(Also posted under same title on RPGNet forums)
So I'm DMing my way through KotS and really like the story elements - the tragic fate of Sir Keegan, the vibrant NPC portrayals of the folk of Winterhaven, etc. I'm also planning on stealing a lot of the additional story/flavor elements from the Forgotten Realms adaptation, to further infuse some badassery and dread into the story.
But, looking at the main dungeon-crawl portion of the adventure: there's one skill challenge, one trap/hazard/puzzle room, one optional skill challenge running simultaneous with the final battle...
And like fifteen tactical combat encounters.
Yes, D&D (and esp. 4E) is an extremely combat-oriented game, good, fine, I'm glad. But I can easily see us getting bored with fighting our way through two more furious melees against the kobolds, much less fight #7, 8, 9... down in the Keep.
I'm wondering if anyone has any specific advice or thoughts about trading out or heavily modifying some of the combat encounters in the Keep portion to provide a little more variety?
For example:
We've so far run the two introductory kobold ambushes and the interlude in town - I've already given some serious thought into ways to convert the final pair of battles vs. the kobolds into a more roleplay-heavy section.
I've decided the kobolds (apart from the Wyrmpriests, who are devoted followers of Orcus) have a more complex motive for opposing the party than the adventure's stated "they fear Irontooth more than death" justification; instead, I'm turning away from a common D&D fallacy and deciding that the kobold brigands are not, in fact, a band of childless bachelors.
Instead, Irontooth and Kalarel (with the aid of the fanatical Wyrmpriests) have captured and kidnapped the kobolds' females and hatchlings, and threaten to kill (or worse, sacrifice to the Shadow Maw) the noncombatants unless the kobolds continue to keep the roads closed.
This can be revealed to the players obliquely in a note they find at the dragon burial site, and then more directly (if they're smart) by interrogating a kobold in the battle outside the waterfall lair (or at least, if anyone speaks Draconic, some sort of wheezing last-wishes death gasp by one of the fallen Dragonshields or somesuch).
If the players are smart and resourceful, there should be enough information available (perhaps by returning to town) to figure out where the noncombatant kobolds are being held.
So - when the party enters the final fight, they'll have already fought three separate battles against kobolds, and it's probably getting a little old. We can spice up the final battle by offering a chance for the players to creatively dissuade (via a skill challenge - diplomacy, bluff, intimidate, nature) the kobold warriors from continuing to support Irontooth and the Wyrmpriests - by convincing the kobolds that the adventurers can protect them from Orcus and Kalarel's wrath. If this succeeds, the kobolds will stand aside and let the PCs handle the goblin and the Wymrpriests; or possibly even help out, taking the Wyrmpriests out of the equation and letting the PCs focus on Irontooth (which makes for an easy, but very different, fight).
So that's my idea for the Kobolds subplot - I wanted to share it, get some feedback, and most especially hear any similar revisions people had thought of for the later segments in the Keep proper - the undead, the goblins, the hobgoblins?
Thanks for reading.
So I'm DMing my way through KotS and really like the story elements - the tragic fate of Sir Keegan, the vibrant NPC portrayals of the folk of Winterhaven, etc. I'm also planning on stealing a lot of the additional story/flavor elements from the Forgotten Realms adaptation, to further infuse some badassery and dread into the story.
But, looking at the main dungeon-crawl portion of the adventure: there's one skill challenge, one trap/hazard/puzzle room, one optional skill challenge running simultaneous with the final battle...
And like fifteen tactical combat encounters.
Yes, D&D (and esp. 4E) is an extremely combat-oriented game, good, fine, I'm glad. But I can easily see us getting bored with fighting our way through two more furious melees against the kobolds, much less fight #7, 8, 9... down in the Keep.
I'm wondering if anyone has any specific advice or thoughts about trading out or heavily modifying some of the combat encounters in the Keep portion to provide a little more variety?
For example:
We've so far run the two introductory kobold ambushes and the interlude in town - I've already given some serious thought into ways to convert the final pair of battles vs. the kobolds into a more roleplay-heavy section.
I've decided the kobolds (apart from the Wyrmpriests, who are devoted followers of Orcus) have a more complex motive for opposing the party than the adventure's stated "they fear Irontooth more than death" justification; instead, I'm turning away from a common D&D fallacy and deciding that the kobold brigands are not, in fact, a band of childless bachelors.
Instead, Irontooth and Kalarel (with the aid of the fanatical Wyrmpriests) have captured and kidnapped the kobolds' females and hatchlings, and threaten to kill (or worse, sacrifice to the Shadow Maw) the noncombatants unless the kobolds continue to keep the roads closed.
This can be revealed to the players obliquely in a note they find at the dragon burial site, and then more directly (if they're smart) by interrogating a kobold in the battle outside the waterfall lair (or at least, if anyone speaks Draconic, some sort of wheezing last-wishes death gasp by one of the fallen Dragonshields or somesuch).
If the players are smart and resourceful, there should be enough information available (perhaps by returning to town) to figure out where the noncombatant kobolds are being held.
So - when the party enters the final fight, they'll have already fought three separate battles against kobolds, and it's probably getting a little old. We can spice up the final battle by offering a chance for the players to creatively dissuade (via a skill challenge - diplomacy, bluff, intimidate, nature) the kobold warriors from continuing to support Irontooth and the Wyrmpriests - by convincing the kobolds that the adventurers can protect them from Orcus and Kalarel's wrath. If this succeeds, the kobolds will stand aside and let the PCs handle the goblin and the Wymrpriests; or possibly even help out, taking the Wyrmpriests out of the equation and letting the PCs focus on Irontooth (which makes for an easy, but very different, fight).
So that's my idea for the Kobolds subplot - I wanted to share it, get some feedback, and most especially hear any similar revisions people had thought of for the later segments in the Keep proper - the undead, the goblins, the hobgoblins?
Thanks for reading.
