On Puget Sound
First Post
On Monday night I 'm DMing a group of 7 people. A couple of them have played a bit of 4E (more than I have, anyway) and all but one are experienced 3.5 players. One is totally new to D&D of any flavor. I'm planning to start with some prepublished stuff, since it's hard enough learning the rules without trying to come up with a balanced adventure from scratch in a brand new game. So it's off to Kobold Hall.
I ran the first couple of fights tonight, solo, to see how the game plays. The first room went fairly smoothly, and the only one who ended up in the sludge was a kobold. I ruled that since the sludge was 4' deep, his failed athletics rolls meant he drowned. However, one slinger got away and ran into the next room, turning those two encounters into one long one as the party chased him. And that's where I ran into trouble: the dart traps.
When they hit, they immobilize. (How? Doesn't have the poison keyword) They trigger if anyone moves into or starts their turn on a trigger square. At +8, an AC 12 wizard will never get off of a trigger square before he dies, as he is re-immobilized during each of his turns. And the DCs for the trap are pretty tough for a level 1 rogue. Solutions I thought of: topple the suit of armor, remove its head, turn the head around, hold the visor shut, or simply hold a shield (or a kobold) right in front of the visor. Another option would be to push the victim off the square, either with a power or a strength check.
So that's not really a problem; I'm sure they will come up with something. I'm more concerned with the white dragon encounter, which I have read terrible things about. I'm also anxious about a large party with low playing experience, and whether I should bump up the difficulty for most encounters. An experienced team of 7 would definitely call for it. Does anyone who has played through Kobold Hall and Keep on the Shadowfell have any suggestions? Particular problem encounters I might want to skip or adjust?
Thanks!!
I ran the first couple of fights tonight, solo, to see how the game plays. The first room went fairly smoothly, and the only one who ended up in the sludge was a kobold. I ruled that since the sludge was 4' deep, his failed athletics rolls meant he drowned. However, one slinger got away and ran into the next room, turning those two encounters into one long one as the party chased him. And that's where I ran into trouble: the dart traps.
When they hit, they immobilize. (How? Doesn't have the poison keyword) They trigger if anyone moves into or starts their turn on a trigger square. At +8, an AC 12 wizard will never get off of a trigger square before he dies, as he is re-immobilized during each of his turns. And the DCs for the trap are pretty tough for a level 1 rogue. Solutions I thought of: topple the suit of armor, remove its head, turn the head around, hold the visor shut, or simply hold a shield (or a kobold) right in front of the visor. Another option would be to push the victim off the square, either with a power or a strength check.
So that's not really a problem; I'm sure they will come up with something. I'm more concerned with the white dragon encounter, which I have read terrible things about. I'm also anxious about a large party with low playing experience, and whether I should bump up the difficulty for most encounters. An experienced team of 7 would definitely call for it. Does anyone who has played through Kobold Hall and Keep on the Shadowfell have any suggestions? Particular problem encounters I might want to skip or adjust?
Thanks!!
