I am going to be running Rappan Athuk this weekend

[Kyuss Knight]

The party consists of a sorcerer, cleric, rogue and barbarian with their levels averaging 10.25. Is there anything I should keep in mind or any general advice?

Thanks Enworld

 

[Psion]

You mean other than "don't go down the well"? Or "have players make backup characters"?

 

[BadMojo]

You mean other than "don't go down the well"? Or "have players make backup characters"?

Yeah, uh, you may want to make sure your group has a few backups in the wings so they aren't just sitting around watching others play.

I'd also make sure that your players are "on board" with the style of play that works best with RA. I'd even give them a little out of campaign "there's no shame in running away when you call it a tactical retreat".

 

[BlackMoria]

Well, the supposedly unkillable 'crap' monster on level 1 will be a problem because most players (mine included) will not realize that it is unkillable. My players did attack and retreat, attack and retreat until they finally realized they couldn't defeat it. Left a sour chord with them as they asked if there was a 'undefeatable' monster on every level.

My recommendation - delete the crap monster completely or replace with another monster (like a mimic).

Edit: Most, if not all levels have one encounter than can potentially be over the top for a party. Your party seems higher level than the norm so they may be fine but you will need to watch it.

Also, one of the module writers implied that Rappan Athuk is designed for a party level of more than 4 characters, yet, nowhere is this mentioned in the module, which means parties of 4 characters or less will have a rougher time of it. Another thing to keep in mind.

 

[Nightfall]

Just make sure to leave clues if the PCs decide to fight Orcus on the best way to dimish his power.

 

[Mark Hope]

My recommendation - keep the unkillable poop monster. My players (a party of 9th level dwarves of various classes) had an awful time with it and loved every second. Depends on your players, I guess.

Assuming that the PCs are going in through the Mausoleum, there are a few issues that you need to keep in mind regarding their power level. The upper levels are scaled at around CR 5 or 6, so you might find that the dreaded dungeon lacks a bit of whack in the opening areas.

With the power level of your group, you should give them a good reason to visit the Tomb of Saracek. It's pretty much the only thing on the upper two or three levels that can give them a serious challenge (unless you really hammer on them with wandering monsters, that is). Maybe they need to retrieve something from there (IMC, I had the dwarves assigned a number of objectives, one of which was to retrieve Saracek's crown for his descendants, who were wealthy sponsors of the dwarves' temple).

You should also try to get them to tackle the upper temple of Orcus - it should provide them with a nice, solid battle. A visit to the Oracle also gives you an opportunity to put Spiegel's advice to the test .

Beyond that (assuming that you have enough time to get deeper into the dungeon), you are in good shape for letting them explore or adventure as they see fit. There are plenty of opportunities for them to bite off more than they can chew - which is what a visit to the Dungeon of Graves is all about, after all.

Or you could just convince them to go down the well...

 

[Nightfall]

YES! Send them down the well!

 

[Psion]

My recommendation - delete the crap monster completely or replace with another monster (like a mimic).

I replaced it with a fiendish amorphic otyugh. I thought the idea of a killer toilet was, I dunno, something you'd see on Robot Chicken.


Anyways, RA is big, and it's nice to have all the modules (or RARE). Undirected, play can go lots of different ways as they explore the complex. It's a wild ride if you just let players bang around.

If you really want players to make progress and to have hope of someday meeting and beating dying at the hands of big "O", it might be best to have an NPC organization give them a little direction unless they are an organized self-starting group.

 

[Psion]

YES! Send them down the well!

The well's cool. Killed some PCs there.

A simple spell that the players had access too would have saved them so much trouble...
[sblock]
A faerie fire is well advised in the displacer beast room. That room was pretty legendary among my old group. They tried to take it down a few times and lost a PC every time.
[/sblock]

With the secret part of the well layer added in RARE... well, let's just say I hope to take some PCs there someday.

 

[DaveMage]

You may find these helpful:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=7795

Unfortunately, it only covers level 1.