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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Reaper Steve" data-source="post: 5317268" data-attributes="member: 51528">I ran it and had a blast, and my players said they did as well.I beefed up the encounters to handle 6 players, but wound up with 7. Ugh. Not enough to have two tables, and I didn't want to turn anyone away. Made for a long game... at least 7 hours for 4 encounters. In my experience, every player beyond 5 exponentially makes the game longer. Anyway... I didn't like the nostaglic balck and white map, so I busted out all my tiles (I'm a crazy with 2 sets of each) and created each map completely with tiles. I even elevated the dias (Sinister Woods?) and placed animated statues figures on it. It was sharp looking. For the first encounter, I also used lightly wooded tiles to have a 20-square deep approach to the temple, so the players had to rush through hails of arrows and charging drakes. When it was over, half the party was bloodied and they were spread all over the place. Second fight was also tough, even though they founatin of flamed my orc pretty quick. Some humor ensured when one mage cast light on one statue and then the other cast ghost sound to it to speak as an avatar of a god. Great plan and roleplaying, so I let him make an intimidate check against the kobolds on the dias! Again, about half the party bloodied, including a mage with 1 HP cowering around the corner from the fight. The party also choose door #1. They really had fun using beguiling strands to move my guys over as many runes as possible. Aside: thank goodness that the HotFL book updates beguiling strands from the red box (and pregens.) Pregens: slide 5 squares(!), HotFL: push 3 squares. I let them play it according to the cards but told them that was the only time I would do so. The dragon fight was awesome. About half the party acted before the dragon, and thanks to two ranged backstabbing rogues and a founatin of flame, he was quickly bloodied (and breathed on the dwarf!) and then dazed+no charge by the other mage. It was looking like a pushover but Blightborn ran around the wall behind the gong and his 3 hobgoblins (for 6 players) held the line.  The dwarf fighter made a mad dash across the chamber to charge the dragon, but fell to hobgoblin opportuity attacks and readied charges. (He dies next round due to ongoing acid damage.) Charging orcs dished out some nice damage. That bought the dragon time to circle the wall and charge the elf rogue and then action point to claw both rogues. Result = one bloodied rogue, one dying. The tables were turned and things looked grim for the heroes. Next turn, the dragon recharged his breath and all thought that both rogues and a mage were doomed, but he failed to hit any of them!  More beguiling strands and the dragon and hobgobs are dancing through the fountain of flames and burning. This gives the not-unconscious rogue a backstab and he puts the dragon out of their misery while the cleric finshed off the remaining hobgob. With one character dead, another unconscious, and all the remaining ones bloodied, it turned out to be an epic fight!  It could have been much worse. I forgot to do half damage on the missed breath attack, which would have killed the dying rogue and would also have dropped the bloodied one. I also forgot the Acidic blood damage a time or two. Finally, the cheese version of beguiling strands (and two mages in the group) was the only thing that could get the dragon and hobgobs off the party and back into the fountain of flame. Again, I had a great time. Every encounter was tense and the last was extra memorable. I hate forgetting effects, but I forgot just enough to turn a TPK into an "OMG, I can't believe we survived!" legend.</blockquote>

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