Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Asaris34 Oct 20, 2014 9:46:46	I'm currently running LMoP for my group, and they're about to finish a quest for Hamun Kost, the Red Wizard. Certainly he knows the location of Cragwell Castle. I'm just trying to figure out if it would make sense for him to know about the Wave Echo Cave. How have you handled it? Do you feel like it worked out well for you?
#2 iserith Oct 20, 2014 10:16:56	If he didn't know about it, it makes sense that he could cast some foul necromantic bloodletting rituals that would allow him to divine the location of Wave Echo Cave. As it stands, the PCs can figure out the location of that site a couple different ways: by rescuing Gundren Rockseeker at Cragmaw Castle or asking Agatha the banshee. Adding one more way to find the cave doesn't seem like too big a deal to me.
#3 Asaris34 Oct 20, 2014 12:45:24	I suppose the issue is it would allow them to skip Cragmaw Castle, since they already asked Agatha for the location of Garaele's spellbook. They'd be underpowered at that point, though still probably at 3rd or 4th level after Wyvern Tor.
#4 iserith Oct 20, 2014 12:56:17	Skipping Cragmaw Castle would mean abandoning Gundren to his fate which isn't terribly noble of PCs, even if it's a valid choice. Plus doesn't Sildar offer a substantial cash reward for ridding the area of goblins?   I say put it out there and let the players decide what to do. If they want to "skip to the end," they can. It'll just be harder and come with certain tradeoffs as above.
#5 paulstrait Oct 20, 2014 13:43:29	The module indicates that he does know where Wave Echo Cave is ("Whether the characters sought the information from Agatha or Reidoth, negotiated with Hamun Kost, or recovered Gundren and his map from Cragmaw Castle, they now know the location of Wave Echo Cave.")   It does not, incidentally, indicate or suggest that he knows where Cragmaw Castle is, though he certainly might.   It isn't your job to protect the players from themselves if they want to go to Wave Echo Cave early.  My players went there at level 3 (and this was after they went to Cragmaw Castle -- they skipped Thundertree), levelling up midway through to 4, and had no problem.
#6 paulstrait Oct 20, 2014 13:48:11	iserith wrote:
#7 Cody_Y Oct 20, 2014 17:21:20	I didn't use the Evil Mage template, I wrote up a 8th level necromancer, applied the old Red Wizard bonus and adopted the sage background. Considering that he is intent on discerning information regarding the terraseer's tower, and knows about Wave Echo Cave, anything else seemed trivial by comparison. The module says he can give the party information that they need, but places no limis on what that knowledge may encompass leaving it open to your interpretation. If you don't believe it is reasonable for him to have the information readily available, utilize a sage background talent to point the PCs in a direction the answer might be found and improvise a bit.   Let your party worry about themselves, if you pull punches for them or try to protect them from short sighted decisions then they will expect it from future STs. Be formidable, be fair, and they will appreciate it.
#8 Asaris34 Oct 21, 2014 5:37:55	So, they got dissolved by Venomfang. Round 1 acid breath killed most of them, and the round 2 bite finished the last guy off. So I guess the question is moot.
#9 iserith Oct 21, 2014 6:19:52	Damn the bad luck. I rewrote that scene so that there is some interaction with the green dragon rather than just breathe-claw-claw-bite right at the outset.
(Reply to #9) Asaris34	iserith wrote:
#11 johndakar Oct 21, 2014 16:17:59	My players negotiated with Kost to clear out Wyvern Tor and in exchange he helped them defeat Venomfang. I, too, wrote him up to be 8th (in order to command 12 zombies without relying on 'Because:Story') and I'm kinda partial to seeing what it is that lies beneath Old Owl Well. Those crazy Netherese and their sky castles...