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RRH1: Expanding the Iron Circle
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<blockquote data-quote="Jacob Lewis" data-source="post: 8497834" data-attributes="member: 6667921"><p>Part I: <strong>The Iron Circle</strong></p><p><em>Reavers of Harkenwold</em> (RoH)</p><p>The adventure gives us a brief introduction to the Iron Circle before setting things in motion. In fact, the group has already executed its plans and sits firmly in control of Harkenwold when the PCs arrive to deal with them. For an adventure designed with only two levels of play in mind, you don't need more. Here's the bad guys. Go kick their butt. To stretch the adventure for five levels, we'll need to do some more work beyond creating more level-appropriate challenges, monsters, and treasures. </p><p></p><p>One of the remarkable design aspects of this adventure is how it sets the pace. The players are introduced to the Iron Circle in the first encounter, so they know who is the enemy and what is happening in the Vale. After that, the party encounters the Iron Circle members only a few more times while they travel around Harkenwold doing other things. As the adventure continues in part one, the confrontations with the Circle become more frequent and more dangerous. This builds the tension gradually until part two where the party must respond to a direct assault by the Iron Circle, and then finally bring the fight to them for the climatic conclusion. </p><p></p><p>In my plans for a longer campaign, I want to follow a similar design but adjust the pace to accommodate for five levels of play. While the characters are levels 1-2, they will have only limited dealings with the Iron Circle directly. These will include some encounters on the roads, protecting innocents along the way, and possibly some skill/roleplay challenges. The players will need to realize that they are not ready to take on the Circle head on or alone. Most of their early adventures will focus on helping pockets of resistance to mobilize, learn what they can about the enemy, and rally allies to their cause. By the time they reach level 3, the characters should start attracting the Iron Circle's attention as a potential threat.</p><p></p><p>The players will need more than a collection of Iron Circle cronies and bosses to fight over and over. Repetition can get boring. I don't want players losing interest. So as well as filling out their ranks with more level-appropriate members, I will look in other places for more monsters, factions, and allies to keep things interesting and unpredictable. The first two books that come to mind are <em>Threats to the Nentir Vale</em> and the <em>Neverwinter Campaign Setting</em> (NWCS). We'll take a look at what I find below.</p><p></p><p>Here is a list of the rank and file members of the Iron Circle that appear in this adventure:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Iron Circle Brigand (level 1 soldier)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Iron Circle Rabble (level 2 minion brute)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Iron Circle Cutthroat (level 2 Skirmisher)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Iron Circle Enforcer (level 2 Elite Brute)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Iron Circle Sentry (level 3 minion Artillery)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Iron Circle Guard (level 3 Soldier)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Iron Circle Dark Adept (level 3 Controller (Leader))</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tar Devil Harrier (level 3 Artillery)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Iron Circle Mage (level 4 Artillery)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tar Devil Guard (level 4 Soldier)</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jacob Lewis, post: 8497834, member: 6667921"] Part I: [b]The Iron Circle[/b] [i]Reavers of Harkenwold[/i] (RoH) The adventure gives us a brief introduction to the Iron Circle before setting things in motion. In fact, the group has already executed its plans and sits firmly in control of Harkenwold when the PCs arrive to deal with them. For an adventure designed with only two levels of play in mind, you don't need more. Here's the bad guys. Go kick their butt. To stretch the adventure for five levels, we'll need to do some more work beyond creating more level-appropriate challenges, monsters, and treasures. One of the remarkable design aspects of this adventure is how it sets the pace. The players are introduced to the Iron Circle in the first encounter, so they know who is the enemy and what is happening in the Vale. After that, the party encounters the Iron Circle members only a few more times while they travel around Harkenwold doing other things. As the adventure continues in part one, the confrontations with the Circle become more frequent and more dangerous. This builds the tension gradually until part two where the party must respond to a direct assault by the Iron Circle, and then finally bring the fight to them for the climatic conclusion. In my plans for a longer campaign, I want to follow a similar design but adjust the pace to accommodate for five levels of play. While the characters are levels 1-2, they will have only limited dealings with the Iron Circle directly. These will include some encounters on the roads, protecting innocents along the way, and possibly some skill/roleplay challenges. The players will need to realize that they are not ready to take on the Circle head on or alone. Most of their early adventures will focus on helping pockets of resistance to mobilize, learn what they can about the enemy, and rally allies to their cause. By the time they reach level 3, the characters should start attracting the Iron Circle's attention as a potential threat. The players will need more than a collection of Iron Circle cronies and bosses to fight over and over. Repetition can get boring. I don't want players losing interest. So as well as filling out their ranks with more level-appropriate members, I will look in other places for more monsters, factions, and allies to keep things interesting and unpredictable. The first two books that come to mind are [i]Threats to the Nentir Vale[/i] and the [i]Neverwinter Campaign Setting[/i] (NWCS). We'll take a look at what I find below. Here is a list of the rank and file members of the Iron Circle that appear in this adventure: [list][*]Iron Circle Brigand (level 1 soldier) [*]Iron Circle Rabble (level 2 minion brute)[*]Iron Circle Cutthroat (level 2 Skirmisher)[*]Iron Circle Enforcer (level 2 Elite Brute)[*]Iron Circle Sentry (level 3 minion Artillery)[*]Iron Circle Guard (level 3 Soldier)[*]Iron Circle Dark Adept (level 3 Controller (Leader))[*]Tar Devil Harrier (level 3 Artillery)[*]Iron Circle Mage (level 4 Artillery)[*]Tar Devil Guard (level 4 Soldier)[/list] [/QUOTE]
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