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ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mustrum_Ridcully" data-source="post: 4457873" data-attributes="member: 710">I think trimming down might be easiest way to go in many cases. For example, I am running Keep on the Shadowfell.[sblock]1) There are several encounters you don't really need. All those in the side rooms on the dungeon. Just keep them empty. The players might want to explore them, but there doesn't actually have to be anything there. 2) There are groups of encounters that can be trimmed down to one.The Goblin area could be just one Guard post with a lot of Minions, a leader and two goblin veterans. The same for the Hogboblins. Have one area with undead, and mix a few Zombies and Skeletons in one encounter (maybe 8 Skeleton and Zombie Minions, 2 Skeletons and 2 Zombies). Instead of fighting the Underpriest and Kalarel, the party could fight just Kalarel (adding the Underpriest to the encounter or something.)All this gives you the chance to focus more on role-playing scenarios in-between, and gives you a more "laid-back" approach - instead having to make a "tour-de-force" through the Keep, the PCs just go from ambush to village to kobold camp to village to keep. [/sblock]Combat is a lot of fun for me and my group, but it is the thing you should cut first if stuff seems to be going on too long. (That's not even uncommon to happen in our group - some adventures just include combats that are not that relevant or interesting...)It's not like you spend a lot of time setting up combat scenarios in 4E, so if they get boring or exhausting, just throw some out. On the other hand, if the party gets bored by all the intrigue, mystery or socializing going on, slap on a combat encounter and create some instant excitement. And once again, I am reminded of Torg - The Law of Action in the Nile Empire and in Terra demands the PCs to get attacked if they sit around too long, agonizing about making decisions and stuff like that...</blockquote>

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