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 Halls of the Mountain King - session write-ups & queries « View previous topic :: View next topic » 
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Dan Voyce
PostPosted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 5:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Success! Huzzah! Surely now the refugees are safeat last and peace and quiet will reign in the halls.

Twisted Evil

(PS - I was really hoping they might fall before the derro and get carried off to Pharragum - oh well...)
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richgreen01
PostPosted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 6:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Dan Voyce wrote:
Success! Huzzah! Surely now the refugees are safeat last and peace and quiet will reign in the halls.

Twisted Evil

(PS - I was really hoping they might fall before the derro and get carried off to Pharragum - oh well...)

I have a side plot coming up once they've finished Eye of Grajava which will have them heading down the Great Stair to a forgotten library in search of the dastardly Heinsoo so there is definitely another opportunity to have them dragged off to the derro realms!


R
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richgreen01
PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 9:50 am    Post subject: Question for Mike Reply with quote

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Hi,

Just wondering why the Voice of Rygar was changed from a behir to a earth elemental with a kobold's head in the 4e version! Is this because the 4e behir's stats were too much for 10th level PCs?

I'm toying with the idea of changing her back again and maybe using my huge remorhaz mini.

Cheers


Richard
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Wolfgang
PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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I believe the 4E behir stats were considered too much, yes.
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Therabyd
PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 8:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Rich - Unless your group falls on the bloodthirsty end of the spectrum, the behir's stats are unlikely to come into play, so I'd go ahead and use the mini. If it comes to combat, you could always use the kobold/elemental stats with the behir's body.
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richgreen01
PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 8:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Therabyd wrote:
Rich - Unless your group falls on the bloodthirsty end of the spectrum, the behir's stats are unlikely to come into play, so I'd go ahead and use the mini. If it comes to combat, you could always use the kobold/elemental stats with the behir's body.

I think there's a very good chance they'll attack first when they see a big monster and ask questions later!

I've found a young behir on the Compendium and am going to use him. I'll let you know what happens Razz

Cheers


Rich
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richgreen01
PostPosted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 9:33 pm    Post subject: Latest session: The Test of Valour Reply with quote

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Hi,

Here's what happened in Monday night's game. I wrote out the puzzle door puzzles and drew a (very) bizarre looking gear-key for them when they asked me what it looked like.

18th Quintilis

The PCs spend some time trying to figure out the various clues they’ve gathered about the orichalcum, the Teardrop and the Eye. As they discuss the evidence, Rabscuttle approaches, clutching a few gears and cogs that he’s clearly removed from inside himself! Bolval and Saethus join forces to figure out what the inscriptions on these gearforged parts are saying. The writings provide the party with vital information about how to find the Eye of Grajava - they need to find a secret door inside the Forge of the Fire Blessing. Other clues are more cryptic and the PCs are unsure what to do with the weirdly-shaped piece of metal Rabscuttle gives them.

Meeting up with Abelard the Fire Shepherd, the PCs get the azer to take them down the Great Stair to the Forge of the Fire Blessing, an impressive temple to Korak dominated by huge stone wheels bringing water and molten lava up from below. The PCs search the seven forges first, then enter the three rooms underneath the ledge. Each of these contains religious paraphanalia and is decorated with mosaics depicting the priests of Korak at prayer. That’s not all - the mosaics show a secret door on the opposite wall and seem to provide some hints on how to access the Sanctum of Assaying.

Back in the main temple, the PCs search through a big heap of ore but find nothing and Krivinn reaches into the waterfall to see if he can find anything behind it to no avail. Eventually, Bolval’s prayer and offering to Korak opens the secret door and the others follow suit.

Beyond lies the secret chapter house of the Illuminated Brotherhood. Here, the PCs are greeted by Silent Brother Bradobaraxas who ushers the party into the presence of Most Silent Master Caradlather, Illuminated Sister Jorunn Flintknapper and the diviner, Paracelix Zhedan. Caradlather explains that he would like the PCs to recover the Eye of Grajava, a powerful magical artifact, from the Sanctum of Assaying so it can be used against the Cult of Mammon. During the conversation, the PCs realise that the glowering Sister Jorunn is the sister of Ansgar, the saboteur of the Manticore. Bolval and Krivinn try and clear the air with some small success.

Caradlather stands aside so the PCs can attempt to open the puzzle door. First, they insert the weird gear-key they got from Rabscuttle which fits perfectly. Next, Ella suggests “K-O-R-A-K” as the correct sequence of runes to push from the hammer design and eventually the others listen to her! Finally, the PCs spell out “F-I-R-E” on the anvil carving and the door opens.

Beyond is the first room of the Sanctum of Assaying, the Test of Valour. Inside, the PCs are faced with the fiery figure of the Flame of Korak, his minion “sparks” and magma mephit allies. The Flame charges the party, pounding Krivinn and Bolval with his raging inferno attack. Meanwhile, the mephits swoop in and out, using the vents to move around, blinding the PCs with their searing breath and, annoyingly, healing themselves by diving into the lava pools. Ella stays out of the way, firing arrows at the mephits, but the others are all bunched up near the doorway, allowing the little elementals to catch the whole party in one go. Saethus uses his fey step to teleport out of the area and then blasts a mephit with his wand of icy rays, immobilising it, while Krivinn continues to exchange blows with the Flame and Bolval supports with healing magic and spiritual weapon. Khuma and his healing spirit find themselves surrounded by sparks and mephits but the shifter manages to hold them at bay. After several rounds of fighting, the tide turns and the party are victorious. As they heal their wounds, they spot a magical sensor watching them...


Cheers


Richard
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Therabyd
PostPosted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 7:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Good stuff! Sounds like the Test of Valour battle was fun - and a nice cliffhanger there.
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richgreen01
PostPosted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 8:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Therabyd wrote:
Good stuff! Sounds like the Test of Valour battle was fun - and a nice cliffhanger there.

Yep, it was a fun session - nice mixture of RP, exploration & problem solving and combat.

One of the players is already suspicious of Paracelix - "he didn't say anything". Oops!

The traps in the next Test room have caused me some confusion - what size are the pits meant to be? They look like they are 5' x 10' on the map. And are they not concealed at all?

I'm also a bit unclear on the incendiary gas from the text. Any clarification gratefully received!


Cheers


Richard
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Therabyd
PostPosted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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The traps were meant to be easy to spot, so leaving them completely unconcealed would be fine. Or you could cover them but let them be seen with an easy DC Perception check. They should block the side corridors completely but leave a path through the main corridor. 5'x10', 10'x10' or 10' in diameter would all work, if you stagger the last possibility in the main corridor.

The idea behind the gas was that it would start filling the chamber from the Test of Valor door. Parties which went right through the Test of Faith without being tempted by the side passages would either avoid it completely or suffer minimal damage, while those "greedier" parties who lingered would bear the full brunt of it. I'd move the "IC" square to the entry door instead of the exit door, and then I think the as-written trap works.

Does that help?
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richgreen01
PostPosted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Therabyd wrote:
The traps were meant to be easy to spot, so leaving them completely unconcealed would be fine. Or you could cover them but let them be seen with an easy DC Perception check. They should block the side corridors completely but leave a path through the main corridor. 5'x10', 10'x10' or 10' in diameter would all work, if you stagger the last possibility in the main corridor.

That makes sense - they're not drawn blocking the main corridors on the map so I wondered how the pedestal traps would push the PCs into them!

Therabyd wrote:
The idea behind the gas was that it would start filling the chamber from the Test of Valor door. Parties which went right through the Test of Faith without being tempted by the side passages would either avoid it completely or suffer minimal damage, while those "greedier" parties who lingered would bear the full brunt of it. I'd move the "IC" square to the entry door instead of the exit door, and then I think the as-written trap works.

Does that help?

Also makes sense - thanks! I didn't see the need for two incendiary gas traps and having it by the entrance is much more logical.

The map for this room is really unclear - the false disintegration trap and the false scythe are called M1 & M2 and the rune of guardianship traps are marked as T1-T8 but referred to in the adventure as "R".

Cheers

Richard
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Therabyd
PostPosted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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richgreen01 wrote:
The map for this room is really unclear - the false disintegration trap and the false scythe are called M1 & M2 and the rune of guardianship traps are marked as T1-T8 but referred to in the adventure as "R".

Cheers

Richard


Yeah, this map didn't make the OGL to 4e transition very well. The false traps were "Mind traps" - hence the M - and the pillars were "Trapped pillars" (T). I should've caught that change.

Sorry!
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richgreen01
PostPosted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Therabyd wrote:

Yeah, this map didn't make the OGL to 4e transition very well. The false traps were "Mind traps" - hence the M - and the pillars were "Trapped pillars" (T). I should've caught that change.

Sorry!

No worries! Unlike finding something confusing in a WotC adventure and having to guess, at least I can ask the designers!

Cheers


Rich
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richgreen01
PostPosted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Hi,

I'm running Eye of Grajava again tomorrow night - we'll see if having a big remorhaz mini on the table provokes the PCs into attacking Rygar!

Cheers


Richard
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Therabyd
PostPosted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 12:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Can't wait!
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