Ricochet
Explorer
Originally posted by AlHazred:
Hi,
(Please note if you are a player in expeditions, this thread is not for you)
I was waiting for Tyranthraxus to make more threads for more Expeditions modules, but then it occurred to me I could just do it.
This thread is for discussion of the sixth Expeditions adventure, The Scroll Thief. I see it as a forum topic for us to talk what has gone right and wrong within the adventure, the combat tactics we use, the embelishments we made, the props we use and so on.
If you find links to maps, diagrams etc that you found useful when preparing to run this, please share them.
Please keep in mind this thread isn't for players' tales (unless one of your players broke open the scenario for you). They are purely for DM inspiration and discussion.
The reason they are in here, and not in the Dungeon Masters' area of the forum is that, we really just want discussion here from AL DMs as we have a certain toolkit to work with which other Dungeon Masters do not.
Originally posted by RCanine:
Here's what I think could be valuable in this thread. Note that I've yet to read through the module, but this is what I took away from having played it this weekend.
My DM was a good friend and I know him to be top-notch, so I'm guessing it's fairly challenging to run this well. I'm not overly critical because I think authors of a new system need some time to get acclimated to it. I'm concerned that this adventure will be confusing and frustrating to a group of new D&D players, especially first level ones, while also being run over and over again by power gamers.
Originally posted by sigfile:
I've played this (second level) and read through with intent to run.
Originally posted by Rosebee:
These hints & tips are much appreciated as I'm running this next weekend at my FLGS. It's my first time DMing since i was a wee lass playing with siblings.
Originally posted by kilpatds:
Stupid question: what stats am I supposed to use for Ellison, should the party make it there? I couldn't find them at the table time, so picked a stat-block arbitrarily.
(Report: 3 members in the party, but 2&3rd level such that I ended up on "weak". They sniffed a rat on the ambush, and were able to be victorious even though the melee type dropped and wasn't effective. They worked around engaging the monsters in the sewers. I was rather generous in rests, and they went into the final encounter rested ... but the monster ended the consciousness of the melee PC before he had a real turn... and failed saves ended his life. (My Ellison was far to potent, and sucked up the attention on the only PC with any cure spells). But they did "win")
Originally posted by sigfile:
Originally posted by kilpatds:
Ah, thanks. I missed that.
Uses of Spy in the pdf: a very early encounter. The "adjusting the encounter" block for the encounter in question. XP at the end, and the monster stat block at the end.
Ok, I didn't just miss it. The adventure fails to mention that except in the adjusting the encounter block.
Hi,
(Please note if you are a player in expeditions, this thread is not for you)
I was waiting for Tyranthraxus to make more threads for more Expeditions modules, but then it occurred to me I could just do it.
This thread is for discussion of the sixth Expeditions adventure, The Scroll Thief. I see it as a forum topic for us to talk what has gone right and wrong within the adventure, the combat tactics we use, the embelishments we made, the props we use and so on.
If you find links to maps, diagrams etc that you found useful when preparing to run this, please share them.
Please keep in mind this thread isn't for players' tales (unless one of your players broke open the scenario for you). They are purely for DM inspiration and discussion.
The reason they are in here, and not in the Dungeon Masters' area of the forum is that, we really just want discussion here from AL DMs as we have a certain toolkit to work with which other Dungeon Masters do not.
Originally posted by RCanine:
Here's what I think could be valuable in this thread. Note that I've yet to read through the module, but this is what I took away from having played it this weekend.
- We ended up halfway through the adventure having (we believed) succeeding on everything but still required the deus ex machina ambush to move the plot along. Tips as to what information the players need, and ways to keep things moving if they fail to get it would be great.
- It seemed like you needed to be familiar with a 25-year-old video game or novel to understand what was going on, so tips for DMs on how to engage players who weren't even born yet would be great too. It read the novel a decade ago, and was still completely confused.
- We had a vague sense of time pressure, but it wasn't exactly clear. It seemed like all we needed to do was just talk to everything with a name. So tips on establishing tension would be great.
- My party was totally unprepared for the final encounter, and my character was deleted from the fight before he acted despite being the top initiative. Tips on preparing players for this encounter (especially level 1 players, since IMHO level 1 is already not fun) would be valuable.
- I see this adventure as having problematic treasure like LFR's AGLA1-1: Lost Temple of the Fey Gods that every single player runs at 1st level because the rewards are way overbudget. Guidance on fair ways to split the treasure would be awesome, because someone is going to walk away with an item they might keep for the rest of their adventuring career.
My DM was a good friend and I know him to be top-notch, so I'm guessing it's fairly challenging to run this well. I'm not overly critical because I think authors of a new system need some time to get acclimated to it. I'm concerned that this adventure will be confusing and frustrating to a group of new D&D players, especially first level ones, while also being run over and over again by power gamers.
Originally posted by sigfile:
I've played this (second level) and read through with intent to run.
- The investigation is well-suited to AL play. It is a bit of a railroad, sure, but the NPCs are mostly helpful and the stakes escalate as the investigation proceeds. With one exception the party ought not run in to a point where the players are at a loss for what to do next.
- The investigation makes no sense once the party talks with Master Opanrael. He's concerned because two scribes failed to report for duty... and the only place to look for them is the Archives, which is where they'd be if they'd reported for duty. I'll be changing that up so that Ellison is the apprentice to Greenleaf. Ellison hasn't reported for duty for days - perhaps Greenleaf (in the archives) has some information as to his location or recent activities.
- The ambush doesn't set the tone well for the rest of the combats. It's a bit too simple. It's necessary to move things along, sure, but I caution DMs against using that encounter to gauge party strength. Accidentally mis-adjusting the Secret Cache combat for a strong party (or, heaven forbid, very strong) is going to result in character deaths.
- The Secret Cache combat is utterly brutal, even at standard difficulty. First level characters need not apply. A party that clears this combat without loss of life may very well qualify to drop a "party strength" level for the upcoming combats.
- A party, depleted of resources after this fight, potentially cursed, in possession of two-thirds (give or take a few pages) of the missing books and possessing treasure wizards in the group would probably kill each other to obtain, doesn't have a lot of incentive to carry on past this point. The investigation changed from a simple series of thefts to a murder investigation as of Blood and Books. The murderer still has a scroll of fireball and the party (potentially) knows it. I'd recommend making it obvious via an explosion in the distance and wave of heat moving up the hole in the wall that the scroll is no longer in play. I'd also prefer to see Greenleaf knocked unconscious in Blood and Books rather than killed; the scope of the crime doesn't change dramatically that way, and the party isn't given a reason to re-engage the Black Fist. It's consistent with Ellison's later combat behavior and it makes him a more sympathetic character, which might be vital to the party's survival in the final encounter.
- If a first level party ("very weak") magically makes it to Rythnax, that party is going to die. If a second level ("weak") party makes it to Rythnax, unless that party is very, very clever, it's going to die. I'd bump the lair actions all down one notch - very weak and weak parties effectively face Rythnax outside his lair, standard parties deal with limited lair actions, strong parties face the full set of lair actions, and very strong parties get to deal with that and buffed enemies. As mentioned above, I'd like to remove some of the incentive to attack Ellison; he's built up a number of comical pity-points, but it's easy to toss away pity given that he sicced an ambush on the party and murdered a scribe.
Originally posted by Rosebee:
These hints & tips are much appreciated as I'm running this next weekend at my FLGS. It's my first time DMing since i was a wee lass playing with siblings.
Originally posted by kilpatds:
Stupid question: what stats am I supposed to use for Ellison, should the party make it there? I couldn't find them at the table time, so picked a stat-block arbitrarily.
(Report: 3 members in the party, but 2&3rd level such that I ended up on "weak". They sniffed a rat on the ambush, and were able to be victorious even though the melee type dropped and wasn't effective. They worked around engaging the monsters in the sewers. I was rather generous in rests, and they went into the final encounter rested ... but the monster ended the consciousness of the melee PC before he had a real turn... and failed saves ended his life. (My Ellison was far to potent, and sucked up the attention on the only PC with any cure spells). But they did "win")
Originally posted by sigfile:
He's a Spy. I don't recall where all it's called out, but I know you'll find it in "Adjusting the encounter" for the final encounter.
Originally posted by kilpatds:
Ah, thanks. I missed that.
Uses of Spy in the pdf: a very early encounter. The "adjusting the encounter" block for the encounter in question. XP at the end, and the monster stat block at the end.
Ok, I didn't just miss it. The adventure fails to mention that except in the adjusting the encounter block.
