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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Balsamic Dragon" data-source="post: 64274" data-attributes="member: 2433">I've been running this for about 12 sessions now, and expect to run it for at least another 12!  Here are a few DM tips that might help:  (I've tried to make sure there are no spoilers here)1.  Make a map of Hommlett.  The map provided is extremely poor, and you'll need one (explained in a bit).  If you aren't a good mapmaker, just drawn a bunch of boxes and put names on them "general store" "inn", etc...  One problem a lot of parties have is that they fail to explore the town and head straight for the dungeon.  In this module, exploring the town is worthwhile and they can prep a little better (which they will need to do).  Remember, first rule of Balsamic Dragon's DM school: if you make a map to it, they will go there!2.  Skim through the whole module, but pay special attention to transition points.  It is unclear in parts of the game how players are supposed to know where to go next or how to get there.  Make sure you know what information they are supposed to get and make sure they understand it.  Keep a particular eye out for the various journal entries and notes and print them out (or photocopy the two in the back of the book) to hand out to the players.  3.  Many of the encounters here are tough, and they should be run tough!  Don't water down the villains.  Make sure that you understand all of their special abilities, including the new stuff included with the module.  The villains in this module are almost all fairly clever opponents who won't sit around waiting for the PCs to come kill them.  At the end of each session, figure out which villains know that the PCs are on their trail, and what they will be doing about that in the near future.  Make use of the various information gatherers to get info on the PCs and change their tactics, prepared spells, accordingly.4.  Come up with a policy on player character death and explain it to the players.  You will be very likely to lose some characters in this module, and you should have a plan worked out in advance.  Also, make sure the players are comfortable with the idea that this is a tough dungeon crawl and won't be too disappointed if their first character doesn't make it through all the way.And, just so the players don't feel left out, here's a tip for them:1.  Be afraid, be very afraid <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Balsamic Dragon</blockquote>

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