Dungeon 195The Five Deadly Shadows
An adventure for characters of 7th–9th level
by Teos Abadia
The town of Kudoku is in despair. Its magistrate recently challenged the power of a group of assassins known as the Five Deadly Shadows, but died in the attempt.
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i like the monsters but theres too many skill challenges. but yeah its all heroic tier again this month
I like the idea though, looks like I have some level scaling to do.
I really liked this one, even though I don't usually care for oriental settings. The encounters look well thought out, and the idea of the whole adventure consisting in boss battles is an interesting change of pace. All the skill challenges have a direct impact in the subsequent combat encounters (rather than some bland consequences like losing a surge), which is a nice trick that I'd like to see in more adventures, and that I intend to borrow for my campaigns. Alas, the adventure level is too low for my paragon campaign, but this is good enough to consider adapting it for a different level.
Thanks! I really liked the challenge of having such boss-heavy fights and writing a story around it. I ended up really having fun with the encounter design.
With the skill challenges, there was a deliberate effort on my part to try to provide a number of different takes on skill challenges. None of them are really traditional in format and I thought it would be good for DDI to have some new examples of story-centric challenges (at least, I personally would like to see more alternate ideas on running skill challenges).
I thought this adventure fit well in the heroic tier. I know there is a desire by a vocal minority to see high paragon and epic content (I share that desire), but this seemed to work best at heroic and I worked toward the upper range of where I felt it fit best. I do think it could be scaled to paragon without too much problem, perhaps spinning this as being the base of power for the Shadows (perhaps each one controls one other village but they all operate from here) and heightening the sense of the Shadowfell pulling the village away to make the effect on the empire more dramatic.
I don't think the monsters should be too difficult to scale in paragon. Most of the bosses have decent protection against PC control and that could be increased for your group as needed.
Also, I'll plug the excellent paragon and epic content made available by the Living Forgotten Realms organized play campaign. There are some really nice challenges in some of those adventures. Some of the heroic adventures set in the Dragon Coast could make nice prequels to this adventure, establishing the PCs as charged with ending gangs/tongs in the Realms and/or Kara-Tur.
I'm glad to further discuss the adventure, though please don't let me get in the way of your honest feelings about the article. Part of my involvement here is to see what works and doesn't. I'm especially interested in hearing any play reports.
Thanks!
And, congrats on your 2-year old wanting to play D&D! I've reached 5 and 7 with my children, and they are starting to play a few simplified versions of the game that I create for them.
I like the way it is constructed and how it unfold and how the Skill Challenge impact on the adventure outcome. Brilliant, and i wish to see more layout like that too as it gives Skill Challenge a deeper and more significant meaning. I really love to see things encouraging Cinematic Roleplay like ''I Know Kung Fu''. Little, i know, but so precious tips.
Cool new maps and art too. I really like the Bushido parrying half-a-dozen wepons thrown at him while breaking one in two on page 15. Very flavorful and evocative.
Giant cookie to Teos Abadia for this good adventure
And to Eric Belisle, Craig J. Spearing and Jared Blando for the cool artwork and cartograhpy.
I am curious how well players and DMs enjoy the skill challenges in actual use. I've been really pondering the skill challenge format and searching for a better way to give DMs ideas for response and improvisation. The typical skill challenge format of listing skills with an idea of how they might be used is sort of backwards of what we want to happen. We want to paint the scene and then have players suggest what they want to do (may or may not involve a skill, may involve multiple skills). We than want to be able to riff off of that choice and further the challenge while still keeping to a challenge level. That's hard to write. Scene-based challenges are sort of the easiest way to do this, but as a friend was pointing out to me, they have a high word count and eat up more of the adventure. Hmm...
I don't know whether this is typical, or even whether it is a change from how things were done previously. I suspect there could be changes if someone along the line identifies a better way to do the art. The guiding principle is that freelancers provide stuff that the company is free to change. If I suggest that the cover image be something that doesn't really work, they might make the change and I would see it in the finished product. I'm ok with that, largely because I understand the time pressures they have.
I'm very glad I gave those systems and genres a try. I found a lot to like and I credit both Living Spycraft and Heroes of Rokugan as primary influences in my work with organized play adventure design.
It is true that people sometimes have hard preferences. I have a friend that will always try anything... but always ends up not liking anything outside a traditional fantasy setting.
Have fun with the conversion. You might look at the article on Honor and see if you could use on of the non-Asian honor types as a link that bonds the five assassins. They could have corrupted a code of chivalry or stolen its secrets so they are no longer known to the order. That could preserve the non-combat concept, even if just at a high level.
The fight sequences are very cinematic and get a 10 in the cool factor i particularly like the fight at the monastary with that monk guy. It was a pretty clever setup that took me about an hour to draw it in the VT because i was trying to make it as attractive as possible. I look forward to unleashing him on the party. My players have enjoyed this adventure more then the darksun material released for 4e.
The biggest issue i have had is getting players to show up with themed characters. This one particularly has brought me to the point of frustration with getting some people to show up with characters appropriate for the setting not just mechanical powerhouses. Detracts from the atmosphere imo, i really could use some tips at how to encourage people to play themed over power characters. I didnt place any solid restrictions other then general backgrounds only and keep it flavorful and to try to use material from 404. I made an effort to discuss character concepts with players using guidelines in Oriental Adventures book for 3.5. To avoid scholarly magic classes, 1 player is a pyromancer mage flavored as a Wu-Jen so it worked for him, or very organized religious characters like paladin and tried to encourage classes like ninja, samurai (fighter/slayer) stuff like that.
Only other thing was in the tea house. First on entering when asked to remove their gear and show courtesy they basically told the geisha to stick it. Only 1 character complied and tried to perform the SC ceremony and failed miserably while the others waited outside. No one who isnt familiar with asian culture at least somewhat would consider walking into a potential trap unarmed insane. So after making a fool of himself at the ceremony i offered him the chance to summon his equipment for 1 healing surge at which point my entire gaming group almost in unison screamed out "Plot Tool!!" which was my que never to try this again. I was hesitant when i read it to use it, and i feel it would have been better to make them scramble for their gear while under attack than to allow them to freely summon their equipment but i thought id try it as written anyways.
This adventure has been great so far, had to split it up into 2 sessions we have the second half of the adventure this saturday. If everyone shows up >_> but anyways i love the setting so far. Im not a fan of forgotten realms but in general you can place the adventure in any l5r, or oriental region of a world. Buut as for the adventure itself i love the RP heavy orientation, having plenty of RP encounters is reassuring that not everything needs to be a skill challenge. Some people seemed not to have liked it i think it really brings out the RP in RPG.
My thanks to you (and to Pyrate_Jib above)! I'm really glad to hear from people that run it. When authors write for organized play we know hundreds to thousands will play the adventure. For Dungeon it is less clear how many will play it, use a piece of it, or just be inspired by it in some way.
I was actually curious whether I had enough RP in it. I was aiming for having a strong setting feel and to paint scenes that helped PCs/players respond, but I wasn't sure if I should have placed more deliberate RP in the various scenes with the Shadows. As someone wrote earlier, the scenes can be a bit like an old HK film, where there is a brief face-off discussion and then the combat roars into action. Space issues prevented me from doing more, where you could interact to greater detail before, after, and during a combat with one of the Deadly Shadows.
I do really like much of what Skill Challenges can bring to the table. It is easy to forget that uncodified RP scenes in 3E and before were often one player and the DM and not particularly lengthy or necessarily interesting. Skill Challenges do a great job of involving the whole party and encouraging the DM to story-tell around things like a trip or an investigation. But, they can also be badly used and just be a die-rolling exercise. In this adventure I deliberately tried to prevent that by making the skill challenges be non-standard and driven by events that take place in sequence, such that players can't help but have some RP involvement rather than throwing dice at the problem. I also aimed for the DM to not telegraph what skills are critical all the time and to allow failures without repercussions or non-roll actions to work. I'm always looking for feedback on how it actually played out for you.
The fight sequences are very cinematic and get a 10 in the cool factor i particularly like the fight at the monastary with that monk guy. It was a pretty clever setup that took me about an hour to draw it in the VT because i was trying to make it as attractive as possible. I look forward to unleashing him on the party. My players have enjoyed this adventure more then the darksun material released for 4e.
I would love to hear more as you go through each scene. I'm adapting the adventure for Living Forgotten Realms, so there is an opportunity to do minor tweaks as needed based on actual play results.
I'm always curious about which encounters were your favorite and least favorite and why. It is often very telling. I'm also curious about any rough spots in the adventure that either created confusion, interrupted game flow, or frustrated the table. Identifying what caused these reactions helps me not do it in the future!
The biggest issue i have had is getting players to show up with themed characters. This one particularly has brought me to the point of frustration with getting some people to show up with characters appropriate for the setting not just mechanical powerhouses. Detracts from the atmosphere imo, i really could use some tips at how to encourage people to play themed over power characters.
You might borrow the approach that Encounters used for the previous Neverwinter season. They provided hooks in the story based off of the Neverwinter themes. You could create a list of things you want to see (themes, classes/builds, backgrounds, etc.) and then at various points in the adventure they trigger something special for that PC. Announcing up front lets players know they will "unlock" stuff by choosing those things and then it becomes part of how they win. Otherwise, players correctly identify that the most "win fun" comes from superior/optimal builds. (Of course, there is RP fun, but players don't easily sense that during character creation when they see all the powers with their +s and other mechanical aspects).
Only other thing was in the tea house. First on entering when asked to remove their gear and show courtesy they basically told the geisha to stick it. Only 1 character complied and tried to perform the SC ceremony and failed miserably while the others waited outside. No one who isnt familiar with asian culture at least somewhat would consider walking into a potential trap unarmed insane. So after making a fool of himself at the ceremony i offered him the chance to summon his equipment for 1 healing surge at which point my entire gaming group almost in unison screamed out "Plot Tool!!" which was my que never to try this again. I was hesitant when i read it to use it, and i feel it would have been better to make them scramble for their gear while under attack than to allow them to freely summon their equipment but i thought id try it as written anyways.
That's great feedback! I wondered about that. I suspect it works well as a reward when they succeed, but poorly when they fail. The idea I was going for is that the Wu Jen had to work with magic in a give-and-take fashion. To bind her protections there had to be loopholes - basically a ying-yang balance had to be in place. She gains these hag protectors and ways to harm anyone that comes after her, but if they can show the element of Bushido then she loses that protection and the ward comes undone. But, I get how it can feel hollow. Good stuff, thanks!
I will say however, part of the reason is because the setting was moved out of kara-tur, and the town became a large city that the PC's were sent to convince to join in a war.
Because of this, their chosen goal from the moment they learned the guy died, was to convince the new magistrate that it was their enemy that had had his predecessor assassinated, even though they don't actually know who did yet.
The old monk carrying the sticks people just wondered at his importance, then asked him for directions to the tea house and moved on.
The wizard decided to Beguiling Strands the beggars outside the tea house to show Numiko Li they meant business. The party then had a weird debate over angering her to combat, and the other half trying to keep things calm, which ended up with them simply being kicked out.
Uh...where things go from here should be interesting.
You could have a more transparent/typical set up and/or try to set everything up in a way the party is unlikely to ignore.
For example, have the monk again, but being beat up by a few toughs (minions, easy victory). The monk explains that these toughs are perhaps the first that are springing up as a result of the 5 Deadly Shadows being victorious over Hiro. He can also explain that the town once had a set of guiding principles. When Hiro died, those principles were taken from him and from the town. The monk can't even name them. The principles became corrupted and now protect the 5. The 5 believed no one would recall or understand the principles. Perhaps the heroes, in being outsiders, can master them? He then gives them the orange robes and explains that they once bore the principles written upon them.
The idea being to be more up front with this group so they see the goal more transparently and work to "game" it.
Good luck!
This adventure shows just how dishonourable my current party is
I will say however, part of the reason is because the setting was moved out of kara-tur, and the town became a large city that the PC's were sent to convince to join in a war.
Because of this, their chosen goal from the moment they learned the guy died, was to convince the new magistrate that it was their enemy that had had his predecessor assassinated, even though they don't actually know who did yet.
I recently ran it (first part anyway) and I realized in advance that this could become a potential issue. The expectations of typical Western fantasy style adventurers is not exactly the same as when the players would be running Oriental characters. I had their employer warn them in advance about the fact that the people in the town were a bit peculiar and conservative, triggering a conversation about basic etiquette rules of the Shou. I never mentioned specific bushido codes, but enough for them not to immediately attack and to be willing to leave weapons and armor at the tea ceremony and to add the dots together when they realized the town was apparently cursed (especially when the first symbol appeared on the orange robes) ;)
However, I think they should count as having failed the Courtesy test, you don't exactly greet someone by KO'ing everyone at their doorstep with pretty colours. Perhaps I should have Numiko and assistants ambush them later? Having them "try again" seems a bit lame. I suppose if the players come up with the idea to try again they should have a chance.
A couple of options:
- failure, but perhaps someone else (even Jushiro) comes along and tells the story of these homeless... how once they had jobs in this town but were overwhelmed by despair, how only this tea house was giving them food, and how the town may suffer if no one counters the despair affecting this town. He or she might speak as to the culture of the town, explaining their emphasis on patience, dialogue, formality, etc. in such a way that it is clear that such approaches are likely to save the town and other approaches doom it.
- not failure, but perhaps a penalty to the tea ceremony or other next attempt at a virtue. Their reputation might carry to the next assassin, meaning the NPC starts by asking whether they will just rashly jump into combat or are more clever than that. Good NPCs may say they fear they are not the heroes needed for the town... you could even push for a scene like Pat Morita in Karate Kid... "I would teach you, but you are an unwilling student. I think our town is doomed. What a shame."... perhaps sprinkled in with some "Do or do not, there is no try" and "War make one not great" Yoda speak to see if players catch on. A vision could also help, perhaps right before bringing Jushiro back... for example, a vision of them training under Jushiro and then the dark clouds lifting from the town.
- worst case, you can always go to skill checks or even out of character. "Make me a history check... good, you realize that this town has been relatively isolated, and its culture is...". Or, "you guys get the sense that your approach last time may actually push the town further into despair. You sense a different approach may be needed to overcome what conflict has done to it."
It is hard to say what would work best for your group!
And, this has been very helpful to me. I'm working on the adaptation for Living Forgotten Realms, so this is very useful in thinking how to communicate to the DM ways to deal with this very problem.
In writing the adaptation I tried to incorporate the feedback I saw here, so my thanks to everyone that posted. I also used some of the rewards from other articles in the issue, as well as suggestions from Twitter. Thanks!