If you're not a Herald-level GM... grab your core three books and get studying! The test is free and can be retaken as often as needed if necessary!
How do I get a hold of this adventure for RPGA - Living Forgotten Realms? Thanks in advance.
Warfteiner just made a great pictorial guide on how to order a module, and I've added it as the last part of the RPGA FAQ, here.
If you're not clear on how to order a module, I highly recommend following his guide.
Only suggestion I have is to split step 10 into 2 steps - as many people click "Next" before clicking "Add/Remove".
Thanks again for the guide!
Do NOT play it as it is written. While it's doable and isn't broken. It just feels clunky.
Example: One encounter, if played with the map given to the gm with the monsters tactics. You'd have a 3 way battle. With some editing on the GM part you can have a fun, tough encounter.
PS. Hope I didn't give to much away there.
Show
What's wrong? Loads.
4 encounters, no skill challenge. Not a problem in principle, as the '3 encounter and a skill challenge' pattern can get very formulaic, so it's nice to mix that up.
The problem was that all four encounters were goblins, and as written, they were all far too easy. It's an inevitable consequence of the maths - 400 xp at low tier if you want four fights is four level 1s. Bumping up the boss encounter to level 2 means that one fight is sub level one, and is just an annoyance. As such there's very little 'meat' to the adventure; the fights are too short, and there's very little RP or anything else to pad it.
I combined encounter 2 and 3 as well (and I came up with the idea before reading this board - it must be a pretty obvious improvement). It worked nicely, and was the only one of the three encounters where my players felt as if they'd had a decent challenge (I even floored the Swordmage at one point - Ochre Jelly rolling two natural 20s in a row FTW!), although I later realised that I'd forgotten to scale the encounter down for four players.
Encounter 1 is poorly conceived, putting skirmishers and lurkers out in the open on a very confined battlefield with no terrain to take advantage of.
Encounter 3 has similar problems. The pit trap may as well not exist - even if you don't get Thariokk to spill the beans about it, it's only DC20 to spot (even at high level), and then is a Ref +4 attack if one character falls in for a mere 1D10 damage. You're never going to claim a second victim unless the players are REALLY stupid, so the chances of it actually doing much harm to the players are minimal. Then you have a caster and some more skirmishers in another very confined space inside the hall, which made it very easy for the players to close them down.
I also didn't like the fact that there was no real hook - the player intro simply tells them that they are off hunting goblins, and looking for this genasi at the same time. Right, encounter 1, go. What's the motivation?
I changed it to make the attacked cart in encounter 1 belong to the genasi woman, so that the fight was basically to rescue her. Once rescued, she begs the characters to go and find her brother. It added a bit of RP and reason for adventuring, but I would still like to have seen an introductory scene in Airspur. Ok, all LFR mods have an element of railroading, but sometimes it's more subtle than others.
There was minimal adventure background, to the story or to Akanul. In fact the DM's introduction simply said 'the burden on the DM is to make all these repetitive goblin encounters interesting' or words to that effect. Other adventures I've played/run have some notes for the DM on the background. For example, my players wanted to roll history to see what they knew about Galain. There was nothing in the mod at all, and it's not covered in the FRPG. We didn't check the campaign guide, but again, most other mods have some information on what the characters will know on a successful knowledge check on the important story points.
The final complaint is that there were several editing errors that slipped through the cracks. I counted numerous typos; more egregious was the inclusion of a level 8 ritual scroll that could be sold for far more gold than the 'more gold' option without eating up a magic item slot. I understand that this is just a one-off error which won't happen again, and as such it's not going to break the game, but it does put the characters 200 gold ahead of where they should be relative to XP. Which I wouldn't mind so much if the mod weren't so darned easy!
By far the weakest 1-1 mod I've played (and I've played nearly all of them now).
What's wrong? Loads.
4 encounters, no skill challenge. Not a problem in principle, as the '3 encounter and a skill challenge' pattern can get very formulaic, so it's nice to mix that up.
The problem was that all four encounters were goblins, and as written, they were all far too easy. It's an inevitable consequence of the maths - 400 xp at low tier if you want four fights is four level 1s. Bumping up the boss encounter to level 2 means that one fight is sub level one, and is just an annoyance. As such there's very little 'meat' to the adventure; the fights are too short, and there's very little RP or anything else to pad it.
I combined encounter 2 and 3 as well (and I came up with the idea before reading this board - it must be a pretty obvious improvement). It worked nicely, and was the only one of the three encounters where my players felt as if they'd had a decent challenge (I even floored the Swordmage at one point - Ochre Jelly rolling two natural 20s in a row FTW!), although I later realised that I'd forgotten to scale the encounter down for four players.
Encounter 1 is poorly conceived, putting skirmishers and lurkers out in the open on a very confined battlefield with no terrain to take advantage of.
Encounter 3 has similar problems. The pit trap may as well not exist - even if you don't get Thariokk to spill the beans about it, it's only DC20 to spot (even at high level), and then is a Ref +4 attack if one character falls in for a mere 1D10 damage. You're never going to claim a second victim unless the players are REALLY stupid, so the chances of it actually doing much harm to the players are minimal. Then you have a caster and some more skirmishers in another very confined space inside the hall, which made it very easy for the players to close them down.
I also didn't like the fact that there was no real hook - the player intro simply tells them that they are off hunting goblins, and looking for this genasi at the same time. Right, encounter 1, go. What's the motivation?
I changed it to make the attacked cart in encounter 1 belong to the genasi woman, so that the fight was basically to rescue her. Once rescued, she begs the characters to go and find her brother. It added a bit of RP and reason for adventuring, but I would still like to have seen an introductory scene in Airspur. Ok, all LFR mods have an element of railroading, but sometimes it's more subtle than others.
There was minimal adventure background, to the story or to Akanul. In fact the DM's introduction simply said 'the burden on the DM is to make all these repetitive goblin encounters interesting' or words to that effect. Other adventures I've played/run have some notes for the DM on the background. For example, my players wanted to roll history to see what they knew about Galain. There was nothing in the mod at all, and it's not covered in the FRPG. We didn't check the campaign guide, but again, most other mods have some information on what the characters will know on a successful knowledge check on the important story points.
The final complaint is that there were several editing errors that slipped through the cracks. I counted numerous typos; more egregious was the inclusion of a level 8 ritual scroll that could be sold for far more gold than the 'more gold' option without eating up a magic item slot. I understand that this is just a one-off error which won't happen again, and as such it's not going to break the game, but it does put the characters 200 gold ahead of where they should be relative to XP. Which I wouldn't mind so much if the mod weren't so darned easy!
By far the weakest 1-1 mod I've played (and I've played nearly all of them now).
Show
I have to agree that there isn't a lot of meat in this adventure. Personally, though, it looks like a good one that can be "tacked on" to another adventure if time allows and not allowing for an extended rest. That requires a little DM handwaving "You notice a magic portal behind the last guy in the last encounter" but I find that AKAN1-1 is perfect for that type of double module. Its not overly challenging, there isn't a million plot threads to complicate things, and it really can weave with some other adventures well.
And at least the rewards at the end are pretty nice for the players, so I feel compelled to push them to earn them.
I have to agree that there isn't a lot of meat in this adventure. Personally, though, it looks like a good one that can be "tacked on" to another adventure if time allows and not allowing for an extended rest. That requires a little DM handwaving "You notice a magic portal behind the last guy in the last encounter" but I find that AKAN1-1 is perfect for that type of double module. Its not overly challenging, there isn't a million plot threads to complicate things, and it really can weave with some other adventures well.
And at least the rewards at the end are pretty nice for the players, so I feel compelled to push them to earn them.
I did have fun playing the npc. I haven't had much of a chance to do voice acting. So long and the short of it I decribed the combat as much as I could.
The Icy Spire mod that is not legal for rpga play does a great job for making
a low level adventure feel epic in 4e. It should be required reading for writers.
I dont have any of the tools needed to make mods. ie right tiles or writing programs needed or I would start doing this myself. Just my 2 cents.
Christopher M O'Neill
1202-812-947
Agreed this mod was sad and I don't see how adding a bar moment would help at all. The story telling element here was nearly impossible to salvage.
I dont have any of the tools needed to make mods. ie right tiles or writing programs needed or I would start doing this myself. Just my 2 cents.
Christopher M O'Neill
1202-812-947
Christopher,
Contact the writing director of the region you would like to write for. The tile mapper is free and the WD will provide the link for you if you are successful in your application. There's no reason to think you can't do it, so let's see you give it a go!
Cheers,
Joe Fitzgerald
Event Manager
Dragon Coast
I ran this last night, and let's say I was less than impressed.Show
What's wrong? Loads.
4 encounters, no skill challenge. Not a problem in principle, as the '3 encounter and a skill challenge' pattern can get very formulaic, so it's nice to mix that up.
The problem was that all four encounters were goblins, and as written, they were all far too easy. It's an inevitable consequence of the maths - 400 xp at low tier if you want four fights is four level 1s. Bumping up the boss encounter to level 2 means that one fight is sub level one, and is just an annoyance. As such there's very little 'meat' to the adventure; the fights are too short, and there's very little RP or anything else to pad it.
I combined encounter 2 and 3 as well (and I came up with the idea before reading this board - it must be a pretty obvious improvement). It worked nicely, and was the only one of the three encounters where my players felt as if they'd had a decent challenge (I even floored the Swordmage at one point - Ochre Jelly rolling two natural 20s in a row FTW!), although I later realised that I'd forgotten to scale the encounter down for four players.
Encounter 1 is poorly conceived, putting skirmishers and lurkers out in the open on a very confined battlefield with no terrain to take advantage of.
Encounter 3 has similar problems. The pit trap may as well not exist - even if you don't get Thariokk to spill the beans about it, it's only DC20 to spot (even at high level), and then is a Ref +4 attack if one character falls in for a mere 1D10 damage. You're never going to claim a second victim unless the players are REALLY stupid, so the chances of it actually doing much harm to the players are minimal. Then you have a caster and some more skirmishers in another very confined space inside the hall, which made it very easy for the players to close them down.
I also didn't like the fact that there was no real hook - the player intro simply tells them that they are off hunting goblins, and looking for this genasi at the same time. Right, encounter 1, go. What's the motivation?
I changed it to make the attacked cart in encounter 1 belong to the genasi woman, so that the fight was basically to rescue her. Once rescued, she begs the characters to go and find her brother. It added a bit of RP and reason for adventuring, but I would still like to have seen an introductory scene in Airspur. Ok, all LFR mods have an element of railroading, but sometimes it's more subtle than others.
There was minimal adventure background, to the story or to Akanul. In fact the DM's introduction simply said 'the burden on the DM is to make all these repetitive goblin encounters interesting' or words to that effect. Other adventures I've played/run have some notes for the DM on the background. For example, my players wanted to roll history to see what they knew about Galain. There was nothing in the mod at all, and it's not covered in the FRPG. We didn't check the campaign guide, but again, most other mods have some information on what the characters will know on a successful knowledge check on the important story points.
The final complaint is that there were several editing errors that slipped through the cracks. I counted numerous typos; more egregious was the inclusion of a level 8 ritual scroll that could be sold for far more gold than the 'more gold' option without eating up a magic item slot. I understand that this is just a one-off error which won't happen again, and as such it's not going to break the game, but it does put the characters 200 gold ahead of where they should be relative to XP. Which I wouldn't mind so much if the mod weren't so darned easy!
By far the weakest 1-1 mod I've played (and I've played nearly all of them now).
I didn't look at the low level version, but I found the high level version of the last fight to be decently challenging. Even with bad rolling on the GMs part (thats me) by the end of the mod I'm pretty sure all the players had expended their daily powers and any of the melee types had used half or more of their healing surges (the barbarian used all 10).ShowIn the last encounter nearly all the goblins can benefit from the concealment of the hexer. If the PCs want to melee they have to be in the cloud suffering a -2 to hit, and ranged doesn't work very well on the hexer who is the center piece for this fight. With the hexer up the skirmishers have a fairly tough to hit AC and the berserkers are decent. Damage dealt by all creatures in the final encounter is better than I've seen in a lot of mods.
In all of the earlier fights at least most of the monsters at deal decent damage if played properly. Even the minions were generally spread just enough per encounter to get in the way rather then be free kills.
Show
They don't get much of a concealment benefit if there's a swordmage laying down sword burst all over the place while the wizard plops AoEs down on everyone, as happened when I ran it.
It can be salvaged.
Here is what I would recommend:
AKAN1-1 Edits:
Player's Introduction
Instead of the horrible insta-mod text, paint for the players a picture of the wonders of Airspur. Check out the FRPG and FRCG descriptions, show them pictures, and give them a chance to use some knowledge checks to learn about Airspur and Arkanul. The key here is that they are amidst a wondrous city filled with floating towers, that the genasi in their various elements live here and have a fairly foreign culture to the typical Realmsian human/elf/dwarf/halfling cultures, and that there is a heated political climate as a result of the military problems with the abolethi and their various borders.
Streetwise can result in hearing that the guard is stretched thin, and to make things worse caravans are going missing due to a sudden increase in goblin raids. The PCs can use various skills (or more streetwise) to learn the name of a captain of the guard dealing with the issue.
An imposing genasi Captain will review them, clearly showing reticence at employing non-genasi. Insight shows he has no other recourse... they are stretched too thin. After some RP, he entrusts them to look into the issue. If the PCs are from this region, he promises to put in a good word for them. If there are PCs from other regions, he asks where they are from and if the region is stable and good he indicates their help may pave the way towards future diplomatic possibilities (RP only, of course, but motivation).
As the PCs leave the Captain, they can make perception checks to notice a genasi woman approaching them. Insight shows her to be near the breaking point. She desperately asks them for their help. She overheard the Captain, and she has a brother that is lost. Share with the PCs the information on Podrov, who they may wish to find for her.
This change to the intro adds time, which isn't a problem with this easy mod. (In our experience, level 2 PCs could play up and it was still easy. I used all the ideas I am presenting and still finished in 4 hours).
This is not a skill challenge and not an encounter. It is just a change to the introduction with more RP.
Encounter 1: Battle at the Bridge
This encounter is largely ok. Expand upon the boxed text to make the setting more dramatic. Ideas:
- Have some of the difficult terrain be squares where there are spinning bits of rock in that square, hanging in mid-air.
- Describe the peril of falling down, making the scene more vivid plus encouraging players with movement tactics to consider flinging foes over the edge.
- Consider adding two survivors that are in the overturned caravan. They might try to escape, with the PCs getting free actions to encourage them to go to one place or another and the goblins opposing this. Opposed diplomacy vs intimidate. If the goblins win, they get to use the humans as cover.
This is a fine encounter as is, though.
Encounter 2: The Shattered Gates of Galain
This is too easy an encounter as written. However, the concept is a cool cinematic lone sniper that gets several attacks as the party considers what to do.
Here, I recommend increasing the map by lengthening the wall between the gate and the tower. Instead of the 20', make it more like 60' with a 10' gap in the wall that is 10' deep. Place the stairs near the gate.
Then, have the sharpshooter attack while the PC's approach the gate. Thus, the PCs have to decide whether to take cover, and/or send someone through the gate and up the stairs and then to jump the 10' hole (or climb down and up) and then finally engage the lone sniper.
Around the time someone is going up the stairs, the two Goblin Warriors show up. This gives the rest of the party something to do.
The combination of the pesky sharpshooter, the valiant PC(s) going after him, and the sudden appearance of the two Warriors makes this a much more interesting easy fight. if someone has a long ranged weapon (superior crossbow, etc.) it could also become a sniper vs. sniper fight, which is still fine. This is a good encounter where you can go by feel (if a ranged PC wants to lay down suppressive fire, for example, they could attack in such a way as to add a penalty to the goblin's fire, etc.).
If you have time and know you have a capable party (you DM them often, etc.), you could even retool the sharpshooter to be an elite. The point being to have him last and be fun.
Encounter 3: Blood in the Streets
The key to fun here is the ingenuity of the goblins. All those goblin minions are a bit disgruntled by the new leadership, and they have decided to make their own unit, calling it the "Air-borne Doomsquad". (This should be comical, if you play it right). Hearing the commotion at the gate, they deploy their careful plan...
Use the map, but place the Goblin Cutter minions along both sides of the street up ON TOP of the buildings. They hide along the ruined building facades, ready to pounce. A passive perception of their hide check shows them to the PCs, and also allows them to spot a series of thin ropes that leave the rooftops and tie to old beams that have fallen across the various buildings overhead.
The 2 Goblin Warriors will attack as normal, moving to the Blood Rock area (insight can show they are favoring this area and tip off the party as to why).
At appropriate times the Goblin Cutter minions will leap from atop the buildings, swinging on their ropes. This is basically a swinging charge basic attack (+1 attack) that allows them to move down to the ground level and make a basic attack. (Yeah, the physics are questionable, none of my players seemed to mind!) Assume they used their little goblin brains to practice this. They are clearly really proud of their tactic, yelling "Wheeeeeeeeee!", "Geronimo!", "Death from above!", "Aiiiiiirborne Deathhhhhhsssssquad!", and more at the top of their lungs as they do the charge. While this does give the monsters an advantage, it is such an easy fight that they can use the boost and it can be hilarious fun for the table. Allow the PCs a perception check as a free action when attacked by an airborne death squad goblin cutter. On a DC 10 or so they notice the crude patch sown onto their outfit, which shows a swinging stick figure. They are way proud of the patches. Also, they love to engage in smack talk... "Didn't see me comin', eh?", "No one expects the Airborne DeathSquad!", etc.
When a few of the goblins fall, they start to get nervous. "Oh, oh!", they say, and "All that planning... it didn't work!" and finally, "This is why we have plan B!"
That's when one of them towards the back or a wall pulls a final rope near one of the walls, and a large cask suddenly rolls forward to the edge of one of the rooftops (place it wherever convenient). Describe how the cask rolls up to the edge, backs off, rolls forward, etc., then finally rolls over the edge and breaks open, revealing the ochre jelly. The goblins cheer and shout to the PCs that their doom is at hand. If the fight is at all going well for the goblins, feel free to have the ochre jelly eat up a goblin as a cinematic free action.
The airborne death squad and slow deployment should make this encounter a lot of fun while still keeping it easily manageable for any party. My players liked it so much that they kept each goblin cutter alive, thus giving Thariokk a team to work with (they also negotiated other concessions from Thariokk).
Having a goblin say something like "For Thariokk!" as an ally falls is a great segue to the next encounter.
Encounter 4
The key here is really letting the PCs set the tone. If they want to dispatch him, it is an opportunity for Thariokk to make a final pitch, say his peace, and depart the world with the knowledge that the usurper will be killed by the PCs. He should fall with a smile on his face, making the victory interesting.
If they wish to parley, play him as clever, knowing he can provide value to the PCs by helping them and Arkanul. Feel free to have him discuss how hard-pressed Airspur is, and how he knows this and is a good enough chieftain to ensure no one will cause undue trouble. If he is not the chieftain, the next guy will likely continue to cause problems. There are always more goblins, but there is only one Thariokk!
Encounter 5: Hall of the Bloodeye Chief
The encounter is largely fine. Feel free to adjust the room so the pit can also be used by the goblin warriors to bull rush PCs into the pit. Stress the nature of the spellplague-touched chieftan, and play his powers as being part of this.
Overall, those fairly simple changes make this a fun mod. Despite the overuse of goblins, each encounter ends up having goblins that do different and interesting things, and the story is there to give the PCs motivation. Changing the intro is the key to make the motivation one they feel they chose instead of something they supposedly are motivated by due to backstory.
Player's Introduction
Instead of the horrible insta-mod text, paint for the players a picture of the wonders of Airspur. Check out the FRPG and FRCG descriptions, show them pictures, and give them a chance to use some knowledge checks to learn about Airspur and Arkanul. The key here is that they are amidst a wondrous city filled with floating towers, that the genasi in their various elements live here and have a fairly foreign culture to the typical Realmsian human/elf/dwarf/halfling cultures, and that there is a heated political climate as a result of the military problems with the abolethi and their various borders.
Streetwise can result in hearing that the guard is stretched thin, and to make things worse caravans are going missing due to a sudden increase in goblin raids. The PCs can use various skills (or more streetwise) to learn the name of a captain of the guard dealing with the issue.
An imposing genasi Captain will review them, clearly showing reticence at employing non-genasi. Insight shows he has no other recourse... they are stretched too thin. After some RP, he entrusts them to look into the issue. If the PCs are from this region, he promises to put in a good word for them. If there are PCs from other regions, he asks where they are from and if the region is stable and good he indicates their help may pave the way towards future diplomatic possibilities (RP only, of course, but motivation).
As the PCs leave the Captain, they can make perception checks to notice a genasi woman approaching them. Insight shows her to be near the breaking point. She desperately asks them for their help. She overheard the Captain, and she has a brother that is lost. Share with the PCs the information on Podrov, who they may wish to find for her.
This change to the intro adds time, which isn't a problem with this easy mod. (In our experience, level 2 PCs could play up and it was still easy. I used all the ideas I am presenting and still finished in 4 hours).
This is not a skill challenge and not an encounter. It is just a change to the introduction with more RP.
Encounter 1: Battle at the Bridge
This encounter is largely ok. Expand upon the boxed text to make the setting more dramatic. Ideas:
- Have some of the difficult terrain be squares where there are spinning bits of rock in that square, hanging in mid-air.
- Describe the peril of falling down, making the scene more vivid plus encouraging players with movement tactics to consider flinging foes over the edge.
- Consider adding two survivors that are in the overturned caravan. They might try to escape, with the PCs getting free actions to encourage them to go to one place or another and the goblins opposing this. Opposed diplomacy vs intimidate. If the goblins win, they get to use the humans as cover.
This is a fine encounter as is, though.
Encounter 2: The Shattered Gates of Galain
This is too easy an encounter as written. However, the concept is a cool cinematic lone sniper that gets several attacks as the party considers what to do.
Here, I recommend increasing the map by lengthening the wall between the gate and the tower. Instead of the 20', make it more like 60' with a 10' gap in the wall that is 10' deep. Place the stairs near the gate.
Then, have the sharpshooter attack while the PC's approach the gate. Thus, the PCs have to decide whether to take cover, and/or send someone through the gate and up the stairs and then to jump the 10' hole (or climb down and up) and then finally engage the lone sniper.
Around the time someone is going up the stairs, the two Goblin Warriors show up. This gives the rest of the party something to do.
The combination of the pesky sharpshooter, the valiant PC(s) going after him, and the sudden appearance of the two Warriors makes this a much more interesting easy fight. if someone has a long ranged weapon (superior crossbow, etc.) it could also become a sniper vs. sniper fight, which is still fine. This is a good encounter where you can go by feel (if a ranged PC wants to lay down suppressive fire, for example, they could attack in such a way as to add a penalty to the goblin's fire, etc.).
If you have time and know you have a capable party (you DM them often, etc.), you could even retool the sharpshooter to be an elite. The point being to have him last and be fun.
Encounter 3: Blood in the Streets
The key to fun here is the ingenuity of the goblins. All those goblin minions are a bit disgruntled by the new leadership, and they have decided to make their own unit, calling it the "Air-borne Doomsquad". (This should be comical, if you play it right). Hearing the commotion at the gate, they deploy their careful plan...
Use the map, but place the Goblin Cutter minions along both sides of the street up ON TOP of the buildings. They hide along the ruined building facades, ready to pounce. A passive perception of their hide check shows them to the PCs, and also allows them to spot a series of thin ropes that leave the rooftops and tie to old beams that have fallen across the various buildings overhead.
The 2 Goblin Warriors will attack as normal, moving to the Blood Rock area (insight can show they are favoring this area and tip off the party as to why).
At appropriate times the Goblin Cutter minions will leap from atop the buildings, swinging on their ropes. This is basically a swinging charge basic attack (+1 attack) that allows them to move down to the ground level and make a basic attack. (Yeah, the physics are questionable, none of my players seemed to mind!) Assume they used their little goblin brains to practice this. They are clearly really proud of their tactic, yelling "Wheeeeeeeeee!", "Geronimo!", "Death from above!", "Aiiiiiirborne Deathhhhhhsssssquad!", and more at the top of their lungs as they do the charge. While this does give the monsters an advantage, it is such an easy fight that they can use the boost and it can be hilarious fun for the table. Allow the PCs a perception check as a free action when attacked by an airborne death squad goblin cutter. On a DC 10 or so they notice the crude patch sown onto their outfit, which shows a swinging stick figure. They are way proud of the patches. Also, they love to engage in smack talk... "Didn't see me comin', eh?", "No one expects the Airborne DeathSquad!", etc.
When a few of the goblins fall, they start to get nervous. "Oh, oh!", they say, and "All that planning... it didn't work!" and finally, "This is why we have plan B!"
That's when one of them towards the back or a wall pulls a final rope near one of the walls, and a large cask suddenly rolls forward to the edge of one of the rooftops (place it wherever convenient). Describe how the cask rolls up to the edge, backs off, rolls forward, etc., then finally rolls over the edge and breaks open, revealing the ochre jelly. The goblins cheer and shout to the PCs that their doom is at hand. If the fight is at all going well for the goblins, feel free to have the ochre jelly eat up a goblin as a cinematic free action.
The airborne death squad and slow deployment should make this encounter a lot of fun while still keeping it easily manageable for any party. My players liked it so much that they kept each goblin cutter alive, thus giving Thariokk a team to work with (they also negotiated other concessions from Thariokk).
Having a goblin say something like "For Thariokk!" as an ally falls is a great segue to the next encounter.
Encounter 4
The key here is really letting the PCs set the tone. If they want to dispatch him, it is an opportunity for Thariokk to make a final pitch, say his peace, and depart the world with the knowledge that the usurper will be killed by the PCs. He should fall with a smile on his face, making the victory interesting.
If they wish to parley, play him as clever, knowing he can provide value to the PCs by helping them and Arkanul. Feel free to have him discuss how hard-pressed Airspur is, and how he knows this and is a good enough chieftain to ensure no one will cause undue trouble. If he is not the chieftain, the next guy will likely continue to cause problems. There are always more goblins, but there is only one Thariokk!
Encounter 5: Hall of the Bloodeye Chief
The encounter is largely fine. Feel free to adjust the room so the pit can also be used by the goblin warriors to bull rush PCs into the pit. Stress the nature of the spellplague-touched chieftan, and play his powers as being part of this.
Overall, those fairly simple changes make this a fun mod. Despite the overuse of goblins, each encounter ends up having goblins that do different and interesting things, and the story is there to give the PCs motivation. Changing the intro is the key to make the motivation one they feel they chose instead of something they supposedly are motivated by due to backstory.
If there are groups out there where for whatever reason you can't afford to run longer than 4 hours (This tends to run in 3) or are going to run an adventure cold (this one can be basically run off the description blocks as you go) I'd keep it in mind. All in all, it is probably good for the campaign to have one or two of these types of adventures floating around.
Both myself and a DM and the players found this to be a very weak adventure. The adventure was playtested, which is surprising (I would love to hear what some of the playtesters think... did they give feedback that wasn't used, or was the mod really that much worse before?).
It can be salvaged.
Here is what I would recommend:AKAN1-1 Edits:
Player's Introduction
Instead of the horrible insta-mod text, paint for the players a picture of the wonders of Airspur. Check out the FRPG and FRCG descriptions, show them pictures, and give them a chance to use some knowledge checks to learn about Airspur and Arkanul. The key here is that they are amidst a wondrous city filled with floating towers, that the genasi in their various elements live here and have a fairly foreign culture to the typical Realmsian human/elf/dwarf/halfling cultures, and that there is a heated political climate as a result of the military problems with the abolethi and their various borders.
Streetwise can result in hearing that the guard is stretched thin, and to make things worse caravans are going missing due to a sudden increase in goblin raids. The PCs can use various skills (or more streetwise) to learn the name of a captain of the guard dealing with the issue.
An imposing genasi Captain will review them, clearly showing reticence at employing non-genasi. Insight shows he has no other recourse... they are stretched too thin. After some RP, he entrusts them to look into the issue. If the PCs are from this region, he promises to put in a good word for them. If there are PCs from other regions, he asks where they are from and if the region is stable and good he indicates their help may pave the way towards future diplomatic possibilities (RP only, of course, but motivation).
As the PCs leave the Captain, they can make perception checks to notice a genasi woman approaching them. Insight shows her to be near the breaking point. She desperately asks them for their help. She overheard the Captain, and she has a brother that is lost. Share with the PCs the information on Podrov, who they may wish to find for her.
This change to the intro adds time, which isn't a problem with this easy mod. (In our experience, level 2 PCs could play up and it was still easy. I used all the ideas I am presenting and still finished in 4 hours).
This is not a skill challenge and not an encounter. It is just a change to the introduction with more RP.
Encounter 1: Battle at the Bridge
This encounter is largely ok. Expand upon the boxed text to make the setting more dramatic. Ideas:
- Have some of the difficult terrain be squares where there are spinning bits of rock in that square, hanging in mid-air.
- Describe the peril of falling down, making the scene more vivid plus encouraging players with movement tactics to consider flinging foes over the edge.
- Consider adding two survivors that are in the overturned caravan. They might try to escape, with the PCs getting free actions to encourage them to go to one place or another and the goblins opposing this. Opposed diplomacy vs intimidate. If the goblins win, they get to use the humans as cover.
This is a fine encounter as is, though.
Encounter 2: The Shattered Gates of Galain
This is too easy an encounter as written. However, the concept is a cool cinematic lone sniper that gets several attacks as the party considers what to do.
Here, I recommend increasing the map by lengthening the wall between the gate and the tower. Instead of the 20', make it more like 60' with a 10' gap in the wall that is 10' deep. Place the stairs near the gate.
Then, have the sharpshooter attack while the PC's approach the gate. Thus, the PCs have to decide whether to take cover, and/or send someone through the gate and up the stairs and then to jump the 10' hole (or climb down and up) and then finally engage the lone sniper.
Around the time someone is going up the stairs, the two Goblin Warriors show up. This gives the rest of the party something to do.
The combination of the pesky sharpshooter, the valiant PC(s) going after him, and the sudden appearance of the two Warriors makes this a much more interesting easy fight. if someone has a long ranged weapon (superior crossbow, etc.) it could also become a sniper vs. sniper fight, which is still fine. This is a good encounter where you can go by feel (if a ranged PC wants to lay down suppressive fire, for example, they could attack in such a way as to add a penalty to the goblin's fire, etc.).
If you have time and know you have a capable party (you DM them often, etc.), you could even retool the sharpshooter to be an elite. The point being to have him last and be fun.
Encounter 3: Blood in the Streets
The key to fun here is the ingenuity of the goblins. All those goblin minions are a bit disgruntled by the new leadership, and they have decided to make their own unit, calling it the "Air-borne Doomsquad". (This should be comical, if you play it right). Hearing the commotion at the gate, they deploy their careful plan...
Use the map, but place the Goblin Cutter minions along both sides of the street up ON TOP of the buildings. They hide along the ruined building facades, ready to pounce. A passive perception of their hide check shows them to the PCs, and also allows them to spot a series of thin ropes that leave the rooftops and tie to old beams that have fallen across the various buildings overhead.
The 2 Goblin Warriors will attack as normal, moving to the Blood Rock area (insight can show they are favoring this area and tip off the party as to why).
At appropriate times the Goblin Cutter minions will leap from atop the buildings, swinging on their ropes. This is basically a swinging charge basic attack (+1 attack) that allows them to move down to the ground level and make a basic attack. (Yeah, the physics are questionable, none of my players seemed to mind!) Assume they used their little goblin brains to practice this. They are clearly really proud of their tactic, yelling "Wheeeeeeeeee!", "Geronimo!", "Death from above!", "Aiiiiiirborne Deathhhhhhsssssquad!", and more at the top of their lungs as they do the charge. While this does give the monsters an advantage, it is such an easy fight that they can use the boost and it can be hilarious fun for the table. Allow the PCs a perception check as a free action when attacked by an airborne death squad goblin cutter. On a DC 10 or so they notice the crude patch sown onto their outfit, which shows a swinging stick figure. They are way proud of the patches. Also, they love to engage in smack talk... "Didn't see me comin', eh?", "No one expects the Airborne DeathSquad!", etc.
When a few of the goblins fall, they start to get nervous. "Oh, oh!", they say, and "All that planning... it didn't work!" and finally, "This is why we have plan B!"
That's when one of them towards the back or a wall pulls a final rope near one of the walls, and a large cask suddenly rolls forward to the edge of one of the rooftops (place it wherever convenient). Describe how the cask rolls up to the edge, backs off, rolls forward, etc., then finally rolls over the edge and breaks open, revealing the ochre jelly. The goblins cheer and shout to the PCs that their doom is at hand. If the fight is at all going well for the goblins, feel free to have the ochre jelly eat up a goblin as a cinematic free action.
The airborne death squad and slow deployment should make this encounter a lot of fun while still keeping it easily manageable for any party. My players liked it so much that they kept each goblin cutter alive, thus giving Thariokk a team to work with (they also negotiated other concessions from Thariokk).
Having a goblin say something like "For Thariokk!" as an ally falls is a great segue to the next encounter.
Encounter 4
The key here is really letting the PCs set the tone. If they want to dispatch him, it is an opportunity for Thariokk to make a final pitch, say his peace, and depart the world with the knowledge that the usurper will be killed by the PCs. He should fall with a smile on his face, making the victory interesting.
If they wish to parley, play him as clever, knowing he can provide value to the PCs by helping them and Arkanul. Feel free to have him discuss how hard-pressed Airspur is, and how he knows this and is a good enough chieftan to ensure no one will cause undue trouble. If he is not the chieftan, the next guy will likely continue to cause problems. There are always more goblins, but there is only one Thariokk!
Encounter 5: Hall of the Bloodeye Chief
The encounter is largely fine. Feel free to adjust the room so the pit can also be used by the goblin warriors to bull rush PCs into the pit. Stress the nature of the spellplague-touched chieftan, and play his powers as being part of this.
Overall, those fairly simple changes make this a fun mod. Despite the overuse of goblins, each encounter ends up having goblins that do different and interesting things, and the story is there to give the PCs motivation. Changing the intro is the key to make the motivation one they feel they chose instead of something they supposedly are motivated by due to backstory.
Having both run and played this adventure, I agree that it is not the strongest out there. However, it has its place. The one nice thing about it is that it runs really fast. The combats are straight forward and the little bit of story that exists is clearly laid out. It's one that I am going to keep in mind for the future when I need to run something with minimal prep time or very tight time constraints.
My first 3 times running or playing this module I had a similar opinion. But after seeing this mod fill up table after table, I think this is the greatest LFR mod ever. New Dms seem to like running it as well. I guess I have learned to love this mod.
Does anyone have a "correct" version of that map?
Thanks!
I'm running this adventure next weekend, and I'm a bit confused about the map for encounter #2. The map as pictured in the PDF of the adventure that I have is clearly messed up, graphically weird-looking and apparently not including all of the tiles listed above. So I'm not sure how the encounter area is supposed to be set up.
Does anyone have a "correct" version of that map?
Thanks!
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I just pulled up my copy of the map and it makes sense to me. The map is a bit confusing and compared to other encounters it's a pretty small map, but that encounter isn't supposed to be at all difficult. The map I have shows the 8x10 tower top tile to the right side, with generic floor tiles wrapping around the left side and left-bottom side and a broken door about halfway up on the left. That's it, and that does account for all of the tiles (though the 4x4's are partially covered by the broken door and reduced to 3x4, looks like).
Update, Jan 20, 2009: I had the opportunity to run this module with the adaptation this past weekend. It went really well. We had 2-3 1st level PCs and the rest were 2nd-3rd level. The fights gave the right amount of challenge, I think - fun combats with some PCs bloodying and having a worry or two, but no deaths and the module went by pretty quickly. They played low tier and we started 40 minutes late, yet we still finished roughly on time in a con slot.
The final battle went easily for them because the PCs had lots of ranged powers. That's not a bad thing, but if the earlier combats had gone more easily the size of the final room could have been increased to draw players in and increase the challenge. As it played out, I think the easier final combat was just fine for the PCs.
Also, I had opportunity to play Eric Menge's AKAN1-2 module, the sequel. That was a very fun mod with some clever combats and lots of regional feel.
The mod:
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Used Goblin Warriors too often. In one fight I took away their javelins and just let them be try to be "soldiers".
I like the mutually exclusive story awards. Rather refreshing.
I like the mutually exclusive story awards. Rather refreshing.
I ran it for my 2 groups yesterday and used Alphastream1's "reskin". Both groups had a good time so I appreciate the effort.
Thanks! I'm honored.
I agree on your first comment regarding the common use of that one monster. I noted that last time I ran it, but I had not made any changes. Looking at the MM, there aren't that many options.
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You could swap level 1/3 Goblin Skullcleavers in for Warriors. The Skullcleaver is in the last encounter, so it is easy to do the switch if desired. However, I like the Warriors more, to be honest. The sniper encounter could perhaps use Skullcleavers or even Blackblades, but the problem I see is that it could result in a larger damage spike, which isn't the purpose of the encounter (I see it as an easy but fun encounter where the PCs should feel heroic, overcoming distance and favorable positioning to bring down this tough and gritty sniper). The final encounter is maybe one where you could swap out a Warrior for a Skullcleaver, and have that one be willing to engage the front line from the beginning. That could work well. Or, swap two Warriors for two Blackblades and have them wait out of sight, ready to move and push PCs into the pit or flank, depending on PC positioning.