Citadel of The Keeper - Update [Archive] - Wizards Community

Citadel of The Keeper - Update [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Ithamar
03-18-05, 01:27 PM OK, last week I posted a question asking for some help on an adventure in Thrane in the ruins of Shadukar that I was running. We got through the bulk of the tower last week, and the just last night we got to the final encounter with the Cleric of the Keeper and his Bodyguard.

The tower in general I made pretty creepy, and just kept emphasizing how it got darker and colder the higher up in the tower you went. When they finally made it to the top of the tower, the Cleric was kneeling before a small altar / column thingy that was spewing darkness (supposedly from Dolurrh). I tried my best to engage the PC’s in conversation, but true to form they were like: We want to roll initiative. But before things got started with the fighting, I was dropping some big hints that they may not want to interrupt the ceremony too much. And before they actually got to attack I had the Bodyguard yell something about them being cowardly Emerald Claw dogs, and to go crawling back to Garrow and tell him he was too late. This confused them a little bit, especially since they know and hate Garrow and never did figure out his identity.

The Cleric did his best to maintain control, but after being beaten on for 2 rounds, he tried to cast Hold Person on the party’s main fighter, failed (The PC had a total will save of 2! And of course he rolled a 19. Dang it I would have loved to have “held” him!). The fighter did not like having spells cast on him, so he focused his attacks on the Cleric (not the Bodyguard) and he shortly dropped him. As soon as the Cleric dropped, the next round I had a Greater Shadow pop out. They got kind of freaked as they have never fought a real shadow before, and I played it up that the utter darkness that surrounded them took shape into an even darker form etc. He strength drained the PC cleric for a few rounds (almost had him down to zero!), but then was getting beat up too badly, so he flew off to return to them another day.

As soon as the Keeper Cleric died, I had his Bodyguard yell at the PC’s that they had no idea how foolish they were and then jump off the top of the tower. Thanks to a clever description, they all thought this guy was a skeleton when he was just a human wearing some freaking cool full plate designed to make him look kind of skeletal. (I gave them spot checks, and even told them “He doesn’t seem to be a normal skeleton”, but they still didn’t get it.) Thanks to a quick potion of levitation, the Bodyguard did not go kersplat off the tower. Instead he came floating back up. After the Greater Shadow took off, the PC’s began searching the body of the dead Cleric. After a minute or two of that, the Bodyguard re-appears on the edge of the tower, tells them they have just released a great evil onto Khorvaire, calls them fools again, steps off the tower and then disappears into the darkness.

It was kind of cool in that now all the PC’s think that the Bodyguard is the main bad guy as he is some kind of flying skeleton. I can’t wait to bring him back as an ally when they need to try and stop the Greater Shadow. But that is an adventure for a few levels from now.

I rewarded them pretty handsomely for all this trouble, and even had them find the Chalice of Prosperity from the newest edition of the Korranberg Chronicle (http://www.kchronicle.com/marketplace.html). Right now I had the item work only once. But I think I will let them try it only once a month, and it will work a total of three times for each PC.

And after all that now the PC’s want to head INTO the Mournlands for some treasure hunting. When will they ever learn… :plotting:

Big thanks to everyone that helped me flush out the adventure! The players really enjoyed it, and got a good taste of blurred alignments. I think the Bodyguard and Shadow will make great re-occurring villians.
Vharuck
03-18-05, 02:13 PM Brilliant. Very nicely done.

They WANT to go the Mournlands? Haha! Please tell me you're forbidding all healing magic! I guarantee you that they will have fun trying to escape the place within a few days (at most). Just have to be very descriptive.
Kalanth
03-18-05, 02:26 PM Brilliant. Very nicely done.

They WANT to go the Mournlands? Haha! Please tell me you're forbidding all healing magic! I guarantee you that they will have fun trying to escape the place within a few days (at most). Just have to be very descriptive.

I went to the mournlands with my party, and we had Healing magic prohibited, and it was a blast. Of course, half the party was Forged, but that is not the point. I figure this would not be to much of a challenge, because by the last module, they should be able to handle themselves in the boarders of the mournlands, and its more the first module that should strike fear in ones heart (as a 3rd level Psion / Ranger, I was scared to go within 20 feet of combat).

Good luck with that, Ithamar!
Ithamar
03-18-05, 05:10 PM Absolutely no healing in the Mournlands, magical or natural. The players know this (and a few of the PC's know this as well), but they still want to go in. Somehow they got this notion that the Mournlands are one big, untapped, field of treasure. I figure a random Carcass Crab, a small patrol of Warforged LoB loyalists, and maybe a visit from the Shadow they already met ought to make them think twice about the Mournlands.
chimpman
03-18-05, 06:11 PM Heh! Glad to hear thigs went so well for you. Speaking of no healing in the Mournland (and since you mention that the shadow might make an appearance there as well), does that extend to ability damage. If the shadow drains Str, will the PCs be able to sleep it off while in the Mournland?
Lurkalot
03-19-05, 01:42 PM Ithamar,

I'm really glad we could help - it sounded like a great adventure! Really good to hear how it went. I like the "crawling back to Garrow bit." Even the most combat-compulsive players start getting into the plot-puzzle side of things if you keep throwing things like that at them,

But the Mournlands? HAHAHAHAHA! If you can pull it off without upsetting the players too much, the occasional "bitten off more than you can chew, get out alive" game pays great dividends in the long term. Makes the players wiser and more tactical. Also sets the scene for a Rocky style rematch a few levels later. Player's love revenge even more than GP. :fight!:

p.s. Chim. Healing in Mournlands: ECS, p188 states Natural healing does not occur in the Mournland, and spells and spell like effects of the healing subschool do not work.

I'd say that was a definite no for spells like Restoration (healing) that return ability damage and personally I'd rule that there was no natural recovery of any of the physical ability scores whilst in the Mournlands. If that Greater Shadow follows them, they'd better run not walk to the nearest exit. ;)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ithamar 03-18-05, 01:27 PM	OK, last week I posted a question asking for some help on an adventure in Thrane in the ruins of Shadukar that I was running. We got through the bulk of the tower last week, and the just last night we got to the final encounter with the Cleric of the Keeper and his Bodyguard. The tower in general I made pretty creepy, and just kept emphasizing how it got darker and colder the higher up in the tower you went. When they finally made it to the top of the tower, the Cleric was kneeling before a small altar / column thingy that was spewing darkness (supposedly from Dolurrh). I tried my best to engage the PC’s in conversation, but true to form they were like: We want to roll initiative. But before things got started with the fighting, I was dropping some big hints that they may not want to interrupt the ceremony too much. And before they actually got to attack I had the Bodyguard yell something about them being cowardly Emerald Claw dogs, and to go crawling back to Garrow and tell him he was too late. This confused them a little bit, especially since they know and hate Garrow and never did figure out his identity. The Cleric did his best to maintain control, but after being beaten on for 2 rounds, he tried to cast Hold Person on the party’s main fighter, failed (The PC had a total will save of 2! And of course he rolled a 19. Dang it I would have loved to have “held” him!). The fighter did not like having spells cast on him, so he focused his attacks on the Cleric (not the Bodyguard) and he shortly dropped him. As soon as the Cleric dropped, the next round I had a Greater Shadow pop out. They got kind of freaked as they have never fought a real shadow before, and I played it up that the utter darkness that surrounded them took shape into an even darker form etc. He strength drained the PC cleric for a few rounds (almost had him down to zero!), but then was getting beat up too badly, so he flew off to return to them another day. As soon as the Keeper Cleric died, I had his Bodyguard yell at the PC’s that they had no idea how foolish they were and then jump off the top of the tower. Thanks to a clever description, they all thought this guy was a skeleton when he was just a human wearing some freaking cool full plate designed to make him look kind of skeletal. (I gave them spot checks, and even told them “He doesn’t seem to be a normal skeleton”, but they still didn’t get it.) Thanks to a quick potion of levitation, the Bodyguard did not go kersplat off the tower. Instead he came floating back up. After the Greater Shadow took off, the PC’s began searching the body of the dead Cleric. After a minute or two of that, the Bodyguard re-appears on the edge of the tower, tells them they have just released a great evil onto Khorvaire, calls them fools again, steps off the tower and then disappears into the darkness. It was kind of cool in that now all the PC’s think that the Bodyguard is the main bad guy as he is some kind of flying skeleton. I can’t wait to bring him back as an ally when they need to try and stop the Greater Shadow. But that is an adventure for a few levels from now. I rewarded them pretty handsomely for all this trouble, and even had them find the Chalice of Prosperity from the newest edition of the Korranberg Chronicle (http://www.kchronicle.com/marketplace.html). Right now I had the item work only once. But I think I will let them try it only once a month, and it will work a total of three times for each PC. And after all that now the PC’s want to head INTO the Mournlands for some treasure hunting. When will they ever learn… :plotting: Big thanks to everyone that helped me flush out the adventure! The players really enjoyed it, and got a good taste of blurred alignments. I think the Bodyguard and Shadow will make great re-occurring villians.
Vharuck 03-18-05, 02:13 PM	Brilliant. Very nicely done. They WANT to go the Mournlands? Haha! Please tell me you're forbidding all healing magic! I guarantee you that they will have fun trying to escape the place within a few days (at most). Just have to be very descriptive.
Kalanth 03-18-05, 02:26 PM	Brilliant. Very nicely done. They WANT to go the Mournlands? Haha! Please tell me you're forbidding all healing magic! I guarantee you that they will have fun trying to escape the place within a few days (at most). Just have to be very descriptive. I went to the mournlands with my party, and we had Healing magic prohibited, and it was a blast. Of course, half the party was Forged, but that is not the point. I figure this would not be to much of a challenge, because by the last module, they should be able to handle themselves in the boarders of the mournlands, and its more the first module that should strike fear in ones heart (as a 3rd level Psion / Ranger, I was scared to go within 20 feet of combat). Good luck with that, Ithamar!
Ithamar 03-18-05, 05:10 PM	Absolutely no healing in the Mournlands, magical or natural. The players know this (and a few of the PC's know this as well), but they still want to go in. Somehow they got this notion that the Mournlands are one big, untapped, field of treasure. I figure a random Carcass Crab, a small patrol of Warforged LoB loyalists, and maybe a visit from the Shadow they already met ought to make them think twice about the Mournlands.
chimpman 03-18-05, 06:11 PM	Heh! Glad to hear thigs went so well for you. Speaking of no healing in the Mournland (and since you mention that the shadow might make an appearance there as well), does that extend to ability damage. If the shadow drains Str, will the PCs be able to sleep it off while in the Mournland?
Lurkalot 03-19-05, 01:42 PM	Ithamar, I'm really glad we could help - it sounded like a great adventure! Really good to hear how it went. I like the "crawling back to Garrow bit." Even the most combat-compulsive players start getting into the plot-puzzle side of things if you keep throwing things like that at them, But the Mournlands? HAHAHAHAHA! If you can pull it off without upsetting the players too much, the occasional "bitten off more than you can chew, get out alive" game pays great dividends in the long term. Makes the players wiser and more tactical. Also sets the scene for a Rocky style rematch a few levels later. Player's love revenge even more than GP. :fight!: p.s. Chim. Healing in Mournlands: ECS, p188 states Natural healing does not occur in the Mournland, and spells and spell like effects of the healing subschool do not work. I'd say that was a definite no for spells like Restoration (healing) that return ability damage and personally I'd rule that there was no natural recovery of any of the physical ability scores whilst in the Mournlands. If that Greater Shadow follows them, they'd better run not walk to the nearest exit. ;)