Radiant Vessel of Thesk - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 handythesage Dec 24, 2009 20:02:40	So I'm running my first official lfr module this weekend and its one of my favorites. I've been looking over the module and feel fairly confident but I want it to be run well, especially if some of the players havent done it before. Its a pretty cool module and I want their first impressions of it to be positive. any tips regarding this particular module? any major hang ups I should be aware of? there was also one specific question I had regarding combat, in the second encounter, there is an orc chieftan and several of his minion buddies. whats weird is that he has "Blood of the Enemy aura 5; bloodied allies in the aura deal an extra 2 damage with melee attacks" since it only effects his allies and his allies are all minions, is this completely useless?
#2 kenobi65 Dec 25, 2009 0:36:36	since it only effects his allies and his allies are all minions, is this completely useless? Yup. The chieftain's stat block is a standard one out of the MM, I believe. It just so happens that, in this situation, it's a useless ability.
#3 Keith53 Dec 25, 2009 13:21:11	Try to tailor to your players (their interests and their PCs). The adventure has the framework which enables some great role playing (if your group is interested), but the DM needs to fill in with some flavor. I used this adventure for a group of role playing/story oriented players this year. I changed the NPC used in the hook, to a meeting in a tavern, and had him being chased by attendants from a local sanitarium. That led to a group discussion whether or not to go on the adventure, or just keep the gp. The farming village just begged for memoriable characters, so I named it "Hootersville" (ref a certain 1960s tv show) and populated it with personalities from that show. It was hysterical. Keith
#4 smerwin29 Dec 26, 2009 7:30:18	A couple things (spoilers below): Show --Others have covered the intro and the skill challenge in the farming community. Just have fun, roll with what the players enjoy, and give 'em some fun roleplaying. --The first combat is meant to be easy. Just let the PCs go wild on the bad guys. --The second combat can run too long. Don't be afraid to remind the players of the rule that says you can intimidate a foe to surrender when it becomes bloodied. Also, let the elite bad guy run into the trap to draw the PCs into it. This speeds up combat. And yes, in the situation he is in, the elite bad guy's power shown above does not come into play. But we still have to include stat blocks in total, so it is there. --If the party has used any significant resources, allow them a short rest before the screaming starts in the final room. Chances are they will need everything they have. --The important thing to remember in the final room is that the bad guys WANT the PCs to help with the skill challenge. This encounter really needs to combine three parts of the game seamlessly to work well: a tough combat, a skill challenge, and roleplaying. You, as the DM, have a great deal of control here with how much you want each of those to play a role. If the party is not very strong, you can allow good roleplaying and wise choices to make the combat much easier. But you definitely need to keep in mind that the bad guys want the woman and child alive as much as the PCs do. So any of the PCs who indicate that they are going to help in the skill challenge are allowed to enter the room without getting attacked. This will allow a party that roleplays well the opportunity to get into the room, and get into good tactical positions for the battle that follows.

Post/Author/DateTime

Post

handythesage

Dec 24, 2009 20:02:40

So I'm running my first official lfr module this weekend and its one of my favorites. I've been looking over the module and feel fairly confident but I want it to be run well, especially if some of the players havent done it before. Its a pretty cool module and I want their first impressions of it to be positive.

any tips regarding this particular module? any major hang ups I should be aware of?

there was also one specific question I had regarding combat, in the second encounter, there is an orc chieftan and several of his minion buddies. whats weird is that he has

"Blood of the Enemy aura 5; bloodied allies in the aura deal an extra
2 damage with melee attacks"

since it only effects his allies and his allies are all minions, is this completely useless?

kenobi65

Dec 25, 2009 0:36:36

since it only effects his allies and his allies are all minions, is this completely useless?

Yup. The chieftain's stat block is a standard one out of the MM, I believe. It just so happens that, in this situation, it's a useless ability.

Keith53

Dec 25, 2009 13:21:11

Try to tailor to your players (their interests and their PCs).

The adventure has the framework which enables some great role playing (if your group is interested), but the DM needs to fill in with some flavor.

I used this adventure for a group of role playing/story oriented players this year. I changed the NPC used in the hook, to a meeting in a tavern, and had him being chased by attendants from a local sanitarium. That led to a group discussion whether or not to go on the adventure, or just keep the gp. The farming village just begged for memoriable characters, so I named it "Hootersville" (ref a certain 1960s tv show) and populated it with personalities from that show. It was hysterical.

Keith

smerwin29

Dec 26, 2009 7:30:18

A couple things (spoilers below):

Show

--Others have covered the intro and the skill challenge in the farming community. Just have fun, roll with what the players enjoy, and give 'em some fun roleplaying.

--The first combat is meant to be easy. Just let the PCs go wild on the bad guys.

--The second combat can run too long. Don't be afraid to remind the players of the rule that says you can intimidate a foe to surrender when it becomes bloodied. Also, let the elite bad guy run into the trap to draw the PCs into it. This speeds up combat. And yes, in the situation he is in, the elite bad guy's power shown above does not come into play. But we still have to include stat blocks in total, so it is there.

--If the party has used any significant resources, allow them a short rest before the screaming starts in the final room. Chances are they will need everything they have.

--The important thing to remember in the final room is that the bad guys WANT the PCs to help with the skill challenge. This encounter really needs to combine three parts of the game seamlessly to work well: a tough combat, a skill challenge, and roleplaying. You, as the DM, have a great deal of control here with how much you want each of those to play a role. If the party is not very strong, you can allow good roleplaying and wise choices to make the combat much easier. But you definitely need to keep in mind that the bad guys want the woman and child alive as much as the PCs do. So any of the PCs who indicate that they are going to help in the skill challenge are allowed to enter the room without getting attacked. This will allow a party that roleplays well the opportunity to get into the room, and get into good tactical positions for the battle that follows.