improving Blingdenstone

[MortalPlague]

I will be running this adventure at PAX, and I'm eager to delve into a world of svirfneblin, orcs, and grow. I'm planning to test run the module a time or two leading up to the event (next week), but I figured I would cast the net across ENWorld and see if anyone has thoughts about tweaking the adventure.

Firstly, has anyone run it? Has anyone seen how PCs interact with the deep gnomes and their politics? Also, does anyone have thoughts on how to improve the adventure in any way? Any encounters stand out as needing an adjustment? Also; orcs are worth a ton of xp compared to other monsters. Is this intended?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

It needs a cavern of Myconids, so the PCs can meet and interact with some groovy 'shrooms.

 

[The Shadow]

Orc XP is wildly wrong, it needs to be cut in half at least.

The blind ogre in the Wormwrithings is pathetically easy to kill. Make it a sighted ogre working for the kobolds, and it'll have a much better chance.

The humanoids pretty much need an extra +2 to hit across the board. This may require tweaking damage as well, I'm not sure yet.

The wight isn't scary at all. It needs something... more.

 

[MortalPlague]

It needs a cavern of Myconids, so the PCs can meet and interact with some groovy 'shrooms.

Myconids are awesome. I might put some in a random encounter in the ruins.

Orc XP is wildly wrong, it needs to be cut in half at least.

I'm planning to award 200 xp per. It seems pretty generous still, but I need to respect that fact that an orc can split a PC if they get lucky and hit.

The blind ogre in the Wormwrithings is pathetically easy to kill. Make it a sighted ogre working for the kobolds, and it'll have a much better chance.

I'll see how my PCs are faring. I'm test-running this tomorrow, so if they're breezing through everything (and I think they will be), I'll have a sighted ogre.

The humanoids pretty much need an extra +2 to hit across the board. This may require tweaking damage as well, I'm not sure yet.

Not sure I want to tinker with the hit rate across the board until after my first attempted playtest. But I'm seriously considering a +2 bonus for my game at PAX.

The wight isn't scary at all. It needs something... more.

Maybe more skeletons so he's tough to get to? I'll pay attention to the encounter and see how it plays for my group.

*EDIT* Tried it. Playtest report here.

 

[Rhenny]

I just don't like the way the adventure text is physically broken into parts that you need to go back and forth to understand. For example, if the party goes to area 8 (Ruby in The Rough) and they take the quest, then I have to jump many pages forward to Ch. 3. I think it would have been easier for DM if everything were nested together.

There is so much in the main area of the adventure, I needed to make my own outline to make it easier to follow.

I'll begin running it on Saturday.

From experience playtesting this iteration in general, watch out for mobs vs. 1 PC. Very dangerous.

Like others mentioned, I may try the +2 to monster attacks across the board. In my last playtest (my own adventure), the monsters barely scratched the higher AC PCs.

 

[ComradeGnull]

Fortuitously, I've started collecting resources for running this adventure. Check out the first two links on the page below- they include some quick reference pages and extensions for the adventure that a guy named Jeremy Murphy put together on his blog:

Reclaiming Blingdenstone Resources

 

[MortalPlague]

Fortuitously, I've started collecting resources for running this adventure. Check out the first two links on the page below- they include some quick reference pages and extensions for the adventure that a guy named Jeremy Murphy put together on his blog:

Reclaiming Blingdenstone Resources

Wow. Those are invaluable resources! I'm going to put that to use at PAX, particularly the revised Chapter 3. The House Center map had me scratching my head at its design while I was running it. All those strange, pointless corridors...

Thanks!

 

[MortalPlague]

I just did up a handout sheet for Evarell's journal. I've included the fonts used in the zip file.

With the new House Center from the revised chapter three, the journal page doesn't quite make sense, so I've included a revised journal page.

If you print the front page, then flip it around and print on the back, the journal entries line up with the prophecy entries.

 

[Blackwarder]

I currently got an interactive map (well a very well connected keynote presentation) of blingdenstone, I made it in preparation of moving the entire advanture to the iPad.

Give me a shout if you want a copy.

Warder

 

[Daern]

I don't see this anywhere in the playtest download! Where is it?