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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kallisti23" data-source="post: 4006079" data-attributes="member: 28634">I am also working on an adventure designed to introduce new players to 3.5E... and I am using The Keep on the Borderlands as a template around which to design this adventure.I shared some of your sentiments regarding the map, so I have made a new map. The KotB's original site was a canyon with several caves throughout at various levels; my new site is similar... it's an underground chasm with several side-dungeons at various levels, with the chasm functioning as a central common area for the entire complex. It has several ledges at various levels, and a few bridges span its width... a small underground river runs along the chasm's bottom. The new map of the site has been improved for both realism and ultra-coolness. The "side-dungeons" include a crypt, a silver mine, a few lairs, a couple of defensive entry/exit points, several small caves, a dragon's lair, and more.I have also altered the plot. The original KotB was a classic "attack the lair of the humanoid raiders" and "rescue the prisoners" plot. My new plot is pretty simple... the great big Red Dragon that once used the site as its underground fortress-lair is now dead, and there's a run on it's hoard... better get in while the getting is good. Presumably, the PCs will take the hook, hoping to claim a dragon's hoard.The monsters... again, a little different. Some are former servants and allies of the now-dead dragon... some orcs, gnolls, kobolds, and mongrelfolk that survived whatever killed the dragon and have regrouped. Also, a tribe of goblins entered the dungeon soon after the dragon's death (part of a subplot) and would be in serious contention for control of the site and the dragon's hoard but have instead divided into two warring factions (another part of the subplot). A group of brigands and bandits has also entered, seeking to claim unguarded dragon treasure. One of the side-dungeons is a crypt with some undead, and the bottom of the central chasm is home to several monstrous plants and oozes. Oh yeah, and the usual rats and bats and stirges and vermin and beasts and such. The rats in the dungeon have a king (a wererat druid) who uses the rats as spies and servants!What the PCs are walking into here is essentially a subterranean guerrilla war between several factions, each with slightly different objectives. This provides opportunities for diplomacy, as the PCs will almost certainly be forced to form an alliance (probably with someone they do not completely trust) in order to claim the prize. It provides opportunities for combat with several different types of opponents in several different types of environments, from bridges to cliff ledges to narrow corridors to wide open spaces, underground rivers and deep holes in the ground. There are also many puzzles and mysteries to be uncovered about the site, and many of the dungeon's warring factions and other denizens have clues and secrets about the plot.It's immense, though... even bigger than KotB. How can such a dungeon work under 3.5E rules, where PCs level up every 13.33 encounters? I simply houseruled a fix... the PCs level up every 40 encounters (3x more slowly), with treasure awards adjusted accordingly. This way, a variety of low-level encounters can be packed into one area without the PCs advancing beyond the challenge too soon. Trouble is, now the 1st level PCs, accustomed to fighting the 1st level kobolds and 1st level bandits, would probably get waxed if they encountered the 2nd level orcs or the 3rd level gnolls or the carrion crawler or the truly horrid insectile dire badger or the advanced shadow darkmantle. And that's OK-fine with me, because that's how the original Keep on the Borderlands was... tough and gritty. One of the best feelings I ever had as a young player was when I finally got my magic-user to 2nd level without getting killed... and he survived because we learned quickly that running away was often a very good idea!It's turning out to be a pretty cool dungeon... even with the very significant deviance from experience point rules that are usually taken for granted as fixed in stone. It was well worth changing them...</blockquote>

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