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Asperix
Looking around
(5/11/03 11:55 pm)
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Frequent Visits to Verbobonc
I am dm'ing a group of 5 PCs. They are in the middle of the CRM. The problem is that every time they level, they want to go to verbobonc to sell of their loot. Rastor is a small mining/farming town and following the guidelines for hamlets, doesn't have much in terms of loose change. I ruled that it takes about 3 weeks round trip to go to verbobonc, sell off loot, train, and return.
My Q: is there a way to instill a sense of urgency among the group that they should hurry? Every time they leave to trip to V, the temple restocks its troops and I'm concerned that fighting the main entrance all the time will bog down the game. The pal and cleric in the group only seem to care about selling off loot, training, and buying new equip. Any suggestions welcomed.
-Asperix
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 Siobharek 
Still here? Wow.
(5/12/03 3:10 am)
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ezSupporter
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Re: Frequent Visits to Verbobonc
Frankly I feel that it's one of the very few weaknesses in the module: The nearest re-stocking facitlity is quite a way away. Maybe the PCs could be approached by someone who could help them get from the CRM to Rastor faster. Maybe a self-replenishing jar of the clouds which in effect allows the party to wind walk 2/week.
It seems that you resent the cleric and paladin for focusing on their loot. Is it the players or their characters who have this focus? If it's the players, I wouldn't do to much about it - if they don't focus on their items, they'll be too weak to complete the adventure.
If the characters seem too mercenary, then you might consider reminding them of their church's views on greed and amassing too much wealth.
Siobharek
...it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. |
msherman
Here for a while
(5/12/03 4:16 am)
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Re: Frequent Visits to Verbobonc
After a few defeats in the same area with the same troops, the CRM "organization" will eventually clue in, and change tactics. Next time they go to Verbobonc, calculate the restock numbers as you normally would, but instead of putting the replacement troops in places they've already defeated multiple times like the main gate, reinforce areas they haven't been to yet. Seal off (with Glyphs) the main gate, and describe it as abandoned. Also, don't necessarily use the same restock of humanoids each time; add up the ELs of a big group of restock humanoids, and instead restock with a single monster of the same EL, as the temple starts concentrating its recruiting efforts on bigger badder muscle.
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Caedrel
Here for a while
(5/12/03 6:34 pm)
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Re: Frequent Visits to Verbobonc
There's an excellent entry in the Best of the Boards thread about alternative ways for the party to restock without having to make the round trip to Verbobonc: they include co-opting the stone golem in the Temple of Moradin as an item artificer, possibly requiring Tulian's Eye. IMC, I've had a mirror of transport that could transfer inamimate objects for 10 minutes at dawn every day, and used the blade spirit as the ghost of a smith bound to serve those who came as Moradin's avenger (using the stone golem + Tulian's Eye as something that could convert magic items). As Siobharek says, they need to be able to restock or they'll be seriously underpowered when it really starts to matter.
To give them a greater sense of urgency, you could start dropping hints about the search for the Champion of Elemental Evil - from guards taken alive, a final epithet from a priest as they go down, as a fragment of a letter in a study... hints that this person is Really Important to their plans, that once they are found it's really going to be bad news for the whole world. Then you can start introducing hints that they're getting closer and closer all the time to working out who the Champion is...
You could also send them a couple of mysterious visions from their gods, of a dark shadow consuming the world and destroying the gods themselves...
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