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| #1KeithricDec 23, 2009 22:10:49 | Played this a few days ago with 5 - haven't had a chance to run it yet, but I just read through it, so figured I'd give feedback based on playing and reading it. I think the module has a number of problems, so I'm focusing on those over compliments. This doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the night of D&D, but I could have enjoyed it more (and certainly more quickly). Player's Introduction: Good job on the town folks' reactions! In fact, such a good job that it was completely implausible that we were just being sent to check up on his kids after it. Everyone getting a note about Tearn is more than a bit odd, and the module should probably describe who put it there, since a paragon party _could_ find out if it so chose. Encounter 1 The whole Tearn thing gets even more odd, as he's useless and has no idea why anyone would send the group to him. This Skill Challenge is entirely 'Hard' DCs, all with skill maximums. All but 1 success must be obtained by a Charisma-based skill. This is fairly poor design for LFR, where skill breadth is hardly guaranteed, and there's nothing to really 'figure out' or 'play well' about the challenge to justify or make the DCs interesting. It's also a terribly non-Paragon skill challenge. Ie, the DC 23 to get a student to talk about another student seems pretty odd when it could/should just as easily have been DC 11 in a level 1-4 module. There is a large continuity error: They've been enrolled and doing well for four weeks, leaving for a field trip a week ago, but Tuanek tells you they left House Jalt only two weeks ago. On a journey that takes at least a full day by flight, then went on a field trip a week ago. Suggesting that he was maybe at the university for all of a couple days before he got snatched off for this field trip. Encounter 2 The combat is a bit slanted against AC and Fort (APL + 17 avg AC) and for less than 6 could probably use a bit more variety - especially since the caster is quite interesting but can die quite quickly. Less good for a creature that has abilities to build on creatures already being slowed. Would suggest having 2 runecarvers base and adding another soldier for 6 (likely needing to rebalance the levels to accomplish, which is probably fine - higher level controllers rarely miss so same-level is _fine_) There's little to no indication that these creatures are anything more than a random encounter. Encounter 3 Sadly, this encounter flat out makes no sense. In Encounter 1, the party is told where to go. In encounter 2, they fight what appears to be a random group of giants with no indication they have any bearing on anything, not even in their belongings. In encounter 3 they're tracking the giants tracks back to a slave encampment and temple they know nothing about. What? There needs to be incentive given for the party to talk to the giants. To follow their trail. To do anything other than go 'Okay, we're going to the coordinates we got for their field trip.' If the party knows to question the giants, there's enough diversity in the skill challenge, but if they don't, they're left with a skill challenge slightly better than the first but only barely. You can get 1 success maximum at normal DC using an Int skill, and otherwise it's all hard DCs with two Wis-based skills. Just not enough variety and not particularly interesting. It's also a bit surprising that there's no ability to mitigate the surge loss for failing the skill challenge. Encounter 4 Very nice use of a delayed entrance by an enemy. A good mix of baddies by type and ability, especially for a solo fight, though the dragon is again a high AC and Fort enemy like the earlier giants, and to add insult to injury, it can keep a great number of people effectively blinded for a further -5. That's less of a problem with this fight and more a trend with the module. This is one of the better solo fights I've run into in LFR. Encounter 5 It's disappointing that there is no change in the encounter whether they rest outside or charge after the retreating dragon. In fact, not taking a rest will generally be a flat out loss for the party (depending on what dailies are persisting) with no change in the preparedness of the dragon, outcome of the ritual, etc. Especially for the sake of replayers (who might try the other way), this seems poor. Nice bit about more sloughs if the party could use more challenge. Neat scaling idea for six. I'm glad that killing the dragon outside has an effect on this combat, though it seems a bit of a weak consolation, especially if the DM doesn't convey it well. And... I'm not sure how to be more clear... oh god, oh god, two solos in one short module is a horrible idea. It's just asking for the slot to run long and/or people to be wasteful about dailies and be using at-wills later on. Especially not ones that stun. A lot. Outside there's frightful presence and a lot of blinding. Inside it's just stun stun stun, especially if the DM is a bit lucky on the recharge. Thankfully it's not a true dracolich, but it's very easy for the dracolich to stun large portions of a group for multiple rounds of the combat. Unfortunately, it's also done on a map that is horribly boring. There's nothing for terrain, it's basically just a big dracolich breath-shaped room. Oh, and once again a high AC & Fort creature (APL + 19 AC avg), and one that can give an encounter long -2 to attack. By XP, the average AC and Fort in this module is horribly weighted and sure to be annoying for certain groups. Encounter 6 And finally you rescue the people you were sent for, after some threats truly warranting your participation. Even though no one had any idea you'd be necessary. And you never even had any indication they were in the temple. Or even got to hear or see them while you were fighting their captors. Overall: Some big holes in the overall plot structure and misses on 'Paragon-ness'. One good fight, one average fight, and one bad fight. Two mediocre skill challenges, though one is set in a fun to roleplay area (the school) which excuses it partially, and the other is salvageable to adequate with some quick patches by a DM. Being summoned to help out on the information Tuanek has is laughable for adventurers of this caliber. The school skill challenge is somewhat ridiculous for paragon adventurers. Tearn seems to be wasted time at the table. Now, change it to the kids went missing, a group was already sent to find out what happened and disappeared as well, and Tearn himself sent a message - you go to meet him or just sends a letter with information, he gives the info that someone has infiltrated the school and kidnapped them, gets the party pointed in the right direction. The party knows they're looking for kidnappers operating out of the black ash plain, research suggests there are serious baddies out there that prompted Jalt to get them. The giants are clearly trying for nonlethal blows, maybe have some means of capturing people obvious, even a person in a cage. And/or are ambushing them at the site of the field trip, clearly having been there for some time collecting people, maybe even signs that school staff has gone in and out while the giants were there. The brown dragon sheds effects and shifts away as a free action when bloodied, so that a group doesn't get it almost killed _then_ have it make a break for dracolich-dom. A group that pursues without a short rest prompts those within to do a botched job on the dracolich in some obvious fashion - perhaps it's bloodied even. Frankly, something should be done to the combat to make it more fun regardless. I'd actually be tempted to say that the dracolich should be a weaker and more damaged version regardless, make minion generation a standard facet of the combat, and make it so the dracolich gains power over time as the ritual takes effect. Also put in a little terrain and make it so that a single breath cannot hit almost the entire room. And, really, I'd suggest just going through and rejiggering creatures and levels so the defenses are not quite so much out of alignment. I'd also like to see evidence of the kids show up at some point. Maybe hear their cries for help. See them on the edge of the battlefield. Heightens tension, makes it more interesting. That's what I'd have said if I was playtesting, anyways. Clearly it's too late. But if I end up running it ever, and if others are looking for advice when they run it, that at least gives folks some ideas. |
| #2UthracDec 24, 2009 7:24:45 | I agree with everything above. As written, the mod is definitely "clue-short" - providing players clues to help them figure out what's going on. Tearn? No new information. Stone Giants? Random encounter. Cult of the Dragon? No real direct reference. One easy fix is to have the party find a contract with the giants from the Cult of the Dragon. (And perhaps a receipt for their previous delievery of dragonborn.) This gives the PCs the "missing pieces of the story" and ties together the plot nicely. (A player handout here can give some great insight into what is actually going on!) The second combat encounter, I thought, was excellent. Good way to introduce a "solo," who's not really a solo. Racing into the last combat (w/out short rest) interrupting the ritual could have been an interesting "fight against dragon-zombie and some cultists" instead of modifying the dracolich. Players will feel rewarded if they think that by interupting the ritual, they have a chance of preventing the dracolich and thwarting the schemes of the cult. ("Wow, good thing we raced after him. Fighting a dracoich would have sucked!) This would be perceived as a "real reward" for passing up a short rest. Other than the 2nd fight, I was underwhelmed with the mod. As Keithric pointed out, the skill challenges did not capture a paragon feel, and the story did not have a clear conduit to be passed on to the players. (i.e. The DM knows what's going on, but there's little direction in the mod to convey the interesting information to the players.) |
| #3irnmstMar 30, 2010 8:55:15 | Played this a few days ago with 5 - haven't had a chance to run it yet, but I just read through it, so figured I'd give feedback based on playing and reading it. As the author of module thank you for comments on the module and I will reply to your comments on the adventure. The date/time continutity problem is an oversight on my part of not proof reading well enough. Tearn was added to the module by the powers that be after I turned in it, and was unaware of him until the module was released. |