D&D 4E I have Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan 4e

[Saracenus]

Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, remastered for 4e by Stephen Radney-MacFarland. A heroic tier adventure for characters of 7th level.

For those that don’t already know, this adventure is being given to DMs who reported play for D&D Encounters in the month of August.

Page count: 44

Art: New cover, interior art is drawn from the original C1 Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan module.

Maps: Large full color map of the full dungeon on one side, surface entrance and one room gridded with 1” squares for tactical combat (see attached photos).

Some highlights:

• Poisonous Gas. Yes, there is poison gas in the lower level just like the original adventure. If you take an extended rest while in the lower chamber you die. For every short rest or each 5 minutes you spend in the lower level you must make a save or you lose a healing surge (or hit points equal to your surge value if you are out of them).
• Nice traps. Yep, this adventure is chock full of update traps like the last DM reward adventure Tomb of Horrors.
• Monsters, monsters, monsters. Yes, you will be facing all the monsters from the original adventure updated to 4e stats.
• History of the module. An Afterward from the original authors, Harold Johnson and Jeff Leson, about how the classic adventure was born (The city was originally supposed to be spelled Tamoanchan, but tight deadlines lead to the misspelling that we now accept at the correct).

Speaking of tight deadlines, I need to get back to my group project for my Basic Auditing class and so I am off…

 

[jodyjohnson]

Thanks.

I hope the crunch makes it into the compendium.

 

[lmarkus]

Interestingly, a lot of the flavor descriptions were removed from the 4E version of the module, and some of the artwork is not provided (and it is all smaller). Additionally, the scoring and pregen characters are not available (and it appears no effort was made to make this a tournament module either as the encounters are generally FAR harder than the original).

 

[OpsKT]

I noticed at the end that they are hinting at a 4e revision of Isle of Dread. Weather for a DM reward or the general consumer, I don't know.

Hopefully, the consumer, because that is too cool an iconic adventure to be limited to DM Rewards and eBay prices...

 

[JesseMXGangl]

I posted this elsewhere on the forums here but figured I'd go for broader coverage and put it here as well. I'm looking to run this adventure soon and have a few questions for anyone with some experience, particularly with the 4e version.

The group I have is only four players with two that are somewhat less familiar with 4e and two that are more experienced but not min-maxers. I'd like to run the module so that they could succeed, but because of the group size and average inexperience, I figured I need to modify some things.


First, should I have them start at a higher level like 8 or 9? That seems like it'd help offset the smaller party.


Second, I was contemplating some kind of "save point" system--either some set points in the temple that they could start over from once they're reached or maybe a set number of optional points that the party could declare as their save points. I would then have them record expended resources so they could properly reset. Basically, I don't mind having them succumb a time or two, but I'd like to not have to replay replay rooms excessively.

Third, aside from the instant-death elements, am I right in thinking that the gas is potentially the most grueling part of the dungeon? Would it make more sense to replace the saving regular saving throws with, say, Endurance checks with an easier DC? It seems less fun to imagine them sprinting through a lot of the dungeon out of necessity instead of exploring, ya know?


I realize that this is not the ideal adventure for the group I have, but I'm committed at this point and want to make the best of it. A little replayability and strategy isn't the end of the world, and was pretty much the basis for Lair Assault, but I want to make sure it doesn't just become tedious and/or soul-crushing.

Any thoughts?

​

 

[Tony Vargas]

Yes, it'd make sense to have an Endurance check or have the gas attack FORT, rather than call for a save (saves in 4e are about duration, attack rolls determine whether an effect happens, saves how long it lasts).

For a party of 4, cut 1 standard or 4 minions from each encounter. Relative inexperience isn't a huge killer in 4e, just give them time to learn their characters, choose their actions, and let more experienced players offer advice (even offer some yourself now and then).

As always it helps to run 4e 'above board.' You don't need to hide the effects of the gas, for instance, after the first check, you explain the danger (some DMs might even explain it as soon as you enter the lower level). When a PC is in a zone or aura, it's OK to explain the mechanics of it. Be sure to check passive perception when the party encounters traps. That kind of thing.

If the dungeon goes too much for that 'old school feel' by advising you to use 'gotchya' tricks, like using the way a player describes an action to determine the results, or letting single rolls derail the whole adventure, substitute appropriate checks or skill challenges, instead.

 

[jodyjohnson]

As an aside, this adventure is included in Dungeon 209 (Dec 2012) and includes jpegs of the map.

If they had waited it would have probably been released on DnD Classics.com as a $5 pdf.