Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Joethesmita 03-27-07, 08:20 PM	If you're able to play IUZ mods you'll know what I'm talking about. The hardest IUZ mod that I played was blue scales red secrets....it's NASTY!
Haro 03-27-07, 09:01 PM	There has never been a Living Greyhawk non-special scenario that was tougher than 595's Lost but not Forgotten. I'd expand on that but anyone who has played or run it knows the truth of that statement. 6-03 The Cup Runs Dry was brutal and runs a very distant second IMO. Joe
Joethesmita 03-27-07, 09:17 PM	O yeah, the cup runs dry is ESPECIALLY hard if you do something.
Lomiat 03-27-07, 10:54 PM	Haro, I have to disagree with your ranking between Cup and Lost. Cup takes 1st in my opinion -- due to the extended play; Lost follows as a distant second. Both strike me as considerably more difficult than most non-IUZ mods, though there are certainly a handful of VTF, HIG, VER, COR and other mods that are right up there near Lost. We had one of the authors of Lost But Not Forgotten run our table for us, too, and in one combat, our sturdy band of 6 highly experienced players and PCs were reduced to the two arcanists while the monk and one of the clerics sat stranded in a Forcecage, our shadowdancer was petrified, and our other cleric was desperately trying to buy some time on the wrong side of a mass of Evard's to buff herself. It was a fun fight for the sorcerer and my wizard.
ezreal2001 03-28-07, 12:22 AM	Hardest one was Lost but not Forgotten. That said others have had their moments - way too any Save or Die situations - but hey, its just make belive. "Across the Border" was really scary especially when the entire party had the unerrataed version of "the ire of Iuz"; "Doraka" had some fun moments especially if the party had a Paladin "Tides of War" was chocked full of tough but interesting encounters "Playing both sides" had one of the coolest endings - even though the DM stuffed it up. Some of last year's were tough too - but to say how would be telling. Gotta say that the worst thing about becoming part of the Ratik region was leaving the Iuz meta region - Sorry, no respect for the NMR mods they just don't compare - Roll on the return to the Iuz metaregion.
_metz_ 03-28-07, 12:33 AM	I'd have to agree with this, I didn't get to play many Iuz, but I have read through a lot of them, and DMed a couple. NMR mods just don't match up in storyline, or challenege. And thats not just saying Iuz is a slugfest, look at Madhouse... NMR mods just don't excite me. I can get into Ratik cos its new, and so on, but lol I just don't take some of the NMR mods that seriously. That being said Charity of friends was quite a challenging mod, but the rest were all a little too simaler or easy. I won't lie, I am kinda biased against elves (even when playing my elf PC I don't always take it seriously and he is my main lol) so NMR mods don't really float my boat. Not saying they aren't well written, I guess I was just introduced to RPGA under Perrenland and Iuz.
lunarfish 03-28-07, 12:47 AM	I am in complete agreement with Lomiat that Cup is vastly harder than Lost but not Forgotten - although they are two of the toughest (falling second and third to Here There be Dragons) modules I've ever played. Cup was especially brutal to my party - and my shadowdancer, who was mentioned above my Lomiat, can attest to Lost's difficulty; I ate up six resurgences on that Stone to Flesh, and on five of them I rolled nat 1. Ugh. Of the other metaregions, I've never been as challenged by VTF or Nyrond metaregional adventures. However, I've not played nearly as many of them, and never in Sheldomar or the Splintered Suns. I hear that Splintered Suns is supposed to be good, though. And as for other Iuzians - Tides of War, Dorakaa, The Mission is Everything, and Blue Scales, Red Secrets all had great moments - especially Blue Scales. Although some of them have retired, I recommend that everyone play as many Iuzians as they can. Play up, play often, and make sure your cleric has Raise Dead or Resurrection memorized every day!
GenghisBob 03-28-07, 03:25 AM	Lost but not forggoten was toughest from my persepctive. We came out walking like we had used elphants as sepositories. One PC was left for dead in the force cage. He manged to make some deals, sleep with some demons, burn some favours and resources to evantualy make it out. Several unconcious moments, some favours and lots of cash spent Then tides of war. i think we had 5 unconsious moments and three favours burnt. With Cup... around third. It was hairy but no one went unconcious. No favours used. Dorrakka is my most favourite one. Went in with one criminal to sacrifice. Came out with her and another 7 criminals, bound and gaged, and some agreements made with the drow assasin girl-boss. 4 rogs, 1 cleric/fighter, 1 sneaky archer. It was UMG Sap Slug fest 595, or better known as the "Lock up your goat Tour of Dorrakka" We came out with a priest of Iuz, a Drow assasin, an Armourer and a few minor functionaries we sapped along the way. Balls of fun. Mad house was ok, neither hear nor there, it would have been more fun if i had got to play it with my primary - but thats what cons are all about. Love GB
Haro 03-28-07, 08:54 AM	Haro, I have to disagree with your ranking between Cup and Lost. Cup takes 1st in my opinion -- due to the extended play; Lost follows as a distant second. Both strike me as considerably more difficult than most non-IUZ mods, though there are certainly a handful of VTF, HIG, VER, COR and other mods that are right up there near Lost. We had one of the authors of Lost But Not Forgotten run our table for us, too, and in one combat, our sturdy band of 6 highly experienced players and PCs were reduced to the two arcanists while the monk and one of the clerics sat stranded in a Forcecage, our shadowdancer was petrified, and our other cleric was desperately trying to buy some time on the wrong side of a mass of Evard's to buff herself. It was a fun fight for the sorcerer and my wizard. The immediate feeling I got when playing Lost.. was that the combats were extremely well thought out (the rakshasa in disguise was great, the two rogues with good aligned piercing weapons were busy with other monsters unknowing of their foolishness). The APL 16 boss fight with the Balor with +5 full plate among other items was just wrong, thank the gods I played it at 12...
Maesto 03-28-07, 10:06 AM	I think Lost But Not Forgotten was the worst, unless you took the optional encounter in The Cup Runs Dry. Lost was well thought out; Cup was more random. Blue Scales, Red Secrets was silly in my mind; I didn't enjoy the combats, although they were tough. I really enjoyed Lost. I ran Haro through The Cup Runs Dry, and I ran it rather harshly, and they didn't even make it to the optional part. I can't say why at the moment (spoilers), but suffice it to say that if your DM runs the module as written, you should be feeling screwed over before you finish.
Randall Montgomery 03-28-07, 11:20 AM	Definitely Lost but not Forgotten. My group got through the first encounter pretty easy, but has never been so close to a TPK as during the final battle of that mod. I've gotta say I was suprised to hear someone mention Blue Scales, Red Secrets, as I played that one at a convention, where I myself was playing 3 levels up, and my group just about cakewalked the mod (one unconscious in the final battle, but otherwise we cleaned house). I haven't yet played Cup Runs Dry yet, so my answer may possibly change depending on how that goes.
lunarfish 03-28-07, 05:40 PM	Ahh... If we do not factor in the extended play option, then Lost was indeed harder than Cup. Also, I mentioned Blue Scales more for one specific part, rather than the adventure overall. Also, I completely forgot to mention Mad House!!! Everyone should make an effort to play this adventure, especially in a Midnight Madness slot with a group you're comfortable and familiar with.
_metz_ 03-29-07, 03:48 AM	Blue scales red secrets wwas a tough mod, wouldn't say it was the hardest but stuff up or get caught off guard...
ithardin 03-29-07, 12:08 PM	I've only played one IUZ mod, so "Tides of War" get my vote:D Did I mention I was a 7th level Rogue playing at an APL 12 table? I spent most of the time having protective spells cast on me-thanks goodness for shield other and elemental protections!
Haro 03-29-07, 01:34 PM	I ran Haro through The Cup Runs Dry, and I ran it rather harshly, and they didn't even make it to the optional part. I can't say why at the moment (spoilers), but suffice it to say that if your DM runs the module as written, you should be feeling screwed over before you finish. Indeed. Depending on your point of view, the combats were either a triumph of environment/monster synergy or a horrible, horrible nerf to various PC types. Maesto had me standing up around the table in concern for the majority, which (given its rarity) was actually very welcome.
Sieylianna 03-29-07, 05:08 PM	The Cup Runs Dry was definitely difficult. We had one death and didn't even try the extended play. On the other hand, we planned to play APL 10, but a sixth player was added at the last minute which bumped us up to APL 12. (I think the table was all 10th and 11th level PCs). I don't remember Blue Scales, Red Secrets being all that tough. I've only played 6-8 Iuz modules. Ed
Golorious 03-29-07, 10:52 PM	Well Lost but not forgotten and Tides of war were both difficult depending on the situation. When I played lost but not forgotten it was run by the Author. So umm yeah it was extremely difficult. Luckily we still had the broken DSP holy word crack of doom! I think that saved us from TPK. It was an extremely clever :) I'm excited that he has volunteered to write a Shield Lands mod :evillaugh The Cup Runs Dry is interesting in all of the Tables that I have seen play, DM'd and the one I played in I saw only one table defeat the optional encounter and it was messy, I don't think anyone would say I went soft on them I had two of the PCs in the -50s only alive because of multiple delay deaths. It was also a group of among the most powerful PCs in our region. I saw 4 deaths and most tables flee. I personally took at least 90 damage each round and dealt over 150 damage each round when I played the optional encounter. I sucked up 2 heals and a enveloping cocoon and was Dim Doored out at -8hp. If there wasn't a 15th level druid playing down I would have died. Half the party was unconscious or in serious jeopardy after the first round. The rest of the party was fleeing while I was umm tanking? LOL Obviously we didn't win.
Nuddawan 03-30-07, 12:47 PM	Whew...I'm glad to see that Tides of War made some folks lists as a tough mod. After it was released, I had some stories come back to me that some groups had cakewalked it (I'll just assume it was groups of cheese weasel powergamers). Glad you enjoyed it! Rob Little Author of "Tides of War" among others
copper_wyrmling 03-30-07, 12:54 PM	Whew...I'm glad to see that Tides of War made some folks lists as a tough mod. After it was released, I had some stories come back to me that some groups had cakewalked it (I'll just assume it was groups of cheese weasel powergamers). Well, my group kinda cakewalked it, but we got very lucky. (At APL 12, our high-Int grey elf wizard managed to stick confusion and slow on most of the vrocks, and then in the last fight he had anticipate teleportation running and cast the broken Complete Arcane version of Illusory Pit in the area where the baddies were about to appear. The fact that our fighter rolled three consecutive nat 20s with a blessed weapon while full power attacking in the last fight also helped.) I did really enjoy the module. I thought Lost but not Forgotten was the toughest, but it was a LOT of fun, and the combats were very clever - they were hard, but entirely within the rules. I didn't enjoy Cup Runs Dry so much - although that was possibly because I played it in a convention slot and thus never had the option of doing the extended encounter. I can see how Red Scales Blue Secrets would be hard - our group didn't find it too difficult, but we were extremely arcane-heavy, which is generally a good thing at high APL.
Haro 03-30-07, 01:04 PM	Whew...I'm glad to see that Tides of War made some folks lists as a tough mod. After it was released, I had some stories come back to me that some groups had cakewalked it (I'll just assume it was groups of cheese weasel powergamers). Glad you enjoyed it! Rob Little Author of "Tides of War" among others Rob, I didn't mention Tides of War as it had that 'end of story arc' feel about it, therefore it could take a certain liberty with the difficulty that others may not (imo). Lost But Not Forgotten and The Cup Runs Dry had that 'blindsided - I was expecting regular scenario difficulty not a bloodbath!' feel to them. In Tides of War I fell victim (of all things) to the Druid's shark companion after trying to recover a body for loot. Serves me right for being greedy but boy oh boy the crit on the bite was a surprise!
copper_wyrmling 03-30-07, 01:20 PM	Lost But Not Forgotten and The Cup Runs Dry had that 'blindsided - I was expecting regular scenario difficulty not a bloodbath!' feel to them. Cup Runs Dry, maybe... but Lost But Not Forgotten had ample warning in the blurb. I remember something along the lines of, "Do not play if you are afraid to lose your character", "This scenario is extremely challenging and should not be run without proper GM preparation", and so on...
Haro 03-30-07, 01:34 PM	Cup Runs Dry, maybe... but Lost But Not Forgotten had ample warning in the blurb. I remember something along the lines of, "Do not play if you are afraid to lose your character", "This scenario is extremely challenging and should not be run without proper GM preparation", and so on... You are (as usual) quite correct. BTW, does anyone think low level Shadows of a Dread City rates a mention in this company?
copper_wyrmling 03-30-07, 01:52 PM	BTW, does anyone think low level Shadows of a Dread City rates a mention in this company? Quite possibly - although at least it did warn you not to bring L1-2 PCs, unlike a certain Core I could mention that also had a full vampire at APL 4. If we're talking about older mods, Every Passing Breeze remains my gold standard for an unfairly difficult and nasty module, at least at APL 8. "Everyone playing at-APL or lower is paralyzed with no save", yay... especially fun when everyone in the party is at-APL or lower, since you're playing it a month before it retires and everyone with higher-level PCs has already done it (something like 8,8,8,8,7,7 really should be a viable APL 8 table, but not when the CL13 Blasphemies are flying...) I also disliked the start of that module: it's kind of annoying to start halfway up a mountain and be told that your PCs have already accepted the mission and so you have no opportunity to question your employer. (That's now happened to me twice in Iuz modules, and both times it's turned out to be a trap. There's a reason my cleric is paranoid even by adventurer standards...)
Randall Montgomery 03-30-07, 02:14 PM	BTW, does anyone think low level Shadows of a Dread City rates a mention in this company? I played this one at APL 6, and it was the 2nd Iuz Meta I ever played. I absolutely loved this module, especially the first encounter where half the party put on a play and the other half (led by myself) quietly snuck in to take care of business. I managed to roll a crit on a scorching ray and ended that encounter almost before it began, much to the awe of my companions. The final encounter with the vampire was harsh, although no one died. I did have 2 negitive levels to save against, and while I made them both, I needed to use my Not this Time for one of them (SOOO glad that one's finally being reprinted). I don't know that I'd consider this one of the harder Iuz mods ever, but it was definitely memorable.
Japangirl 03-30-07, 05:01 PM	BTW, does anyone think low level Shadows of a Dread City rates a mention in this company? We almost had a TPK on that one. APL 4 and full vampire is not good, especially when the small rogue is the only one with silver weapons. Three of six people died, and the rest got away only because of a timely Obscuring Mist from the cleric.