Running Modules

[Emiricol]

Well, RTtToEE is fairly railroad-heavy, on the one hand, but on the other hand there are a whole bunch of side-adventure options with Homlett and other locations, some of the NPCs, etc.

I'd picture that particular module as more like a season of pop TV (Angel, Buffy, whatever). You have a few episodes in a row tied to the direct plot - in this case, dungeon diving. Then, an episode on something completely unrelated to the overarching theme (an NPC falls in love with a PC, but for the good of the town, yadda yadda. Or someone's robbed the town's tax payments and ya gotta get it back or Homlett goes hungry that winter. You get the idea). Then maybe an episode of something that SEEMS unrelated, but introduces a plot hook, or a clue on something else that had previously stumped the party.

Not sure that helps, but I had fun writing it.

 

[KnowTheToe]

I was reading this thread and thinking about RttToEE, which I am playing currently, and I figured out what is missing in the module (it could be we have not run inot any yet).

Evil is missing, I keep asking myself, why fight this temple over any other evil lurking the land. In adventures with such a powerful evil, it should be poisoning the land and people around it, causing an occassional massive destruction or something or someone.

I know the evil is there but that is as much from the name of the module as from anything else. I find most modules don't set up the tools to show signs of the evil, they are usually more subtle and give you notes describing evil or hints, but not the actual acts impacting the world. Maybe the Book of Vile Darness will help with that.

 

[Voadam]

toe,

the temple has always been about a hidden evil and it is the heroes job to stop it before it boils out into the world. That's the way it was in 1e and that is even the background of what happened there before the 1e module starts (so return is the third time that the temple must be stopped in greyhawk history)

 

[2WS-Steve]

In addition to RttToEE you might want to take a look at the Rappan Athuk modules. I'm planning to have my players prepare a frontier area and help homesteaders move into the area; the premise being that the region is resource rich in some way. I'll put both Rappan Athuk in the region and Tomb of Abysthor and let the players make forays into and out of the places, then mix it up with outside threats and retaliatory strikes from the dungeons. These other two modules appeal to me because their structure seems more amenable to brief forays; they have a lot of back passages and alternate routes for instance.

 

[maddman75]

I'd actually considered doing Rappan Athuk, but after I mentioned it several of the players are looking forward to going through Monte's Infamous Meatgrinder.

 

[Quickbeam]

Forge of Fury is a good follow-up to Sunless Citadel FWIW, after which our group has moved on to RttToEE. Like you, we decided to try some modules after a lengthy stint of homebrewed adventures.

As DM for our RttToEE campaign, here's my advice:
** Definitely hit the Monte Cook website mentioned by darkbard.
** Reading the entire book/module before commencing the adventure is vital. Taking good notes is equally important.
** There are plenty of opportunities to avoid an all out hack & slash campaign here, just keep track of the various story arcs provided and include a few of your own specific to your group's characters.
** Prepare your players ahead of time for likely PC deaths.
** Work on making the module EPIC in scale and proportion. I spent weeks prepping for this adventure despite all of the background material provided so that the places, people, monsters and towns would come to life. My players are treating this like their own personal battle to save the world -- much like the Fellowship in LotR. What they thought were minor enclaves and incidents of evil, are proving to be much, much more than they'd bargained for. It makes any PC losses more palatable to the group since they feel their characters have died heroically.

edit...Find ways to encourage the use of skills, feats, dialogue, covert activity and the like to mitigate combat heavy sessions.

 

[maddman75]

As DM for our RttToEE campaign, here's my advice:
** Definitely hit the Monte Cook website mentioned by darkbard.

Will do.

** Reading the entire book/module before commencing the adventure is vital. Taking good notes is equally important.

My plan is to read the entire module first, then go back through and reread the sections we are getting ready to play.

** There are plenty of opportunities to avoid an all out hack & slash campaign here, just keep track of the various story arcs provided and include a few of your own specific to your group's characters.

I can see that. One thing I know my group won't do is hit and run in Crater Ridge Mines. They'll either hack thier way through and hide where they can, or talk their way through.

** Prepare your players ahead of time for likely PC deaths.

I warned them that the module is nicknamed 'Monte's Meatgrinder, and making it through on a single character is an achievement. But they get off on that kind of stuff.

** Work on making the module EPIC in scale and proportion. I spent weeks prepping for this adventure despite all of the background material provided so that the places, people, monsters and towns would come to life. My players are treating this like their own personal battle to save the world -- much like the Fellowship in LotR. What they thought were minor enclaves and incidents of evil, are proving to be much, much more than they'd bargained for. It makes any PC losses more palatable to the group since they feel their characters have died heroically.

That's my style anyhow

 

[Quickbeam]

Will do.

My plan is to read the entire module first, then go back through and reread the sections we are getting ready to play.

I can see that. One thing I know my group won't do is hit and run in Crater Ridge Mines. They'll either hack thier way through and hide where they can, or talk their way through.

I warned them that the module is nicknamed 'Monte's Meatgrinder, and making it through on a single character is an achievement. But they get off on that kind of stuff.

That's my style anyhow

You sound very prepared to me. And FWIW, my players have taken the Crater Ridge Mines in the exact manner you've suggested your group might. So far, they haven't lost a PC there despite several very close calls...but two did perish prior to arriving at the Mines.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

 

[sellars]

My group started on RtToEE, but to be honest, we were somewhat dissapointed. Since I DMmed it, I knew the whole story, and I think the story in itself is great. However, we were discouraged by the massive amount of combat in this module. At some stages, it seems that it was specifically designed to encounter every single entrance in the MM

However, I do not regret the purchase of the book, because it is very conveinient to have at hand when suddenly you need a part of a dungeon or village

gr sellars

 

[Celtavian]

Re

Our DM tailored the module to fit the FR. Most of us were goodly characters, so we really didn't have to be railroaded into destroying a great hidden evil threatening to bring destruction upon the Realms.


All I can say is tell your players to be prepared to die. We only have one character that started the adventure who hasn't died once. We only have three characters who started the adventure out of a six person party remaining and two of them have died.
One player is on his third character because his other two died multiple times.

This module is extremely dangerous and deadly. If the villains are run as ruthless, intelligent enemies with a great deal to lose, the party had better be on their toes or they will be biting the bullet.