Tower of the Last Baron -- tips?

[aboyd]

I may be running the level 5 Paizo module, Tower of the Last Baron, tomorrow or next week. I was looking for tips. If you've DM'd it (or played it, I guess), did you run into any gotchas or things you would do differently the next time you run it?

What about if I want to set it in Greyhawk, near Rel Astra. Any ideas about integration?

Finally, if I want to make it work for level 6 players, could you suggest one or two simple changes that might make ramp up the difficulty a slight bit?

 

[aboyd]

While I'm waiting for tips about Tower of the Last Baron, let me throw out a couple of other modules. I may also be running Treasure of the Black Veils, and/or Hasken's Manor. It's a fairly open-ended game, so they'll sorta latch onto whichever adventure hook captures their fancy. Any tips about these adventures? The one thing I already know about the Black Veils module is that it's D&D 3.0, so I did a couple very minor stat block tweaks to bring it up to 3.5 edition. Other than that, I'm pretty green about it.

 

[roguerouge]

For Tower of the Last Baron, I believe someone on the Paizo boards did up a name list for guards and maids in the castle, along with patrol schedules. I'd check that out.

I wouldn't ramp up the difficulty at all. Basically, the extra level just means that they have slightly more cushion for mistakes in their stealth work than the ordinary party. If they need that cushion, they'll need every last bit of it. If you feel you have to adjust it, I'd recommend boosting the boss monsters just a bit: maybe a few more HP and a +1 to hit.

 

[DupedPlayer]

When running Viels you have to be careful not to get the party overwhelmed with every enemy in the place in one combat. It is very easy to have the party start the will-o-wisp fight, have the bat report back to the Naga that a fight is going on and then he gets the mummies involved and gets into the fight himself with his gaze and ranged attacks. Now the party will be fighting on two or three fronts after they have lost a member to the tower trap.

Now the mummies are toast if you have a competent cleric but the will-o-wisps are difficult at 6th level.

Know the gaze rules. It is a lot of savings throws.

Also, every party I have run though wants to explore the flooded/collapsed catacombs under the abbey. Either flesh them out or make the sinkholes clearly unpassable. I explained the naga's movement as through small passageways above the water that only a snake could pass through.