JVisgaitis, I need you!

[Mark Causey]

Inner Circle Games, you rock! My characters are finally en route to Niarva, to discover Where Madness Dwells, but I need your help!

My characters are 2nd level @_@

I know, I know, it's intended for 7th level characters, and all of this is my fault.

But let's leave the why and wherefores behind, and focus on trying to work this out. Do you have any suggestions for stretching out the time in town, or maybe growing (but not overwhelming) the sewer section?

Or just any ideas at all? Heck, just write in to tell me how silly I'm being

 

[afreed]

I'm not Jeff, but I'm familiar with the module (I did copyediting and the 3.5 conversion), so I'll offer a few thoughts:

You could involve the PCs in a plot involving the Niarvan gangs. There's some information about them in the intro to chapter 1. This could be basic gang rivalry stuff, the rising of an undead gang made up of gang victims, rumors of a lycanthropic gang leader trying to infect other gangs to control them, etc. The PCs could be drawn in a couple of ways--maybe the Lords of Enlightenment want to try out the PCs this way before giving them the asylum mission, maybe Kraaven needs a favor done involving the gangs before he'll help, or maybe the PCs just get caught in the middle of things. Regardless, this should make a nice low-level adventure.

If you wanted to extend the sewers, you could tack on some extra adventure involving underground ruins. Maybe the secret heads of the asylum (no spoilers here) have multiple projects going on, and are excavating something underground. Heck, maybe that's the real reason they came to Niarva in the first place. The rest of the plot should still work, it'll just branch a bit, here.

Finally, you could just make everything lower level. Replace some of the monsters, knock off some NPC levels...it shouldn't hurt verisimilitude. You'll have to revise the end encounter significantly, though, since that's a TOUGH battle. Maybe have one of the asylum heads join forces with the PCs to fight a weakened version of the final monster?

Hope this helps!

 

[Crothian]

I'd slow it down. Instead of having them go to the town knowilng they have to investigate the Asylum get them there for other reasons. THen have them meet some NPCs and befreind them all the while they do other small things in and around the town. Over time have the NPCs get committed to the Asylum and they slowly learn things from that and then get them to go to the Aslum when they are ready.

 

[tf360]

As the adventure's author oh so long ago, you could start the PC's with a nice low level murder investigation at the hands of the city's vigilantes. This would provide the characters with more insight about the city as well as its governmental entity, the Lords of Enlightenment. As an added touch, the murderer could be sent to the asylum as his punishment rather than the prison system or killed. As a hook, the victim's ghost, could spur the investigation and provide information about his killer(s)' identity. If the characters succeed wildly at this task, it could lead to a brief stint in their service performing other tasks under they're ready to enter the asylum.

Another possibility is to have the Angel Armory send the characters in search of a prized weapon or item somewhere in the sewer complex.

The best approach though is to stretch out the character's stay in the city rather than throw them into the asylum underequipped and underpowered.

 

[JVisgaitis]

Wow, everyone beat me to the punch. You couldn't get better advice from afreed and tf360, as they know this module better then anyone. Personally, I would run a lot of adventures based in and around the city. Honestly, you really have to let the characters grow into the adventure. If you try and stick say, the monsters in the last few encounters against a low level party, you'll have nothing but a bloody mess on your hands.

The sewers are an easy place for expansion. You could spin off a subplot as the PCs get lost, and maybe get captured by wererats or some other underground critters. From there, they could uncover some plot by the wererats to overtake the city, rescue nobles that live several towns away which they need to return home, or a myriad of other ideas.

The only reworking you'll need to do is the whole uncle hook. It could still work, but it will take some fiddling. Vunik could easily the brother of a noble lady or something similar.

Hope this helps.

As the adventure's author oh so long ago

Dude, how have you been? You so need to drop me an email. jvisgaitis at icirclegames.com

 

[Mark Causey]

Awesome³! Thank you all for answering. I think I'll take a merger of some of the stories, plus a little more. By the way, this is set in Eberron, Niarva is an island between Karrnath and the Mournlands, and it is mainly filled with Cyrans and Last War veterans.

I'm going to have the backstory be as follows: one night an inmate escapes from the Asylum and is chased by the Shadow Mastiffs. He/she barely escapes their first attack, which leaves blood on their tongues. The inmate makes it to the Angel Armory (maybe an old friend of Master Daneel, the proprieter?), and the two of them defend against the now rabid Mastiffs, using the weapons at hand. During the battle, the inmate runs away (whether due to insanity, the past with the proprieter, fear, or some combination) with a weapon or two in tow. Daneel fends off the mastiffs, and kills one (making it easier for the PCs and giving them a clue to the Asylum's denizens). The other runs off, and is stopped at an entrance to the sewers. The proprieter wants to have the inmate tracked down, but needs to repair his shop and can't track.

That's where the hook will be. He'll hire anybody that looks strong and isn't lethargic like the angry-at-the-world veterans, and they may have to contract Kraaven for assistance once they realize where they're going (or maybe they won't, but they'll have to do the tracking themselves).

The final twist is that this is where a rogue lycanthrope hides his pack from the world, and they aren't too kind to intruders. Maybe the inmate is the guy who 'thinks' he's contracted lycanthropy, and until his moon comes up again, the pack may believe him. I could see this leading to him falsely becoming a right hand man (especially with is weapons), and with a rescue attempt needed once his moon comes up and he doesn't change.

Thanks again for all of your help!