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Lord Yod
Ebon Hand Cultist
(2/23/04 9:14 am)
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Pre-Campaign Jitters
Ok, about to start up a new RttToEE campaign, Sunday evenings for 4-5 hours.
Regular group had 3 guys in it, picked up 2 more that only play D&D(we were playing Modern and Traveller prior to this). Really happy to see the fifth guy, I've heard that this module is a real PC-slayer.
Here are the PC's:
Marijaen Sweetleaf, CG Halfling Rogue 4
Wendel Hawkfield, LG Human Paladin 4
Balmek Fruthban, LG Dwarven Monk 4
Balim Toknooth, LG Dwarven Cleric 4
(unnamed), NG Elven Wizard 4
Both spellcasters took Spellcasting Prodigy, from the FRCS, so they're spell DC's are 16 and 17, plus level. The cleric has a CON of 20 and a WIS of 18, so they've got an awesome tank already.
My version of the Paladin's Code: Must try to act with honor, compassion, and loyalty. Can't make use of dishonorable tactics(no dirty fighting), but can use standard military practices such as feints and misdirections. Can't lie outright, but doesn't necessarily need to go spouting truth all over the place. In my view, a paladin could certainly allow the Water Temple forces to assist him in attacking the powerful Fire Temple, as it allows him to gain needed intelligence about the WT forces, as well as makes the FT easier. Of course, he couldn't be part of a deal to let them all go. Just because the WT helped out doesn't mean they'll be spared, it just means that it'll get sacked last.
So, anybody have any last minute advice for me? The game starts next Sunday in Hommlet. I'm running the game as written, in 3.0. We'll be meeting 4 times per month, about 4 hours a session. My players tend to plan out their combats pretty well, but they don't tend to do too much scouting ahead. I have a feeling they'll be learning quick, though.
I don't have a full workup of the plot hooks yet, as they players don't really have backgrounds set in stone. What I do have, though:
-The Dwarves were sent by the Verbobonc Temple of Moradin, to recover the treasures of the Dwarven Temple. (I'll be using the Item-Store-in-a-Golem idea someone posted, and it's going to need Tulian's Eye to work.) The DT will hopefully be the stronghold of the PC's for at least half of the CRM, before it gets taken away from them. (Thrommel's army of Dwarven vampire-spawn, pure genius)
-Balim the cleric has also been getting some pretty bad visions of things to come, nothing specific. Things like cities on fire, gigantic elemental things, a black tower wreathed in purple flames, etc. (The tower idea I picked up here, for after Imix arrives) He should be good for applying pressure to the PC's.
-Wendel the Paladin is of the same order that Thrommel was. (Pelor? Hadn't figured it out quite yet.) He has been sent by the church to search for the sword Fragarach, as they needed something for him to do. Nobody really expects him to find it, so it's really going to be surprising to them when it shows up. I'm going to give him plenty of opportunities to turn Thrommel back to the side of Good with it, as well as let him use it as only a Paladin can. Not sure where I'm going to stash the sword yet, though. Where have you guys put it in your campaigns?
-Marijaen and the wizard are old adventuring buddies from a party that just split up. They're in Hommlet because of a letter the wizard received from Zerosh, the scrollmaker in Hommlet. (They're barely related, but you know how elves are)
Any advice you can give would be most appreciated. Think I'll stop rambling now.
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JRedGiant
Tolling Bell Cultist
(2/23/04 9:44 am)
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Re: Pre-Campaign Jitters
Um, what exactly do you have jitters about? You sound really well prepared.
A few pitfalls and thoughts I had from the early part of the campaign:
Study up on how Ultreshimon's hover ability works in 3.0. This is a tone-setting fight for the campaign that lets players know they've just crossed into the big leagues.
Decide if you want Tharizdun introduced early or later. If later, you might want to change the Obex holy symbol in the Moathouse.
If you are using splatbook stuff, be prepared to add the splatbooks into your campaign too.
Read some campaign logs. I recommend Infiniti's and Andorax's. Don't miss Infiniti's "Death of a Monk-chkin" post in his log. The portcullis trap usage is wicked!
Most importantly, sit with your players and talk about what they and you want out of this campaign. Role-playing hooks? Problem solving? Tactical battles? It's all there for you but you want to know where to focus.
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 Infiniti2000
Brother of Venom
(2/23/04 9:54 am)
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ezSupporter
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Re: Pre-Campaign Jitters
Welcome, Lord Yod! It seems like you got a great group on your hands, and I wish them luck!
It fills my heart with a certain amount of happiness to know that more PC's will die at the hands of Big U, Lareth, Thrommel, and Hedrack. 
"If you are using splatbook stuff, be prepared to add the splatbooks into your campaign too."
Indeed! We put together quite a collection of Splatbook Changes. I suggest you read the Best of the Boards and the FAQ for more information. Check out ZansForCans's site for LOTS of files, in particular the layered map images. Lareth is a totally different animal, so to speak, with the splatbook changes and has a very good chance to kill a PC, if not the entire group. Hopefully, however, he will be an RP encounter and not a battle.
"Where have you guys put it in your campaigns?"
I put in the white dragon's hoard (random encounter around Rastor). I have it's stablock on Zans's site and may be in a post somewhere around here, if you are interested. It gave the dragon bargaining power with the PC's to help it kill its main rival, Vranthis, for the love of Chymon. 
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Lord Yod
Ebon Hand Cultist
(2/23/04 4:50 pm)
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Re: Pre-Campaign Jitters
Quote:
It fills my heart with a certain amount of happiness to know that more PC's will die at the hands of Big U, Lareth, Thrommel, and Hedrack.
I made it quite clear that they weren't going to be let off the hook like they were in my Urban Arcana game. Sheesh, took 50-some cops to take down that rampaging dwarf... I told them that more than likely, they're going to die a few times each. 
Quote:
"If you are using splatbook stuff, be prepared to add the splatbooks into your campaign too."
I was wondering about this. Most of my players haven't played DnD for quite a while, having played some other RPG's lately. There's more than a little bit of unfamiliarity, so to speak. (John doesn't know what more than half of his spells do, and he's the cleric!) So I'm going to give them a chance to learn the ropes before hitting them with a couple of ogre templars of Big T.
One question I have is about pacing: How much time does the typical group take to get to various points in the module? My group meets every Sunday for 4-5 hours, which I gather is pretty typical. I had thought to clear the moathouse in the first session, Hommlet in the next, possibly Nulb and the Temple on the third, and make it to Rastor in about a month. The long part is most likely to be the moathouse, I should think, though Hommlet might take a bit too. Nulb and Rastor, on the other hand, don't really have much to hold PC's there. Hopefully they'll all be at least level 5 by the time they make it to the ToAC. Otherwise that howler is just going to eat them up...
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