Running Age of Worms

[The_Gunslinger658]

Hi-

Going to run this campaign next tuesday and was wondering how best it would be to start the players out. I'm thinking of starting them out in Greyhawk City proper, but in the module it recommends you start the players out at Diamond Lake (Which I renamed Sanctuary) So to those that played, how did you handle starting the players out and is 2nd level a good level to start the players out at?


Thanks


Scott

 

[irdeggman]

Im getting ready to start up soon too.

I was planning on starting the PCs at 2nd level also. Mostly due to not being sure I can field 4 players at the same time consistently and combining that with the reports of high amounts of TPK along the way.

I'm using Eberron setting.

One of my players wanted to start out being based in Sharn but I nixed that.

The way the modules read it is important for the PCs to learn about the world gradually. Also there are 2 specific adventures that take place in the Free City and if the PCs know too much about the place before hand it appears to me that a lot of investigation will be bypassed.

The way I read things it is imprtant for the players to feel their characters are "desparate" to leave Diamond Lake and the end result is that they will feel more like legendary heroes when the adventure path is completed.

 

[irdeggman]

Oh, make sure to download the free web enhancements from paizo for this too.

 

[Xer0]

When I ran The Whispering Cairn, all of my players were already living in Diamond Lake and had known each other depending on the class. My Druid knew my Wizard through business relations, my rougue knew my Elven Swashbuckler because they both worked for various mines - that sort of thing.

Only one of them was a native, that was the rogue.

 

[The_Gunslinger658]

Hi-

Sounds to much like railroading the players into the adventure but I'll fix that. As for Diamond Lake, I'm gonna change it to the City of Sanctuary from Thieves World. Since Sanctuary is such an armpit, I think the players would be desperate to leave such a hole.

As for the Gods, I'll more then likely switch them out to Cthuhlu Mytho's types. And ya, I'll grab that download from Paizo later on today.


Scott

 

[Xer0]

It may sound that way, but I wasn't starting them out at 2nd level either. I started them at 1st, so them being around the town really wasn't much of a railroad.

 

[irdeggman]

Hi-

Sounds to much like railroading the players into the adventure but I'll fix that. As for Diamond Lake, I'm gonna change it to the City of Sanctuary from Thieves World. Since Sanctuary is such an armpit, I think the players would be desperate to leave such a hole.

Aahh but remember this isn't an adventure it is an adventure path. It is a series of interconnected adventures (12 in all) that run characters from 1st level to 20th+.

Essentially it is a campaign of its own just dropped into various settings.

So what might seem like railroading is actually setting up campaign parameters, IMO.

If the overall big picture of what this thing is all about is kept in mind it makes a lot more sense, IMO.

The AoW Overload (free download from Paizo) gives an overview of the "Campaign". This will give you an idea of how the various adventures interrelate.

There are 11 downloads available (so far).

The overload one and one each for Dungeon #124 trhough #133.

 

[Xer0]

Aahh but remember this isn't an adventure it is an adventure path. It is a series of interconnected adventures (12 in all) that run characters from 1st level to 20th+.

Essentially it is a campaign of its own just dropped into various settings.

Exactly. That's how I'm running it, as it's own separate campaign. My players all rolled up brand spankin' new PCs for this.

 

[Festivus]

3 of the 4 players in my game were from Diamond Lake. The rogue worked at the emporium, the cleric worked for the militia, and the wizard an apprentice to Alustan. The fourth player (the fighter) is the only outsider, who came to town on the premise of organizing the miners into some sort of union... a plan that draws the ire and attention of the mine managers.

All the players started out at level 1, but we have a lenient house rule bleeding system, otherwise they would have TPKed in the cairn. This adventure is difficult to play, lots of rest and careful planning is key to survival from what I have seen thus far.

 

[DoctorRomulus]

I'm currently giving it a look over so I can blend it into my campaing world