Pseudopsyche
First Post
This week I will start a new Eberron campaign with Keep on the Shadowfell, and I'm worried that even the Eberron conversion from Dungeon 155 doesn't add enough intrigue. My players have voiced a preference for "more story" than a dungeon crawl, but I would really like to make some use of the existing adventure, particularly for my first campaign as a DM. Has anyone run the Eberron conversion? Does it feel like Eberron, and if not, how did you further Eberronize the adventure?
I'm considering breaking apart the keep so that it's not just one huge dungeon. I'd also give the kobolds, goblins, and hobgoblins distinct allegiances, instead of having all of them work for Kalarel. For example, I might extract the first level of the keep into a separate dungeon containing something Kalarel needs for his ritual. This dungeon would be the lair of the goblins plus the Orcus Underpriest from Area 18, the leader of this Cult of the Dragon Below. Once the PCs kill the Orcus Underpriest, Kalarel might swoop in to steal the whatever, before taking off for the Blood of Vol fane beneath the second level of the keep, guarded by his hobgoblin mercenaries (for which I might substitute an Emerald of the Claw retinue). Essentially, the idea would be to introduce additional conflict among Ironteeth's band (mercenaries working for Kalarel and providing hooks to H2?), a Cult of the Dragon Below, and the Blood of Vol.
All I've told the players so far is that they are tracking down some stolen Khyber dragonshards in the hands of the Blood of Vol. (Kalarel plans to use the shards to bind whatever he calls forth from the Shadowfell or perhaps from the waters beneath Lake Dark.) Perhaps their contacts in Winterhaven will be aware only of the Cults of the Dragon Below, so the PCs will uncover whatever dungeon contains the second level of the keep only after dealing with that threat.
Any thoughts? Is what I have in mind unnecessarily complicated, and should I instead focus on dressing up the existing adventure structure?
I'm considering breaking apart the keep so that it's not just one huge dungeon. I'd also give the kobolds, goblins, and hobgoblins distinct allegiances, instead of having all of them work for Kalarel. For example, I might extract the first level of the keep into a separate dungeon containing something Kalarel needs for his ritual. This dungeon would be the lair of the goblins plus the Orcus Underpriest from Area 18, the leader of this Cult of the Dragon Below. Once the PCs kill the Orcus Underpriest, Kalarel might swoop in to steal the whatever, before taking off for the Blood of Vol fane beneath the second level of the keep, guarded by his hobgoblin mercenaries (for which I might substitute an Emerald of the Claw retinue). Essentially, the idea would be to introduce additional conflict among Ironteeth's band (mercenaries working for Kalarel and providing hooks to H2?), a Cult of the Dragon Below, and the Blood of Vol.
All I've told the players so far is that they are tracking down some stolen Khyber dragonshards in the hands of the Blood of Vol. (Kalarel plans to use the shards to bind whatever he calls forth from the Shadowfell or perhaps from the waters beneath Lake Dark.) Perhaps their contacts in Winterhaven will be aware only of the Cults of the Dragon Below, so the PCs will uncover whatever dungeon contains the second level of the keep only after dealing with that threat.
Any thoughts? Is what I have in mind unnecessarily complicated, and should I instead focus on dressing up the existing adventure structure?
