D&D Gameday: Into the Shadowhaunt

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Do these adventures ever get released to the public after game day?

 

[thalmin]

Do these adventures ever get released to the public after game day?

Last years adventure is posted on the WotC site. Link

 

[Festivus]

I just finished a google search to see if there was any other gms concerned about this brief adventure's riddle. I'm set to gm a game on the 7th and just recieved my adventure book. When I first read through the booklet, I noted that the riddle didn't look particularly inspiring, but didn't really give it much thought after that.

[sblock]After a couple of reads, however, the riddle still appears quite drab, and furthermore, I can't see any way it won't just cause game-halting frustration. It's just a bad riddle--neither being particularly witty, nor solvable by the target audience. I assume most of the Game Day players will either be new to DnD in general, or inexperienced with 4th edition. I don't know how I could expect any of them to know esoteric facts about gods described in books they have, by all assumptions, never read (Bahamut=Sire? I've been playing in and out of Greyhawk for over eight years, and I couldn't figure that out. How can I expect my players to do better?). If the hints are all but required, isn't that a sign of a poor riddle? And furthermore, the solution is corny in the epitomy of that cringe-worthy fashion.[/sblock]

Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing this riddle? Should I just replace it altogether with a different, and assuredly better one? Am I even allowed to mess with the adventure to this extent?

I was going to offer a visual out of game clue (glass beads on the battlemap).

 

[Agamon]

Yup, running it Sat afternoon, just picked it up from the FLGS. I didn't get the player minis or player's rules, I assume the FLGS gives them to the players at the game?

 

[jinnetics]

I had to pretty much spoon feed them more hints until they finally figured it out.

Spoon-fed meaning revealed information via skill checks? Because isn't that kind of the point?

 

[Ebon Shar]

I'll be running the game this Saturday as well. I'm so underwhelmed by the riddle, that I'm thinking of just dumping it. Perhaps a small skill challenge to replace the riddle would be more appropriate? The good news is, the riddle can be bypassed if you think your players are too young or inexperienced to solve it. I just wish it was a better riddle. Can anyone come up with something?

 

[MortalPlague]

I am going to make a slight change to the wording:

I think that might just do it. I've mulled the riddle over (because I like having a riddle in the first chamber, it's nice to have a dungeon that's not strictly combat), but no inspiration has struck.

[sblock]I think a combination of the slight change in the wording and putting down tokens on the battlemat to represent the statues would help. Knowing that the little statues are moveable was a challenge for my group, so I'm going to be sure to stress that for the game day event.

The other change I'm going to implement is this; I'll have Helvac make an appearance in the hobgoblin room. He's going to tell the hobgoblins to "take care of this nuisance", maybe spout a one-liner, then disappear deeper into the dungeon. That way the PCs know the face of their enemy.[/sblock]

 

[Badgerish]

I'm DMing this for a local store on saturday in england. looking forward to it

[sblock]I recognised enough of the elements of the riddle to work out two possible patterns from the description, I knew the first clue already and I wanted to kick myself for not spotting the second one.

An important point is that the statuettes are movable. I plan to do with by starting with one of them on the floor, not in an alcove. Once a player mentions wanting to place it anywhere, i'll put down tokens for them.

The statue fight is problematic. They seem like classic closet-trolls and the small room they are in will be advantageous to them. I'm also worried that people will fight them in the larger room, which should attract the elf more easily.[/sblock]

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

I think that might just do it. I've mulled the riddle over (because I like having a riddle in the first chamber, it's nice to have a dungeon that's not strictly combat), but no inspiration has struck.

[sblock]I think a combination of the slight change in the wording and putting down tokens on the battlemat to represent the statues would help. Knowing that the little statues are moveable was a challenge for my group, so I'm going to be sure to stress that for the game day event.

The other change I'm going to implement is this; I'll have Helvac make an appearance in the hobgoblin room. He's going to tell the hobgoblins to "take care of this nuisance", maybe spout a one-liner, then disappear deeper into the dungeon. That way the PCs know the face of their enemy.[/sblock]

That's a really good idea, thank you. So long as he ducks out immediately on a "high initiative roll" it should be no problem.

 

[Kwalish Kid]

Here's my small suggestion regarding the riddle:
[sblock]Take the time to introduce the players to the deities. Make sure that you call Bahamut the "Father of Good Dragons" and make some sun-god reference for Pelor. This at least gives the players some background to solve the riddle. It would help if players were making notes, so you might want to give them some scrap paper on which to jot things down.[/sblock]