That's why I suggested MCing the Warlock to Bard, if CHA based. It's always handy to have another character who can get the Cleric back up, if he goes down, and heal skill isn't always an option, especially in an undersized party where everyone is already occupied.
He's CON based. Still, took the Healer's Word power before we entered the final stage.
Epilogue.
"Mechanically", we lost. Every enemy had some kind of
shut-down
power that made combat slow and epically frustrating. The combat area itself had more of the same.
By the time we figured out how to shut down the Big Bad, three of us were in the single digits for HP with no means to activate another one but Heal checks, and the Big Bad was at full HP. He still had a couple of buddies plunking away at us, too.
So, in a fit of frustration and desperation, the Assassin asked the DM if he can sacrifice himself to save the others. Story-wise, the Assassin grabbed the Big Bad and
jumped through the crazy archway
.
All in all, the module was a mess and we were frustrated more often than we were having fun. The module is a tedious grindhouse with little to no RP whatsoever, and the DM wished he had run some "Stone" 1st level adventure instead.
So, in a fit of frustration and desperation, the Assassin asked the DM if he can sacrifice himself to save the others. Story-wise, the Assassin grabbed the Big Bad and
jumped through the crazy archway
.
All in all, the module was a mess and we were frustrated more often than we were having fun. The module is a tedious grindhouse with little to no RP whatsoever, and the DM wished he had run some "Stone" 1st level adventure instead.
'The Slaying Stone' - it has huge flaws too, but with only 10 encounters and the chance to skip some if your DM is kind, it's a lot less tedious!
Did the GM adjudicate the assassin's heroic sacrifice with dice rolls, or just narrate successs? It seems to me it could have been a cool ending if done well.
He's CON based. Still, took the Healer's Word power before we entered the final stage.
Epilogue.
"Mechanically", we lost. Every enemy had some kind of
shut-down
power that made combat slow and epically frustrating. The combat area itself had more of the same.
By the time we figured out how to shut down the Big Bad, three of us were in the single digits for HP with no means to activate another one but Heal checks, and the Big Bad was at full HP. He still had a couple of buddies plunking away at us, too.
So, in a fit of frustration and desperation, the Assassin asked the DM if he can sacrifice himself to save the others. Story-wise, the Assassin grabbed the Big Bad and
jumped through the crazy archway
.
All in all, the module was a mess and we were frustrated more often than we were having fun. The module is a tedious grindhouse with little to no RP whatsoever, and the DM wished he had run some "Stone" 1st level adventure instead.
Sounds somewhat equivalent to playing the "Martyr Card" in Torg. We only ever had one player do that (me).
I hit the BBRG with "Curse of the Dark Dream" but when I went to slide him into the gate, the DM just had him bounce back. That was annoying; the perfect use of a daily, but not allowing it to work.
The Assassin's end was narrated, and that was fantastic. May he find in Oblivion what he could not find in Life.
Now, rather than start into Thunderspire, I volunteered to do a one-off to give the guys a different view of an adventure. I plan on converting and running the 3.0 adventure "Witch of Serpent's Bridge" from Dungeon 95.
Mind you, I haven't looked into any of the 4e pre-gens from Dungeon. Maybe I should? Any experiences?
I'll be running a party of three + a companion... and it's looking like they all want to try something Arcane.
Now, rather than start into Thunderspire, I volunteered to do a one-off to give the guys a different view of an adventure. I plan on converting and running the 3.0 adventure "Witch of Serpent's Bridge" from Dungeon 95.
Mind you, I haven't looked into any of the 4e pre-gens from Dungeon. Maybe I should? Any experiences?
I'll be running a party of three + a companion... and it's looking like they all want to try something Arcane.
Siege of Bordrin's Watch in 156 is well regarded. Rescue at Rivenroar starts off with 2 great encounters well worth nicking, but the later dungeon is regarded as dull and needs cutting down/editing.
I started my 4e DMing experience with a conversion of a 3e module. It's certainly doable, as long as you bear the Encounter Building XP budget guidelines in mind. My experience was that 1st level 4e PCs are much the same as 1st level 3e PCs BTW, my assumption that they were more like 4th level 3e PCs proved sadly mistaken! So when building encounters for 1st level PCs you want to keep the XP budget mostly in the 500-600 range, 1st-2nd level encounters.
Edit: Big difference from 3e is that 4e fights take an hour even at 1st level, in 3e it's usually much less. Bear that in mind - a 4-hour one-shot should have no more than 3-4 battles. In fact when I've run published 4e 'one shots', if I have a 3.5 hour game slot I find they typically go for 2 sessions. It typically takes about 5-6 hours to play a 4-encounter adventure.
The DM's already been spoken to, changes were made, and everything's groovy. The DM said he really hated running that adventure and wanted to take a break. I've been itching to DM for a while, so I thought a one-off might be fun.
At present, no. They will be starting at level 3. At the moment, they've picked:
Eladrin Bladesinger
Dragonborn Sorcerer (Dragon magic)
Human Wizard
I'm debating on adding a Bard-esque companion. The adventure also calls for being assisted by townsfolk, and a Cleric is built right in (which is also a likely candidate for Companion).
Naturally, I'll have to account for their squishiness. Minions, maybe some artillery, and a "Bonus" boss encountered at random.
