Post/Author/DateTime	Post
The Conqueror Worm 06-23-05, 03:39 AM	I'm going to be running the Forgotten Forged for two players who're new to the game. There will be an NPC third party member to help them out, but the adventure seems like it would still be pretty deadly for three first level characters. Right now my solution is to drop levels from the rogue, the shifters, and Saber, (reducing the encounters to EL2) making the magic sword masterwork and leaving out the horrid rats entirely. Divided three ways, this will give about the same experience from combat encounters as the unmodified adventure would when divided between four characters. (Assuming I've done my math correctly.) Are there any glaring problems with this that I haven't seen? Also, am I supposed to give the characters experience for the non-combat/non-trap encounters based on the EL? I haven't run an official module for 3rd edition or 3.5, and all I've given out for that type of thing has been ad hoc awards.
Kid SixXx 06-23-05, 08:46 AM	Also, am I supposed to give the characters experience for the non-combat/non-trap encounters based on the EL? I haven't run an official module for 3rd edition or 3.5, and all I've given out for that type of thing has been ad hoc awards. Since you only have two players, I think it would be nice to give exp for certain situations. Also, why only one henchman? You probably wouldn't have to scale the adventure if there were 4 in the party, NPC or otherwise. I ran FF with 6 and I had to scale things up a tad to challenge my party, except for the Dire Rats which were downright lethal.
Lasrifriir 06-23-05, 11:23 AM	I ran the FF with 2 players; a human Seren druid and a human ranger. Both of them had some mad 4d6 stats (I use two pairs that I got out of an old Monopoly box; things are freaking lethal weapons) and naturally the druid had a wolf. Through some insane dice rolls and inventive uses of equipment (they used a 10 foot pole to lower the wolf down into the forge, and they later doused the pole in oil, set it on fire, and sent it rolling at the beetle swarm) they even beat that evil pair of horrid rats. The iron defenders in the forge itself gave them some trouble but they rested and looted the place afterwards. Saber was another story. Party attacks and the ranger wins first initiative. He runs up to Saber with his flail trying to bash his warforged face in, but on the attack of opportunity the S man gets a critical and drops the ranger to -7 hp. The wolf attacks a few rounds later and dies. The druid is the last to go. Saber was at 3 hp when the druid finally went into the negatives. I didn't want to end the campaign right there, so I ruled that they all stabilized and eventually recovered, but Saber made off with the first schema. It was the DR that really hurt them in that fight, since the druid kept rolling incredibly low damage on his bow. To be honest, it was the beetle swarm that I was really worried about since they didn't have a strong area caster, but the now nigh-legendary Ten Foot Pole Trick saved their bacon there. Usually, most people say that it was the rats that gave them the most trouble because of the +5 natural armor and acid that the Horrid template gives, so apparently my party's case was just a fluke. There are a lot of ambiguous encounter in the FF that would be helpful to look over; the fight in the sewers with the WF rogue needs some tweaking especially.
anarco_rata 06-23-05, 11:42 AM	I also ran the FF with only three players, and they were killed by the horrid rats :rolleyes: they're too strong for a 1st level party...tooo strong
Brastan 06-23-05, 02:44 PM	Survivability of a 3 man team is directly tied to how well they cooperate. Even two player characters can come out on top of an adventure meant for party of 4. Also luck plays an important part. Provided they have thier skill bases covered( one has good listen, the other has good spot) and they come prepared they should do fine. They get a good amount of cash up front that they should put toward healing potions or alchemy items. Additionally give the players time to discuss what they're going to do out of game before they take actions. With only two they need to plan out what to do in order to get the most out of a situation. Give them help in this regard. I recommend that the NPC you send with them be able to identify at least one weakness on each monster encountered. If you want a short two man adventure that can bring them up to a level that they can take FF as just two them feel free to use this adventure I wrote for two friends when Eberron first came out. Also feel free to modify or correct spell in any way you feel like. Dockside Breakout (http://www.public.asu.edu/~jddorn/DnD/Adventures/Dockside_Breakout.htm) Here are some accompanying maps I made using Dundjinni. If you want the .dja files please PM me. Warehouse Battle Map (http://www.public.asu.edu/~jddorn/DnD/Adventures/Warehouse.jpg) (569 KB), Warehouse Overview (http://www.public.asu.edu/~jddorn/DnD/Adventures/Warehouse%20Overview.jpg) (86 KB)
The Conqueror Worm 06-23-05, 03:49 PM	Also, why only one henchman? Well, in part I decided on one so I could save myself trouble. Two characters is just more work to keep track of. Plus, the more time I spend dealing with NPC's, the less time I'm spending on the players. Don't want them players to get bored, or complacent because NPC's will cover their butts if there's something they can't deal with. Provided they have thier skill bases covered ... and they come prepared they should do fine. They get a good amount of cash up front that they should put toward healing potions or alchemy items. Additionally give the players time to discuss what they're going to do out of game before they take actions. With only two they need to plan out what to do in order to get the most out of a situation. Give them help in this regard. I recommend that the NPC you send with them be able to identify at least one weakness on each monster encountered. My players are new, so I'm going to let them discuss and plan out of character, and be generous with any information they might have learned in the character history, and that kind of thing. The NPC will be a useful advisor too, either as a veteran, shady type already familiar with the lower levels of Sharn, or bookworm loaded up on Knowledge skills, depending on which seems most appropriate when we're ready to start play. And conveniently equipped with at least a couple useful items. And thanks for the sharing the adventure! So far, it sounds like while the adventure could be pulled off, there's a lot of potential for it to kill the players off pretty quickly if the dice go against them. Since it's the first adventure for new players I think I'm going to err on the side of generosity. Unless, of course, the players really mop the floor with their first couple of opponents, in which case I'll run whatever's left as written and let the players take their chances.
anarco_rata 06-24-05, 09:41 PM	The NPC will be a useful advisor too, either as a veteran, shady type already familiar with the lower levels of Sharn, or bookworm loaded up on Knowledge skills, depending on which seems most appropriate when we're ready to start play. And conveniently equipped with at least a couple useful items. i recomend the bookworm, just because a knowledge(local:sharn) can reveal a lot to new eberron players. I used a lot of those on my first FR campaign