Forgotten Forge+ high level adaptation? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Forgotten Forge+ high level adaptation? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Errant
08-20-06, 09:54 PM Greetings all, I'm starting this thread in the hope of drawing inspiration from the collective wisdom of the Eberron boards' faithful. I'm going to be taking over DMing for my group soon and I'm contemplating a high level adaptation of the WotC Eberron adventures (Forgotten Forge -> Shadows of the Last War -> Whispers of the Vampires Blade -> Grasp of the Emerald Claw -> Voyage of the Golden Dragon).

The PCs have completed an adaption of the Shackled City adventure path (transplanted to the fringes of Xen'drik) and they should be 16th level by the time I take over. The party currently consists of an Aundairan wizard, an Aundairan sorcerer, a Thranish cleric/exorcist of the silver flame, and an Eldeen Reaches barbarian. I say currently because there's a good chance one or more will die on their current adventure & be replaces, plus the current DM will likely make up some kind of rogue when we swap seats.

Now I could just bump up the challenge ratings of the listed encounters, but the PCs are powerful and relatively famous so I don't want to miss any opportunity to use those facts against them - purely to add to the campaign world immersion and entertainemnt of course.

So here's the question: how would you (a) lure the PCs into the adventure arc and (b) adjust the modules from the published material?

All ideas gratefully accepted.
zag01
08-25-06, 05:07 PM I ran Forgotten Forge for my group after they got to about 8th or 9th level. It was pretty much the same I just upped most of the villians levels. and then in the main space down in the Cogs I added a Mind Flayer that just happend to take up residency there.
D4rkchylde
08-25-06, 06:48 PM Well get them to Sharn and start the adventure as per the books method. Level up the villains manually, tailoring each villain to your needs. Add some fun creatures in the Cogs; that Mind flayer us a neat idea I would use it. Oooo if you have the Libris Mortis you could so make all the Emerald Claw undead stronger and more exotic.

Make the puzzles more puzzling; they might have read the adventures so change stuff around or swap them out for your own pet puzzles/traps/tricks.

Be confident and just try to have fun throughout the whole process; from creation to implementation when the game starts!
Hakim
08-29-06, 03:02 PM Yup I agree with the previous posts but I would also do 2 things. First give monsters max HP instead of the average the manuals list and secondly play the villians like you would a PC Character...with intelligence. What a difference that makes. Smart bad guys...very scary.

Good Luck!!
Thwyvylyn
08-29-06, 07:37 PM You could put some Living Spells (Yes, they are basically my favorite Eberron monster) to give the players the willies, particularly if they have seen similar in the Mournland.
Errant
08-29-06, 08:48 PM Wow, I had given up this thread for dead after the first few days with no responses, thanks for the feedback all!

I was still working out some of the plot points, but here was what I came up with so far:-

1) Bonal Geldem is an old friend of the PC wizard, his best friend during their training years who drifted apart when their careers went in different directions. The PCs are brought to Sharn by a letter from Bonal hinting at discovering a devastatingly powerful "secret" and being in mortal peril he asked for help, saying he would leave word on his whereabouts at the Broken Anvil inn.

2) The PCs arrive at the Broken Anvil and are approached by one of the staff who recognises the wizard's description. Following directions, they head toward Bonal's residence only to hear him call out to them as they approach. As Bonal begins to say he thought "they" had tracked him down again, he is cut down by a warforged assassin wielding a Keeper's Fang. If they're quick, the PCs can stop the assassin grabbing Bonal's satchel (containing his journal) before fleeing.

3) Through the journal or Bonal's friend at the Broken Anvil, the PCs discover he had been working for an influential member of a dragonmarked house...

I was contemplating making it House Deneith instead of Cannith and making the "secret" their infiltration by the Dreaming Dark. Lady Elaydren d'Deneith would be a Sentinel Marshal who seeking out Bonal because of his reputation for expertise regarding arcane lore that might explain oddly suspicious activities at the Sharn enclave,

Instead of schema components, the items the PCs are sent to retrieve would be ancient magical items, relics (in the historical more than the magical sense) dating back the Giant-Quori wars, that would aid in identifying and driving out Quori infiltration. Items sought by the Emerald Claw who want them for their own purposes.

The PCs have spent a lot of time in Xen'drik already, so I wanted to steer them elsewhere, by placing the relevant ruins in remote corners of Khorvaire instead.

Yes this changes the modules quite a bit, but I think adding a third player (the House & the Emerald Claw being the first two) would be a suitable challenge for more powerful PCs. Plus, I want to play the Dreaming Dark agents (those willing to expose themselves by taking action against the PCs at least) as powerful but few in number which is not very compatible with them being frequent opponents I think.

Dropping a mind flayer into the cogs as the current owner of the first item would fit the psionics link nicely.

I'll have a look for Libris Mortis, boosting the leaders of the EC would naturally be necessary & that might be helpful.

Still trying to work out what the "relics" would actually be.
TommyBlack
08-30-06, 03:33 PM You may want to rethink some of that if you're planning on playing the other modules in the series. There are already plenty of forces at work on this one, and adding another big player might make everything just a bit too confusing (it's already pretty hard for the players, let alone the PC's, to figure out who's behind everything by the end of the third full module).

My players, don't read the following please

As for upping the challenge,

I'm working on that for a lower-level party right now. I gave the iron defenders more hit dice and the effect of the improved homonculus feat (From MoE), increased the hit dice and number of horrid rats, kept the beetle swarm from dispersing automatically after 3 rounds, and leveled-up the principal villains. (I'd count the improved homonculus feature as an increase of either 1 or 2 to the CR of the iron defenders)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Errant 08-20-06, 09:54 PM	Greetings all, I'm starting this thread in the hope of drawing inspiration from the collective wisdom of the Eberron boards' faithful. I'm going to be taking over DMing for my group soon and I'm contemplating a high level adaptation of the WotC Eberron adventures (Forgotten Forge -> Shadows of the Last War -> Whispers of the Vampires Blade -> Grasp of the Emerald Claw -> Voyage of the Golden Dragon). The PCs have completed an adaption of the Shackled City adventure path (transplanted to the fringes of Xen'drik) and they should be 16th level by the time I take over. The party currently consists of an Aundairan wizard, an Aundairan sorcerer, a Thranish cleric/exorcist of the silver flame, and an Eldeen Reaches barbarian. I say currently because there's a good chance one or more will die on their current adventure & be replaces, plus the current DM will likely make up some kind of rogue when we swap seats. Now I could just bump up the challenge ratings of the listed encounters, but the PCs are powerful and relatively famous so I don't want to miss any opportunity to use those facts against them - purely to add to the campaign world immersion and entertainemnt of course. So here's the question: how would you (a) lure the PCs into the adventure arc and (b) adjust the modules from the published material? All ideas gratefully accepted.
zag01 08-25-06, 05:07 PM	I ran Forgotten Forge for my group after they got to about 8th or 9th level. It was pretty much the same I just upped most of the villians levels. and then in the main space down in the Cogs I added a Mind Flayer that just happend to take up residency there.
D4rkchylde 08-25-06, 06:48 PM	Well get them to Sharn and start the adventure as per the books method. Level up the villains manually, tailoring each villain to your needs. Add some fun creatures in the Cogs; that Mind flayer us a neat idea I would use it. Oooo if you have the Libris Mortis you could so make all the Emerald Claw undead stronger and more exotic. Make the puzzles more puzzling; they might have read the adventures so change stuff around or swap them out for your own pet puzzles/traps/tricks. Be confident and just try to have fun throughout the whole process; from creation to implementation when the game starts!
Hakim 08-29-06, 03:02 PM	Yup I agree with the previous posts but I would also do 2 things. First give monsters max HP instead of the average the manuals list and secondly play the villians like you would a PC Character...with intelligence. What a difference that makes. Smart bad guys...very scary. Good Luck!!
Thwyvylyn 08-29-06, 07:37 PM	You could put some Living Spells (Yes, they are basically my favorite Eberron monster) to give the players the willies, particularly if they have seen similar in the Mournland.
Errant 08-29-06, 08:48 PM	Wow, I had given up this thread for dead after the first few days with no responses, thanks for the feedback all! I was still working out some of the plot points, but here was what I came up with so far:- 1) Bonal Geldem is an old friend of the PC wizard, his best friend during their training years who drifted apart when their careers went in different directions. The PCs are brought to Sharn by a letter from Bonal hinting at discovering a devastatingly powerful "secret" and being in mortal peril he asked for help, saying he would leave word on his whereabouts at the Broken Anvil inn. 2) The PCs arrive at the Broken Anvil and are approached by one of the staff who recognises the wizard's description. Following directions, they head toward Bonal's residence only to hear him call out to them as they approach. As Bonal begins to say he thought "they" had tracked him down again, he is cut down by a warforged assassin wielding a Keeper's Fang. If they're quick, the PCs can stop the assassin grabbing Bonal's satchel (containing his journal) before fleeing. 3) Through the journal or Bonal's friend at the Broken Anvil, the PCs discover he had been working for an influential member of a dragonmarked house... I was contemplating making it House Deneith instead of Cannith and making the "secret" their infiltration by the Dreaming Dark. Lady Elaydren d'Deneith would be a Sentinel Marshal who seeking out Bonal because of his reputation for expertise regarding arcane lore that might explain oddly suspicious activities at the Sharn enclave, Instead of schema components, the items the PCs are sent to retrieve would be ancient magical items, relics (in the historical more than the magical sense) dating back the Giant-Quori wars, that would aid in identifying and driving out Quori infiltration. Items sought by the Emerald Claw who want them for their own purposes. The PCs have spent a lot of time in Xen'drik already, so I wanted to steer them elsewhere, by placing the relevant ruins in remote corners of Khorvaire instead. Yes this changes the modules quite a bit, but I think adding a third player (the House & the Emerald Claw being the first two) would be a suitable challenge for more powerful PCs. Plus, I want to play the Dreaming Dark agents (those willing to expose themselves by taking action against the PCs at least) as powerful but few in number which is not very compatible with them being frequent opponents I think. Dropping a mind flayer into the cogs as the current owner of the first item would fit the psionics link nicely. I'll have a look for Libris Mortis, boosting the leaders of the EC would naturally be necessary & that might be helpful. Still trying to work out what the "relics" would actually be.
TommyBlack 08-30-06, 03:33 PM	You may want to rethink some of that if you're planning on playing the other modules in the series. There are already plenty of forces at work on this one, and adding another big player might make everything just a bit too confusing (it's already pretty hard for the players, let alone the PC's, to figure out who's behind everything by the end of the third full module). My players, don't read the following please As for upping the challenge, I'm working on that for a lower-level party right now. I gave the iron defenders more hit dice and the effect of the improved homonculus feat (From MoE), increased the hit dice and number of horrid rats, kept the beetle swarm from dispersing automatically after 3 rounds, and leveled-up the principal villains. (I'd count the improved homonculus feature as an increase of either 1 or 2 to the CR of the iron defenders)