BotFK - Advice for changing treasure [Archive] - Wizards Community

BotFK - Advice for changing treasure [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
rhoxie
08-06-07, 10:50 AM After months of planning and trying to get schedules to align, my adventuring group has finally gotten back together and I started a campaign. It is similar to Pukunui's Absolut Doom Redux http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=858266 :cool:. We finished Scourge of the Howling Horde Yesterday and started Barrow of the Forgotten King. However, the ending treasure of Merthuvial does not fit with the party at all.

We have a Dwarven Cleric (who worships Pelor??), a Dwarven Wizard, a Human Soulknife, and a Gnome Warblade. So a bastard sword does not fit at all. I do like the idea of the party having a legacy item and I was thinking of changing the +1 rapier the gnome found earlier (I changed it from a longsword) to the rapier legacy item from the Tomb of Battle. Since he hasn't identified it yet, that should be easy enough. Now I just need to find an appropriate treasure for the ending.

I am running BotFK as a solo adventure and not part of the series. I tied it to SotHH by making the cleric from that adventure into Hextor in BotFK. I have also changed the Yuan-ti into a Hobgoblin. They are trying to steal the bones for Kul in RHoD as part of his rituals.

If you have any ideas on a good treasure that makes the ending worthwhile, I'd appreciate your help. It should be something that fits the party and will help them when we start RHoD.

Thanks a bunch,
Rory
pukunui
08-06-07, 05:56 PM Just one point - Merthuvial is a longsword not a bastard sword.

You could just swap it out for some other legacy weapon. Or you could get rid of it entirely and use the Magic Item Compendium treasure tables (assuming you've got access to that book) to roll up something else of the same value ...
rhoxie
08-10-07, 09:27 AM You're right, it is a longsword. Unfortunately, that still does not solve the problem because the main fighters are a soulknife and gnome warblade, who uses a rapier.:confused:

Early in the adventure, the players find a +1 rapier, which I thought about making into the legacy weapon from the Tomb of Battle. This would fit the gnome. However, I wanted to ensure the treasure given by the king would fit something a king would hand down. Would two legacy items be too much in a game? I don't think they are that overpowering. Especially since they gain abilities as the player advances.

I was thinking about his wife's staff, which is feature in the second adventure (since we aren't going to run it). This would give the wizard a nice magic item. Unfortunately, I don't have the Expanded Psionics Handbook so I don't know that much about the soulknife (I'm going to have to pick that up). Since he forms his own blade, I assume he can add properties as he advances in level. So a magic weapon probably wouldn't help him much.

Thanks,
Rory
pukunui
08-10-07, 10:01 AM Two legacy weapons might be a bit much. Where does the +1 rapier come from in the adventure? I forget. I personally wouldn't just have a legacy weapon lying around for people to find or whatever. With the longsword, there's the whole pomp and circumstance of having the dead king give it to the PCs, etc etc.

The soulknife doesn't ever need to spend money on weapons. The adamantine mind blade gauntlets from the Magic Item Compendium could be cool, though.

I haven't got the second adventure in the series - what's the queen's staff like? Is it just a regular magic staff or is it a legacy weapon as well?

Can I just point out that some of my players consider Merthuvial to be an overpowered weapon? Even without its legacy powers, it's still a +1 adamantine longsword that allows the wielder to reroll a Diplomacy check once per day. And you get it at 4th/5th level. According to the Magic Item Compendium, that sort of weapon is more appropriate for 11th/12th level.
rhoxie
08-10-07, 10:52 AM The +1 rapier is found in the hidden vault of the king's friends with the riddle. So, it could be possible that one of them could carry a legacy item. The one I was thinking of using is in the Tomb of Battle, "Supernal Clarity."

It is a +1 rapier that advances into a keen weapon (at 12th level). Its least legacy abilities are: 5th - allows a +2 concentration bonus when using sapphire nightmare blade, 7th - +1 insight bonus when using a Diamong Mind strike, and 8th - allows wielder to use concentraion instead of balance 3x/day. I think it is a lot less powerful than Merthuvial, but would proabably mean a lot more to the gnome.

Banrhialorg, from The Sinister Spire, functions as a lesser metamagic rod of Extend Spell. It's lesser legacy abilities are: 5th - use detect magic, read magic, and arcane mark at will; 6th - can prepare daily spells in 20 minutes instead of 1 hour; 10th - +3 resistance bonus on saving throws.

I agree that two legacy items in one party is probably too much and I also agree that Merthuvial is pretty powerful given its abilities. I could forgo the rapier and have the king give his wife's staff instead of Merthuvial. It would still create the same effect at the end because the king would be giving something important to him.

Merthuvial would probably never see combat and would only be used for Diplomacy and the strength bonus.

Rory
pukunui
08-10-07, 07:49 PM Ah that's right. If you want to make the rapier a legacy weapon, I think it could work. You could just leave everything as-is though and see what your players do with everything. You might be surprised.

I mean, at the time my group went through the tomb, there wasn't anyone who wanted a magic longsword ... but they didn't want to get rid of it and not long after they were out of the tomb, we got a new player who rolled up a paladin and Merthuvial was gifted to him by the other PCs.

Sometimes the treasure doesn't have to fit with the party. In fact, it shouldn't always fit with the party. They shouldn't always be finding things they want/need. They should quite often be finding things they can use but weren't necessarily things placed there especially for them. If you give them stuff they don't want, they can just sell it or swap it for something they do want, and in a way, that makes the game a whole lot more believable.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
rhoxie 08-06-07, 10:50 AM	After months of planning and trying to get schedules to align, my adventuring group has finally gotten back together and I started a campaign. It is similar to Pukunui's Absolut Doom Redux http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=858266 :cool:. We finished Scourge of the Howling Horde Yesterday and started Barrow of the Forgotten King. However, the ending treasure of Merthuvial does not fit with the party at all. We have a Dwarven Cleric (who worships Pelor??), a Dwarven Wizard, a Human Soulknife, and a Gnome Warblade. So a bastard sword does not fit at all. I do like the idea of the party having a legacy item and I was thinking of changing the +1 rapier the gnome found earlier (I changed it from a longsword) to the rapier legacy item from the Tomb of Battle. Since he hasn't identified it yet, that should be easy enough. Now I just need to find an appropriate treasure for the ending. I am running BotFK as a solo adventure and not part of the series. I tied it to SotHH by making the cleric from that adventure into Hextor in BotFK. I have also changed the Yuan-ti into a Hobgoblin. They are trying to steal the bones for Kul in RHoD as part of his rituals. If you have any ideas on a good treasure that makes the ending worthwhile, I'd appreciate your help. It should be something that fits the party and will help them when we start RHoD. Thanks a bunch, Rory
pukunui 08-06-07, 05:56 PM	Just one point - Merthuvial is a longsword not a bastard sword. You could just swap it out for some other legacy weapon. Or you could get rid of it entirely and use the Magic Item Compendium treasure tables (assuming you've got access to that book) to roll up something else of the same value ...
rhoxie 08-10-07, 09:27 AM	You're right, it is a longsword. Unfortunately, that still does not solve the problem because the main fighters are a soulknife and gnome warblade, who uses a rapier.:confused: Early in the adventure, the players find a +1 rapier, which I thought about making into the legacy weapon from the Tomb of Battle. This would fit the gnome. However, I wanted to ensure the treasure given by the king would fit something a king would hand down. Would two legacy items be too much in a game? I don't think they are that overpowering. Especially since they gain abilities as the player advances. I was thinking about his wife's staff, which is feature in the second adventure (since we aren't going to run it). This would give the wizard a nice magic item. Unfortunately, I don't have the Expanded Psionics Handbook so I don't know that much about the soulknife (I'm going to have to pick that up). Since he forms his own blade, I assume he can add properties as he advances in level. So a magic weapon probably wouldn't help him much. Thanks, Rory
pukunui 08-10-07, 10:01 AM	Two legacy weapons might be a bit much. Where does the +1 rapier come from in the adventure? I forget. I personally wouldn't just have a legacy weapon lying around for people to find or whatever. With the longsword, there's the whole pomp and circumstance of having the dead king give it to the PCs, etc etc. The soulknife doesn't ever need to spend money on weapons. The adamantine mind blade gauntlets from the Magic Item Compendium could be cool, though. I haven't got the second adventure in the series - what's the queen's staff like? Is it just a regular magic staff or is it a legacy weapon as well? Can I just point out that some of my players consider Merthuvial to be an overpowered weapon? Even without its legacy powers, it's still a +1 adamantine longsword that allows the wielder to reroll a Diplomacy check once per day. And you get it at 4th/5th level. According to the Magic Item Compendium, that sort of weapon is more appropriate for 11th/12th level.
rhoxie 08-10-07, 10:52 AM	The +1 rapier is found in the hidden vault of the king's friends with the riddle. So, it could be possible that one of them could carry a legacy item. The one I was thinking of using is in the Tomb of Battle, "Supernal Clarity." It is a +1 rapier that advances into a keen weapon (at 12th level). Its least legacy abilities are: 5th - allows a +2 concentration bonus when using sapphire nightmare blade, 7th - +1 insight bonus when using a Diamong Mind strike, and 8th - allows wielder to use concentraion instead of balance 3x/day. I think it is a lot less powerful than Merthuvial, but would proabably mean a lot more to the gnome. Banrhialorg, from The Sinister Spire, functions as a lesser metamagic rod of Extend Spell. It's lesser legacy abilities are: 5th - use detect magic, read magic, and arcane mark at will; 6th - can prepare daily spells in 20 minutes instead of 1 hour; 10th - +3 resistance bonus on saving throws. I agree that two legacy items in one party is probably too much and I also agree that Merthuvial is pretty powerful given its abilities. I could forgo the rapier and have the king give his wife's staff instead of Merthuvial. It would still create the same effect at the end because the king would be giving something important to him. Merthuvial would probably never see combat and would only be used for Diplomacy and the strength bonus. Rory
pukunui 08-10-07, 07:49 PM	Ah that's right. If you want to make the rapier a legacy weapon, I think it could work. You could just leave everything as-is though and see what your players do with everything. You might be surprised. I mean, at the time my group went through the tomb, there wasn't anyone who wanted a magic longsword ... but they didn't want to get rid of it and not long after they were out of the tomb, we got a new player who rolled up a paladin and Merthuvial was gifted to him by the other PCs. Sometimes the treasure doesn't have to fit with the party. In fact, it shouldn't always fit with the party. They shouldn't always be finding things they want/need. They should quite often be finding things they can use but weren't necessarily things placed there especially for them. If you give them stuff they don't want, they can just sell it or swap it for something they do want, and in a way, that makes the game a whole lot more believable.