AverageTable
First Post
In a follow up to the posts above, are we correct in assuming that the hobgoblins you mention are the Bloodreaver slavers introduced in H1?
-
NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Dropping H2 connections into H1
- Thread starter Hawke
- Start date
Ashrem Bayle
Explorer
Ashrem Bayle
Explorer
D'Karr,
What else can you tell us about H2? You mentioned that it comes in two booklets. Should I assume they are as flimsy as the two found in H1?
Also, do they supply maps for all encounters or just a few like H1? Judging by the sheer number of encounters, I'm guess not many of them are poster mapped.
What else can you tell us about H2? You mentioned that it comes in two booklets. Should I assume they are as flimsy as the two found in H1?
Also, do they supply maps for all encounters or just a few like H1? Judging by the sheer number of encounters, I'm guess not many of them are poster mapped.
D'karr
Adventurer
Yes, there are Bloodreavers. Now, my initial look through the adventure was only cursory so there might be others but some of the encounters are specifically with Bloodreavers, though maybe not all of them.
D'karr
Adventurer
The look of the booklets is similar to the ones in H1, with the Circular D&D Logo on the cover. However, my copy of the booklets is not as flimsy as the H1 books. They seem to be using a "heavier" paper. The two booklets are divided into a background and "campaign" booklet. This book has introductory encounters and covers a lot of the "campaign" area. The second booklet has all the encounters for the actual adventure. It is divided into 4 major areas with several interludes interspersed. The bulk of the adventure is in Book 2. There are some skill challenges also.
All encounters use the previous format, which name eludes my memory at this time. So you'll have each encounter, except for the random encounters, explained in a two page spread. Unlike the previous "Expedition" adventures the encounters are shown in the same section in which they "chronologically" appear, instead of at the "back" of the section.
I barely had a chance to look at the tabletop maps, so I don't recall if they cover all areas for the encounters. Judging from what I saw of the maps in the booklets, I doubt that they would cover everything. I'll look at them this evening and give a better description.
Hawke
Explorer
Thanks for all the great info... I really appreciate it!
Followups:
1) How nicely "story" or "roleplay" thick is this adventure? More, the same, or less than H1?
2) How linear is it - are there sections where you might take encounters out of order depending on player choice?
Not suggesting either is good or bad or not really concerned about the merits of everything, but just curious. Sounds like they've kept the format of H1 for the encounters instead of the old delve (campaign at beginning, all encounters in order at end... lots of flipping large chunks) is that correct?
Followups:
1) How nicely "story" or "roleplay" thick is this adventure? More, the same, or less than H1?
2) How linear is it - are there sections where you might take encounters out of order depending on player choice?
Not suggesting either is good or bad or not really concerned about the merits of everything, but just curious. Sounds like they've kept the format of H1 for the encounters instead of the old delve (campaign at beginning, all encounters in order at end... lots of flipping large chunks) is that correct?
D'karr
Adventurer
Small.
D'karr
Adventurer
Okay, had a better chance of looking at the maps. There is one double-sided map included with the adventure. It does not include ALL the areas where encounters occur, though it does cover a large percentage of them.
For the roleplay, it includes enough hooks that a DM can easily expand on the story. In my opinion that is more than enough, but when it comes to that kind of stuff, tastes vary. One thing I really like, is that it does not waste space with stat blocks for the NPCs that you are obviously not supposed to fight. Each NPC does have an entry and enough information for the DM to roleplay them as needed.
Linearity, it is there. I can see where different parties might vary the order slightly, but overall it follows an obvious progression. Most of the time you can't get to C without going through A & B. That is usually due to the fact that you won't know about C until you complete B.
Yes, the format for the encounters matches H1.
Overall, it is a larger adventure than H1. It has a complete booklet with "campaign" information that a DM could use to expand the adventure as desired. I can see several areas where an enterprising DM could offer several side-treks. Most of the encounters you can run directly from the booklet. However, there is a complete section for Random Encounters and this section does not have any stat blocks for the creatures, so you will need the Monster Manual to run those.
Mathew_Freeman
Adventurer
Good to know.
Sounds like a really good setup for a lot of fun - I'm guessing some groups will even be able to go past the 4th-6th level guidelines, perhaps?
Similar Threads
