Lost City of Barakus, how are you using it? *Spoilers*

[catsclaw227]

I am about 2" away from pressing click and buying this book and PDF for my upcoming Wilderlands game. I want to use it for Warwick on the City State map (Map 5) and wonder about some issues that I have heard about. I dig Necromancer's products and they also did Wilderlands too, so I would like to assume that it will be drag-n-drop on placing it where I need to.

Endhome is a big city, but it is suppose to be a fairly "good" city. I need to make it "bad" to match the feel of Warwick. Also, I have been reading that the module expects you to reduce XP awards in half, because there is a lot of adventuring to do and the PCs might level their way right out of having fun if I am not careful. My players also like to go through the first 3-4 PC levels fairly quickly and then get to normal progression for subsequent levels. Can this adventure suit this purpose?

Is this a fairly modular adventure/setting? Can I clip out some of the placed encounters or is it all event based? Will it be easy to make Endhome a bit crueler without much work? Is there a lot of heavy handed material that will make it difficult to stick it where I want?

Also, what were the parts you disliked, as a GM or Player, and what parts really stood out for you? If I will need to cut some areas out, then I'd like to trim the fat, not the good meat.

CC

 

[Treebore]

It recommends you use half xp's, not demands it.

Yes it is modular, I use it in my Erde campaign and I did use it in my WL campaign last year.

You can easily make it "evil" by changing just a couple of NPC's, and giving the vampire family more influence.

It is a very worthwhile book to get. Good advenutre hooks and a dungeon, and a city to use for the life of your campaigns.

In some ways I like it better than CSIO.

 

[SgtHulka]

Have you considered Tarsh on the Valley of the Ancients map? I've been a bit intrigued by that good-aligned City since I read the entry, and I've been tempted to pick up Lost City of Barakus to fill in for it for many of the same reasons you mention.

 

[trancejeremy]

Barakus is pretty much entirely site based. Basically, you get a brief desription of the city, then a whole bunch of little site based adventures set around the place and the wilderness around it, then the lost city itself.

Pretty much the PCs can explore it however they want. There's no plot or anything event driven (unlike the much inferior Durbenford...) and is really worth every penny, IMHO.

 

[catsclaw227]

Yes it is modular, I use it in my Erde campaign and I did use it in my WL campaign last year.

[hijack] What do you think of Erde? [/hijak]

You can easily make it "evil" by changing just a couple of NPC's, and giving the vampire family more influence.

It is a very worthwhile book to get. Good advenutre hooks and a dungeon, and a city to use for the life of your campaigns.

In some ways I like it better than CSIO.

Hmmm. I need to look into it. Maybe I'll get the PDF and see how it fits.

 

[catsclaw227]

Barakus is pretty much entirely site based. Basically, you get a brief desription of the city, then a whole bunch of little site based adventures set around the place and the wilderness around it, then the lost city itself.

Pretty much the PCs can explore it however they want. There's no plot or anything event driven (unlike the much inferior Durbenford...) and is really worth every penny, IMHO.

Thanks for the info. I started plannin to run Durbenford a year ago or so, and I found so many holes in the plot it was uncomfortable. Also, my players hate railroading.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

While I didn't use in it my last campaign, I have to say that I think enough of this product that were I to start a new campaign with anything other than one of the Paizo Adventure Paths, I'd start with this (and probably follow with Red Hand of Doom, and then ... to be determined).

 

[catsclaw227]

Have you considered Tarsh on the Valley of the Ancients map? I've been a bit intrigued by that good-aligned City since I read the entry, and I've been tempted to pick up Lost City of Barakus to fill in for it for many of the same reasons you mention.

I would consider this, but they are starting on the CSIO map and I thought that Warwick would do well. Endhome has a river right? I may need to add a river flowing down along the Saddlebow Path.

 

[Treebore]

Yes, the river almost perfectly bi-sects the city. Too bad you didn't get this (print version) at the Troll Lords $10.00 sale a couple of weeks ago.

 

[catsclaw227]

Yes, the river almost perfectly bi-sects the city. Too bad you didn't get this (print version) at the Troll Lords $10.00 sale a couple of weeks ago.

Yea... no kidding... I bought just about everything else though. hindsight is 20/20.

I think this is going to work out well, I bought the PDF and I'm reading through it now. It looks like a lot of the adventures are independent of each other and only a couple move the story of the Lost City forward. I think this'll work out well. Now, to find that family of vampires you talked about...