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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 2633959" data-attributes="member: 3586">Part 4: Flight or FightThe final 1.5 pages of the adventure! It is assumed here that the adventurers can move faster than the orcs. I hope the PCs brought horses! (If they didn't, they might end up in a cookpot). The DM is referred to the random encounter table for part 2 for encounters on the way back. There are no set encounters for the crossing of Thar.Incredibly, there's a page xx reference here. At least, in a 32 page adventure, there's not far to search.Once the PCs have returned to Melvaunt, it's rewards and party time. What is nice about this is the traitor in the noble houses teams up with the angry orcs from the citadel and tries to ambush the party (and his father and rescued brother) at a dinner party. What's not so nice is that it is an EL 10 encounter. The PCs may well be 6th level by now, but that's still very close to a TPK level. OTOH, they should be rested, and have a couple of magical rewards that will help. Hmm. Tread carefully, DM!The adventure ends with possible developments from the adventure. Did the PCs leave the orc priest alive? Then the ritual may still happen. Did they escape and not defeat the ambush party? The orcs still want to get them! One thing about this adventure: it is not railroaded. AppendixFour pages of stats: for allies, villains, and eight types of orc. These are in the old format, although languages are given for each character. (Just as well). I'm not John Cooper, so I have no idea if the stats are right.For reference, here are the orc types:Mountain Orc - Barbarian 2Orc Archer - Warrior 2Orc Berserker - Barbarian 1Orc Brute - Barbarian 1Orc Raider - Rogue 2/Barbarian 1Orc Sergeant - Fighter 3Orc Spearfighter - Fighter 2Orc Warrior - Warrior 1Merric's Conclusion:Sons of Gruumsh is a solid adventure, with a wonderful range of adventuring environments. It's not as forced in its transitions as Whispers of the Vampire's Blade, but it is a challenging adventure. If you have a hack'n'slash party, then 6th or 7th level PCs may find the orc citadel quite amusing.Translating it from one setting to another does not appear at all difficult, although it is putatively a Forgotten Realms adventure. The primary pieces of Realmsian lore can be found in Melvaunt, which effectively uses the scheming of the nobles to add colour and challenges, without overwhelming the DM with too much detail.I'd have liked just one or two more areas of "weird and wonderful" in the citadel, and I'm concerned about how difficult that stage of the adventure might be.However, I'm almost certain to use this adventure in my Ulek campaign, replacing the Zhentarim envoys with Priests of Chaos, and adding another thread to the plot.The final verdict: 4/5. This adventure is worth looking at.</blockquote>

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