"The Burning Plague" adventure [Archive] - Wizards Community

"The Burning Plague" adventure [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Baned
09-13-06, 10:38 PM http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20000801a

Just curious if anyone here has run this adventure before? I think I'm gonna send my group through it when we start our new campaign.

About how long do you think it should take, assuming PCs explore every chamber and kill or otherwise get passed each encounter?
Jutter
09-14-06, 04:16 AM http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20000801a

Just curious if anyone here has run this adventure before? I think I'm gonna send my group through it when we start our new campaign.

About how long do you think it should take, assuming PCs explore every chamber and kill or otherwise get passed each encounter?

I ran this adventure once. Experienced players should be able to finish it in one session. I have some additional remarks though. Warning: Spoiler-alert.

My players did complain about the number of kobolds. They prefered a little more variety in the encounters. Yes I know, the keyword in 'kobold' is 'many', and I'd like to emphasize this is NOT my opinion but my players'.

The final encounter against the orc cleric is a bit rough. It would have ended in a total party kill if the halfling druid didn't succeed on a lucky bull rush to push him of the stone pillar.
Baned
09-14-06, 08:47 AM Yeah, I'm worried with that Orc being level 5 in a first level adventure. I don't think my players will care too much about the shear volume of kobolds.

Also, it seems like a lot of treasure for a first level adventure.
Jutter
09-14-06, 09:05 AM I didn't encounter any treasure trouble along the way. Keep in mind the party might not even find everything.

My party missed out on the treasure in the barrels and the kobold camp. It pretty much left them with a handful of gold and everything they took from the cleric. If you're really worried, you could downgrade the cleric's weapon from a +1 to a masterwork. Not a big deal considering statistics, but it saves 2,000 gp on the treasure scale. You might want to tone down the cleric's treasure anyway, if you decide to downgrade the cleric.
nuwildcat
09-14-06, 10:12 PM I took my players through it and they loved it. The leader of the big group of bad guys yelled "parley!" just as the PCs were coming over the edge of the ledge, and the LG knight and paladin had no choice but to negotiate with him. The players are still talking about this encounter three years later. The NPC at the end made for an excellent fight, but not overpowering at all.

I used The Burning Plague as a prelude to the main event, which took them through second level. The two pieces dovetailed very nicely in terms of "feel", tone, and power level.
parad0cz
09-15-06, 08:26 AM This one has a special place in my heart.

I cant remeber if i ran this as a one shot or it turned into the begining of a campagin... details are fuzzy...

But it did include the ONLY heroic death EVER in ANY of my campaigns. So it probably was a one shot:-P

They were having a bit of trouble with the guy at the end, and the party fighter went toe to toe with him while the others dragged out the unconcious cleric(and isnt he always the first to go?). He was killed, but weekend enough for a new offensive to finish him off.

I dont fault the adventure, most adventures will go south when there is no healing availible!:-P
ccerose
09-15-06, 12:41 PM I used it as a jumping off point for my campaign. I changed a bit of the storyline and some of the encounters and treasure, but the concept was left in tact. My players enjoyed it.
Hunter Rose
09-15-06, 01:08 PM I've run this 3 times for 3 very different groups. Everyone enjoyed it very much. As I have a habit of underestimating my players, I actually had to look for ways to make the module more difficult for them.

The dire weasel proved nearly deadly to one player.

Properly played, the party can be split by the pit trap, creating great ambush conditions for the kobolds. Kobolds using the stalagmites for cover and stealth works great too.

The orc Shaman is tough, but not as bad as you think. Remember the Shaman is also diseased and has an effective negative level reducing him to a CR 4 creature. The key is is the zombies as they are the delay tactic that let the shaman buff up.
Baned
09-16-06, 12:33 AM I'm sensing a very positive response, I think I will use this. My players like kobolds, or at least Meepo anyway. They loved him in the Sunless Citadel, though, who didn't?
Razieliffied
09-16-06, 03:38 AM It's the burning plague! A mine overun with kobolds! I start every campaign in my group with this little adventure, and the players accept it as tradition noting that I make small changes everytime to keep them on their toes.
Sunai_Retsinis
09-16-06, 05:21 AM I have played it as well as the intro to the campaign and forging a bond between the players. It did turn out very well, but as a DM you have to make some in situ adjustments, as a lev 5 Cleric may be a bit over the top, especially if your players are very inexperienced.

We did vanquish it in the end due to some lucky rolls. We had a party of a sorcerer, a rogue, a paladin and a cleric; all level 2 by then. I was a two weapon fighting rogue, and a flank with a double crit already did a world of good. I was also able to sneak up to him and hit him in the surprise round. A bag of ash did the trick when he turned invisible.

The kobolt encounter with the dire weasel was a bit destressing. After kicking the door open, our dear palading got the bag of flour on his head and retreated. With my little crossbow, I jumped flat on the ground (+4 AC to an already formidable one) and started picking them off one by one. After only two remained, I crawled forward, only to get caught by the weasel. It hurt a lot, and only a quick reaction of the cleric and the paladin saved me that day.

Good luck
Sunai
pukunui
09-16-06, 06:31 AM My sister-in-law started off her campaign with this module. It was fun ... and it would have been even more fun if it hadn't been her first time ever DMing. There are only four of us in our group, so only three PCs in any one campaign (my sis and I take turns DMing). The party in her campaign consists of a ranger, a fighter, and a rogue. She doesn't know how to scale encounters down for only 3 PCs instead of 4, so that and not having a cleric made it an especially tough encounter. My rogue almost died several times, mostly due to bad rolls, and she also missed the treasure in the barrels. We didn't get the kobolds treasure either, although not for want of trying -- no matter what tactics we tried or what results we rolled on our diplomacy/bluff/intimidate checks, my sis stuck with "Leave us alone" as a response from the kobold sorceror.

Anyway ... I would totally use it myself if it weren't for the fact that we've already done it. Maybe I'll wait a while and the others in my group will forget the details. Ha ha.
xrabohrok
09-16-06, 04:12 PM I did this one with all of my group, who are new to this. The group almost got totally anihalated (sp?) by dire weasles (maybe they were badgers? Its been awhile).
Every other person got the burning plague (knowing or unknowingly) but it's incubation was far too long to really do anything, other than have the orc make it worse. They had more trouble with the weasles that the orc. They were impressed by the magical darkness though. I give it brownie points for allowing nonviolent npc intreractions with the kobold, which are kind of rare.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Baned 09-13-06, 10:38 PM	http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20000801a Just curious if anyone here has run this adventure before? I think I'm gonna send my group through it when we start our new campaign. About how long do you think it should take, assuming PCs explore every chamber and kill or otherwise get passed each encounter?
Jutter 09-14-06, 04:16 AM	http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20000801a Just curious if anyone here has run this adventure before? I think I'm gonna send my group through it when we start our new campaign. About how long do you think it should take, assuming PCs explore every chamber and kill or otherwise get passed each encounter? I ran this adventure once. Experienced players should be able to finish it in one session. I have some additional remarks though. Warning: Spoiler-alert. My players did complain about the number of kobolds. They prefered a little more variety in the encounters. Yes I know, the keyword in 'kobold' is 'many', and I'd like to emphasize this is NOT my opinion but my players'. The final encounter against the orc cleric is a bit rough. It would have ended in a total party kill if the halfling druid didn't succeed on a lucky bull rush to push him of the stone pillar.
Baned 09-14-06, 08:47 AM	Yeah, I'm worried with that Orc being level 5 in a first level adventure. I don't think my players will care too much about the shear volume of kobolds. Also, it seems like a lot of treasure for a first level adventure.
Jutter 09-14-06, 09:05 AM	I didn't encounter any treasure trouble along the way. Keep in mind the party might not even find everything. My party missed out on the treasure in the barrels and the kobold camp. It pretty much left them with a handful of gold and everything they took from the cleric. If you're really worried, you could downgrade the cleric's weapon from a +1 to a masterwork. Not a big deal considering statistics, but it saves 2,000 gp on the treasure scale. You might want to tone down the cleric's treasure anyway, if you decide to downgrade the cleric.
nuwildcat 09-14-06, 10:12 PM	I took my players through it and they loved it. The leader of the big group of bad guys yelled "parley!" just as the PCs were coming over the edge of the ledge, and the LG knight and paladin had no choice but to negotiate with him. The players are still talking about this encounter three years later. The NPC at the end made for an excellent fight, but not overpowering at all. I used The Burning Plague as a prelude to the main event, which took them through second level. The two pieces dovetailed very nicely in terms of "feel", tone, and power level.
parad0cz 09-15-06, 08:26 AM	This one has a special place in my heart. I cant remeber if i ran this as a one shot or it turned into the begining of a campagin... details are fuzzy... But it did include the ONLY heroic death EVER in ANY of my campaigns. So it probably was a one shot:-P They were having a bit of trouble with the guy at the end, and the party fighter went toe to toe with him while the others dragged out the unconcious cleric(and isnt he always the first to go?). He was killed, but weekend enough for a new offensive to finish him off. I dont fault the adventure, most adventures will go south when there is no healing availible!:-P
ccerose 09-15-06, 12:41 PM	I used it as a jumping off point for my campaign. I changed a bit of the storyline and some of the encounters and treasure, but the concept was left in tact. My players enjoyed it.
Hunter Rose 09-15-06, 01:08 PM	I've run this 3 times for 3 very different groups. Everyone enjoyed it very much. As I have a habit of underestimating my players, I actually had to look for ways to make the module more difficult for them. The dire weasel proved nearly deadly to one player. Properly played, the party can be split by the pit trap, creating great ambush conditions for the kobolds. Kobolds using the stalagmites for cover and stealth works great too. The orc Shaman is tough, but not as bad as you think. Remember the Shaman is also diseased and has an effective negative level reducing him to a CR 4 creature. The key is is the zombies as they are the delay tactic that let the shaman buff up.
Baned 09-16-06, 12:33 AM	I'm sensing a very positive response, I think I will use this. My players like kobolds, or at least Meepo anyway. They loved him in the Sunless Citadel, though, who didn't?
Razieliffied 09-16-06, 03:38 AM	It's the burning plague! A mine overun with kobolds! I start every campaign in my group with this little adventure, and the players accept it as tradition noting that I make small changes everytime to keep them on their toes.
Sunai_Retsinis 09-16-06, 05:21 AM	I have played it as well as the intro to the campaign and forging a bond between the players. It did turn out very well, but as a DM you have to make some in situ adjustments, as a lev 5 Cleric may be a bit over the top, especially if your players are very inexperienced. We did vanquish it in the end due to some lucky rolls. We had a party of a sorcerer, a rogue, a paladin and a cleric; all level 2 by then. I was a two weapon fighting rogue, and a flank with a double crit already did a world of good. I was also able to sneak up to him and hit him in the surprise round. A bag of ash did the trick when he turned invisible. The kobolt encounter with the dire weasel was a bit destressing. After kicking the door open, our dear palading got the bag of flour on his head and retreated. With my little crossbow, I jumped flat on the ground (+4 AC to an already formidable one) and started picking them off one by one. After only two remained, I crawled forward, only to get caught by the weasel. It hurt a lot, and only a quick reaction of the cleric and the paladin saved me that day. Good luck Sunai
pukunui 09-16-06, 06:31 AM	My sister-in-law started off her campaign with this module. It was fun ... and it would have been even more fun if it hadn't been her first time ever DMing. There are only four of us in our group, so only three PCs in any one campaign (my sis and I take turns DMing). The party in her campaign consists of a ranger, a fighter, and a rogue. She doesn't know how to scale encounters down for only 3 PCs instead of 4, so that and not having a cleric made it an especially tough encounter. My rogue almost died several times, mostly due to bad rolls, and she also missed the treasure in the barrels. We didn't get the kobolds treasure either, although not for want of trying -- no matter what tactics we tried or what results we rolled on our diplomacy/bluff/intimidate checks, my sis stuck with "Leave us alone" as a response from the kobold sorceror. Anyway ... I would totally use it myself if it weren't for the fact that we've already done it. Maybe I'll wait a while and the others in my group will forget the details. Ha ha.
xrabohrok 09-16-06, 04:12 PM	I did this one with all of my group, who are new to this. The group almost got totally anihalated (sp?) by dire weasles (maybe they were badgers? Its been awhile). Every other person got the burning plague (knowing or unknowingly) but it's incubation was far too long to really do anything, other than have the orc make it worse. They had more trouble with the weasles that the orc. They were impressed by the magical darkness though. I give it brownie points for allowing nonviolent npc intreractions with the kobold, which are kind of rare.