Thunderspire Labyrinth

[pukunui]

Yeah, i think KotS needs a 'little love and attention' at make it shine

Most, if not all, premade adventures do ...

I'm going to start giving hints about the Goblin Slavers in Thunderspire Labyrinth now, as i know one of my guys will really want to wipe 'em out.

I'm not sure how exactly I'm going to do this. I think maybe I'll have something at the end of KotS. Maybe when they go back to Winterhaven, some townsfolk will either have disappeared while the PCs were battling Kalarel or else they'll have disappeared some time ago and Lord Padraig approaches the PCs and says, "Look, since you've been so helpful to us, is there any chance you'd be willing to do one more thing?"

i've already adopted the use of quest cards, mentioned in the DMG i think to help them keep all the information in one place and help keep the party focused

I'm not particularly keen on them myself. But to each his own.

 

[Hawke]

i've already adopted the use of quest cards, mentioned in the DMG i think to help them keep all the information in one place and help keep the party focused

If you've got digital copies to share, please do!

 

[OMAC 247]

Sorry, at the moment it's all strictly old school pen and paper, well 3x5 file cards.
But one of my players is a Graphics Design Whiz who is going to work up a set of Power Cards and then hopefully some Groovy Quest Cards.
It's really just a memory jogger to keep all the salient details in place, but i think my guys will really get a kick from it.

 

[Hawke]

Yeah - sounds interesting. I'd like to see my players use this, not really sure exactly how to format them. If anybody else has other examples let me know!

 

[filthgrinder]

I'm not sure how exactly I'm going to do this. I think maybe I'll have something at the end of KotS. Maybe when they go back to Winterhaven, some townsfolk will either have disappeared while the PCs were battling Kalarel or else they'll have disappeared some time ago and Lord Padraig approaches the PCs and says, "Look, since you've been so helpful to us, is there any chance you'd be willing to do one more thing?"

Well, it's already seeded in the note that is discovered in the Water Cave. Also, the majority of the hooks presented at the start of H2, assume that the players are in Winterhaven. So, you have plenty of "out of the box" hooks. The "Keep on the Shadowfell Side Treks" article from last month's Dungeon magazine also includes a bonus encounter with the slavers.

I played up the dangers of the roads to Winterhaven in the adventure pre-amble, and initial adventure plot hooks. This not only set up the kobold ambushes, but will also seed H2.

 

[OMAC 247]

I'm doing much the same thing, but I'm also going to build up the legendary aspects of the maze to make it an obvious place my guys would want to visit.
I like the fact that when I've got them at the Labyrinth there are whole areas open to expansion and development. That way i can tailor some cool site adventures specifically to my party, and then lead back into the main plot

 

[pukunui]

Well, it's already seeded in the note that is discovered in the Water Cave. Also, the majority of the hooks presented at the start of H2, assume that the players are in Winterhaven. So, you have plenty of "out of the box" hooks. The "Keep on the Shadowfell Side Treks" article from last month's Dungeon magazine also includes a bonus encounter with the slavers.

I played up the dangers of the roads to Winterhaven in the adventure pre-amble, and initial adventure plot hooks. This not only set up the kobold ambushes, but will also seed H2.

Sounds good.

I'm also thinking of maybe tying in the mirror or the orcus amulet(s) somehow (by having Valthrun say he's heard rumors of a black market in the ruins under Thunderspire and that they might be able to find out more about it and maybe even find a buyer).

Plus, one of the PCs is a minotaur, and I've already dropped the hint about the ruined city of the minotaurs, so I'm hoping he'll jump at the chance to explore it ...

 

[Nebulous]

Most, if not all, premade adventures do ...

I'm not sure how exactly I'm going to do this. I think maybe I'll have something at the end of KotS. Maybe when they go back to Winterhaven, some townsfolk will either have disappeared while the PCs were battling Kalarel or else they'll have disappeared some time ago and Lord Padraig approaches the PCs and says, "Look, since you've been so helpful to us, is there any chance you'd be willing to do one more thing?"

That's exactly what i was thinking, but it will have MUCH more impact if the NPCs taken are friends of the party. So i've really been trying to build up interpersonal relationships and making the NPCs interesting, so that when they disappear, the party will actually want to save them.

I've already dropped a hint that Bairwain gets his special goods from elsewhere, but no place as been mentioned. i'm almost surely going to move Thunderspire Labyrinth deeper into the Savage Frontier, well outside of Winterhaven.

EDIT: My gut reaction to the second adventure is that will will need a whole lot of work to cater it to a DMs particular campaign. Parts of it felt too vanilla to my taste, but maybe that's a good thing in retrospect. i've already altered Shadowfell a good bit and will continue to do so.

What i would really like to do is develop a theme among the demonic gods in the series.

 

[Nebulous]

Sounds good.

I'm also thinking of maybe tying in the mirror or the orcus amulet(s) somehow (by having Valthrun say he's heard rumors of a black market in the ruins under Thunderspire and that they might be able to find out more about it and maybe even find a buyer).

Yeah, i had a solo adventure featuring just Douvan Stahl as a PC, and they nearly pulled the mirror out of the dragon burial ground. i'm going to have it figure into the plot in a more significant way, probably involving Bairwain and Valthrun somehow, and link it to sellers in the Labyrinth.

 

[Hawke]

Thoughts on using the mirror as some kind of artifact that they keep and use throughout the adventures giving clues and other crazy things?