Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 pukunui Nov 12, 2014 16:34:33	17 Jan 2015 update: Please skip ahead to post #19. Thanks.           Hi all,   As you may know, I'm running the Legacy of the Crystal Shard campaign. While I think it's a great adventure at heart, it's pretty bare bones in terms of describing many of the encounter locations and such. I could do with some help making a few scenes a bit more dynamic.   1) Rewarding the PCs: One of the threads of the adventure involves a plot to usurp the position of town speaker of Bryn Shander (who is also the head of the Council of Speakers for all Ten-Towns) from the incumbent. While the module offers rewards for the PCs' assistance at other points, it fails to do so here. If you were in charge of the biggest town in Icewind Dale (pop. 1,200), what would you offer the PCs as thanks for saving your butt from a coup attempt?   EDIT: One thing I could do is have the speaker grant the PCs the "key to the city", that symbolic gesture that says they are considered friends of the community and are thus free to enter and leave the town at will, even when the gates are locked at night. While I'm sure my players would enjoy such a status symbol, I imagine some of them might like something a little more tangible (read: material). Should she offer them gold? Magic items? Property? What do you think would be appropriate?     2) Dwarf Hall: Another thread in the adventure includes the potential for a fight with some dwarves in an underground hall. The location is given no description other than its name, the Halls of Black Ice. If the PCs get into a fight here, they'll be up against a belligerent dwarf leader, his guards, and a human emissary with roguish tendencies. This has the potential to be an incredibly boring fight, so I'm looking for ways to make the location a bit more dynamic ~ whether it's through terrain, hazards, or whatever. Anyone got any ideas?     3) Abandoned Dwarf Mines: The same thread as #2 above also involves an expedition into an abandoned section of the Dwarven Valley mines. Here, the undead version of Akar Kessell attempts to lead the PCs into a trap involving two giant spiders and a bunch of dwarf miner zombies. The only description in the module is this: "a lair where a pair of giant spiders can attack with surprise before Kessell orders his zombies to join the fray." If the PCs don't fall for the trap, "Kessell loses his patience and commands his minions to attack immediately." The random encounter table for the dwarf mines includes things like abandoned mining equipment, collapsing tunnels and green slime. What other sorts of terrain elements and hazards could I include to make these encounters more dynamic?     Thanks in advance.   Cheers, Jonathan
#2 iserith Nov 12, 2014 19:12:01	pukunui wrote:
#3 THEMNGMNT Nov 12, 2014 19:44:41	You might try lifting encounter locations from other adventures. 3E's Forge of Fury is set in an abandoned dwarven mine. It's not a perfect fit for this situation but definitely contains some good inspiration. 4E's Thunderspire Labyrinth has a whole section on a duergar fortress built over a chasm--could be a great fit.
#4 pukunui Nov 12, 2014 20:14:37	iserith wrote:
#5 sleypy Nov 13, 2014 0:24:58	pukunui wrote: