Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DBlizzard 10-07-06, 02:49 PM	The thread asking for reviews on the WotC published adventures got me thinking about the Dungeon magazine adventures. I'd like this thread to be used for reviews of the Dungeon adventures. Feel free to review any Eberron adventures from Dungeon Magazine. Please give it a 0-5 * rating and indicate whether you played in it, DMed it, or just read it. Note that there will likely be minor SPOILERs in these reviews. The current ones are: #113 - The Queen With Burning Eyes (Level 1) #115 - Steel Shadows (Level 7) #117 - Fallen Angel (Level 4) #123 - Shards of Eberron: Crypt of Crimson Stars (Level 6) #124 - Shards of Eberron: Temple of the Scorpion God (Level 7) #125 - Shards of Eberron: Pit of the Fire Lord (Level 8) #129 - Murder in Oakbridge (Level 5) #133 - Chimes at Midnight (Level 5) #136 - Tensions Rising #143 - Riding the Rails (Level 5) #147 - The Aundairian Job (Level 5) #150 - Quoth the Raven (Level 8) #151 - Hell’s Heart [October 2007]
DBlizzard 10-07-06, 03:12 PM	The Queen with Burning Eyes by James Wyatt Rating - *** Status - Player This adventure screamed average to me, but the DM elminated one section of the actual dungeon. Nothing stood out from a plot standpoint, although there were some interesting character moments. The style is pretty much straightforward dungeon-crawl. One feature of this adventure is that is uses the tiles from D&D miniatures. Some loved that, some hated it. We had the tiles, so it added value to our game. With the current game not using tiles, finding them could be an issue which detracts a bit from its ongoing value Steel Shadows by Keith Baker Rating - ****1/2 Status - DM This adventure is very strong. It is a very good mid-level introductory adventure for players, giving them a strong feel for the role of warforged in the campaign, and a feel for the underbelly of Sharn. It has a strong focus on investigation, with only small bits of combat (in fact only two combat encounters can't be avoided while successfully completing the adventure). During the investigation players will encounter a number of warforged with different personalities and viewpoints. They will also encounter an NPC that's very racist regarding warforged. Because of this, you might want to avoid using this for very immature groups. A plus of this adventure is that there is an appearance by Merrix d'Cannith. To date this is his only appearance in an adventure. Fallen Angel by Keith Baker Rating - ***1/2 Status - DM This adventure probably rates higher than this, but it's based on my groups experiences. My group had a strong lack of clerics in the group (having only a 1st level cleric/3rd level wizard), and that made the undead encounter take forever. Given it was early in the adventure, it hurt the attitude of the players from that point on. That being said, there is a lot of Eberron & Sharn flavor in this adventure. The backdrop has a secret of Sharn (giving a different reason for an event than given in the Sharn sourcebook). It also gives the flavor of one of the districts of Sharn likely to have some parties adventuring in it for other reasons. The story is mostly dungeon crawl, with a small amount of investigation. It does have a lot of plot hooks that can lead to future adventures in a campaign. There are a couple of likely recurring NPCs, and the adventure leaves a loose end that parties might continue to follow up. Shards of Eberron: Crypt of Crimson Stars by Andy Collins & James Wyatt Rating: *** Status: DM I ran this as a one-off (intended to be a series of the 3 adventures tied together). This is the first of the 3 adventures that were part of GenCon's D&D Open. It's a dungeon crawl, with a single encounter on the way. This was nice and straightforward. The Eberron flavor is there, but not outstanding. There is an encounter with a halfling tribe, that my group mostly avoided. Shards of Eberron: Temple of the Scorpion God by Andy Collins & James Wyatt Rating: ** Status: DM Another part of the D&D Open adventures. I ran this as a DM Mark, for the RPGA Mark of Heroes campaign. My players made a major tactical error and ended up running away after several characters dropped and one died. The adventure is a straightforwards dungeon crawl. I think this is the worst of the three in this series. Explanations for locations of some creatures was lacking, and the feel wasn't particularly Eberron. Chimes at Midnight by Nicholas Logue Rating: ***** Status: DM This adventure is my favorite of all the Eberron adventures. I ran this as part of my campaign, and began forshadowing with major NPCs appearing beforehand. It would have been even better if I had more lead time to establish them better. This adventure is very much a pulp action adventure, with large amounts of investigation. It starts with a scene to set up the situation and recommends that another adventure be run after that encounter. There are a number of villians that can stand on their own who team up because of a mastermind. This gives a lot of strong personalities that can be used. There are a number of classic pulp scenes including saving the character's patron from a threat on his life (this was the weakest part, IMO, almost requiring a high diplomacy skill in the players and their characters) and the climax at the top of a bell tower. I highly recommend this adventure. In my campaign, every single villian survived and is a potential future plot device.
mhacdebhandia 10-07-06, 07:47 PM	I found The Crypt of Crimson Stars, as written, to be very light and simple. This might be a good thing, but it really is a progression from "Get hired for job" to "encounter, and maybe fight, some halflings and their Tyrannosaurus Rex" to "crawl through a short dungeon and fight a mummy". It would not be at all hard to flesh out with some really fun details - for instance, when I ran it I "redlined" the travel from Sharn to the crypt in the Talenta Plains, but you could easily play through travel on an airship and all of the interesting passengers the PCs could meet on board. You could play up the halflings' religious beliefs concerning the crypt; I thought about playing up the ambiguity of what the PCs were up to in plundering the crypt by having them meet up with the halflings while they're still on their migratory pilgrimage to the crypt, and have them learn of the halflings' beliefs before they ever had to make a decision on whether or not they're going to plunder the crypt. None of this, however, is to be found in the adventure. It's a really straightforward dungeon crawl through three or four rooms.
superdeadsmurf 10-07-06, 10:50 PM	I was just reading over Murder in Oakbridge the other day. As an Eberron adventure it is very weak, other than the changling, nothing has anything to do with eberron. Sure they stuck in some Warforged, mentioned the last war, etc; but characterizations and setting are not good at all. The adventure is pretty cool though. This adventure actually needs as much Eberron conversion as pretty much any other dungeon adventure though.
Sereno 10-09-06, 09:45 AM	A plus of this adventure is that there is an appearance by Merrix d'Cannith. To date this is his only appearance in an adventure. Where was Merrix? I recently ran this adventure and I don't remember him being there -- there was a *Slogar* dCannith, a really nasty fellow -- did I overlook Merrix somewhere?
Sereno 10-09-06, 09:50 AM	I was just reading over Murder in Oakbridge the other day. <snipped> This adventure actually needs as much Eberron conversion as pretty much any other dungeon adventure though. Hmmm, I just finished MiO with my group, I didn't find it needed any "conversion" at all. It's very urban, a BBEG with real character and motivations and the cool twist that she's not just "Evil for Evil's sake".... I'd agree with DBlizzard, though ... Chimes at Midnight is the best one I've DMed, followed *very* closely by Steel Shadows. However, my group also really enjoyed Fallen Angel so it's also a much closer 3rd.... I haven't played the 3-parter, yet, but I might use it, mixed in with some extra plots I've been developing on my own....
Shroomy 10-09-06, 11:41 AM	I really disliked the The Shards of Eberron series; instead of a rich campaign arc like the Greyhawk centered Istivin arc (the best campaign arc published in Dungeon) or the Vampires of Waterdeep arc, I though the Shards series read like a sketch of an adventure. They were too short and lacked any significant flavor; I hope that Dungeon does not publish any more tourney modules without significant revisions. As stated by others, "Chimes at Midnight" is by far, hands down the best Eberron adventure published in Dungeon. I also really liked "Murder in Oakbridge" (I also disagree with the poster who stated that it would need as much conversion as a standard D&D adventure), "Steel Shadows," and "Fallen Angel." I only skimmed "The Queen With Burning Eyes," so I really don't have much of an opinion there. No one has mentioned "Tension Rising," one of the few Dungeon Eberron adventures not set (even partially) in Sharn. I really liked this adventure; the finale has a real cinematic feel to it, something also captured by "Chimes at Midnight." It also one of the few adventures to make use of Eberron monsters (the dolgrim and dolgaunts) that are not PC races. Its not an Eberron adventure, but "Shut-In" would fit perfectly into an urban Eberron campaign with minimal effort (just put 'ir in front of the main NPCs surname and you are good to go).
DBlizzard 10-11-06, 10:12 PM	No one has mentioned "Tension Rising," one of the few Dungeon Eberron adventures not set (even partially) in Sharn. I thought about reviewing the ones I've read and not played or ran. This one looks likely to show up in my campaign, though, so I'm holding off.
Neofish 10-12-06, 04:10 AM	Where was Merrix? I recently ran this adventure and I don't remember him being there -- there was a *Slogar* dCannith, a really nasty fellow -- did I overlook Merrix somewhere? I was about to say the same thing.
DBlizzard 10-30-06, 05:36 PM	Where was Merrix? Sorry, faulty memory. This was the first Dungeon Eberron adventure I ran (it was a one-off to introduce some players to Eberron).
Pallin Rahl 10-30-06, 05:50 PM	Quick question... A number of you seem to like Chimes at Midnight... and indeed it does sound nifty. Does it seem like it could be easily scaled up to, say, level 9 or so? Your glowing reviews of it have me considering ordering the issue off paizo's site (sadly no .pdf for that issue... dangit).
DBlizzard 10-30-06, 06:11 PM	Quick question... A number of you seem to like Chimes at Midnight... and indeed it does sound nifty. Does it seem like it could be easily scaled up to, say, level 9 or so? Your glowing reviews of it have me considering ordering the issue off paizo's site (sadly no .pdf for that issue... dangit). The "Scaling the Adventure" notes refer to scaling up the adventure being a matter or scaling up the NPCs. I suppose it just depends on how comfortable you are with levelling up characters created by someone else.
Pallin Rahl 10-30-06, 06:21 PM	The "Scaling the Adventure" notes refer to scaling up the adventure being a matter or scaling up the NPCs. I suppose it just depends on how comfortable you are with levelling up characters created by someone else. If it's mostly scaling up class-based NPCs, that's no prob. :)
DBlizzard 10-30-06, 06:24 PM	If it's mostly scaling up class-based NPCs, that's no prob. :) Indeed, nothing completely odd. The oddest NPC is the Choker Fighter and that's not particularly difficult.
Nlogue 10-30-06, 09:06 PM	Quick question... A number of you seem to like Chimes at Midnight... and indeed it does sound nifty. Does it seem like it could be easily scaled up to, say, level 9 or so? Your glowing reviews of it have me considering ordering the issue off paizo's site (sadly no .pdf for that issue... dangit). I just started working on the sequel to "Chimes" yesterday which is for 9th level PCs exactly. Funny world eh? Sadly it won't be done for another couple of weeks and probably won't see print for a few months. I'll be sure to include a good "Scaling" for it to make it playable for higher level PCs. The sequel is gonna totally kick "Chimes" ass by the way. I am so excited!
Sereno 11-01-06, 10:26 AM	I just started working on the sequel to "Chimes" yesterday which is for 9th level PCs exactly. Funny world eh? Sadly it won't be done for another couple of weeks and probably won't see print for a few months. I'll be sure to include a good "Scaling" for it to make it playable for higher level PCs. A sequel, huh? My PCs did manage to rescue Zalina (Zelina?) d'Medani and they killed Victor (boy, oh, boy, did they HATE him by the end of that adventure). However, I threw them a curveball ... the corpse at the bottom of the bell tower was a changeling. Now, they aren't sure if it was Victor ... or it was, and he was a changeling all along ... or .... <insert evil DM laugh>! The sequel is gonna totally kick "Chimes" ass by the way. I am so excited! I don't care what level you make it ... I'll find a way to scale it to my PCs. It wasn't the makeup of the opponents *level-wise* that make "Chimes" brilliant, IMO, it was the depth of the characters and the awesome sequence of events ... none of which require any scaling at all. Eagerly waiting, eagerly waiting, eagerly waiting ... is it done yet????? :D
Sereno 11-01-06, 10:29 AM	Does it seem like it could be easily scaled up to, say, level 9 or so? Your glowing reviews of it have me considering ordering the issue off paizo's site (sadly no .pdf for that issue... dangit). I had to scale it to level 7/8 ... so, I input the NPCs into PCGen (except for Victor, who used a class I don't own a dataset for) and scaled them in what made sense to me. It took a couple of hours (maybe two or three), but well worth it. I build all of my NPCs with PCGen, because I'm never sure when my PCs will encounter them....
Nlogue 11-01-06, 04:38 PM	A sequel, huh? My PCs did manage to rescue Zalina (Zelina?) d'Medani and they killed Victor (boy, oh, boy, did they HATE him by the end of that adventure). However, I threw them a curveball ... the corpse at the bottom of the bell tower was a changeling. Now, they aren't sure if it was Victor ... or it was, and he was a changeling all along ... or .... <insert evil DM laugh>! I don't care what level you make it ... I'll find a way to scale it to my PCs. It wasn't the makeup of the opponents *level-wise* that make "Chimes" brilliant, IMO, it was the depth of the characters and the awesome sequence of events ... none of which require any scaling at all. Eagerly waiting, eagerly waiting, eagerly waiting ... is it done yet????? :D Changeling!? That's awesome! Hats off to you sir! Viktor does feature in the sequel, but not exactly as most people would imagine. I'll get cracking and try to get this manuscript together ASAP! Shouldn't take too long as it's the kind of adventure I can't stop working on! Thanks for the kind words and reviews of "Chimes" everybody. I'll do me very best to do you all proud with the sequel. Good gaming everyone!
Pallin Rahl 11-01-06, 04:48 PM	I'm sold ;) ...called a local game shop that I know carries back issues of Dungeon/Dragon Mag... and they had a copy :D ...will be picking it up after work! If it's as good as everyone's saying, a sequel would be awesome. :ayyyy!: P.S. Though I haven't read through Chimes yet (obviously), I like the changeling angle... might have to snag that if similar events play out when I run it. Gotta keep 'em guessing. :devil:
DBlizzard 11-02-06, 08:50 AM	I don't care what level you make it ... I'll find a way to scale it to my PCs. It wasn't the makeup of the opponents *level-wise* that make "Chimes" brilliant, IMO, it was the depth of the characters and the awesome sequence of events ... none of which require any scaling at all. Thinking about it in retrospect, all of the villians have a very "Batman's Rogue's Gallery" feel to them. Each could easily be the main villain of an adventure very easily.
Sereno 11-02-06, 08:54 AM	Changeling!? That's awesome! Hats off to you sir! Glad you like it ... my players are currently quite confused! Which is great! :) Viktor does feature in the sequel, but not exactly as most people would imagine. I'll get cracking and try to get this manuscript together ASAP! Shouldn't take too long as it's the kind of adventure I can't stop working on! Thanks for the kind words and reviews of "Chimes" everybody. I'll do me very best to do you all proud with the sequel. Good gaming everyone! Then what are you doing posting on these boards ... get to work! :D :D We can't wait for more "Chimes" goodness forever, you know! :)
Sereno 11-02-06, 08:57 AM	Thinking about it in retrospect, all of the villians have a very "Batman's Rogue's Gallery" feel to them. Each could easily be the main villain of an adventure very easily. "Rogues Gallery" ... that's a great way to put it! I've already got plans for the two that got away. The PCs didn't manage to capture or kill "the Gasper" or Mange ... they will certainly play a role in my future adventures. The richness of the personalities was, IMO, one of the best parts of "Chimes" followed very closely by the pacing of the action. The two together are what raises "Chimes" to the highest level of great DnD adventures....
DBlizzard 11-02-06, 09:14 AM	I've already got plans for the two that got away. The PCs didn't manage to capture or kill "the Gasper" or Mange ... they will certainly play a role in my future adventures. Yup, all the villians survived in my campaign. Only Gasper got away, though. Everyone else was dropped to negative hit points and stopped from dying by the heroes. I even gave them a nice experience bonus for that feat.
Nlogue 11-02-06, 09:48 AM	Yup, all the villians survived in my campaign. Only Gasper got away, though. Everyone else was dropped to negative hit points and stopped from dying by the heroes. I even gave them a nice experience bonus for that feat. That is fantastic! I LOVE re-occuring villains in my home games. They make encounters soooo much more satisfying, don't they? Okay, back to work, back to work! :)
treehouse916 11-02-06, 01:37 PM	****SPOILERS FOR MURDER IN OAKBRIDGE/CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT BELOW**** I haven't run any of the "Shards" adventures, and I certainly don't plan on it. They just didn't do anything for me at all. I'll review the two I've actually run. Murder in Oakbridge - **** This was my players' first experience with Sharn, and I think that definitely hurt the adventure. They were wanting to explore the City of Towers, and they ended up spending the majority of the adventure in a relatively boring place. In retrospect, I should have run it after (or perhaps in the middle of) a more fast-paced Sharn adventure, just to get them used to the place. The adventure itself is excellent, and I've managed to bring back one NPC (Lucian Cruzgar) in a later adventure. Just before we took our Age of Worms break, I introduced him as the tracker that the PCs' current patron has hired to guide them through Xen'drik. Needless to say, they are a bit worried :D Chimes at Midnight - ***** I can't recommend this one enough. Reasons for this have already been stated by others, but I loved the 'entourage villain' concept (or Rogue's Gallery, as it is being called here). The whole adventure is also a great excuse to send the PCs on one exciting action sequence after another. My PCs really embraced their superhero sides for this one. That said, they were really ruthless when they finally got to the Church of Aureon. They ended up killing pretty much everyone except for the Gasper, who escaped. The party's artificer had his iron defender homonculus kill unconscious Vrinn while everyone else was up in the bell tower, while the monk/psion snapped unconscious Grimgraj's neck while carrying him down the steps. The party's Silver Flame priest was not pleased when he discovered his companions' vigilante behavior, to say the least! So hopefully Chimes II doesn't include any of these guys (except the Gasper) in a way that involves them, y'know, being alive.
Nlogue 11-02-06, 02:14 PM	That said, they were really ruthless when they finally got to the Church of Aureon. They ended up killing pretty much everyone except for the Gasper, who escaped. The party's artificer had his iron defender homonculus kill unconscious Vrinn while everyone else was up in the bell tower, while the monk/psion snapped unconscious Grimgraj's neck while carrying him down the steps. The party's Silver Flame priest was not pleased when he discovered his companions' vigilante behavior, to say the least! So hopefully Chimes II doesn't include any of these guys (except the Gasper) in a way that involves them, y'know, being alive. HA! Vicious, very very vicious! No worries, the only actual NPC from Chimes I who shows up in II is Viktor, and there are lots of ways to get him back among the living that are detailed in the sequel (there is also a way to run the adventure without using him detailed in the adventure, but really, what fun is that). There are some references to the others (some NPCs who know/knew them and what not), but they do not appear. Well, that's not true...one of them makes an appearance, but can be easily subsituted with a new NPC if they are already dead. There is whole new cast of devious neer-do-wells in this one as well. They are shaping up to be as sinister a batch of killers and theives as any.
Gilganarz_the_reporter 11-02-06, 10:36 PM	Because no-one has done it Tensions rising **** This mark is almost purely for the escape section of the adventure. Nothing sums up pulp Eberron like fending off swarming bad guys on the deck of a barely operational airship. I also enjoyed the other parts of the adventure, especially the dolgaunt monk leader. These monsters can really come into their own as a low level BBEG and this adventure showed how to do just that.
bob_schroeder 11-08-06, 04:40 AM	Steel Shadows **** DM I liked it, not much fighting or avoiding a brawl with diplomacy and a big endfight. Many clues, I loved the Jack the Ripper tone. My players also enjoyed it. My player have a party with an agency in Sharn, named Heroes for hire:rolleyes: , next I will get them through Chimes at Midnight, Fallen Angel and Queen with burning Eyes. First with the Prologue of Chimes at Midnight, then the other two in between, so I can develop the "Most-Wanted" and Victor before the actual adventure.
Grymar 11-09-06, 11:46 AM	Thanks for the reviews guys. Based on your recommendations, I ordered Dungeon 133 so I can see Chimes for myself. I'm going to have to modify it a bit to fit my campaign, but wow it looks great. I can't wait for the sequel!
bob_schroeder 11-09-06, 11:55 AM	when will the sequel appear?
Nlogue 11-09-06, 01:46 PM	when will the sequel appear? Writing it right now actually, so probably not for a bit. Once I finish the manuscript, I send it to Dungeon and then they review it and fit it in their publication schedule. Hopefully in the next six to eight months...if I hurry up! :)
Sereno 11-09-06, 02:28 PM	Writing it right now actually, so probably not for a bit. Once I finish the manuscript, I send it to Dungeon and then they review it and fit it in their publication schedule. Hopefully in the next six to eight months...if I hurry up! :) Not that I want to take you away from working on the sequel :) but, does it get easier to be published by Dungeon after the first one, or do they look at each entry as if you've never submitted one before?
Nlogue 11-09-06, 02:35 PM	Not that I want to take you away from working on the sequel :) but, does it get easier to be published by Dungeon after the first one, or do they look at each entry as if you've never submitted one before? I still get TONS of rejections, but it does get easier. Not after your first one in my experience, but once you get a few published that fans seem to like, the editors tend to look at your stuff more closely before they reject it at least. ;) I've got ten adventures or so in Dungeon now, and a few more on the way, and I still get more than half my queries rejected. You kind of have to hit exactly what they need.
Sereno 11-09-06, 02:54 PM	I still get TONS of rejections, but it does get easier. Not after your first one in my experience, but once you get a few published that fans seem to like, the editors tend to look at your stuff more closely before they reject it at least. ;) I've got ten adventures or so in Dungeon now, and a few more on the way, and I still get more than half my queries rejected. You kind of have to hit exactly what they need. Any suggestions? I'd love to see some of my work published....
Nlogue 11-09-06, 07:55 PM	Here's a couple tips I can think of: 1. Have a really really cool plot. The story should be killer, not just "go here/find this/kill this/stop bad things." Some good twists and turns are fun...I call em variables. The more interesting variables in an adventure the more interesting the experience can be for the PCs. 2. Awesome NPCs help a lot. Make sure they are interesting, sexy, cool, dangerous, and most of all motivated. Give em fleshed out personalities and reasons for everything they do, and don't forget to give them flaws. Flaws make characters memorable. 3. Really neat encounters. Encounters that are different than the standard "kick in the door and fight the monster" are a big big big plus. 4. Make sure the PCs are the stars of the adventure, don't let them get overshadowed too much by all of the above 3 points I made. Cool plots are great, so are awesome NPCs and neat encounters, but all of these should revolve around the party. 5. Look for what hasn't been done in awhile. For example, any aquatic/sea faring adventure is gonna get shot down right now no matter how cool it is cause the Adventure Path is all about that. Look back through the most recent issues (10 or so) and see what you don't see. Hmmm...no frozen tundra adventures in awhile, might be a good idea to propose one. No adventures about Slaad for a bit, maybe I should come up with one. Try to find the niche that's not being filled right now and be the first to do so. That's all I got off the top of my head. If anything else comes to mind, I'll post it. Good luck with the proposals!!! Nick
Sereno 11-10-06, 07:59 AM	Here's a couple tips I can think of: 1. Have a really really cool plot. The story should be killer, not just "go here/find this/kill this/stop bad things." Some good twists and turns are fun...I call em variables. The more interesting variables in an adventure the more interesting the experience can be for the PCs. 2. Awesome NPCs help a lot. Make sure they are interesting, sexy, cool, dangerous, and most of all motivated. Give em fleshed out personalities and reasons for everything they do, and don't forget to give them flaws. Flaws make characters memorable. 3. Really neat encounters. Encounters that are different than the standard "kick in the door and fight the monster" are a big big big plus. 4. Make sure the PCs are the stars of the adventure, don't let them get overshadowed too much by all of the above 3 points I made. Cool plots are great, so are awesome NPCs and neat encounters, but all of these should revolve around the party. 5. Look for what hasn't been done in awhile. For example, any aquatic/sea faring adventure is gonna get shot down right now no matter how cool it is cause the Adventure Path is all about that. Look back through the most recent issues (10 or so) and see what you don't see. Hmmm...no frozen tundra adventures in awhile, might be a good idea to propose one. No adventures about Slaad for a bit, maybe I should come up with one. Try to find the niche that's not being filled right now and be the first to do so. That's all I got off the top of my head. If anything else comes to mind, I'll post it. Good luck with the proposals!!! Nick Thanks a bunch! You, sir, are a gentleman, a Dungeon Master and a scholar! :) I generally try to follow my own version of 1-4 when I'm designing adventures -- PC starring in a good story, with memorable multi-dimensional NPCs that they fight/encounter in cool locations -- but, I'd never considered #5, before.... I guess I'll have to check out Paizo's site to see what their submission guidelines are! :)
Nlogue 11-10-06, 07:35 PM	Thanks a bunch! You, sir, are a gentleman, a Dungeon Master and a scholar! :) I generally try to follow my own version of 1-4 when I'm designing adventures -- PC starring in a good story, with memorable multi-dimensional NPCs that they fight/encounter in cool locations -- but, I'd never considered #5, before.... I guess I'll have to check out Paizo's site to see what their submission guidelines are! :) Good luck and good gaming!
Yarael 11-10-06, 08:46 PM	I have no published adventures, and am a pretty novice DM... But I have found that scenes that have a goal other than slaying the Bad Guy(s) have always been more fun, than just slay random guy, take loot. What I mean by this is evidenced by the scene form the Bell Tower, where the goal isn't killing the bad guy, but rescueing the damsel. Sure killing the bad guys while saving the damsel is fun, but having to rescue her adds to the tension and creates an edge of your seat feeling. The most sucessful scene I've created from scratch was a scenario where four college students were building an experimental aircab by binding an imp to it. The aircab went crazy, grabbed one of the students and took off. The PC's had to rescue the damsel from the flying aircab. Since then, I have always had the goal of an encounter be something other than just killing the baddies. Whether it be stopping the baddies from escaping a prison caravan, rescuing somebody, saving an artifact from destruction, stopping an assassination, chasing down a coach, etc... I have found it creates more suspense and tension.
Chaotic_Neutral 11-11-06, 12:37 PM	"The Queen with Burning Eyes" needed some work, but here are a few things I tweaked to make the adventure a memorable experience for my gaming group: I used the broadest hook offered in the adventure, that the PCs hear about robberies and disappearances as they spend time in the lower levels of Sharn. I went ahead and gave them a contact in both the Sharn Watch (the inquisitive Kafton, who is mentioned in the adventure) and a member of House Jorasco with ties to the Boromar Clan. Both organizations would be interested in knowing more about a new theives' guild in the area, so the PCs had an option of taking a lawful or chaotic approach to the adventure. I let the PCs do a little leg-work before they entered the excavation site. The people of the lower wards had opposing theories for who the thieves might be--a group of petty aristocrats who have begun frequenting the neighborhood of Khyber's Gate (actually the members of Vestan's cult), or a handful of Cyran refugees in the neighborhood who just might be desperate enough to turn to crime (a red herring that provided some interesting role-playing encounters and gave PCs new to Eberron a good background of the Last War). I have run "The Queen with Burning Eyes" a couple times, and I have never been satisfied with the first encounter involving the rogue Travack. I made it more interesting by having an NPC tell the PCs a rumor about a man in black, studded leather armor asking questions about a pair of thieves who stole something that belonged to him. Once the PCs actually met Travack, they became quite interested in what he had to say, because they believed he was looking for the same people they were trying to find out about. I also threw in a visual clue once the PCs made their way to the site, a sign that read: Excavation Site: Keep Out! ir'Simul Construction and Excavation This made unveiling the leader of the Cult of the Dragon Below a great deal more interesting to the PCs. Overall, "The Queen with Burning Eyes" can provide the PCs with a lot of memorable experiences and give them a good introduction to the lower wards of Sharn. However, the adventure does need to be fleshed out a little better than how it appeared in Dungeon Magazine--and the D&D Miniatures information is just a shameless plug, because it makes you feel like you are running an advertisement more than an actual adventure. Still, if you really play up the plot twists and revelations provided in this adventure, it can provide you with a truly "Eberron" experience.
DBlizzard 01-09-07, 04:17 PM	Added "Riding the Rails" (which was listed as "The Andurian Job" tentatively based on very early previews).
Nlogue 01-09-07, 04:57 PM	Added "Riding the Rails" (which was listed as "The Andurian Job" tentatively based on very early previews). Awww man! I can't wait to read this...takes a long time to get Dungeon out here in Hawai'i sadly. I love Chris Wissel's work so far!!! He wrote and adventure called "Wingclipper's Revenge" (not for Eberron) back in #132 and I thought it was a stellar module! Can't wait to see this one. Any spoilers for a sad island-locked lad? Dungeon-less in Diamondhead, Nick
Kid SixXx 01-10-07, 08:09 AM	Can't wait to see this one. Any spoilers for a sad island-locked lad? Hopefully you will be DMing this and not playing, because I'm pretty much letting the cat out of the bag, here. In a nutshell, House Orien is transporting a Xen'Drik artifact on the lighting rail when it is attacked by an organization called the Pilfired Wand. Apparently they specialize in the "creative procurement" of unique items. Naturally, chaos follows and the PC's have to cope with Yuan Ti, Tiefling henchmen, Changeling rogues infiltrating the servant staff, and a very angry Rakshasa... Oh.. and a runaway locomotive in the form of the driverless Lightning Rail It looks like an interesting scenario to use when the party is redlining from one adventure to another.
DBlizzard 01-10-07, 05:14 PM	Can't wait to see this one. Any spoilers for a sad island-locked lad? Right now the Dungeon is sitting by my bed. I scanned the issue, but haven't looked in detail (been busy reading my Heroquest stuff I've picked up recently).
Nlogue 01-10-07, 08:27 PM	Thanks for the info folks! I may run this one for my Eberron bunch out here in Hawai'i! Those of you who post tons of useful info here in these forums (like you DBlizzard, Kid SixXx and many others)...hats off! I love these forums even though I don't chime in much, I get a lot of great info and interesting stuff here! Thanks!
Sereno 01-11-07, 09:35 AM	Thanks for the info folks! Hey, how's the sequel to "Chimes" coming ... still waiting eagerly for it! :)
DBlizzard 01-11-07, 05:16 PM	Any spoilers for a sad island-locked lad? My spoilerless review is that I wasn't very impressed with it. As written, it's more like a dungeon crawl with room descriptions without any interaction between rooms next to each other. With just a quick reading I give it **1/2. With some work it might develop into a great adventure, but from my reading it would need a lot of work. For some spoilers: As written, it assumes a lot about the PCs. The scenario opens with them being attacked by Sickening Sleep Living Spells. It's assumed they are asleep together, and all together in the same car. No PC I know would do that. I would much rather have a timeline of what the villains are doing and where they are and extrapolate what's happen from that, rather than the actual format.
Neofish 01-11-07, 05:40 PM	My spoilerless review is that I wasn't very impressed with it. As written, it's more like a dungeon crawl with room descriptions without any interaction between rooms next to each other. With just a quick reading I give it **1/2. With some work it might develop into a great adventure, but from my reading it would need a lot of work. For some spoilers: As written, it assumes a lot about the PCs. The scenario opens with them being attacked by Sickening Sleep Living Spells. It's assumed they are asleep together, and all together in the same car. No PC I know would do that. I would much rather have a timeline of what the villains are doing and where they are and extrapolate what's happen from that, rather than the actual format. Yeah, I love the concept, but its a rushed and quick encounter and is almost played like one big fight. Also, they never bother to explain why the wands are all tieflings lead by a rakshasa.
Kid SixXx 01-11-07, 07:29 PM	Yeah, I love the concept, but its a rushed and quick encounter and is almost played like one big fight. Also, they never bother to explain why the wands are all tieflings lead by a rakshasa. It plays like one long fight and there's that time issue with the runaway lightning rail crashing into something & possibly killing the party, so it's not like you're going to have time to interrogate anyone or that you'd get any straight answers if you did. Besides, the adventure is pretty much and introductory encounter with the group so that they can serve as reusable villains. It leaves the origins of the group up to invididual DM's to figure out.
FilmGuy77 01-11-07, 08:43 PM	I agree it seems rushed and ends up highly mediocre. Part of that might be personal experience with Eberron since I have been involved in two similar Lightning Rail under attack scenarios. I ran Whispers of the Vampire's Blade and the Lightning Rail encounter on that one was pretty fun and rather memorable. In my very first Eberron adventure I was a player and my friend set up this great encounter involving warforged rogues with noxious smokesticks attacking the train by swooping in on hang gliders (yup - hang gliders). So yes - Riding the Rails as written doesn't live up to personal experiences, but it could be fun either as a sideline encounter or as the tip of the proverbial iceberg if the DM wants to fill out detail on the Pilfered Wands as future baddies. From a first read sort of standpoint I'd give it ***
Nlogue 01-11-07, 10:12 PM	Hey, how's the sequel to "Chimes" coming ... still waiting eagerly for it! :) All Done! Well, the manuscript that is...though I'll probably tweak it once more, and then of course it must await editorial review to see if it shall or shall not grace Dungeon's pages! ::Nick crosses fingers, and clicks his heels together three times:: I think it turned out really cool, but then again, I wrote it, so let's see what the editors think. I am already working on a proposal for a third and final installment in the Saint-Demain trilogy. I'll keep you posted, Sereno!
Nlogue 01-11-07, 10:16 PM	Shame to hear about "Riding the Rails." Maybe it plays better than it reads! Here's hoping so, cause I loved Chris Wissel's other adventure in Dungeon - "Wingclipper's Revenge." If you like fey especially, its worth checking out (Issue #132...I'm in that issue too, though my adventure is part of the Age of Worms adventure path, and decidedly not Eberrony). I'm still waiting on my #143...want to see how "Mask of Diamond Tears" turned out after the editorial process. Thanks for the info everyone! Nick
FilmGuy77 01-11-07, 10:17 PM	Good luck with that! I'm already planning on "Chimes" as a major watershed in a future campaign, and if I could manage a whole trilogy to build around so much the better. :) ::also crossing fingers for more Saint-Demain goodness::
Kid SixXx 01-12-07, 07:05 AM	I agree it seems rushed and ends up highly mediocre. Part of that might be personal experience with Eberron since I have been involved in two similar Lightning Rail under attack scenarios. I ran Whispers of the Vampire's Blade and the Lightning Rail encounter on that one was pretty fun and rather memorable. Tweaking and substituting Riding the Rails for the Lighting Rail encounter in Whispers of the Vampire's Blade might work for me. I personally didn't like the absolute randomness of the Rail encounter in Whispers of the Vampire's Blade. I agree that Riding the Rails is pretty standard looking from the first read, but at least it introduces yet another batch of villains for the PC's to foil later on in the campaign. You could probably get a lot of mileage out of competition with the Pilfired Wand, the Twelve, and the Wayfarer's Society once a campaign starts focusing in on adventuring in Xen'Drik.
Sereno 01-12-07, 08:28 AM	All Done! Well, the manuscript that is...though I'll probably tweak it once more, and then of course it must await editorial review to see if it shall or shall not grace Dungeon's pages! ::Nick crosses fingers, and clicks his heels together three times:: I think it turned out really cool, but then again, I wrote it, so let's see what the editors think. I am already working on a proposal for a third and final installment in the Saint-Demain trilogy. I'll keep you posted, Sereno! SWEEEEEET!!! :)
Kid SixXx 01-12-07, 09:34 AM	SWEEEEEET!!! :) I'm also looking forward to two more encounters with Saint-Demain. Ciro d'Medani definitely isn't through with that guy.
FilmGuy77 01-12-07, 04:52 PM	Tweaking and substituting Riding the Rails for the Lighting Rail encounter in Whispers of the Vampire's Blade might work for me. That could definitely work. That encounter as written is a bit random, though I worked around that by adding an encounter earlier in the adventure to somewhat foreshadow the one on the train. I do like the idea of the Pilfered Wands, and could definitely see some fun interplay between those three particular groups. I always thought a Xen'drik campaign with rival adventure groups going after the same items would be a lot of fun (sort of like Indy and Belloq in Raiders of the Lost Ark). I hope to use the group at some point somewhere in Eberron.
Wrathamon 01-12-07, 07:22 PM	No Ticket - a mark of heroes RPGA adventure was a pretty decent Lightning rail adventure.
Nlogue 01-12-07, 07:30 PM	I actually submitted a proposal to Dungeon for a lightning rail adventure I was pretty proud of, but that was before I knew about Riding the Rail, and I am fairly sure they won't want to put out two "Lightning Rail" adventures so close together...curses! Nick
Wrathamon 01-12-07, 09:44 PM	I actually submitted a proposal to Dungeon for a lightning rail adventure I was pretty proud of, but that was before I knew about Riding the Rail, and I am fairly sure they won't want to put out two "Lightning Rail" adventures so close together...curses! Nick did you actually write the adventure or just propose an idea to write an adventure?
Nlogue 01-13-07, 11:08 AM	did you actually write the adventure or just propose an idea to write an adventure? I submitted a two page proposal (the first step of the process). They have not yet had the submissions meeting this time around though, so I haven't heard back, but I assume my lightning rail proposal is a no-go because they just put one out. Curse my timing! Oh well, I have at least two other Eberron proposals in the submission pile (one to be co-authored with Tim Hitchcock) so I'll keep my fingers crossed for those. :)
Wrathamon 01-15-07, 09:24 PM	Well I would love to hear the premise :)
Nlogue 01-17-07, 11:16 PM	Well I would love to hear the premise :) Hey Wrath, as soon as I get the definitive negative on my prop, I'll tell you all about it! But I should hold off till then, on the off chance they want to use it. Have no fear, I'm pretty sure I'll be posting it soon. ;)
Tarionz_Cousin 01-18-07, 12:34 AM	Hey Wrath, as soon as I get the definitive negative on my prop, I'll tell you all about it! But I should hold off till then, on the off chance they want to use it. Have no fear, I'm pretty sure I'll be posting it soon. ;)Eagerly awaiting it, too. Chimes at Midnight will figure prominently in my next Eberron campaign. I would be happy to have more from Mr. Logue to add to the plot tangle. Chimes was wonderful.
Nlogue 01-18-07, 01:34 AM	Eagerly awaiting it, too. Chimes at Midnight will figure prominently in my next Eberron campaign. I would be happy to have more from Mr. Logue to add to the plot tangle. Chimes was wonderful. Thanks! Hope the sequel does you proud!
Amaril 01-18-07, 09:43 AM	I submitted a two page proposal (the first step of the process). They have not yet had the submissions meeting this time around though, so I haven't heard back, but I assume my lightning rail proposal is a no-go because they just put one out. Curse my timing! Oh well, I have at least two other Eberron proposals in the submission pile (one to be co-authored with Tim Hitchcock) so I'll keep my fingers crossed for those. :) Have you considered submitting it to WotC for their Free Online Adventures catalog? Personally, I think "Riding the Rail" should have been posted there rather than in Dungeon Magazine.
Nlogue 01-18-07, 01:57 PM	Not a bad idea! If it gets teh reject from Paizo, and I have some extra time on my hands, I'll whip it up and submit it there. Thanks!
Wrathamon 01-18-07, 11:08 PM	There is also the RPGA.
Amaril 01-19-07, 08:42 AM	There is also the RPGA. Sure, if you want to exclude a large number of players who aren't interested in jumping through hoops just to play a game.
Wrathamon 01-19-07, 03:11 PM	Sure, if you want to exclude a large number of players who aren't interested in jumping through hoops just to play a game. At least some gamers would get a chance to play it, opposed to none if nothing else works out. One nice thing about RPGA adventures is that ALL the books can be used by the designer opposed to just the SRD. your hostility is noted.
Amaril 01-19-07, 03:43 PM	At least some gamers would get a chance to play it, opposed to none if nothing else works out. One nice thing about RPGA adventures is that ALL the books can be used by the designer opposed to just the SRD. your hostility is noted. No hostility is intended. I'm merely stating the fact that I, as well as a significant number of others, would not be able to play in this adventure if it were submitted to the RPGA as a "scenario." I personally have an RPGA membership card, which I obtained merely for the sake of gathering Greyhawk adventures for my Greyhawk campaign, but when I learned what I had to do just to have some fun with my friends and realized I was restricted to only obtaining scenarios for my region, I became extremely annoyed and felt more limited rather than enabled. As such, I see a submission to the RPGA instead of the WotC Free Online Adventures catalog as restricting and excluding.
Wrathamon 01-19-07, 07:34 PM	your irritation is noted :) I agree I am not a big fan of the LG system... but I havent really "tried" to play it either... it does seem like a boyz club so to speak. I do participate in the Eberron campaigns on occations (mostly I run them for home games). I have no issues with that system (except when they have Con exclusives). Like I mentioned it has a lot more freedom for designers to utilize more rulesets. The Free adventure would be nice - but I noticed they havent been supporting that feature of the site as much anymore.
DBlizzard 05-25-07, 02:45 AM	Updated the list (which is probably complete barrin g some surprise changes in the last couple of issues). Still looking for reviews.
Rechan 05-25-07, 03:16 AM	So, has anyone ran "Riding the Rails"? I know that "The Aundarian Job" came out this month - anyone read it? Thoughts?
kentonblack 05-25-07, 09:41 PM	GOOD GOD THEYRE SEQULING CHIMES!!!!?!?!?!?! *does the happy lemur dance* Please oh PLEASE let them print it soon!!!
Nomadicc 05-25-07, 11:37 PM	Well, did it make the cut before -Dungeon- shuts down?
DBlizzard 05-26-07, 01:24 AM	Well, did it make the cut before -Dungeon- shuts down? Yes, it's in the final issue. The third installment, on the other hand...
Nlogue 05-26-07, 03:57 AM	Indeed! #150 of Dungeon includes "Quoth the Raven" one sequel to "Chimes at Midnight." The final chapter of the Saint-Demain trilogy ("Hell's Heart") shall remain unwritten for now though sadly. If you want it, ask Wizards for it, as it is the only way it is likely to see print anytime soon. I would love to do it up as a 32 pager for WotC, but don't know if they can make that happen. "Hell's Heart" must see print!!! :weep: ;)
DBlizzard 06-19-07, 01:38 AM	#150 of Dungeon includes "Quoth the Raven" one sequel to "Chimes at Midnight." BTW, what level is this for? I'm sort of hoping to use it shortly after Eyes of the Lich Queen.
Nlogue 06-19-07, 01:35 PM	Hmmmm...I think "Quoth" is only for 8th level PCs...urgh...shouldn't be too hard to stage up though methinks. Keep tuned. When it comes out I'll come up with some ideas to stage it up (and potentially down too). Gotta see the final cut first too. Also the Prologue I wrote to it probably didn't make the final cut (too long) so I'll post it eventually (as long as Paizo gives me the thumbs up!).
DBlizzard 08-07-07, 12:39 AM	Got my Dungeon #150 today. I haven't done more than scan "Quoth the Raven" but it look excellent. It's Silence of the Lambs meets Batman. It even has Sharn's own Arkham Asylum. The Dungeon Index leaves out the "Tensions Rising" adventure from the list of Eberron adventures. Otherwise it nicely has them listed by level. Interestingly enough level 5 is by far the most common level (4 of 11 adventures are level 5). The top 10 villains is very wrong as it fails to mention Victor Saint-Demain. It's very slanted towards high level villains. It's also slanted heavily towards the Adventure Paths (6 villains) and Maure Castle (2 villains).
Nlogue 08-08-07, 02:34 AM	The top 10 villains is very wrong as it fails to mention Victor Saint-Demain. It's very slanted towards high level villains. It's also slanted heavily towards the Adventure Paths (6 villains) and Maure Castle (2 villains). Curses!!! :) Look forward to hearing your full report on "Quoth" DBlizzard. The opinions and feedback of an Eberrron expert like yourself are very important to me! I can't wait to see the adventure in print too. Does the art look cool?
DBlizzard 08-08-07, 03:27 AM	Curses!!! :) On an ENWorld thread James Jacobs said he was probably #11, if that's any consolation.
Nlogue 08-19-07, 02:26 AM	On an ENWorld thread James Jacobs said he was probably #11, if that's any consolation. It'll do I guess... :)
Rechan 08-26-07, 10:56 PM	Doublepost.
Rechan 08-26-07, 11:01 PM	I read this adventure holding it up to the superiority that was Chimes. But when I opened it and began reading, several things leaped out at me, and while a few were good, most were not. Before I get to the negative points, I want to get this out first. Extensive spoilers ahead. Atmosphere This is the shining beauty of this adventure. I was thrilled with the backdrop - fires raging in the Cogs, causing a black blizzard to drape over Sharn. It's very moody and dark and delicious. There are scenes here that I, as a DM, would really love to run. The Black Winter is also a beautiful opportunity to mix in encounters with the Children of Winter, as this seems like a prophetic event for their belief in the Apocalyptic Winter. The scene at the Glitterdust is just pleasant, and I definitely will impliment this at some point. The fight in the dark mannequin warehouse is also very moody, if the Valenar tries 'hit and run' tactics by hiding amid the mannequins. Going into the dark lightning rail yard, with the broken hobo warforged, and battling a Warforged Drider? And then the nasty train car, and the burning tenament? Very Nice. And the City Archives struck me as inspired by Saw, given the gruesome nature of the death traps, and the overall tension of timing for each trap. If anything it would provide a heightened sense of urgency. Not to mention that the final battle with The Raven would be very confusing and chaotic - two swarms of crows, the mirror image, the hostage, AND the raven ducking and bobbing amid the coops is very cool. Despite all of this, I cannot overlook many problematic areas. Background This adventure makes a lot of assumptions about your game. Unless your run of Chimes had a specific few outcomes, Quoth really may not work, or will come across as weak and slapdash. 1) The reliance on the survival of our cast members. The first problem is that it assumes Mange and Vrinn lived from Chimes. Yes, there is the note that "Vrinn could have been brought back" or another changeling was hired, but if Mange had been killed, there goes a section of your adventure. And what happens if Vrinn surrendered last time? But one thing that is very bothersome to me is that, if Viktor died in Chimes, he would be raised. Part of the point of Eberron is that being Raised is a rare thing, both in the high level nature of the spell, and unwillingness of NPCs to use it. (Not to mention Viktor being a criminal). Adventurers should have to do a lot to pull it off, but just having a bad guy "have an arrangement with Jorasco" just feels cheap, to me. Even moreso when it's suggested for Vrinn. Secondly it assumes that had Viktor surrendered, or had been raised, he would've been caught. Viktor is a brilliant man, albeit a maniac; I don't think the watch would have caught him, or, if he had a failsafe in Jorasco, he would have had a failsafe for the Watch. Had Viktor fled or been raised, I really don't buy that he would have just been captured and that would be that. More than likely he would have escaped, and then used cats paws and research to attack the PCs from afar. I realize that Viktor being in Hell's Heart is necessary for the third adventure, but it would have been satisfying had Quoth had the option of having Viktor a free threat, using the Raven to do his dirty work. But without Viktor, a lot of clues would not find their way to the PCs. 2) Assumptions about the Party. My PCs have no loved ones. I have a prototype warforged with a dead creator, an Illumian exile from his cabal, and a cutthroat with no friends looking to carve out a criminal underworld, an foreigner Psion who has battled and killed his only brother as part of the plot, and a Chaos cleric from out of town. These PCs have no friends, family, no loved ones. Who am I supposed to use for hostages? Now, I realize that other parties aren't so much lone wolves, but, the fact remains that the PCs may not have any true people that are intimate to them, or being PCs that come from all over Eberron, those loved ones may be in other countries. That severely hamstrings the last part of Quoth, as the whole point of the death traps. Then there is the assumption someone will have the skills to make that DC 20 performance (music) skill to solve the organ deathtrap. The Mystery Itself I realize this is a story-driven event based adventure, and those are always hard to write for the general public versus a site-based adventure. That said, I feel there are too few clues to really go from. Both Jalros and Vrinn have nothing to add that help. The first part of the adventure offers no clues whatsoever. The second part begins with "The obvious next step is to investigate the other crimes", but as my experience, PCs can hit a wall and not think themselves out, or take off in the wrong direction and run like they have the Olympic torch. In Mange's tenament (which isn't usable if Mange was killed in Chimes), I am confused by it discussing Mange's "nightmares". Is a legitimate clue to this case literally in Mange's dreams, or has the Raven let slip this vital clue in person? Because I'm curious how Mange would know such a factoid to dream about it. Also, the coding system of the abandoned City Archives seems such an obscure thing to know for a knowledge 15 DC. Aside from this info from Mange's dreams (which the PCs may discredit entirely, as PCs can overlook glaring clues), I don't think "Corbin went to the same orphanage as Viktor" is a strong enough indication to lead them to Viktor. So much of the clues hinge on them visiting Viktor and beating him - very little alternatives are provided to get them to the Archives if they fail. The Difficulty of the Adventure This adventure is made for an 8th level party. Yet the only encounter that's an EL 8 is the historal figures of Sharn room. Otherwise we have 2 EL 9 encounters, 4 EL 10 encounters, 2 EL 11 encounters, and 2 EL 12 encounters and an EL 13!. That isn't even counting the EL of the Shrine of Aueron encounter, as its EL varies. By the time the PC's have cleared the ground floor of the City Archives, they're going to be sapped of spells. If your party just fought the stone golems (An encounter one above the highest EL for an 8th level party), in addition to the next two encounters, they are seriously going to be hurting. Because the time restraints of this adventure, the PCs can't just stop and rest 8 hours at any point. The fight in the Orien Graveyard is particularly brutal, especially with the crane and the car that the WF would roll on top of the PCs. The puzzle to beat the pipe organ is far, far too obscure. I know that my players would never figure that out. The reliance on a character with Perform (Music) to solve it hurts the trap; given that the chains are too hard to break within 5 rounds, and if you damage the organ your NPC dies, I feel that it is too difficult a scenario to beat in five rounds. Perhaps it runs smoother in person, but on paper it looks near unbeatable without a Bard, even with the too-obscure clue Viktor gives in the interview. And the puzzle in the Printing Press room is brutal. You have six rounds, a 50/50 chance of choosing the right NPC, and if your party opts to split up, they're going to get wamped on by the swarm zombies, which is going to severely suck resources. Sure, this scene may be exciting, but it's utterly cruel to the players. The Villain Himself I'm at a loss here. I want to like this guy. But he doesn't make sense to me. His background is an orphan, an inquisitive, and then a poor down-on-his-luck janitor. So... why does he have Urban Druid? There's nothing in the background that suggests urban druid. And what is a Human Savant? Also, I just question how someone who was an inquisitive and is level 10 could wind up being a janitor. There are at least a half-dozen inquisitive agencies in Sharn, not counting any affiliated with House Medani. I would have tooled Colbrin's background to say that while on the job, he made a heinous error in judgement, one that has caused him to be shunned by the Inquisitive community - all the more reason for him to fall under Viktor's sway. Also, I just think the picture of the raven mask is silly. Eberron Specific Errors Eberron does not use clockwork devices or such mechanics. The lifts in Sharn operate by levitational magic, not pulleys and weights. On page 51 of Sharn:CoT, the crane in the picture uses ropes made of energy. So the the crane in the Orien Graveyard would have used Levitate, not been a contraption of gears and hydrolics that picked up heavy things. The Printing Press would not have pistons and gears and the crushing apperatus - it would have been something magical that could use some simple spell to copy one page onto the next. I am also curious how Spider wound up with warforged arms for legs, when removing parts of a Warforged cause them to disintegrate (http://forums.gleemax.com/leaving.php?destination=http://www.wizards.com/default.asp%3Fx%3Ddnd/ebds/20050627a): An important side effect of this is that if material is removed from the body of a warforged, it quickly degrades. As a result, stripping a warforged and selling its metal is impossible; a warforged may have adamantine components, but these will rust and pit when they are pulled from the warforged. (Granted, that's an obscure factoid from a Dragonshard that I wasn't aware of until someoen pointed it out to me. And I think the WF arms as spider legs is a good idea, I"m just pointing out this nitpick.) Another minor nitpick: I don't think Draconic would be all that widespread a language in Eberron, given how isolated Dragons and Draconic-speakers are. Text and Map errors I found it very annoying that the first two pieces of Stars in Darkness were not readible. Why have those pictures in the magazine at all if the font and lightness of the ink make them illegable? In the map for the Orien Graveyard, I couldn't discern what was the crushed car that the crane attacks. There was no car in the middle of the map as the text said, and the one closest to the right side appeared to be the car that the sentinels pushed on top of the PCs, not the one that is lifted up and dumped into the arcane crusher. The map for the City Arcives doesn't note the hostage in area 4, and the gibbering mouthers receive a capital G (for Stone Golem), not the lower-case g for gibbering mouthers. The third gibbering mouther is also note on the map. I also noted some mistakes with the math in enemy statblocks, but no one's perfect. Misc Gripes The Doppelganger ploy is used too many times. It was used at the end of Chimes. Then Vrinn pulls it twice in Quoth, in addition to the Raven using the final hostage as his own double. If I were a PC in this adventure, I'd be rolling my eyes by the printing press room, and want to just smack my DM for the final Raven fight. Why would Orien have stored their crushed junk within Sharn? Wouldn't they have a "Junk yard" somewhere between Sharn and Wroat? I just have trouble imagining that they would bring a damaged car INTO the city to dump it. And if you're going to dump it anywhere, why not Fallen, which is pretty much an obliterated junkyard as it is? I'm very disappointed that the basement archives room was not used at all. Something lurking in the stacks, trying to herd the PCs through a maze of shelves, and the PCs fighting on top of the stacks as they fall over like dominos could have been real exciting, but this room was just neglected entirely. It seems that Chimes spoiled me; I was anticipating more of a Rogue's Gallery with Quoth - several minor villains along with The Raven. Conclusion While Chimes can be ran almost right out of the box, Quoth may require serious ironing out to fit into your campaign, and some of the traps and encounters may require retooling. The ideas are inspiring, but the execution I feel has too many speedbumps. Two and a half stars.
Rechan 08-26-07, 11:08 PM	Sorry that I was harsh on your adventure, Nick. I really do like your work, and think your ideas are great.
Nlogue 08-28-07, 04:42 AM	Sorry that I was harsh on your adventure, Nick. I really do like your work, and think your ideas are great. Ouch. Fair enough my man. Sorry Quoth didn't do it for you. I'll PM you with some responses to the review, there are lots of points you made that are valid, but others I think less so, and I'll PM you my thoughts on them...but not right now, as it is my birthday and I'm off to enjoy it at Coney Island in a few hours. Thanks for taking the time to review this adventure Rechan. Look forward to more feedback from you on other adventures. You definatly won't like "Hell's Heart" based on your above review, though it does come with a pretty sweet Rogue's Gallery of all new baddies.
Kid SixXx 08-28-07, 08:00 AM	Ouch. Fair enough my man. Sorry Quoth didn't do it for you. I'll PM you with some responses to the review, there are lots of points you made that are valid, but others I think less so, and I'll PM you my thoughts on them...but not right now, as it is my birthday and I'm off to enjoy it at Coney Island in a few hours. Hey, no fair moving to NYC and not telling anyone. ;) I've flipped through QtR once or twice & here are my initial thoughts: 1. I kinda agree with Rechan. A couple of the scenarios in QtR really seem to hinge on the party not up and killing everyone in CaM in the course of victory. I didn't run into this problem with the party I DM because they're the exceptions to the norm and tend to take captives when they can. The individuals that survived in QtR survived in the game I ran so justifying their existance in this module won't be hard. I tend to blame the "now I need survivors?" problem with recurring villains in sequels dying in prior modules on the nature of D&D in general though and not on the modules themselves. D&D seems to stress the demise of villains as a sign of victory: how else do you get the phat lewtz or the exp? I enjoy the inquisitive-based modules in Eberron because bringing in criminals to face stern justice is more rewarding... literally, since my players have noticed that they get a slight exp bonus for capturing criminals rather than killing them. 2. Love the atmosphere of the game. First good excuse I've had to use the incliment weather rules & the picture of psycho Viktor is pretty scary. 3. I've no problems with the BBEG per se. He doesn't have the epic build-up that Viktor had, but then again, he's a serial killer & his job is to avoid notice. Viktor's megalomania pretty much served as his hubris. OTOH, The Raven's primary task is to tie up Viktor's loose ends, so there won't be as much direct taunting or "racing against time" as there was in Chimes. There are a couple of "we don't have a moment to lose!" situations in Quote that are nicely set up, but I kinda miss the sense of urgency that Chimes had. I also sorta wrinkle my nose at his class stats, but they're not so earth-shattering that I can't use them... or change them if necessary. I had no problems with the Raven mask. I think the illo is just a bit exaggerated & the mask probably looks something like this. (http://www.affordable-buddhist-antiques.com/mask-tengu/mask-tengu-best.jpg) 4. Someone named Nicholas Logue got himself a sadistic streak when he moved to NYC! What did you have against Mange that he had to die so horribly? I loved it! More than likely I'll tinker with the module a bit to get the Medani involved again and lend a bit of Chimes urgency to Quote. I can't see Quote ending without another attempt on Baron Trelib's life (certainly House Medani still ranks high on Viktor's hit list), but most likely I'll just have Trelib serve as bait for the endgame encounter. Good stuff, Nick. Hell's Heart cannot come out soon enough for my liking.
Nlogue 08-28-07, 08:09 AM	Hey, no fair moving to NYC and not telling anyone. ;) I've flipped through QtR once or twice & here are my initial thoughts: 1. I kinda agree with Rechan. A couple of the scenarios in QtR really seem to hinge on the party not up and killing everyone in CaM in the course of victory. I didn't run into this problem with the party I DM because they're the exceptions to the norm and tend to take captives when they can. The individuals that survived in QtR survived in the game I ran so justifying their existance in this module won't be hard. I tend to blame the "now I need survivors?" problem with recurring villains in sequels dying in prior modules on the nature of D&D in general though and not on the modules themselves. D&D seems to stress the demise of villains as a sign of victory: how else do you get the phat lewtz or the exp? I enjoy the inquisitive-based modules in Eberron because bringing in criminals to face stern justice is more rewarding... literally, since my players have noticed that they get a slight exp bonus for capturing criminals rather than killing them. 2. Love the atmosphere of the game. First good excuse I've had to use the incliment weather rules & the picture of psycho Viktor is pretty scary. 3. I've no problems with the BBEG per se. He doesn't have the epic build-up that Viktor had, but then again, he's a serial killer & his job is to avoid notice. Viktor's megalomania pretty much served as his hubris. OTOH, The Raven's primary task is to tie up Viktor's loose ends, so there won't be as much direct taunting or "racing against time" as there was in Chimes. There are a couple of "we don't have a moment to lose!" situations in Quote that are nicely set up, but I kinda miss the sense of urgency that Chimes had. I also sorta wrinkle my nose at his class stats, but they're not so earth-shattering that I can't use them... or change them if necessary. I had no problems with the Raven mask. I think the illo is just a bit exaggerated & the mask probably looks something like this. (http://www.affordable-buddhist-antiques.com/mask-tengu/mask-tengu-best.jpg) 4. Someone named Nicholas Logue got himself a sadistic streak when he moved to NYC! What did you have against Mange that he had to die so horribly? I loved it! More than likely I'll tinker with the module a bit to get the Medani involved again and lend a bit of Chimes urgency to Quote. I can't see Quote ending without another attempt on Baron Trelib's life (certainly House Medani still ranks high on Viktor's hit list), but most likely I'll just have Trelib serve as bait for the endgame encounter. Good stuff, Nick. Hell's Heart cannot come out soon enough for my liking. Thanks for the feedback Kid SixXx! Fear not...Medani will play a role in "Hell's Heart." I kinda designed "Quoth" to be the "Temple of Doom" of the trilogy...a little different from "Chimes" and "Heart." "Hell's Heart" is a lot more in line with "Chimes" themes and style. In fact, for those readers who think Quoth doesn't really fit, you could skip it and just jump right to "Hell's Heart" as a sequel to Chimes if you wanted without any real trouble. Look forward to more feedback on "Quoth" though, I had a blast writing it. Thanks for the reviews gents!
Kid SixXx 08-28-07, 10:04 AM	I kinda designed "Quoth" to be the "Temple of Doom" of the trilogy...a little different from "Chimes" and "Heart." "Hell's Heart" is a lot more in line with "Chimes" themes and style. In fact, for those readers who think Quoth doesn't really fit, you could skip it and just jump right to "Hell's Heart" as a sequel to Chimes if you wanted without any real trouble. Well, I can't really say that it doesn't "fit," but I can see how people that thought they'd get something thematically similar to Chimes might be a tad crestfallen. More musings, as it is a pretty boring morning at work. I watched Zodiac over the weekend (Great movie! Hard to believe it came from the fairly average book I read in high school), so I think I will research the events concerning the media taunting and export that to Quoth to give The Raven a bit more insubstantial malice. The Raven's prose sent to competing newspapers trying to outscoop one another are fertile ground for plot hooks and red herrings & the real life parallels (the Ripper letters, the Zodiac's cyphers) should add a pretty chilling effect. Now that I think about it, I don't think the early events really need a sense of urgency. Matter of fact, having time pass at an alarmingly slow rate may serve my purposes better. I think I will play up the black snow quite a bit when I run Quoth: the ominous weather should add an atmosphere of dread to length of time the PC's will have to suffer through in the attempt to second guess what the Raven will do next.... if anything.. ;) I really liked Christopher Nolan's remake of Insomia where the lack of nightfall really served as the psychological underpinning of the plot. I think the black snow could serve the same purpose. Even thought of another plot hitch: I ran Murder in Oakbridge as a precursor to Chimes, as Viktor helped the PC's track down the BBEG in Oakbridge. Viktor later attempted to recruit the BBEG from Oakbridge, the changeling Ziki, but was rebuffed (ie. she wanted to reform). Ziki is still serving a prison sentence in my game, but she's been a source of information and is quite a sympathetic character to the PC's. Tragedy brings out the best in adventures like these so I think that Ziki may end up being one of The Raven's first victims, although I haven't decided how yet. I'll either have Ziki get wind of an attempt on her life & have her escape from prison, where the PC's will track her down (& serve as The Raven's unwitting bloodhounds). Or, I'll just have The Raven kill her unceremoneously in prison but have the Sharn Watch not really concern themselves about the hows or whys of her death (especially since admitting that someone broke into a jail, murdered someone, and broke out again would be pretty embarassing). I'm sure the PC's sense of outrage and social justice will kick in from there. I've read too many Hannibal Lector novels, so I'm sorta stuck on the premise that every good serial killer plot must have some initial murder where the BBEG begins to hone his craft. I can develop the sense of urgency as the PC's begin to notice that the Raven is getting better at his work as the murders continue. I'll have Ziki die with not too much fanfare, but the details of how the Raven got in & out of prison to kill Ziki (or how the Raven got to her before the PC's did if I go with the escape plot) should still raise some red flags. Mange's theatrical death will be the litmus test to clue the players in on just how the Raven's technique has... improved :evillaugh ... since the previous execution. I'll check my notes, but I seem to remember that The Choker from Viktor's gang was also taken alive IMC, so I may her creative elimination (burlap bag tied over her head soaked in an anesthetic & filled with Riedran ground spices! :devil: ) lead to the apartment fire encounter instead of Mange. I'll definitely include Medani in my plot, but I'm not sure how. Putting Zelina in peril again would serve the dual purpose of demoralizing the PC's and Baron Trelib, but that's already been done. Perhaps the original plan will be to kidnap Zelina again, but maybe the Raven (in a fit of misplaced loyalty) kidnaps Baron Trelib instead under the assumption that Viktor will be more appreciative? The reality would naturally be that Viktor might be enraged that his protege isn't sticking to the plan & that may be the clue needed for the PC's to connect the various dots. Viktor may inadvertently spill the beans during interrogation if the PC's insult his huge ego, & that would help tie the vagueries together if it doesn't dawn on the PC's that Viktor is working two angles: avenge his humiliation by eliminating the underlings that failed him, and use the underling's deaths as bait for a trap to ensare the PC's and Baron Trelib. Perhaps the PC's will assume the Raven is a vigilante instead of a potential nemesis? Hmmmm. Should turn out pretty good if I put some more thought to it.
Rechan 08-28-07, 11:04 AM	Ouch. Fair enough my man. Sorry Quoth didn't do it for you. I'll PM you with some responses to the review, there are lots of points you made that are valid, but others I think less so, and I'll PM you my thoughts on them...but not right now, as it is my birthday and I'm off to enjoy it at Coney Island in a few hours. Happy Birthday! :D And, it's not that I didn't like it. I did. I just felt that it was brutal from an Encounter perspective, and unless your party is really good at connecting the dots, the limited clues may not get them to the Archives. Everything else was just "Hm, this doesn't seem to fit". Thanks for taking the time to review this adventure Rechan. Look forward to more feedback from you on other adventures. You definatly won't like "Hell's Heart" based on your above review, though it does come with a pretty sweet Rogue's Gallery of all new baddies. I'll give HH the benefit of the doubt. I know that it requires Viktor to be in HH, so I may not be able to use it, but that doesn't make it a bad adventure. I am looking forward to it, because above all else, you create really exciting and moody adventures. All I can say is playtest your traps rigorously. ;)
Rechan 08-28-07, 11:14 AM	I had no problems with the Raven mask. I think the illo is just a bit exaggerated & the mask probably looks something like this. Hahaha. :) What discouraged me about his picture is that the mask has a tongue. I thought it was the Raven's actual face until I read that it was merely a mask. I personally think avian faces are creepy to begin with, so an actual menacing bird mask isn't hard to envision. KidSixx, I love your adjustments, particularly including the Baron. I hesitate to believe that the Raven could get through Medani security to kidnap the Baron himself but I agree that Viktor would have Medani still in his sights.
Kid SixXx 08-28-07, 12:54 PM	Hahaha. :) What discouraged me about his picture is that the mask has a tongue. I thought it was the Raven's actual face until I read that it was merely a mask. I personally think avian faces are creepy to begin with, so an actual menacing bird mask isn't hard to envision. Yeah, at first I thought The Raven was a Kenku. :D Hey, waitaminit. :plotting: KidSixx, I love your adjustments, particularly including the Baron. I hesitate to believe that the Raven could get through Medani security to kidnap the Baron himself but I agree that Viktor would have Medani still in his sights. Yeah, still working on that hitch, and thanks for the vote of praise. :) But I have sorta figured out my tie-in: Whatever way I have Ziki meet her demise, I think I'll have the Raven attempt to apply Ziki's own MO on her (ie. cutting a piece of flesh from Ziki's corpse akin to Ziki carving the circus tattoos from her victims in Murder in Oakbridge), but I will have the Raven fail in that task. His intent will be to send his first letters to the Chronicle & the Inquisitor in two halves from Ziki's own preserved skin but as I said before, the first killing should be somewhat flawed in completion as to allow the PC's to "appreciate" the improvement in the Raven's technique as time goes by. I think I will have Ziki suffer a severe post-mortem wound on her back, but The Raven won't succeed in capturing his first grisly trophy. If I go with the "prison route" then a guard will interrupt the Raven before he finishes his work. If I go with the Ziki escape, it could very well end up being the PC's that keep the Raven from following through with his plan. Either way, the worst will be yet to come.. as the black snow continues to fall... A week after Ziki's death, The Raven's first letter will appear in both the Sharn Inquisitor and the Korrenberg Chronicle. Since Quoth the Raven takes some stylings from Poe, I decided to use a passage from Poe's poem, The Conqueror Worm to serve as the Raven's first scrawlings: That motley drama- oh, be sure It shall not be forgot! With its Phantom chased for evermore, By a crowd that seize it not, Through a circle that ever returneth in To the self-same spot, And much of Madness, and more of Sin, And Horror the soul of the plot. ~Quoth the Raven, Nevermore.. I didn't get a chance to see what passages from Poe that Mr. Logue used for the Raven's letters. Hopefully he didn't use that one or it's back to square one. So far so good. This should turn out pretty creepy when I'm done tinkering. And Happy Birthday, Nick! Boy am I a prize idiot for not noticing that..
davethebrave371 11-02-07, 05:51 PM	Hey Nick, if you don't mind, I'd like to see your response to Rechan's review. Personally, I liked the adventure and some of his points don't apply to my game (namely that all of my seven players wrote lots of fun loved ones into their backgrounds...the problem for me is "Which ones do I choose?"). But I'm curious to see how you respond to some of the more valid criticisms, such as the assumption of a Perform check, etc.
Nlogue 11-02-07, 07:44 PM	Hey Nick, if you don't mind, I'd like to see your response to Rechan's review. Personally, I liked the adventure and some of his points don't apply to my game (namely that all of my seven players wrote lots of fun loved ones into their backgrounds...the problem for me is "Which ones do I choose?"). But I'm curious to see how you respond to some of the more valid criticisms, such as the assumption of a Perform check, etc. Let me look through my PMs and see if I can find some of it! Hold on!
davethebrave371 11-02-07, 07:52 PM	Let me look through my PMs and see if I can find some of it! Hold on! For dear life, sir, for dear life!
Nlogue 11-02-07, 07:58 PM	Here's some of my response: First off, you're right about this adventure making assumptions...Viktor needs to survive or be raised. Not impossible for someone as well connected and devious as he is. As for his capture...what's to say he doesn't want to be in Hell's Heart? That's exactly where he wants to be for reasons that become very clear in "Hell's Heart" the adventure. You'll see. Vrinn doesn't need to be raised, just replace him with another changeling hired by the Raven (a Tyrant lackey perhaps paid for in large amounts of coin), I think I suggested this, but I might be wrong. Corbin was never an inquisitive. He was Viktor's student when he was young, but soon ended up on the streets where he survived (and gained a connection to the city...hence Urban Druid)...this was clearer in the original draft (which was waaay too long sadly) but some things got cut for space and this got less clear...sorry about that. Basically after Viktor left his life (going on his crazed revenge against Medani and then getting locked up) Corbin's life went down the tubes and he ended up on the streets and misunderstood. He got the job at Morgrave with the hopes of sitting in on some writing classes (he wanted to be a scribe or better yet a writer, more than anything else) but was spurned by the professor (his first victim). I agree, the Raven mask art was poor...it made me sad cause it's Corbin's only art in the adventure...damn. Mange dying in Chimes is an easy fix, just use a different cat's paw who survived. If none survived, just replace him with some other mook who used to work for Viktor, but left his service before the PCs got involved. Maybe a contact who refused to go along with Viktor's vengeful plans. Heck maybe even use Bengen Burtuckle (the dwarf who gives up the goods on Viktor's hideout in "Chimes"). But, I didn't have the space to offer these suggestions in the adventure. Hmmm...if your PCs have NO loved ones and NO contacts...that presents a problem. Don't know what to tell you. Doesn't the cutthroat have some people he needs to carve out his criminal empire? Haven't they met anyone they liked in past adventures at all, or even anyone they have a reason to keep breathing? If no, wow, I don't know what to tell you. I'm sorry the Archives won't work out for you. The "Mystery Itself" section is not a problem my man. This adventure is designed as a mystery they don't need to solve. Viktor plans to solve it for them if they can't and he gets to shove it in their face. If they don't get the clues...they just get the stinky end of the stick in their interrogation scene is all. I kinda made the clues harder to follow for this very reason. That way it is a reward if the party figures them out cause they get to stick it to Viktor during the "Hell's Heart" scene. The adventure is difficult, that I won't deny. I tried to give some ways the PCs can make it less difficult if they do well against Viktor in the interrogation scene, but even so it's pretty harsh. I was going for a survival horror feel, but I may have gone too far. I dig on clockwork things and think there is room for both these and magic-techno in Eberron. This is a personal taste thing, and I see your point on this complaint. You could say that the printing press in the Archives is really old (it is) and predates the more sophisticated magic used to do such tasks in modern times. Spider's legs are a component. That ruling on warforged parts being disintegrated is bogus in my personal opinion. But again, valid gripe. The map errors are also unfortunate. I don't know how they crept in. Apologies for those! You could relocate the junkyard to between Sharn and Wroat if you like. I just thought it might be cool to have in the city as you find all sorts of weird happenstances of locations in big cities (I am learning this in New York). Had a cool encounter in the Archives...had to cut it...word count limit is the enemy my man. New Rogue's Gallery is coming in "Hell's Heart" and there are some doozies. This adventure is having its own troubles right now - mostly the fact that I have to write all the encounters as Tactical Encounters in that Format...ugh...it kills the spirit of a Viktor adventure in more ways than one, but I am working on making this work...ugh. Thanks again for the review my man. Hope you enjoy some of my upcoming work on "Dragons of Eberron" and "Stormreach" more than you did "Quoth." Take care! There, that's some. I don't know where I responded to the Perform check thang...I think I mentioned something like "if the PCs can't save them, they can't save them." May sound callous, but the cool thing about placing others' lives in jeapordy is that it doesn't derail the adventure if they fail (the PCs are still alive) and in fact it can even galvanize the intensity of the conflict if their friends/loved ones are murdered by these death traps...then they'll REALLY want to take the Raven down, and they'll have a HUGE bone to pick with Viktor in "Hell's Heart." Hope this stuff helps. I want to qualify all of the above with the fact that I am really happy Rechan reviewed the adventure, and I love great feedback and criticism from all you guys. I live to serve you faithful DMs bringing the fun out there in the trenches week after week for your friends and players. I need to improve and I appreciate all the feedback I can get to that end. I just didn't want to post this earlier cause I didn't want to seem like I was whining about Rechan's review or defending myself...I think Rechan brings up a lot of strong points in his excellent analysis of "Quoth." Sometimes I go out on a limb as a designer and I know that won't work for everybody, but there's gotta be ways I can do innovative weird stuff and still make it work for every DM who reads it (with some tweaking of course, every DM needs to tweak!). Anyhoo, hope this is helpful. Look forward to a review of Hell's Heart from someone when you get the spare time to put it together. Thanks again for all the awesome feedback and support guys. Good gaming to you and yours.
davethebrave371 11-02-07, 08:13 PM	All good points. I'll be running Quoth fairly soon (we're right in the middle of Grasp of the Emerald Claw at the moment, which I've put off for too long considering this campaign started with the ECS adventure and Shadows of the Last War and we just hit out two year anniversary session two weeks ago), and follow it up immediately with Hell's Heart. I really love your style of adventure, but must confess that after reading HH, I like it best, followed by Chimes, and then Quoth. Quoth, however, isn't bad (in my eyes), just that you give yourself fairly stiff competition. As well, my PCs are fairly "good" for the most part, even the neutral ones and the evil one (who is "good" more as a strategy than anything), so all of Saint-Demain's minions were spared in Chimes at Midnight. Overall, I think Quoth will work super well for my particular group.
Nlogue 11-02-07, 08:56 PM	Yeah, Quoth is kind of the Temple of Doom of the series...kind of the odd man out...with its own quirks, I agree. Glad you dig on HH my friend. I had a lot of fun writing it.
davethebrave371 11-02-07, 09:12 PM	Yeah, Quoth is kind of the Temple of Doom of the series...kind of the odd man out...with its own quirks, I agree. Glad you dig on HH my friend. I had a lot of fun writing it. I'm going to have a lot of fun running it, especially after the threats to the characters loved ones in Quoth! :D
Lord Welkerfan 12-15-07, 10:56 AM	Had a cool encounter in the Archives...had to cut it...word count limit is the enemy my man. Any chance that you'd like to share this with us?
Nlogue 12-16-07, 02:34 AM	Any chance that you'd like to share this with us? Hmmm...can't find the draft it was still in. All I remember was that it involved carrion crawlers I think. They'd taken up residence down there. One was advanced to be BIG. Can't remember the details. I think the crawlers nested in dug out alcoves and waited until the PCs entered the center of the room and then encircled them, scuttling between rows of boxes. I think that was the gist of it.
Siberys 12-17-07, 08:35 PM	I'm still a bit... confused by the map for the Orien graveyard. How should I modify it to work as described?
Nlogue 12-17-07, 09:27 PM	I'm still a bit... confused by the map for the Orien graveyard. How should I modify it to work as described? Yeah...I don't know what happened to that map in development. Basically there should be a mostly hollowed out car between the guy pretending to be spyder and the PCs. The other warforged are in hiding. Then if one or more PCs enter the hollowed out car, the crane picks it up. I don't have the issue in front of me so I can't give better feedback than that right now. Let me know if this is still unclear and if so, I'll dig out the issue later and try to give do better for ya my man.
Wed 01-03-08, 06:42 AM	After reading all this thread (thank you all for the reviews) I've finally managed to get Chimes at Midnight and read it just last night. I've liked it a lot (congratulations Nlogue!!) and I'm going to play it to my group when they finish they current adventure (they are inside Shadows of the last war) I think they would enjoy it because it’s the kind of adventure they like. I’ll tell you how it worked with my players! Now I'm trying to get Quoth the Raven and Hell's Heart!