DC 10. My party climbed up to it and ambushed the artillery mobs, killing both and the armors before they got a second turn. The armors did nothing to help the other monsters, as they were the only devils in the fight, but I think this was an oversight on the part of the author as the Tactics section on each encounter with a troglodyte said it maneuvers to keep allies out of it's aura when it only affects living enemies. This encounter took about 30 minutes since my players knew their abilities better and were able to ambush the enemies.</p><p></p><p>The last encounter was pretty underwhelming and annoying. The floor traps were especially frustrating, as they had a high chance of hit, stunned, and did high damage. And as the paladin found out, going to neg hit points in them doesn't stop them from attacking. The main problem was that the monsters were weak. The two main bad guys (the bearded devil and the insect demon) just didn't do a lot of damage, and all the bug guy did was hold the paladin at arm's length while the barbarian wailed on him. He had high defenses, but no impressive attacks or allies to aide him, which made him even more boring than Kalarel.</p><p></p><p>The only enjoyment I got out of the final encounter was when the party got too close to the captives of the town and I had both the artillery mobs fire into the crowd of innocents simultaneously to rack up big damage because of the number of targets they hit. Not that it really mattered, as the party waded through the encounter in about 30 mins. </p><p></p><p>Entire play time for our table was about 3.5 hours, but the other table was not even half way through the second encounter when we finished up and left. It's understandable because they're less experienced with 4th ed., but it's also unfortunate that Wizards chose to have a big game day to (I assume) bring new people into the game, but they chose a scenario that even veteran players need a period of adjustment to play well. </p><p></p><p>I would DM a game day again, but only for the miniatures, which were plentiful. When it comes down to my game time, these canned adventures are just not as good as what my friends and I come up with.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Krensus, post: 4722734, member: 59340"] I ran this adventure Saturday and really hated it. I'm finding all the free material WOTC gives out is pretty terrible, which is why I don't play Living Forgotten Realms anymore. The main reason I DM'd this was for the free minis for myself and my people, and there were 2 tables running at our game store (the Book Stan' in Beaumont, TX). One of the biggest problems is starting at paragon level with brand new characters that we've only been able to look at since Tuesday. My group is experienced in 4th ed., and had we been given the option of just rolling our own level 11's for the event, there would have been much more familiarity with the powers. The first encounter took FOREVER because everyone was sorting through their two pages of powers to decipher what exactly their character did. Everyone rolled pretty bad initiatives, so the bad guys charged in to the party's position, making it so we only used about 25 squares of the map the entire fight. The bear lingered for an hour of real time until he was finally taken down, and the other 3 monsters also had high amounts of HP, dragging out the fight even longer. The skill challenge had a ridiculously low DC to succeed. Using their primary skills, the players couldn't fail to calm Solphi. Because of this, it literally took me longer to read her story to the players than it did for them to catch her. On the subject of skill DCs, I don't think the players can help but notice the back entrance to the mill, since it's only Perception DC 10. My party climbed up to it and ambushed the artillery mobs, killing both and the armors before they got a second turn. The armors did nothing to help the other monsters, as they were the only devils in the fight, but I think this was an oversight on the part of the author as the Tactics section on each encounter with a troglodyte said it maneuvers to keep allies out of it's aura when it only affects living enemies. This encounter took about 30 minutes since my players knew their abilities better and were able to ambush the enemies. The last encounter was pretty underwhelming and annoying. The floor traps were especially frustrating, as they had a high chance of hit, stunned, and did high damage. And as the paladin found out, going to neg hit points in them doesn't stop them from attacking. The main problem was that the monsters were weak. The two main bad guys (the bearded devil and the insect demon) just didn't do a lot of damage, and all the bug guy did was hold the paladin at arm's length while the barbarian wailed on him. He had high defenses, but no impressive attacks or allies to aide him, which made him even more boring than Kalarel. The only enjoyment I got out of the final encounter was when the party got too close to the captives of the town and I had both the artillery mobs fire into the crowd of innocents simultaneously to rack up big damage because of the number of targets they hit. Not that it really mattered, as the party waded through the encounter in about 30 mins. Entire play time for our table was about 3.5 hours, but the other table was not even half way through the second encounter when we finished up and left. It's understandable because they're less experienced with 4th ed., but it's also unfortunate that Wizards chose to have a big game day to (I assume) bring new people into the game, but they chose a scenario that even veteran players need a period of adjustment to play well. I would DM a game day again, but only for the miniatures, which were plentiful. When it comes down to my game time, these canned adventures are just not as good as what my friends and I come up with. [/QUOTE]
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