Leading up to and then running G1-G3 for 3.5, advice needed!

[dagger]

I have downloaded the g1-g3 conversion docs from this site and they pretty much confirm what I had already surmised; that the party will need to be higher level than in the original modules. I will most likely have around 5-6 steady players who are average at min maxing characters.

In games I run and play in, we never really pull any punches at the table. DM’s roll all the dice in front of players, and very little fudging goes on. I try not to Meta game with monsters, but I will play them very deadly if they have decent intelligence and tactics. I also know the 3.0/3.5 rule set like the back of my hand. This also is might make it even more deadly for the group, because a couple have only been playing for about a year.

A) One of my problems is that I don’t really want to have them roll up anything above 4th level. I was thinking that Gestalt would allow me to get cranking on G1 quicker and increase the survival rate of the PC’s. I have experienced Gestalt (dm and player) in two campaigns so far and I am comfortable with it. One of the times I played the series in 1st edtion, the DM had us roll up 2 back up characters each ahead of time, I might do this as well.

B) What modules (any edition) do you think would be good to run leading up to the giant series? I plan on doing this in FR, but I am very open to non FR adventures. I still might be open to a different pre made world other than FR. Please assume that the characters are starting out at 2nd to 4th level.

C) I have played in this module twice in 1st edition and once in 2nd, so it will be old hat with me. Do you have any advice that might help keep the G1-G3 fun? Most of the players will be ok with hack n slash, but I do want to keep it a little interesting.



Finally, thanks for reading this!

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

B) What modules (any edition) do you think would be good to run leading up to the giant series?

I could be wrong, but I think technically the lead up was A1-A4, the Slavers series.

They started at 4th level, too.

 

[dagger]

I didn't really want to run the A series, and it’s my fault for not putting that in there. I have played in those modules before (and died many times), but I am not very familiar with them.

I will take a look over those old modules, as I do have copies of them in pdf.

---

On another note, just wanted to say the Heroes of High Favor line is one of my favorite products.

 

[ruleslawyer]

The Freeport series and The Banewarrens get you through 10th level without a problem, and are, IMHO, truly stunning modules. Or start with Forge of Fury and then on to The Banewarrens. 3e level progression is fast enough that this shouldn't take longer than a couple of weeks. These are easy to set in FR (I did!). Another option would be to run the adventures from Silver Marches (the Deadsnows mini-campaign is pretty good!) and maybe Forge of Fury (which features an abandoned dwarfhold, a very FR-friendly setting) into the mix.

I don't particularly recommend gestalt PCs if you have 5-6 players. In any case, a gestalt 4th-level PC is arguably quite as complex as a 6th-level regular PC, so I don't think you really gain anything by using gestalt rules.

 

[Mixmaster]

Three possibilities:

1 - Do RTToEE; It starts at 4th and ends at 12-14th. Links some clues to G1 and wallah!

2 - Do WLD (spoiler: there is a place they can leave around 12th level.....)

3 - (What I'm doing) In Kingdoms of Kalamar, there is a trilogy of modules starting with Root of all Evil (1-2 level), Forging Darkness (3-4), and Coin's End (5-7). After that, do Banewarrens by Monte Cook (starts at 6; better at 8 - finishes at around 12)

But the way you're writing this, you want to run G1-G3 NOW. I know that they're not big min-maxers, but I don't know how experienced they are. They are tough modules back in the day and it's more brutal in 3.5. One slip up = TPK

 

[dagger]

I was looking over the conversion docs for G1 and one of the encounters is EL11, that is tough on a party. The party would have to put a lot of thought into taking out the giants.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I was looking over the conversion docs for G1 and one of the encounters is EL11, that is tough on a party. The party would have to put a lot of thought into taking out the giants.

Giants are super, super deadly in 3.0/3.5. They just hit so damn hard.

A party needs (a) mobility, (b) range, and (c) lots of save-or-die spells-- or all of the above. You just can't go toe-to-toe with one giant, let alone two or three, and expect to win.

Some excellent suggestions here. I think Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil is your best bet. It runs 4th through 10th level, is already 3.0, and just makes so much sense as a lead in for the G series. It would be a snap, I think.


Wulf

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Keep in mind that in G-1, the majority of the giants can be largely avoided as they're pretty much partying in the great hall. I'd say give the PC's a level or two more (I think 9th is ideal), and they should be OK. 3e's faster level progression should start taking over once you get into the latter modules.

 

[ashockney]

I agree with RTTTOEE as a lead in. Equally deadly. Similiar play styles. One word of warning: they may get "dungeon crawled" out. Banewarrens is also good, but doesn't flow quite as easily.

I've run the entire ATG series in 3rd edition, and had a blast. It will really amaze you to see some of the touches Gary threw in there, that made it so good the first time.

My personal favorite of the bunch is the Return to the Halls of the Fire Giant King. I run it regularly at conventions and for friends, and have probably run it six times or more. It plays best in 3rd edition at around 14th level. Completely awesome. Lavish in the moment that they uncover the plot of the drow! The first (ever) encounter with a drow, and she is bad as hell! For 3rd edition, with the level of the adventure, Laveth needs to be a little more assertive with her stronghold defense, particularly to counter the very powerful abilities of a high level party such as ethereal jaunt, passwall, teleport, and so on...

So, how do you keep things interesting? In each adventure, there are conflicting parties at work within the keep. Play up the political angles of each, and how the party may even ally with someone on the inside. Also, the element of discovery is significant throughout the adventure. Keep in mind that when it was written, many of these things were a "first" to the players. Finally, you can spice it up a little, and possibly add some much-needed support, by introducing a competing party...say the Knights of Myth Drannor. Very typical of the FR, and would make for many cool cameos. It would be very unlikely that someone wouldn't want to get involved from the various power groups in the FR, and identify/partner with the Drow and their mission. Perhaps even an all-elven strike force sent to eliminate the threat....and they're not too friendly with any non-elves, for that matter.

Just some thoughts. Please let us know how it goes!

 

[TerraDave]

Another one for RtToEE--in fact I was thinking about doing this very thing!

Necromancer also has a few modules that should fit the level requirement, and they also have the "old school" feel that would lead naturally into the Gs