My favorite quality of the module was in it's balance of power. In the early portion of the adventure the players face off against dimwitted creatures like goblins, dogs and desert bandits. The PCs plowed through their enemies with little trouble. The buildup of confidence early on led to near fatal mistakes toward the end of the adventure, as the enemies increased in difficulty and intelligence. The over confident PCs fell victim to ambushes and dirty tactics as the goblins and dogs were replaced with gnolls, hobgoblins and the Orc Boss: Bort Blacklungs.
Of course my wife ducks out of the picture! At least you can see the sock she's knitting for me on the left!
Through some quick thinking and lucky rolls (my big bad orc rolled four fours in a row on his attack rolls!) the party managed to get through with a few near-death situations but no casualties. Barkis, the dwarf cleric was downed in two shots of the big orc's axes, a mere three hit points from the grave when Ragnar stepped in to defend his fallen ally. The lizardman alchemist took hit after hit to protect the fading clergyman until their mousefolk paladin Sorren positioned himself next to Bort and struck the killing blow.
My favorite event of the night occurred after the bandit leader was slain. The party decided that they could not leave without checking the one room they didn't open. You know... the room that was barred shut with a clear warning message painted upon the door. The very room even the bandit leader refused to enter... That's the room they wanted to check. Well, everyone but the wizard Mort. He thought it was a dumb idea and stayed behind.
While they weren't struggling, the PCs were definitely injured by the skeletal champion in the room. His ability to channel negative energy hit all of them at once, and his damage resistance to all but bludgeoning weapons did not help the party of sword and rapier wielding melee artists. After a few rounds of combat, Mort decided to leave the dungeon entirely. While passing the room he casually cast disrupt undead, scoring the killing blow with almost no effort, leaving the battered party speechless.
While the bulk of the module's content is finished, I still want to add a bit of flavor. My wife is currently making illustrations and I have a few tweaks to make. For example I discovered that this sentence looks fine on paper...
The saloon's patrons are rambunctious but mostly harmless local miners.
The PCs interpreted it a bit differently and hilarity ensued...
The saloon's patrons are rambunctious but mostly harmless local minors.
Well, I still didn't get to touch on a certain topic I've been wanting to, I hope to get it out by tomorrow if I find the time.
Good Gaming and Goodnight!
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Congratulations on the successful execution of your home brewed module, sir :). It's always a blast to see your players enjoying your labours, although past experience has shown me that those parts you pour your out into thinking, 'oh yes, this will be a fantastic set piece/challenge!', your players usually blast past or totally ignore, whilst doggedly focusing on some throw away morsel plopped in there for no realm other than eye candy.
ReplyDeleteLooking at your game night photo makes me wish I could sit there as a player, too. So envious, buddy ;) - you look like you've got a great group of players. Document everything, is my advice. Seriously. Record, take pictures, make notes - do it all, for one day you'll be so glad you did.
One last suggestion: I started a record of character deaths: how, where, who, by what method, and what was happening at the time of death. Sometimes it's a great way to tie in past deaths with plot lines many months later, usually when all has been forgotten. But it adds meat to your world setting and history :)
Keep up the great posts, my friend, they are a real erasure to read.