WotBS Questions after reading WotBS.

the_David · Jan 31, 2020

I've started to read WotBS. I've tried this before but I stopped halfway through the third adventure. I've just read the Scouring of Gate Pass (3.5 version) and I think it would be a good idea to ask questions now so I don't forget them later.

The adventure doesn't say anything about party size. Is it meant for 4 players?

The religions mentioned so far are a mixed bag. I understand that the idea is that the DM has to insert whatever works for the group, but spreadsheet pantheons just don't work for me. The inquisitors and the knights of the aquiline cross will play a bigger part in the campaign, but what about the other two mentioned? Torrent is a cleric of a sea god. Rivereye mentions a safehouse in a temple to the god of revelry and music. This kinda confused me as Torrent wants to take the players to a safehouse in the temple of the aquiline cross. Is this a mix up, or were they supposed to be quantum ogres? I understand that Torrent is on a mission, but it doesn't really make much sense that a cleric of a sea god would stray so far from the sea. I've got the idea that most of these deities are interchangeable with eachother. Would it make any difference if Torrent was a knight of the aquiline cross?

Lylandra · Feb 1, 2020

Well, you can make Torrent a cleric of the Aquiline if you want. It is not a faith of a god per se though as Avilona is dead and they more or less believe in an ideal. They are open to servants of other gods as well.

She's a water cleric, because she is Lee Sidoneth's student and stems from Seaquen. Also, I guess she was sent to Gate Pass because she was deemed fit for the mission. This is the very first beginning of the anti-Scourge-Alliance after all and the Lyceum is on good terms with Gabal and concerned about Leska's plans.

Also yes, 4 players, but it isn't too hard in 3.x.

Bill T. · Feb 2, 2020

I second Lylandra's comments. You'll need to rejigger the relationship between Lee and Torrent if you change her affiliation, but that shouldn't be too big a deal. On the other hand, Torrent is ideally suited, mechanics-wise, to overcome the challenges in the second adventure. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it's something to keep in mind if you rewrite her character sheet. My spin was to tie things together by giving the goddess of the sea the name Quenna and suggest than Seaquen was named after her.

I hadn't noticed the god of music and revelry. I think it's a one-off. As I read it, there are multiple safe houses, and the one with the priests of M&R is if the heroes are desperately in need of rest -- it's a throwaway and you could populate it with whatever you like. It could just as easily be a gnomish rave bar as a temple. The "real" safe house (where the encounter with the goth half-elf bard occurs) is a temple of the Aquiline Heart.

Free-associating, I figure Torrent went to Gate Pass because she knew someone involved in the heist of the vital military intelligence, but I'm just making that up on the spot.

I first ran it with three players but gave them a free level of aristocrat to buff them up. That group was pretty good at character optimization, so they didn't have any problems. Currently I'm running a group of four new players (mostly) but without Torrent and they struggled through the second adventure -- I posted a travelogue of their adventures on this forum if you want the gory (gory!) details.

Looking ahead, you'll encounter some generic elven deities in the second adventure. I did a quick web search when I ran the adventure that lead me to a wikipedia entry for the "standard" 3.5 deities that had close matches to what the adventure describes. I suspect the adventure's authors simply grabbed them and filed off anything copyrightable or trademarkable -- which works for me!

the_David · Feb 3, 2020

Thanks for your responses. After reading the Indomitable Fire Forest of Innenotdar I've got one question. How can the players recieve Deception's boon? I might have missed this, but I could only find that it wasn't very likely that they'd get it.

RangerWickett · Feb 3, 2020

If you kill him you can get it, but that should be unlikely for low-level characters.

To have him actually share his boon willingly you'd have to be doing his bidding, which is way out of pocket for the campaign as written.

lockyreid · Feb 5, 2020

During my campaign the players received Deception's Boon from him as they pledged to save him from his prison. They were under the assumption that they couldn't escape the forest without setting him free, until they learned they could defeat him instead. Once they turned on Deception they lost the boon. I used it as a temporary buff and sort of incentive to play along with him for as long as possible