Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Niaslos FireCrow 06-10-05, 09:54 AM	Hi, while I know pretty welle the adventure I never run it and want to know how many sessions it takes to go through (4-5 hours of game per sessions). I would also be interested of having any warning from fellow DMs about what to avoid or what can be bad in the Forgotten Forge (comments on what your players have particularily liked could be interesting alos). Thanks a lot for all. Good Gaming :D !
Runeblood7 06-10-05, 11:24 AM	I ran it in about a 5 hour session. My players aren't that great a role-players. So if you have guys that like to do more talking, it'll take longer. It's pretty straight forward. Some problems Underground: If you're players are silly (and they may be) They can trigger both the Beetle Swarms (hell on earth without an arcane or alchemical items) And the Horrid Rats at the same time...the party I ran did this....it was terrible. Other than that...I am always leery (sp) of lone bad guys...I always either horribly overcompensating for their abilities, or they get punked in the first round. neither of which is fun for the players. (Well, I guess they enjoy killing the badguy before he has a chance for witty dialogue.) Scimitar (I think) could be a problem as a DM to pose too much, or too little a challenge. Other than that...things should be fine. hope this helps. :P
Lucifi 06-10-05, 11:48 AM	I would have to agree with Runeblood... My players were doing wonderfully until they set off both the horrid rats and the swarm at the same time. Once that happened, the players seemed very close to biting the dust. The adventure only took my players one session to get through, but we do play for 7 to 8 hours a session.
Chiyo 06-10-05, 12:46 PM	From a player's perspective, it took us about 4 hours to go through it. We didn't trigger both horrid rats and swarm and we were ready for swarm since we had taken some fire stuff (and warmage burning hands didn't hurt either). We spent some time trying to get in the locked forge and the last fight with the last warforged (can't remember his name) went ok but was still tough. He tried to delay us while shooting fire bolts but by then, we had been attacked already twice by warforged blabbering about the Lord of Blades so we knew it'd come down to a fight. Plus, we didn't get too weakened by the forge itself since we shot the guardian dogs from the roof opening which was about all the dangers of the forge as far as we know (apparently we somehow avoided a trap but never found out about it). So we were pretty fresh for the last guy. Finding info in the goblin market was maybe where we spent a bit of time since some of us still had the mentality of goblin = first level kill on sight. Still we eventually got the info we wanted. It was fun and definitely the right length for one session. We could have done it probably in 3 hours if we hadn't spent more time in the beginning with the murder investigation and PC introductions to each other and in the goblin market. The fights however ended up relatively short and quick paced once we got down in the sewers.
MarkB 06-10-05, 12:59 PM	One major thing I disliked was the placement of the warforged in the Sewer encounter, something which Keith Baker has since confirmed is a misprint. It concentrates all the action at the start of the map, and completely wastes the tactical factor of the discharging valves. What I did last time I ran the encounter was to place the warforged lying down in the central channel level with valve 8, draped in rags to disguise him as a dead body amongst the other sewer detritus. He leapt up when someone approached to within 10 feet, with the same Spot check DC to see him move in time to react during the Surprise round. That went a lot better - the warforged's appearance was more of a genuine surprise, and the valves were a hazard to both the party and their opponents.
Kinger 06-10-05, 03:01 PM	I plan on replacing the 'forged and shifters in the sewers with a warforged artificer positioned after the valves. Using his homonculus to spy on the PCs in the market, the 'forged sets up a few mental alarm spells from scrolls in the stairway down to let him know the PCs approach. The first one tells him it's time to infuse Flaming into his crossbow and douse his lamp, and the second to light up the entrance with Dancing Lights (since he can't see in the dark). I had to give the 'forged pretty crappy stats, and I plan to have him use unorthodox and less-than-optimal spells, since he'd have to be 4th level to have a homonculus, and that's a tad high for the 1st-level PCs, most likely. For example, an Animate Rope spell directed at the rope I have hanging near the entrance is a surprising tactic, but it has only a DC 11 Reflex save involved (being a scroll), so it's not particularly difficult to avoid. The only real banger of a spell on him is Ray of Enfeeblement, in scroll form, and that doesn't last long following combat. He also opts for Flaming on his crossbow, rather than Bane. Granted, Flaming is more effective for multiple-race parties, but Bane would knock off at least one PC right from the get-go, and I don't want that. Not really.
Runeblood7 06-10-05, 03:09 PM	He could always buff himself with Bull's Strength, Bear's Endurance and whatnot before the fight. Even at 4th level, A warforged artificer trudged out for melee can be a really effective thing if you do it right.
Kinger 06-10-05, 03:33 PM	He could always buff himself with Bull's Strength, Bear's Endurance and whatnot before the fight. Even at 4th level, A warforged artificer trudged out for melee can be a really effective thing if you do it right. True, but such things take time, and also don't last forever. Rather than hours, the 3.5 stat-booster spells (Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, etc) only last minutes now, don't they? Plus, they have verbal components, and nothing gives you away before-hand like chanting "Ooga-Booga Bull Strength on my Belt!" On top of that, I don't want the encounter to be too difficult for the PCs, who should still be level 1 at that point in the adventure. I plan on having the artificer hang back behind the valves and plunk away with his crossbow. If the PCs stay in cover for a long time, the he will absolutely buff himself with a few choice infusions (Cat's Grace, Shield of Faith, and Magic Weapon come to mind), before trying to find a shot.
EscherEnigma 06-10-05, 04:39 PM	I just ran this adventure last night in a 4-5 hour session as well. things of note: 2d6 damage, if unlucky, can nearly out-right kill a lvl 1 character in a single shot. Both horrid rats can do this damage, as well as the last guy (can't remember his name, he dind't last long) with his fire bolts.