I have read through the forums, but I still have a couple questions.
I want to run this module for my home game, which is currently set in Cormanthor/Myth Drannor, but I want to change a couple things.
I don't like the feyborn ant swarm. Both for personal reasons and because I don't like the general idea/mechanics of swarms in D&D. I'd like to change it to something else.
I want to change the Voldini cultists to drow, and the animal guardians into something more appropriate (various spiders, maybe).
I also want to change out two pieces of treasure for items of equal GP value and level, because neither the sylvan armor +1, the ritual book with Animal Messenger, nor the wand of vampiric embrace +1 would be of any use to my players' characters.
If it makes a difference, none of my players will ever be using these characters in any public RPGA venue, and I will be sure to tell them of the changes I have made.
Also, I have no idea what DME stands for. Can someone define this for me?
Why are there no Cormanthor adventures yet? 
If it makes a difference, none of my players will ever be using these characters in any public RPGA venue, and I will be sure to tell them of the changes I have made.
If you are using RPGA modules for inspiration for your home game, then the rules don't really matter. No one is ever going to show up at your house and tell you what you can do in your home campaign.
If you are running these as LFR adventures, however, you cannot make any of the changes you refer to. In particular, changing the treasure is expressly not allowed.
You want to be very careful, particularly if you change the treasure, that your players are crystal clear that they are not actually playing these as LFR adventure and that their characters are not LFR characters. If they were to show up at a gameday at a local game store, for example, with PCs with treasure they could not have earned from the adventure, they run the risk of a number of unpleasant outcomes ranging from not being allowed to play those PCs to being perceived as deliberate cheaters.
DME stands for DM Empowerment.
Past RPGA campaigns believed in consistent play experiences--no matter who's DMing a particular adventure, the PCs should basically be playing the same adventure at different tables.
At LFR's inception, those making the rules wanted to try a different direction, believing that consistency was less important than allowing a DM free rein to make the game more fun, and declared that DMs were empowered to make whatever adjustments they wanted to an adventure and how the PCs interacted with the world of the adventure, so long as they believed it made the adventure more fun.
Surprisingly, that lasted almost an entire year before it was essentially abandoned as a concept.
The current rules (see CCG v1.9 for the actual text) are that a DM is completely empowered to make whatever changes he wants in an adventure, as long as those changes are:
- Adding or removing a monster to an encounter that already has at least one of that specific monster;
- Adjusting a creature by +/- 1 level;
- Modifying the stated tactics of a creature;
- Changing "little things" in an adventure for flavor (so long as the little things do not include the plot of the adventure, its location, the NPCs in the adventure or the creatures beyond the +/- level change)
So, to sum up:
* Changing the creatures in the adventure is prohibited, but it's unlikely that anyone would ever notice or care how you run a module for your home group;
* Changing the treasure in an adventure is prohibited, and if you do so, you are setting up your players to be branded as cheaters if they ever show up at another LFR game with those items;
* None of this matters if you're not actually playing this as an LFR adventure, but you better make very sure your players know this, most likely by never mentioning that your home campaign adventure has anything to do with LFR.
Why are there no Cormanthor adventures yet?
See SPEC1-3 for Myth Drannor/Cormanthor goodness.
Dalelands adventures are set around Cormanthor. Some can be moved into Cormanthor, though you will need to rework it a bit. The DALE1-2, DALE1-4, DALE1-5 series might be interesting, since they introduce a threat in western Cormanthor (though they do not actually take place there).
Gomez
See SPEC1-3 for Myth Drannor/Cormanthor goodness.
Do you know where I can get this? It doesn't appear to be available in the RPGA adventure list.
Dalelands adventures are set around Cormanthor. Some can be moved into Cormanthor, though you will need to rework it a bit. The DALE1-2, DALE1-4, DALE1-5 series might be interesting, since they introduce a threat in western Cormanthor (though they do not actually take place there).
Gomez
I'll check these out. Thanks!
Upon further investigation, I think I'm just going to run this as a RPGA-sanctioned home game, borrowing from Living Forgotten Realms adventures here and there, rather than as a strict LFR game.
Do you know where I can get this? It doesn't appear to be available in the RPGA adventure list.
It's not yet available for home play. "Specials" typically are only available for public play for a period of time after their release (SPEC1-3 premiered at GenCon in August). IIRC, SPEC1-3 will be available for home play in January.
It's not yet available for home play. "Specials" typically are only available for public play for a period of time after their release (SPEC1-3 premiered at GenCon in August). IIRC, SPEC1-3 will be available for home play in January.
Well, seeing as this is a bi-weekly game, I can't wait that long! But I am looking at the others and liking what I see.
Maybe I'll adjust the level on SPEC1-3 when it becomes available.
SPEC1-3 consists of 4 different adventures, one for each level band and all caused by a single event in Myth Drannor. The paragon level adventure actually deals directly with said event. I suspect you can use some of the adventures without changing the level.
SPEC1-3 consists of 4 different adventures, one for each level band and all caused by a single event in Myth Drannor. The paragon level adventure actually deals directly with said event. I suspect you can use some of the adventures without changing the level.
Good to know! The party should be hitting (or be close to) paragon level right around then, I think.
Why are there no Cormanthor adventures yet?
The simple answer is that Cormanthor is not one of the "12 LFR regions." Each of these regions will be producing between 4 to 5 adventures per calender year. So in most cases you will have to check LFR adventures labeled CORE or SPEC to find an adventure that might actually be set in Cormanthor. As someone already mentioned SPEC1-3 is set there and will eventually be available for home play.
Claire
If you run it for a public location, you could get access to the modules to run them for your home game, too. I haven't done the low level ones yet, but I'd not be surprised if they were quite good, like the high level ones.