What is the best 4e political adventure?

[Cyronax]

For 4e specifically:

I thought the Dark heart of Mithrendain (Dungeon #157) had a lot of potential for a political intrigue style adventure. As with most adventures its lead in is a little cookie cutter, but I think that it + the Dragon magazine article on Mithrendain could occupy an entire campaign arc concerning Feywild intrigue. Also, as with any adventure -- DM modifcation and expansion are always good things.

For other D&D editions (outside of RCK's thread scope):

- B4 - The Lost City (BECMI)
- B6 - The Veiled Society (BECMI)
- M2 - Vengeance of Alphaks (BECMI)
- X3 - Curse of Xanathon (BECMI)

- I12 - The Egg of the Phoenix (1E) - One of the most underrated adventures .. ever!

- Die, Vecna, Die (2e)
- Ruins of Undermountain (2e) [If DMed a certain way]

- Red hand of Doom (3.5e)

C.I.D.

 

[Raven Crowking]

WotBS is an adventure-path setup isn't it? How useful are the individual adventures for a GM who isn't running the whole series?

Same question about Haven of the Bitter Glass. What issue is HotBG in?

About both: How adaptable are they to a pre-existing fantasy city?


RC

 

[brunswick]

- I12 - The Egg of the Phoenix (1E) - One of the most underrated adventures .. ever!
C.I.D.

I'm deviating from the original thread here a little, but completely agree with this. I ran this originally about 20 years ago and my group had a blast from beginning to end (some real suprising moments all through and some of the "cut scenes" where the NPCs discuss the events as they unfold really adds to the depth of the whole thing). Of course, I ran the scenario again several years later for a different, less experienced, group and they all got massacred in Chapter 2 or 3 (one of the few times I have ever had the misfortune to oversee a TPK in 25 odd years of gaming). Crackin' module though - hmmm, wouldnt mind converting that to 4th Ed, now that I think of it.

 

[Piratecat]

Same question about Haven of the Bitter Glass. What issue is HotBG in?

About both: How adaptable are they to a pre-existing fantasy city?

Haven of the Bitter Glass is in Dungeon 164. Quick summary follows, chock full 'o spoilers:

[sblock]
The adventure (lvl 11-13) starts when the PCs defend a githzerai citadel from githyanki attack. This is designed to be highly cinematic and large-scale battle.

This leads the PCs to a city where a githyanki refugee has become the most popular person in town. Everyone knows and loves the guy. Only problem is, the githzerai suspect he's up to something very nefarious, but even they can't agree on how to handle it. You can't just kill him - the political ramifications would be disastrous - so your job is to find out what (if anything) he's up to and cut off his political support before cutting off his head.

You'll want to change the Maguffin, but I think the adventure's concept translates pretty well to other cities. It won't be a simple "drop in and go," though, since the plot is tied up in the Scales of War plot.
[/sblock]

 

[RangerWickett]

WotBS is an adventure-path setup isn't it? How useful are the individual adventures for a GM who isn't running the whole series?
...
About both: How adaptable are they to a pre-existing fantasy city?


RC

If you're looking for politics, the first adventure in WotBS has a city fall under siege, and the PCs are responsible for getting out of the place with crucial military information. The challenge lies in evading other forces who want the same information, getting help to get out of the city, and then pulling off the escape without being caught by the enemy army. Could work for you if you don't mind invading a city.

Part 3 takes place in a town full of refugees as the place tries to cope with the influx, and defend against the villains who want to crush them. Probably not going to fit a typical pre-existing fantasy city.

Adventure 4 sees the PCs going to a nation's capital to try to enlist their help against the villains. The villains have sent an emissary, and the king is more inclined to listen to the emissary. But some of the nobles in other parts of the nation are on your side, so you can go team up with one of them. The action does not stay in one city, though I suppose you could, with a bit of tweaking, just make them different factions in the same city, and replace the "big military clash" at the end with a smaller clash in the streets.

Part 5 is set at a monastery with a small town beneath it. Part 6 is, well, a dungeon crawl (castle where everyone was killed and reanimated by a necromantic firestorm; you have to get in and rescue the one guy who survived). Part 7 is a wilderness adventure to find a ruined city where some key magic is hidden. Part 8 is a military event.

Adventure 9 returns to the city in the first adventure, in order to break the siege. I love the adventure, but there are some campaign-specific elements you might have to reskin (certain type of monsters -- dream critters -- show up in droves).

10, 11, and 12 don't have major city components.

Oh, and there's the fact that they've only converted up to adventure 5 for 4e.

 

[Kurtomatic]

Just in case you have access to RPGA adventures, the BALD1-6 Brothers In Arms LFR module has some notable political tension involving foreign diplomacy, paladin honor codes, and conflict of interest within the ranks of the Flaming Fist mercenary company in Baldur's Gate. Its one of the better LFR urban adventures, and could easily be ported into any large urban setting. However, while long for an LFR mod (~5-6 hours), its still a pretty simple one-shot adventure scenario.