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Rise of the Runelords 4E: Story Hour and Conversion Notes
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<blockquote data-quote="Vyvyan Basterd" data-source="post: 5163084" data-attributes="member: 4892"><p><strong>Goblins in the Streets!</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Initial Assault</strong></p><p></p><p><em>Father Zantus' commencement of the consecration is interrupted by crazed goblins. The catchy, yet disturbing song of the goblins could be heard from all around. The first sign of attack came in the form of a painful yelp of a dog, followed by a dying gurgle. The goblins came in waves, sending the crowd running in panic and leaving our new heroes to defend the town.</em></p><p></p><p>This scene was meant to show the chaos of the goblin attack. The sounds of shrill goblin laughter as they merciliessly attacked the town rang out from all directions. The original adventure called for 3 goblin warriors to confront a party of four. I was glad to have the 4E minion rules at this point, because an equally level-appropriate encounter for 5 PCs became 20 goblin cutters. My experience with 4E warned me that 20 goblin cutters against a 1st-level party could spell trouble. So I started the encounter with 4 goblin cutters hiding around the wagon where the dog was killed. I also wanted to emulate the effects of the crowd and incorporate the original adventure's call for a Spot check. So the check became a DC 12 Perception check to determine who was able to act in the surprise round. </p><p></p><p>The crowd itself was played in the abstract, making the entire map area difficult terrain and providing cover to any non-adjacent target. I also played up the fact that the crowd was surprised by the arrival of the goblins and that they were in danger. I allowed any good plan to try to move the crowd a DC 20 chance at success, allowing any character willing to move the crowd the ability to aid another even though they did not know each other as a group yet. Swift was the only one to try to get people moving towards the nearby Town Hall, but he was not persausive enough. Success would have allowed the crowd to clear out at the end of the surprise round, while failure meant that conditions persisted until the end of the first full round.</p><p></p><p>The end of the second, third, fourth and fifth rounds saw another wave of goblin cutters. I wanted to incorporate the comical actions that the author suggested the party witness into the combat itself.</p><p></p><p>The first wave of five additional goblins came into the temple square from the opposite direction as the first. They came in as the majority of the crowd was dispersing. The goblins parted in fear as one townsfolk fled on horseback, but one goblin was too slow and was trampled to death by the horse.</p><p></p><p>The second wave of five came in through a vendor tent, climbing over his wares and supplies. One slipped and fell headfirst into a rain barrel. When checked on later, the players discovered that the goblin had gotten stuck and drowned.</p><p></p><p>The third wave of five came climbing over a building dropping down from the rooftop. A townsfolk who was hiding in the bushes near the building ran as the goblins dropped down around him. One of the goblins cackled in glee as he leapt to catch the fleeing man. The party saw the goblin's face contort in horror as it realized it had missed and had leapt head-first from the roof. The goblin landed with a nasty crunch, it's neck snapped instantly.</p><p></p><p>The final wave of five came in from the south with torches. They frightened a cowering mother, who clutched her baby tight to her chest and fled. One of the goblins took on a sadistic glare and threw his torch at the fleeing mother, but instead hit one of his allies who immediately caught fire, running around in a small frantic circle before dropping to the ground dead.</p><p></p><p>Other goblins during the fight became distracted by the food and took the time to climb up on tables to stuff their pockets with salmon.</p><p></p><p>Adding it up you'll see 24 goblins and I said 20. That's because I didn't count the story element goblins that killed themselves or their comrades in the final total. That's because I made sure they died before the party could waste any actions on them.</p><p></p><p>The first post-battle thought I had when preparing was: What happens if the party decides to rest after the first encounter? I could be relatively certain that my players, with their heroic attitude (or at least heroic bent for the shadier personalities), would not want to take an extended rest. But I wanted to make the decision of whether to take a short rest mean something. Sounds of battle continued all around them in other parts of town. I decided that if they did take a short rest the next encounter would trigger as it did in the original adventure, with a large plume of fire alerting the group that the goblins had blown something up. If they pressed on without rest, an alarmed townsfolk yells to them, "They've found the fuel for the bonfire!" The PCs then have a chance to stop the goblins from causing more damage by detonating the fuel.</p><p></p><p>My group decided not to rest and felt rewarded realizing that if they had rested the damage to the town could have been more severe.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Vyvyan Basterd, post: 5163084, member: 4892"] [B]Goblins in the Streets! Initial Assault[/B] [I]Father Zantus' commencement of the consecration is interrupted by crazed goblins. The catchy, yet disturbing song of the goblins could be heard from all around. The first sign of attack came in the form of a painful yelp of a dog, followed by a dying gurgle. The goblins came in waves, sending the crowd running in panic and leaving our new heroes to defend the town.[/I] This scene was meant to show the chaos of the goblin attack. The sounds of shrill goblin laughter as they merciliessly attacked the town rang out from all directions. The original adventure called for 3 goblin warriors to confront a party of four. I was glad to have the 4E minion rules at this point, because an equally level-appropriate encounter for 5 PCs became 20 goblin cutters. My experience with 4E warned me that 20 goblin cutters against a 1st-level party could spell trouble. So I started the encounter with 4 goblin cutters hiding around the wagon where the dog was killed. I also wanted to emulate the effects of the crowd and incorporate the original adventure's call for a Spot check. So the check became a DC 12 Perception check to determine who was able to act in the surprise round. The crowd itself was played in the abstract, making the entire map area difficult terrain and providing cover to any non-adjacent target. I also played up the fact that the crowd was surprised by the arrival of the goblins and that they were in danger. I allowed any good plan to try to move the crowd a DC 20 chance at success, allowing any character willing to move the crowd the ability to aid another even though they did not know each other as a group yet. Swift was the only one to try to get people moving towards the nearby Town Hall, but he was not persausive enough. Success would have allowed the crowd to clear out at the end of the surprise round, while failure meant that conditions persisted until the end of the first full round. The end of the second, third, fourth and fifth rounds saw another wave of goblin cutters. I wanted to incorporate the comical actions that the author suggested the party witness into the combat itself. The first wave of five additional goblins came into the temple square from the opposite direction as the first. They came in as the majority of the crowd was dispersing. The goblins parted in fear as one townsfolk fled on horseback, but one goblin was too slow and was trampled to death by the horse. The second wave of five came in through a vendor tent, climbing over his wares and supplies. One slipped and fell headfirst into a rain barrel. When checked on later, the players discovered that the goblin had gotten stuck and drowned. The third wave of five came climbing over a building dropping down from the rooftop. A townsfolk who was hiding in the bushes near the building ran as the goblins dropped down around him. One of the goblins cackled in glee as he leapt to catch the fleeing man. The party saw the goblin's face contort in horror as it realized it had missed and had leapt head-first from the roof. The goblin landed with a nasty crunch, it's neck snapped instantly. The final wave of five came in from the south with torches. They frightened a cowering mother, who clutched her baby tight to her chest and fled. One of the goblins took on a sadistic glare and threw his torch at the fleeing mother, but instead hit one of his allies who immediately caught fire, running around in a small frantic circle before dropping to the ground dead. Other goblins during the fight became distracted by the food and took the time to climb up on tables to stuff their pockets with salmon. Adding it up you'll see 24 goblins and I said 20. That's because I didn't count the story element goblins that killed themselves or their comrades in the final total. That's because I made sure they died before the party could waste any actions on them. The first post-battle thought I had when preparing was: What happens if the party decides to rest after the first encounter? I could be relatively certain that my players, with their heroic attitude (or at least heroic bent for the shadier personalities), would not want to take an extended rest. But I wanted to make the decision of whether to take a short rest mean something. Sounds of battle continued all around them in other parts of town. I decided that if they did take a short rest the next encounter would trigger as it did in the original adventure, with a large plume of fire alerting the group that the goblins had blown something up. If they pressed on without rest, an alarmed townsfolk yells to them, "They've found the fuel for the bonfire!" The PCs then have a chance to stop the goblins from causing more damage by detonating the fuel. My group decided not to rest and felt rewarded realizing that if they had rested the damage to the town could have been more severe. [/QUOTE]
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Rise of the Runelords 4E: Story Hour and Conversion Notes
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